Scousers taking over ‘zee box’

I’ve been obsessed with zeebox ever since I downloaded it a few weeks ago on my iPad. For anyone who doesn’t know it it’s a really clever app that allows you to seamlessly tune into twitter comments, audience popularity stats and “live zeetags” – further information provided in real time on content or issues mentioned – for a TV programme airing at any given time. It’s sheer genius. It’s heralded as “the best thing to happen to TV since TV,” – quite a statement of intent!

Now I’m not one for reality TV but when I heard that Desperate Scousewives represented a world first in dual screen viewing via a tie up between zeebox and E4 I knew that  I needed to force myself to consume some rubbish TV so that I could be in on the action. The fact that DS took place in my home town simply added to the appeal.

Now don’t get me wrong, there were some really clever things happening. In real time as a piece of music was used I had the chance – via the relevant tag appearing – to buy that track instantly via iTunes. No more frustrating waiting until the credits rolled at the end of the programme to find out what that great snippet of music was – that’s assuming they bothered to reference it at all – so many programmes never do.

It got better; as places such as bars, restaurants and shops were mentioned during the programme they instantly appeared on a Google map within the app. And for those who found the Scouse lingo impenetrable there was a handy instant translation tool.

These and other fancy tricks that zeebox and E4 had developed around the programme content were pretty damn awe inspiring. Yet I was left with  a huge sense of unease. Desperate Scousewives itself was pretty appalling. The constant stream of  hashtagged tweets showed me that I wasn’t alone in my views. Why therefore had zeebox and E4 collaborated to produce a tool that was so stunning around content that was so crap? As a demonstration of the potential of the technology it was brilliant but the banality of the content, which was neither entertaining – excepting the various references to ahem, “beauty” uses of household bleach – nor engaging, was mind-blowing. It made Katie Price look like Einstein. Will it be used as a sticking plaster to mask bad TV? Can we expect a future where interactive trickery of this kind takes preference over quality programme making? Let’s hope not.

Which got me thinking – there are some programmes that lend themselves to the zeebox experience better than others. Of course those scheduling fixtures that demand participation such as X Factor, Strictly and the Eurovision are natural zeebox bedfellows. But what of those programmes that demand a greater concentration?  Admittedly while I like to know what others might be thinking about said film or piece of expressionist art, when viewing this type of content I find myself leaning towards the trusty box in the corner as my main screen and hence my key focus. I know that I might be in the minority camp but I really cannot see a time when, as some predict, the second screen, be it tablet or mobile, will become the dominant of the two screens. Complementary at times, yes. I can’t help feeling that it’s a bit like reading a critique of a novel without having read the novel itself. And most of us know that our teachers generally found us out!

That said, despite the hardly taxing nature of Desperate Scousewives I did find it hard to concentrate simultaneously on the programme itself and the information that zeebox was relentlessly chucking at me.  Shame on me – I didn’t even have a lack of familiarity with the accent or Scouse lingo to blame. Maybe my multi-taking skills are just not up to scratch. And do you know what, while I love zeebox, there’s a time and a place for vegging out and letting content wash all over you without having to react or think too hard. TV does that better than any other media.