Social Media

The amount of social activity surrounding prime-time TV has nearly tripled year over year, said Mark Ghuneim, CEO of social TV tracking service Trendrr.tv. We spoke with him earlier this week at the Ad Age Social TV conference about Trendrr.TV’s latest findings in social TV.

Social TV newcomer Viggle has amassed more than 625,000 registered users four months after launch and is gearing up to add several new features shortly, the company says. Beet.TV caught up with Viggle's Jason Reindorp, VP of Marketing at Viggle, at the Ad Age Social TV in Manhattan on Wednesday.

While the two-screen experience (TV and handheld or laptop) is the predominent platform for social TV interaction, in the future, viewing and social interaction will be integrated into one screen, says Jordan Bitterman who heads up the social marketing practice at the global digital media shop Digitas.

CBS Interactive's vast number of Facebook fans and Twitter followers now source 15 percent of the site's video views says VP and General Manager Marc DeBevoise in his interview with Beet.TV

The New York Times Company has released a new digital program called Ricochet, helping brands better meet audience needs by attaching advertising to Times content says Michael Zimbalist, VP of Research and Development, in his interview with Beet.TV

LAS VEGAS — Kit Digital, the big global, Prague-based provider of digital video services, has introduced a set of social media tools to its platform at the NAB Show this week.

The Washington Post has launched a branded StumbleUpon page, a powerful crowd-sourced recommendation engine, the paper announced last night.

LONDON – With the invasion of Iraq some 10 years ago, the BBC began to solicit listener comments around big news stories via text and email contributions in a effort called "World Have Your Say."

VIEQUES, PR – -The upside for Pinterest, what Fortune calls an "insanely addictive" media tool, is its appeal to women users, says Joy Marcus, venture partner with the global powerhouse Draper Fisher Jurvetson in this segment from the Beet.TV Executive Retreat.

WASHINGTON – Rob Malda, aka CmdrTaco, co-founder and former editor-in-chief of Slashdot has joined the The Washington Post Company's WaPo Labs as Chief Strategist and Editor-at-Large.

Global video management software firm KIT Digital has created a "social" TV electronic program guide, says KIT's Alan Wolk, Global Lead Analyst in this video interview. 

TV and tweeting goes hand in hand. Nearly half of smartphone or tablet owners 18 to 24 are frequently discussing TV shows on social networks while watching TV, according to Futurescape.

MONACO — With the recent introduction of the Open Graph Platform, Facebook has become a “massive distribution mechanism for video on the Web,” says Christian Hernandez, Director of Platform Partnerships for Europe, Middle East and Africa, in this interview with Beet.TV.

SAN FRANCISCO — Digital media company Specific Media plans to rebuild the recently acquired MySpace into a home for music  aficionados, said Matt Wasserlauf, Executive VP of Video Platform & Services at Specific Media in an interview with Beet.TV at the recent OMMA Video conference.

As video publishers seek to gain audience on Facebook, some provide sharable links and others provide full episode, in-line video players. Bloomberg is using a hybrid.

SAN FRANCISCO — Given the massive consumer interest in the usage of social media, AOL looks for ways to weave social sharing elements into many of its branded videos, said Karen Cahn, VP for Branded Partnerships for Branded Experiences at AOL in this interview with Beet.TV.

Brands like Zappos, who are using rough and authentic user-generated video are finding traction on Facebook, where slick production does not necessarily work, says Dan Reich, Dirctor of Account Manager at Buddy Media.

More and more publishers are using Facebook as a content distribution point. They are finding high engagement and now can understand performance and the demographics, says Ooyala's President of Products Bismarck Lepe in this interview with Beet.TV.

Social media buzz can translate into higher ratings for a TV show, according to a report from NM Incite, a Nielsen/McKinsey company.

HOLLYWOOD  — Creators should carefully outline a social media and Web optimization strategy to help grow their video audiences, said Max Benator and Margaret Laney with the talent management studio Collective Digital Studio.