Personalisation and NMTs
When considering the implications of new media technologies words like ‘choice’ and ‘control’ are commonly used. Key characteristics of technologies such as multi-channel television, digital radio, and online shops like Amazon and the Apple iTunes store are diversity and selectable choices. The question you need to answer, as a student of new media technologies, is whether this is a good thing or is it rather limiting? Is a personalised media diet good for us?
Personalised shopping
Regular shoppers at Amazon may be delighted and horrified in equal measure by the accuracy of its recommendations function. ‘Shoppers who bought … also liked …’ is an attractive feature and is now available at the Apple iTunes store. The entire catalogue of songs can be accessed for a thirty-second preview and, as with the Amazon service, has a list of suggested artists based on previous purchasing patterns. The way in which quite specific tastes can be second-guessed is a powerful idea. When coupled with the instant preview facilities it is like a friend advising (and, importantly, validating) every media purchase you make. Already, the cynical will have realised the potential for recommendations to be based on the amount a company pays in advertising rather than your personal tastes.
Personal Video Recorders
Personalised service is now available on television too. Possibly the best example of the concept of personalisation is the Personal Video Recorder or PVR. Sky+ in the UK and TiVO in the US and UK are the two leading brands you may have come across. Sky’s current advertising offers viewers a power long dreamt of: ‘Create your own TV channel’.
PVRs use computer technology to record television programmes onto an internal hard-disc. Functions such as basic recording, the recording of whole series, the pausing of live television and recording one channel whilst watching another are all made possible. With Sky+ the facility to record two channels at once is promised soon. Try getting your VCR to do that. More interesting for media studies students is the ability to let your box record similar programmes that you might like. The box builds up an idea of the kind of programmes you have watched and recorded then compares this to a database of other viewers with similar viewing tastes. The telephone connection is vital to this function. The BBC and TiVO attracted negative publicity for their joint attempt to capitalise on the potential of the technology when they sent a signal telling all TiVO boxes in the UK to record the first episode of Dossa and Joe, a new sitcom written by Caroline Aherne. This kind of promotion is clearly innovative and yet a little too intrusive for most; the idea of our viewing being so directly controlled is too much. The role of the PVR in shaping a personalised media experience is potentially revolutionary. As I’ve explored before in previous editions of MediaMagazine, the traditionally immovable nature of schedules is being seriously challenged by new media technologies. For those using services such as BBC radio online and PVRs, pausing live broadcasts is widespread practice. The more control users appear to have the more personalised the service seems.
PVR take up has been relatively slow. One argument is that PVRs, like DVD recorders, aren’t that new in terms of their basic function of recording programmes for viewing at a later date. Sky’s emphasis on personalising your own television channel is clearly a step towards correcting that misconception. Selling the notion of personalisation is likely to be successful eventually, especially given the growing expectation of personalised service in many other aspects of life.
‘Variety show’ scheduling
The days of the variety show are gone, it would seem. No longer are huge audiences attracted to mixed bag offerings of comedians, musicians and magicians. It won’t be long before variety show scheduling is a thing of the past too. Even ignoring PVRs, multi-channel television itself has done much to undermine the mixed bag approach. Audiences may be smaller for niche channels but their viewing is likely to be more committed, partly because the channel is showing little other than their programmes. Why will audiences sit through what they don’t like? Certainly not because ‘there’s nothing else on’. This may have been true when there were just two, or three, or four channels, but not anymore. Audiences have come to expect a personalised experience and as such may now be less receptive to programming that doesn’t suit their personal tastes. This pick-and-mix approach isn’t restricted to lower tastes, either. Arts, film and science programming on dedicated channels is further evidence of the expectation of a personalised experience. Unless your remote control is broken, why would you endure programmes you wouldn’t normally watch?
What now?
You should be on the lookout for more instances of ‘personalisation’, although if the current trend continues this won’t be a difficult task. Giving audiences exactly what they want, even if they don’t know what it is yet, seems to be the latest marketing drive for many technology products. Quiz DVDs in which you’re the contestant, websites edited by users and a ‘personalised homepage’ are just a few of the recent examples. Where will it end? Perhaps you’ll decide.
Glossary
Hard-disc - A device used to store computerised data, which includes video games, music files, video recordings and image files.
PVR - A personal video recorder. Using an internal hard-disc these record television without the need for tapes. They can also learn to pre-empt your viewing habits.
