One of the main features of Web 2.0 is its ability to create virtual communities, allowing us to link in with friends and people with similar interests from all over the world.
Once upon a time, TV was also something that linked people – colleagues would chat about what happened in Eastenders the night before, who’d seen the documentary about the man with no face etc etc. People watched the same things at the same times. Now, with new internet technologies like iplayer, 4OD, itv catch up, viewing times are much more flexible – which perhaps means that more people overall can watch the shows, but the communal aspect is gone.
TV on our own terms is great, but it does lose the ‘community’ aspect of everyone watching one thing at the same time. On Wednesday I was faced with the choice of cinema or The Apprentice – despite knowing I could watch it on iplayer when I wanted, I chose The Apprentice – if anything exciting happened I didn’t want to be a day behind, and I didn’t want to know the name of the evictee before watching. Sad? Very. I’d been thinking about blogging about it but decided I was too embarrassed to admit my couch potato behaviour – but then I read Mark Lawson’s article in the Guardian and now I know I’m not the only one!
Despite my reluctance to watch iplayer on this occasion, I think these technologies are great – it gives us the choice – whether to opt into the communal watching experience or not. Watching it later is better than missing it altogether!
