September 2011
From a Demonstration Experiment of “teleda”- a TV Review SNS Site (Part II)
Koji Ogawa / Keiko Murakami / Yoko Watanabe
The NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute has constructed a test website “teleda” (temporary name) and conducted a demonstration experiment in an attempt to create an online communication space (public forum) mediated by broadcast programs by combining SNS and VOD.
“teleda” was constructed in order to provide a “public forum” that work as a bridge between each individual or between individual and society, using television as the starting point. The construction of vertical and horizontal circuits utilizing SNS aims to create a multi-layered and multihued forum. The authors examine specific characteristics of communication between users which were observed in the demonstration experiment, based on actual posts on “teleda” as well as on answers to open-ended questions in the post-experiment questionnaire, to overview the possibility and challenge of the “public forum teleda” mediated by program viewing.
In this experiment, while a large number of posts were induced by music and variety shows, posting longer sentences and active communication between viewers were induced by news programs and documentaries, suggesting in the environment where VOD and SNS are combined TV programs can expand communication and lead to wider and deeper program-viewing. However, a “wall” between those actively involved in communication and those not was found. Besides, it was revealed that communities tend to be “segmented or polarized” by program genre. To solve these issues, a moderator function was introduced. As a result, some users appreciated this function to a certain extent, but others felt there should be more multifaceted and higher responsibilities. For the future, it will be necessary to foster experts such as net directors who serve as the moderator. Furthermore, in this experiment we offered a “columnist” community in an attempt to build a foundation for program reviews, but it did not attract attention of users as much as we had expected. The key factor for this outcome seems to be that the custom of viewing programs critically and verbalizing one’s thoughts to discuss with others is yet to be established among users. Given this, constructing a “vertical” circuit that allows users to communicate with producers will be of key importance. Clarification of subjects will enable users to remark on contents more easily. For producers, programs’ exposure to criticism will serve as good opportunity to improve the contents. We will keep improving the website in order to expand the possibility of creating “public forum” with better understanding of production frontline.