Telebuddies on the move: social stitching to enhance the networked gaming experience

Abstract

In this paper we report on our work to enable "laid-back" social interactions using television as a primary interaction medium and mobile devices that participate as a secondary medium. By integrating semantic web techniques with interactive television we were able to create smart applications that can run as extensions of television shows and stimulate groups of users to communicate. Participants are teamed up to play along with a television show. Teams are composed based on common ground, which can be shared interests as well as shared characteristics that can be found between the users. Participating is possible using a set-top box or a mobile device; this allows people that are co-located and share a television set to participate individually. The usage of a mobile device to participate does not require a television set however: users on the move can also play along in a team. Our system does not require a new television format, but is also able to reuse existing television shows and socialize them in order to be re-broadcasted with support for distributed teams that play along with the show.