Video demo of ABC's My Generation synchronized app

Users run the app while watching the show — either live or recorded — and it will stay synced with the section of the episode you’re watching by “listening” to the audio from your television, using the built-in microphone. From there the app will present you with polls and quizzes related to what you’re watching, along with other interactive elements.

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While you’re watching TV, the iPad is actually watching you, in a manner of speaking; the app serves as a tool for Nielsen to understand viewing habits, as they will use digital watermarking to track user behavior. With such a small percentage of viewers likely to be using the app during the show, it’s hard to tell just what kind of data they’ll get. But it is an interesting experiment.

interesting, yes, but a huge stab in the dark. it’s making an assumption that a certain demographic will be watching this show because of the ipad. which, hey, might be true but certainly can’t be a rule.

i hope abc/nielsen does something good w/ the data and this isn’t a junk-pile promotional stunt. quite frankly, the data they pull from this will likely be more interesting than the show itself. lots of potential here for future opportunities but you’re also making a bet that a passive medium, all of a sudden, will instantly become a non-passive one.

yes, everyone loves to “live tweet” and all that crap but what’s the pivot point? compelling content. i’d put my eggs in that basket first. developing something that drives action unaided vs. developing companion apps - the final assumption here is that a viewer wants to live within a certain ecosystem vs. their own.

abc/nielsen: nay do i have an ipad or plan on watching this show.  but, good luck.

Cory Doctorow, You Are a Consumer, Too

It all just kills me. It literally makes me sick to my stomach. I am sitting here looking at my computer screen and looking over at your post and just wanting to take it apart line by line but what’s the point? I agree with so much of what we all seem to think about culture, about copyright, and freedoms to tinker. But I don’t want to use shitty computers with shitty operating systems, just like I don’t want to drive cars that come with their own schematics. Instead I want to drive beautifully engineered machines that scream with precision fury. And if they break, I want to take them to a shop and have them fixed. You keep the 3D printer; I’ll take AAA.