Inauguration Brings Forth Social Television

This Monday’s inauguration of Barack Obama brought forth a new way in which users interact—through watching television. News giant, CNN (among other news websites) streamed the inauguration live via their websites. CNN Live allowed users to integrate Facebook into the inauguration experience, which made for a very social experience.

Users were able to watch the inauguration and post comments simultaneously. According to reports, “CNN is reporting 13.9 million streams by 11:45 a.m., up from a previous live-streaming high of 5.3 million streams on election day. Facebook [states that] 600,000 status updates were posted to the CNN.com Live Facebook feed by 12:30 p.m. (around the time Obama’s speech was ending). During the minute Obama began his speech, there were 8,500 status updates”. As more and more users flock to the Internet to watch programs or events that are normally broadcasted on television, can we anticipate a more social viewing experience?