MySpace Adds Social Viewing From ClipSync
Summary
The tool allows watchers to choose to join social viewing rooms, which run linear versions of each episode. Through ClipSync (click on “Watch and Share”) you can chat, mark up the video with overlays, invite other friends to join, and vote on aspects of the show (it’s a crowdsourced, heavily product-integrated wedding planning series). I had actually profiled ClipSync in depth for a recent longer report about the state of social TV that I wrote for GigaOM Pro, our new subscription research service (only $79 per year, you should check it out!). Here’s some more information about ClipSync from that piece, which also has case studies on Integra5’s text-to-TV chat service and Facebook’s integration of existing social relationships into video experiences: According to ClipSync’s internal testing, when given the option of watching a program socially or alone, 80 percent of viewers prefer the company of other users, even if they don’t want to interact with them. Dramatic plot twist overload is only part of it; a big factor in soap opera interactivity is that there’s daily fresh content, said ClipSync CEO Itzik Cohen.