Beyond the Second Screen

Posted 6 months ago

The Second Screen refers to a supplementary viewing device such as a table, smartphone, laptop or desktop computer. There has been a big shift in our viewing behaviors as more people are using their Second Screen whilst watching traditional TV.

 This opens up some unique opportunities for video marketing as discussed in a recent article on Mashable by Lisa Hsia

“If it doesn’t spread, it’s dead.”

One hot buzz word that relates to this isTransmedia Storytelling which is defined as telling a story that extends across multiple media platforms (for television, it’s going beyond the on-air show)

In today’s digital era, there are new factors at play that make transmedia a potentially potent game-changer for how TV content is created. The ability to efficiently create affordable, participatory storytelling vehicles that go beyond being “bonus extras” and spreading it through different circulation channels is changing the rules and creating a potential value proposition too big to ignore. As the forefather of transmedia storytelling, USC Professor Henry Jenkins, likes to say, “If it doesn’t spread, it’s dead.”

TV is on the cusp of a transmedia revolution, and there are many interesting experiments in the works.

Syfy has a show coming out called Defiance where a story is told on TV and in a video game: different cities with shared characters and events.

Tim Kring, one of the modern day pioneers of transmedia with his work on Heroes and Conspiracy for Good, is producing Touch for 2012. Here’s hoping that Fox embraces his rabble-rousing transmedia tendencies.

The next, as yet unachieved milestone in transmedia is collaborative social storytelling, where fans themselves can further the plot in a pervasive, meaningful way. Smart media companies will look for ways to go beyond the “walled garden” model and turn their fans into ultimate brand ambassadors.

Whether transmedia is the new norm is still to be determined, but one can easily make the case that in today’s fragmented media landscape, it will be a must for TV to survive. Perhaps the future of TV isn’t either traditional television or digital platforms, but in collective intelligence — the feedback loop of the in-between.