Second Screen Visionaries: 5 Ways Mobile Is Changing TV-Watching http://t.co/AacKJgKY
Last July, about a year and a half later, Rapid TV News reported on a white paper by British technology research company Mobile Interactive Group, which updated that number for the US and UK. It had “40% of mobile users saying that they are most likely to be multi-tasking using their phone while watching the TV.†(Some estimate that number nearly doubles when you look at the 18-24 demographic.)
The white paper summary states, “Mobile will become the main vehicle for interaction between viewer and broadcaster,†predicting that interactive events on Facebook alone could generate billions of dollars.
This is something I’ve been thinking about for a long time now. From my June 3, 2010 post “Why are Google TV and Apple TV the wrong approach?”:
And the it hit me: Apple and Google (et al.) are going about it the wrong way. The program goes on the big screen. Period. The interface is on our laptop, or iPhone, or iTouch, or (the killer one) an iPad. All have a keyboard for easy entry of urls and search; there are social applications that work just fine on those existing screens.
Trying to put the interface on a screen 20′ away without a keyboard (and wireless keyboards aren’t really an option) is just wrong: not only is it the wrong place, I don’t want to clutter my program communally (which presumably I’m watching because I enjoy it) with social media that’s personal.
The two screen approach makes much more sense. Put the program on the screen – uncluttered like  the program’s director intended – and put the control and any desired interactivity on another screen. An iPad would seem to be perfect for this, but since I don’t plan on getting one, an iPhone or iTouch or Laptop could also run the interface anywhere on the same local area network.