Do the Couch Potatoes have to dominate everything?

Written by Jennifer Martinez
Posted Friday, August 28, 2009 at 1:58 PM PT

Here’s some good news for couch potatoes: IBM is developing a remote control that lets you blog and tweet while you’re watching TV, according to the Baltimore Sun. Big Blue filed a patent for the remote control back in April.

It’s just the latest example of how TV is becoming more social. Verizon FiOS subscribers can now view Facebook and Twitter widgets on their TVs, and earlier this summer, Vizio said people will be able to access the two social sites through its new televisions. As Liz Gannes explains on GigaOM Pro (subscription required):

The best technology solution for those solitary couch potatoes isn’t particularly wacky or paradigm-changing, but that’s kind of the charm. Put simply, it’s text chat. It’s not a difficult concept for either users and providers. We all know how to IM with friends, and TVs and computer monitors are quickly becoming one and the same. Now it’s just a question of when and how your conversations with friends will overlay your TV watching.

With IBM’s device, whenever you want to share comments about what you’re watching, you’ll have the option of choosing from a list of pre-loaded comments or writing your own. The remote control will also let you take a picture of the program you’re watching and insert it into the post.

Once the patent is finally approved (a process that isn’t known for its speed), we’ll have an alternative to today’s “two-screen solutions” — or chatting on your laptop while watching TV.

© 2009, Alex Crabtree. All rights reserved.