Exploring Social Media Scenarios for the Television

The use of social technologies is becoming ubiquitous in the lives of average computer users. However, social media has yet to infiltrate users' television experiences. This paper presents the findings of an exploratory study examining social scenarios for TV. Eleven participants took part in the three-part study that included in-home field visits, a diary study of participants' daily usage of TV and social media, and participatory design sessions. During the participatory design sessions, participants evaluated and discussed several paper wireframes of potential social TV applications. Overall, participants responded to most social TV concepts with excitement and enthusiasm, but were leery of scenarios that they felt violated their privacy.