ITV and Clay Shirky

I was at home ill today and I was watching something on the ITV iPlayer thing.

When the ads came on, this little graphic appeared in the bottom right hand corner.

Why don't they do that on real telly? That would be good wouldn't it? It would be helpful, useful.

It reminds me of something Clay did at SXSW that really stuck with me; at the start of his talk his said he was going to talk about three things and then listed what they were. That kind of sign posting is very effective. Smart and helpful. It gives you an idea where you are in the talk, it stops you getting bored. It helps pace your expecations. ITV could learn from that.

 

 

Comments

[Chris]

I teach English as a Foreign Language, and over the past year or so I've started headlining my lessons with a very concise statement as to what they'll be learning that lesson - it helps everyone focus, and reminds all of us that they're there to learn.

[Mike Reed]

Absolutely, Ben.

Separately, what an interesting brand point: 'ITV iPlayer thing'. That just shows how deeply embedded the BBC has made 'iPlayer' as a brand. As with Biro and Hoover, iPlayer has become for many people a generic term, not a specific brand. (Which cuts both ways, of course.)

ITV's is actually just called ITV Player - a name so uninspired and lazily close to iPlayer that they only have themselves to blame. At least Channel 4 came up with 4oD, and even Five managed Demand Five.

[Ben]

Yes Mike, that's a very good point.

[James Darling]

Here's a somewhat overly-aggressive argument against:

TV is a warm, comfortable medium, where decisions are made for you so you can relax. Not only do you lack a plethora of choices, you don't want them. You're in the passenger seat and you can sit back and enjoy the view.

The web is a cold harsh medium, where you're in control. Not only do you have a near infinite number of choices to make, you actively hunt through them to find the next adventure.

In the comfort of TV, who wants to be reminded of time passing, choices to be made? I'm not here to be rational. Stop trying to be 'useful' (aka interfering), I'm perfectly happy the way I am.

On the web, who wants to sit and watch an unknown number of adverts, when there's a whole world wide web out there to go play in. Why am I here again? oo, progress bar!