Social TV 2.0

Remember the dawn of social TV when pioneers like @MarkGhuneim @Trendrr were walking the old TV horses to water to feed off the real time, data-driven web and 2nd Screen Societies gathered to ponder the next wave of immersive entertainment? The buzzword bingo around socialTV may have died down and social media may be reshaping content as it is, but interactive-cross screen engagement is also carving a new era. .While everyone points to the easy evidence of FB Watch, Insta's stories, YouTube creators and the force that is eSports and the platforms like Twitch devoted to people watching others game, there are some great examples of TV taking innovation to market to cross the device bridge. And of course, its no surprise the veterans of interactivity in the first wave are behind it all the next go roundFN Genuis!While quiz show HQ is rolling out its Apple TV app at a time when its downloads are in a downward spiral and The Q, a better HQ is making moves with TV networks to become an engaging network-like app, Fox just made a quiz show move that is worth noting. FN Genuis. Brands don't just get a shout out in linear, why wouldn't they also throw down $25k directly to a fan base? More kudos to the network re-thinking advertising, Fox is setting a pace here.Why don't you just tell me the contestant you want to win?Comcast- after making the smart move to push from box to OTT gateway app, is innovating using voice remote. Tell the remote who you want in America's Got Talent. Also that trailer looks dope, order up some tickets. NBC's corp blog is worth a read here, they may be big but they innovate.Turner this Mother OutWhile networks dabble in VR and AR-- perhaps none has pioneered the multi-platform fan engagement better than Turner via TBS/TNT/CNN especially. It launched AR for CoCo in 2016 and since we've seen interactive innovations at every turn. CNN is crushing social platforms. And for properties like Final Space, there is a VR pilot in the works to build on the innovations such as reddit broadcasting, AR companion stories on Snap and more. Addressable OTTNow that personalization and algo-driven content from Netflix, Facebook, Amazon, etc has effectively eaten the lunch of the old school, the great re-bundling of virtual packages and surge in OTT packages is opening up a much more addressable, interactive future for content experience and advertising.  Social streams can start to dictate content discovery. Mobile discovery pushed to the big screen for viewing and back to mobile for extra experiences will soon be the norm. Addressable advertising will be reshaped and once the protocols being developed by the futurists at Mad Hive take hold, consumers will start to chose how they are spoken to, when and by whom.