Television: Facebook's next frontier?

<p style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter" src="http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/3641/wagnerbirminghamauditio.jpg" /></p><br/>Facebook's plans for world domination are continuing apace, with the social network nudging the television industry to use its Events check-in facility for their programming.<br/><br/>The ability for users to check-in to events using Facebook Places is fairly new and in the vein of the likes of location-based networking sites like FourSquare.<br/><br/>But Facebook says that TV programmers are missing a trick by not setting each show as a Facebook Event and allowing users to check in whenever they are watching.<br/><br/><strong>Passionate screaming over <em>Top Gear</em>?</strong><br/><br/>Facebook's head of international business development, Christian Hernandez Gallardo, said:<br/><br/>"You begin to create these hubs where you can take the passionate screaming and bring them together, because you realise that 10 of your friends are watching <em>Top Gear</em> at the same time.<br/><br/>"We've talked to broadcasters about putting their whole EPG as events on Facebook, and letting people RSVP to them to get a reminder."<br/><br/>While we can't endorse the watching of <em>Top Gear</em>, we can understand Facebook wanting to steal the social aspect of TV watching away from Twitter.<br/><br/><strong><em>X Factor</em> effect</strong><br/><br/>As anyone who follows anyone who watches <em>X Factor</em> will know, there are certain times when Twitter becomes a no-go zone due to the sheer volume of updates about the current show.<br/><br/>Social networks have become the modern-day 'watercooler' for discussing must-watch TV shows, which aren't often watched by all at the same time in today's post-PVR, on-demand world.<br/><br/>But it's not just television events that Facebook has its eye on. Hernandez continued, "The thing I'm dying to make social is the EPG."<br/><br/>By using a Facebook ID, people would be able to log-in to their futuristic digital programme guides and see what their friends are watching, as well as getting personalised recommendations based on the programmes they have 'Liked' in the past.<br/><br/>Whether or not this remains a Facebook pipe-dream remains to be seen, but with televisions becoming ever-more connected, we wouldn't be surprised to see the Facebook EPG become a reality in the near future.

Television: Facebook's next frontier?

Facebook's plans for world domination are continuing apace, with the social network nudging the television industry to use its Events ch...

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