More Faux Interactivity — Text Your Own Adventure
from the not-so-compelling dept
It’s funny what people who have a “broadcast” mentality think is meant by “interactivity.” Over the past few years, nearly every attempt at “interactive” TV run by broadcasters has been rather… stilted. The latest is a cross with some TV show and Cingular where Cingular customers can send in text messages to try to “influence” the show’s storylines. Yes, it’s basically a big group “text your own adventure.” The idea isn’t all that new, but it’s not particularly compelling either. Text message voting for things like American Idol is popular, because it’s voting on something real — not doing the scriptwriters’ jobs for them. And, of course, the fact that this is only limited to the customers of a single mobile carrier is particularly pointless. If you’re going to offer such a service, at least make it work for everyone.
