Anyone who was an early adopter of TiVo will recall how difficult it was to explain digital video recording. It was one of those things that you couldn’t really explain to people. It was something they had to see in action, something that they had to experience to really appreciate the way the technology would change their lives.Today, that’s the uphill battle in front of Google TV, which is preparing for its big launch in the coming weeks.Watching television is one of those near-sacred experiences that some people just don’t want to disrupt – especially with something like Web content. Do you really want tweets or Facebook updates flashing across the screen during a action-packed movie or a laugh-out-loud sitcom? Probably not.But what about during American Idol, the Oscars or the World Series? Hmmm. Maybe you would – after all, there are already a lot of people who are already bringing their own TV commentary to live, event television via Facebook feeds and Twitter blasts.Just for a minute, though, put aside how Google TV will make the experience more interactive. Forget, for a moment, how Google will do a better job than the old TV ratings system to determine what you like or don’t like on TV, when you start channel surfing for something else or which shows you might watch several times. And, of course, don’t think about how Google – the advertising company – will use all of this data to serve up ads that are supposed to be relevant to you.Instead, just consider for a moment how Google TV will bridge the worlds of television and Web video and bring them together to alter your television-viewing experience.
It’s revolutionary.
In a blog post yesterday, Google highlighted the partners who are excited about “how they can use the Google TV platform to personalize, monetize and distribute their content in new ways.” Most, the company noted, already work with Google TV but many want to “further enhance their premium web content for TV viewing.” Among those on-board early: NBC Universal, HBO, Turner Broadcasting and the NBA. In the post, the company also noted that it had created a special web site devoted to Google TV. On that site, Google explained why Google TV will change the video viewing experience: