I’m a big fan of the so-called “second screen.” I rarely watch sports or any major televised event anymore without my iPhone in hand running Tweetbot. The crowd and their comments always make it more fun.
So one of the first sessions I flagged at ONA 2011 was Live Events: Building the Second Screen, with ESPN’s Patrick Stiegman, and Tyson Evans and Brian Hamman of the New York Times. Both Evans and Hamman were involved in creating the Times‘ second-screen experience for the Oscars, which broke a lot of new ground.
Of course, you have to remember when attending these conferences that a lot of the impressive projects you’re seeing were built with considerable resources. I enjoyed this Twitter exchange between Christopher Anderson and Emily Bell, taking place while Stiegman, Evans and Hamman were still on stage:
@Chanders is the session essentially about live blogging tv ? In uk often dull political shows have become very social via twitter #bbcqt
emily bell
emilybell
@emilybell yes, it is sort of like: liveblogging TV events taken to the next level by NYT / ESPN resources.
Chanders
Chanders
The NYT – 18 people on the Oscars live coverage…blimey what were they all DOING? #ONA11emily bell
emilybell
@emilybell and by resources I obviously mean: “we gotta do something with these 18 people.”Chanders
Chanders
@Chanders they could cover a city of 400k with that, never mind an ossified awards ceremonyemily bell
emilybell
@emilybell a law? “the level of resources devoted by a news org. to an event will be directly proportional (+1) to the # they can spare”Chanders
Chanders
If, like me, you work in a newsroom that can spare maybe four or five digital staff for a federal election, you have to find whatever takeaways you can. Fortunately, there were a few from this session:
- You have to choose the right event for building a second-screen experience. Three elements should be present: a newsworthy spectacle, a highly focused audience, and a desire for participation.
- If you’re small, you can find free off-the-shelf widgets from Twitter, Facebook and CoverItLive that can help you build your second screen.
- Think about which devices will most likely be used to access your second screen and tailor the experience accordingly: laptop? tablet? smartphone?
- Live events have three cycles: event cycle (you report the news) > analysis cycle (your experts add context and evaluate) > conversation cycle (your audience weighs in). Try to make sure each cycle is represented on your second screen.
- Seed the interest and engagement as early as possible before the event. For example, the Times provided an advance Oscars ballot so users could make their predictions, which then came into play on the second screen during the event.
- You need a moderator to facilitate the conversation cycle.
- Assume two things: Half your audience is watching ONLY your second screen, not the actual show; and you will get as many people visiting after the event, or the next day, as you do while it’s live.
