My last post about TiVo’s announced Facebook integration reminded me of a comment I left on their Facebook page several months ago when they asked what users would like to see from such a move.
This is a bit free form since it was an off-the-cuff Facebook comment, but this is what I’d like to see from TiVo integrating with Facebook, and social media in general. It sounds like they’ll actually be covering a few of these bases in the functionality they’ve announced.
Let us *automatically* sync our Season Passes and Auto-Record Wishlists to Facebook and share them with friends – don’t make us maintain a separate list on FB.
Let us recommend shows to FB friends that they can accept and have it automatically setup a recording on their TiVo. You can have it set to manually approve recommendations, or auto-accept all of them. I see these slotting it just above TiVo Suggestions – they only record if nothing else is recording, just like TiVo Suggestions. They delete second – after all TiVo Suggestions are deleted these are deleted. And should have their own ‘Friend’s Suggestions’ group in the NPL.
Let us rate/recommend shows right from the TiVo and have it update our Walls. Even include comments – I could see this helping to sell a few Slide Remotes.
Not directly FB related, but how about integrating support for Miso? https://gomiso.com/ (I don’t use it, but I see a lot of Wall posts from people who do. If I could do it from my TiVo, I might.)
Let me setup special groups of friends, etc, such that our tastes influence each other’s TiVo Suggestions. Or maybe this would be yet another grouping – Hive Mind Suggestions, as it were. So say I have a bunch of anime fan friends, we pool as a group and then the shows they like are more likely to be recorded as Suggestions on my TiVo, and on their TiVos. Basically adding ‘weight’ to their thumb ratings above the general anonymous masses.
Going *way* out there, how about something like Sling’s still born ‘Clip & Sling’ functionality where we can mark a section of a show while watching on our TiVos, then post that clip with a comment. If uploading the video, or otherwise getting the clip, is too much, maybe it offers a link where they can have the same clip highlighted on their TiVo if they have the episode recorded. This would be useful for fans of s show who want to discuss it. Again, sell those TiVo Slide Remotes.
Offer an easy way to create ‘Record this episode’ or ‘Create a Season Pass’ links for people to use in comments – as well as on fan pages for shows, etc. Synergy, if you’ll forgive me.
Oh – Idea for a browser plug-in – ‘Send To TiVo’! When you see a video online that you like it’d let you tell your TiVo at home to download the video and have it waiting for you to watch on the big screen. It wouldn’t work with all videos, but most of them should work with today’s TiVos. This would be more useful as a plug-in for Chrome, Firefox, etc, as it’d work on any site, not just sites you convince to add some button for this, etc.
But the basic ability to update FB status and/or tweet about the show I’m watching (again, nice Slide Remote right here, waiting), while I’m watching it, would probably be what I used most.
So what about you? What kind of integration do you want to see between TiVo and social media? Or are you a curmudgeon who thinks social media is just a passing fad and TiVo shouldn’t waste their time on it?
