Saying human behavior has changed with the COVID-19 pandemic is an understatement. There are countless examples of emerging behaviors and attitudes—some of which will end when this is all over and others that will sustain over the long-haul. One of the more interesting behavior changes have to do with the apps we’re using to communicate.
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I was asked recently if HQ, the mobile-exclusive quiz show where viewers answer questions for the chance to win real money, is a fad. After all, it has all the trappings of a fad. What started out as a white hot obsession has led to HQ getting lucrative sponsorships from major studios and cultural references galore, but it could be seen as repetitive. Users may get bored, leave the app and move onto something else.
HQ’s doing what it can to evolve by introducing social features and even bringing celebrities like Dwayne Johnson into the live stream to promote his latest movie, but the app itself may very well be a fad. The one thing that won’t be a fad is shared entertainment.
Shared entertainment is as old as broadcast itself. It goes back to the days of broadcast radio, but this evolution of shared entertainment is different.
Lean Forward
Live entertainment is no longer a lean back, take it in experience. Viewers expect to participate as much as spectate, and whether the experiences are mobile-first like HQ or mobile second such as The Oscars, people want to take part.
Obviously, HQ has tapped into this latent desire, generating 1.9 million players during the Super Bowl halftime show alone. Facebook has done what it can to secure streaming deals for live sports for its Watch platform. This includes securing the streaming rights for several MLB games that will be as social as they are anything else, allowing viewers to interact while watching games.
Even when the options to share aren't built into the experience, users are quick to lean forward on their own. The Oscars are as much about the memes that come out of the event as the awards themselves.
Stealing the Show
The ability to interact and connect through digital channels as made live viewing more vibrant than ever. Whether it’s interacting directly with the show like HQ or indirectly by joining a social conversation, viewers are the ones stealing the show.
Episode 290 of the Brave Ad World Podcast is here!
This week’s headlines: Instagram Testing Live Video Collaboration, Pinterest Adds Third Party Verification to Video, Facebook Launches Video Tab and Snapchat’s Quarterly Earnings Not Encouraging.
The week’s news quick hits: Facebook Aims to Minimize Accidental Clicks, YouTube Introduces Video Sharing, Disney Sets Sights on Live Video Streaming, Google Notifies Publishers that they Need to Remove Certain Ads and Foursquare Emphasizes Personal Logging in Latest Update.
Get this episode and many others in the podcast section, and be sure to subscribe via iTunes.
Read MoreThis Week in Social is a weekly digest of some of the biggest stories in social media marketing news. These stories are the show notes for the Brave Ad World Podcast. Each story is discussed at a deeper level on the podcast.
This week’s headlines: Instagram Testing Live Video Collaboration, Pinterest Adds Third Party Verification to Video and Facebook Launches Video Tab.
The week’s news quick hits: Facebook Aims to Minimize Accidental Clicks, YouTube Introduces Video Sharing, Disney Sets Sights on Live Video Streaming, Google Notifies Publishers that they Need to Remove Certain Ads and Foursquare Emphasizes Personal Logging in Latest Update.
Read MoreOriginal, high-quality video content is here, there, everywhere. We’ve hit peak video. It’s not just publishers focusing on building up their video content. It’s platforms as well.
Read MoreEpisode 281 of the Brave Ad World Podcast is here!
This week’s headlines: Sponsored World Lenses are Here, Instagram Adds Selfie Filters and Google I/O Doesn’t Skimp on Announcements.
The week’s news quick hits: Facebook Curbing Live Videos that Aren’t Live, Bing Highlighting Bots in Search Results, Biz Stone is Back with Twitter, Promoted Pins Tie into Pinterest Lens, Facebook Comes Forward with Measurement Error, You Won’t Believe What Facebook’s Doing with Click-Bait Posts, Facebook Integrates App Notifications and Twitter Adds Your Data Section.
Get this episode and many others in the podcast section, and be sure to subscribe via iTunes.
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