Can you connect to social networks on a smart TV?

As its inauguration in 2004, ‘Facebook’ has made it as an enormous success story, albeit not one without controversy. Plenty of controversy. But I am not here to talk about that. I am here to let you know a little about social networking and why it is a welcome addition to any Smart TV.

In many ways taking off through the now elapsed ‘Myspace’ and the excess of imitators it left in its wake, Facebook emerged as champion of the social networks, (until the next one comes along, that is). Facebook has conquered the Internet using a smart exploitation of these three ever-reliable concepts: 

1)         People love talking about other people, particularly secretly.

2)         Folks are exceedingly fond of and poking their noses into the lifestyles of other people.

3)         People’s unquenchable self attention, which, when fuelled by Facebook, is narcissism on steroids.

Facebook is the amazing tool and one that has quickly tailored itself to smart phones, portable devices and now, even Television. Ultimately, Myspace was the cumbersome Neanderthal, who, even though being popular, smarter and more powerful than Homo Sapiens, succumbed to that receding ice age somewhat speedily, failing to adapt to a world he could no longer recognize. Facebook, conversely, was the eventual Cro Magnon victor, shaking in a cave throughout Neanderthal’s time, he emerged over on the warm plains of the modern-day and, either directly or indirectly, eradicated his rival before moving within the altering technology and times, to the point he might sit at his writing table and update his status several times a day.

‘Twitter’ is a particularly small site that acts sort of a miniature Facebook. Users have a number of words to broadcast their actions, opinion and/or feelings to a world that typically doesn’t care unless its worried that it is being cheated on. However, while celebrated people on Facebook tend to not update their pages, on Twitter the user can follow (and sometimes communicate with) the behavior of Hollywood luminaries, celebrities, sports stars and other notable individuals, who are often surprisingly frank about their day by day lives.

Facebook and Twitter are both big ones, but there’s others, more than I can add up that follow a similar basic model but specialise in a different area (LinkedIn, for example, deals with business interactions a lot more than personal ones). Many websites co-exist with Facebook nowadays, feeding off their scraps like remoras on the back of the Tiger Shark. With most online content, there’s even an choice to ‘Like’ it, consequently adding it to your Facebook page (when you look carefully at this page, you will almost definitely find one, which serves to highlight just how all-encompassing Facebook’s presence is.

Smart TV, recognising the ubiquity of such sites plus the emphasis that modern online business places on this ubiquity, has Facebook, Twitter (and other social network websites) available for download. This means that you might have full (or nearly full) access to your Facebook account and update it without maybe going to the computer. Last night, I had to update my own Facebook to say that I was watching, for what needs to be the hundredth time, the movie ‘The 40 Year Old Virgin’ I could have simply done it throughout a tea break in the movie itself instead of aiming to do it and ultimately forgetting, as I essentially did.

When you’re wondering how folks are doing and you need up-to-the-minute advice, Facebook is usually the place to go. Facebook the site is free to use, is the Smart TV app at time of writing and is an excellent comms tool, especially for people you do not actually know that well. These days, people alter their mobile numbers every point three of a second, so Facebook remains one reliable way to ensure you can consistantly keep in touch.  I like to think of it as a really poorly written newspaper, where the headlines are a little sunnier, a great deal less biased and contain individuals I essentially give a damn about.  

Can you connect to social networks on a smart TV?

What form of catchup shows are free on a smart Television

I’m sure the younger readers perusing this article won’t think this by any means, but there was a time, not too far in the past, where the only content you can watch on TV was whatever happened to be on at the time. It was a time before the VCR, before DVD, before iPlayer…A absolute land before time.

Rather than today’s reference rag, got more out of habit than necessity and then callously crumpled under the coffee table, the Television Guide was once a holy document, a scripture being savoured and pondered upon for a complete week, ahead of little sections and pictures were cropped, with fantastic care and attention, and pasted into scrapbooks so that whole family could re-live their favourite episodes of ‘The Avengers’ that might not again be broadcast for decades.

When VHS came along, listeners lastly had the choice to control their content. Actually, this Promethean innovation allowed us to record Television shows, just in case we had to go out. We could even buy our favorite shows and replay them to our heart’s content, though you’re limited to the number of series you can purchase, because the pesky things were big enough to develop an annex from, and still have enough for a patio plus a loft extension (which is just what we did down my street – It boosted the home value in the region for a good six months before anybody noticed that the new master bedroom was made out of old copies of ‘Under Siege’).

When DVD arrived, followed by downloadable content, it saved space and it made the guy in the commercials go “whoa!” like Keanu Reeves receiving an Eskimo roll right up the you-know-what. The challenge was that TV very much catered solely to its own timetable, as opposed to yours.

The BBC iPlayer and its ilk tainted even this. Does watching ‘Mock The Week’ conflict along with your sophisticated catering class? Well, now you can watch it on whatever night of the week you prefer, which is beautiful as, in possible of that particular show, watching older DVDs can make you flinch at once hilarious Jade Goody or Amy Winehouse gags which are now…not so novel.

On-Demand programmes also includes shows streamed on the Internet, something your Smart TV will now pick up a lot better than your PC will. This consists of Net-only TV shows as well as Self-sufficient, user-created content such as you can find on Youtube, Dailymotion or Vimeo (most of which have downloadable Smart TV applications). Using apps offered by businesses like Amazon or Netflix, that were initially developed specifically for the World wide web, you are able to even rent the latest films directly to your Television watching them anytime you prefer and in no way having to fret about getting up early to deliver the box back to Blockbusters on your route to work.

On Demand shows basically means that if it is out there, the chances are it is possible to watch it. Smart TV means you can watch whatever you wish; however you want, whenever you want. That’s right, you call the shots. Now, whenever you ask out the girl from the chippie and she says “I can’t that night cos Emmerdale’s on” you will not have to creep home disappointed. Instead, you can simply suggest she catches up with it at another time.

Smart TV basically remakes you, the viewer, into the master of your entertainment destiny. You will choose from literally anything one can imagine and watch it anytime you like. You could even watch your Uncle Gordon’s holiday videos…But the beauty is that it is not the only thing that is on. In my opinion, I would sooner track down and re-watch ‘Demolition Man’. 

What form of catchup shows are free on a smart Television