"We are watching more TV than at any time in the last five years.
That statistic is usually followed by 'despite the rise of the Internet'. We're in the opposite camp. We believe TV viewing is increasing because of the Internet. The social web turns TV into an event, a shared experience.
And as the social web becomes increasingly central to our lives, these events become more and more important. It becomes the nationwide, and sometimes worldwide water-cooler."
And the second:
The first is of course John Lewis's latest nostalgia extravaganza. A whopping £6 million pounds spent to garner the eyeballs of the masses and a mighty 300k (ish) views on Youtube.The second an ad that cost the Suffolk Safer Roads team a modest £10k to produce and has so far been watched by a global audience of 6 million people. It also has it's own Facebook fanpage and a growing number of people calling for it to be aired on TV in their respective countries. Interesting times.
Here's the first paragraph of Paul Graham's excellent post on convergence, socialising, and of course TV:
About twenty years ago people noticed computers and TV were on a
collision course and started to speculate about what they'd produce
when they converged. We now know the answer: computers. It's clear
now that even by using the word "convergence" we were giving TV too
much credit. This won't be convergence so much as replacement.
People may still watch things they call "TV shows," but they'll
watch them mostly on computers.
Weird. Something very weird has started happening. I'm watching TV again, and I don't just mean sitting email farming before bed with something cheap, American and crime based flickering in the background before bed. I'm really watching, seeking out, giving my undivided attention to, and enjoying television again. All this thanks to the BBC iPlayer (4oD why oh why not for Macs?) I'm addicted to Mad Men, Willy's Wonky Chocolate Factory, and the White series. And, I'm not alone: NYT: Serving Up Television Without the TV Set
It's really interesting to see how two different groups handle the same issue online. I missed the first installment of Hugh Thingy-Wingy's Chicken Run on Channel 4 last night (we're strictly a crime drama household). Apparently 3.4 million people tuned in to see last night's show. It'll be very interesting to see if this is something that gains momentum in the same way that Jamie's School Dinners did. Anyway, as ever, I digress. This is what I really wanted to blog about:
The RSPCA implores you to fill in the form to help them reach a lofty fifty-thousand signatures by the end of six weeks. http://www.supportchickennow.co.uk/petition/
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Chickenout.tv rewards my sign-up by counting me on the rolling counter and thanking me by name. In the minute between screen grabs the counter went up by a hundred. I just checked the total again before posting this and, oh well, you can see for yourselves via the embeddable banner available from the site:
