TVissimo | Internet and Television Convergence Discussion Blog

Twitter May be Joining Reality TV

Twitter may be coming to a television near you according to the Hollywood Reporter. Reveille and Brillstein Entertainment Partners have announced they have partnered with the social-networking and micro-blogging service to develop the first TV series that incorporates Twitter into the action of the show.

The series is created by novelist Amy Ephron, sister of Nora and Delia Ephron, It will feature ordinary people competing while on the trail of celebrities. The Hollywood reporter wrote that the untitled series will be executive produced by Reveille managing directors Mark Koops and Howard T. Owens, Brillstein CEO Jon Liebman and Lee Kernis, Ephron, Kevin J. Foxe and Steven Latham.

"Twitter is transforming the way people communicate -- especially celebrities and their fans," Owens said. Some people feel that the introduction of celebrities has compromised Twitter, others feel that it has given it more exposure. Perhaps both are right but this will certainly take the exposure a step further.

More on Convergence of the Web and TV

Gant Robertson wrote on the movement from the Web to your TV set in the Globe and Mail. He noted that Aux TV will become what is believed to be the first Internet broadcaster to be converted to an actual television station in Canada about a year after it was created online. He added that the “Internet has always been seen as the next frontier for television, but the move by Aux marks a shift in the other direction, where a channel is tested first online, then draws enough of an audience that the cable companies want in.”

We see this movement in both directions continuing as the distinction between TV and the Web continues to blur. They are both channel for video based content and increasingly they are carrying some of the same content. Each channel influences the other. It is nice to see the movement go the other way with Aux TV. Grant notes that In the “fiercely competitive world of television, where dozens of prospective broadcasters vie for placement on the dial, ideas can be tested online without having to first convince regulators or cable and satellite distributors.”

The Web opens up a great sandbox for the low cost exploration of concepts for television. Then the successful ones can migrate to TV and then back again through vehicles like HUlu and Joost. Some high-profile investors are betting on this through Aux TV, including Toronto venture capital firm JLA Ventures and several well-known names in the broadcasting sector, who combined to inject $5-million of capital. I think they are making a safe bet on the trend. We will have to see if the content on Aux TV makes them a real success story.

David Purdy, vice-president of television services at Rogers, expects to see more of the Aux TV model. He is quoted, "I think you're going to see an increasing cross-pollination from TV to PC, and PC to TV…And ultimately everything is going to be available on a mobile device. So where something started, which platform it started out on, is probably not as important." Wise words.

What Television Audiences Can You Reach with Twitter?

I came across an interesting article, TV Twittering: a Subtle Art by Daisy Whitney on TVWeek. She wrote about the social media campaign that Fox ran to promote the TV show, Prison Break. In this case, the studio posted clues on social forums rather than issuing a blatant promotional message. Daisy pointed out this effort was consistent with the findings of a study that suggests networks will likely have more success using social networks for brand building, as Fox did, than for directly driving audience.

The research firm Knowledge Networks reports that Twitter is best used by TV networks to connect to influential people, such as bloggers, reporters and critics, than it is to encourage viewers to tune in at 8 p.m. Despite Twitter's meteoric rise, the service is still only accessed regularly by a small percentage of the population. A recent Nielsen study found that 60% of people who sign up for the service stop using it after one month.

Of course that means that 40% continue and that percentage is becoming part of a bigger pie. However, David Tice, vice president of the media practice at Knowledge Networks was quoted by Daisy, "With Twitter, people don't succeed with the hard sell. It needs to be more subtle.”

This TV story is consistent with what I am seeing in other areas. For example, Wyndstorm used Twitter and a variety of other social media to promote, Moogis, an Allman Brothers inspired music site where you can see concerts among other things. Wyndstorm felt was likely that many of the Allman Brothers fan base are not avid social media users. So they reached out through social media to the people who know have a strong reach to this audience such as Twitter followers of Rolling Stone magazine, bloggers and PR people in the music space, message boards in social networks that fit the demographics of an Allman Brothers fan, and the web communities of similar bands.

Wyndstorm began Twitter conversations (through twitter/moogis) with 50 people in this space that also included NFL radio stations, TV syndicates and IPTV sites, as well as retail ticket sites. After this Twitter campaign and the other social media efforts, 58% incoming traffic to the Moogis site came from sites where they did not have ads and this is not typical.

So they used Twitter to reach influencers and it worked. However, they needed to have an appealing message and product. At least, the Allman Brothers appeals to me. This will not work if all you are offering are the get rich quick on Twitter schemes that seem to be expanding.

Being subtle is also is also key, as I have heard from many others (see for example, Central Desktop Using Twitter for Sales, Service, and Brand Monitoring Conversations).

Social Media Changing Late Night TV Landscape and More

Josh Catone of Mashable recently posted an interesting article, How Social Media is Changing the Late Night TV Landscape. New “Late Night” host Jimmy Fallon is someone you understands the power of social media. His debut was one of the best for a late night show, beating Ferguson’s 2005 premiere, and Jimmy Kimmel’s debut on ABC in 2003. Josh suggests that one of the reasons Fallon might be doing so well, so quickly, is his superior use of social media compared to his competitors.

One of the reasons Fallon might be doing so well, so quickly, is his superior use of social media compared to his competitors. Jimmy is one of the most followed people on Twitter, with just over a million followers. He is how according to Josh:

“In January, when Twitter’s traffic was about 25% of what it is today and largely made up of a more tech-oriented audience, Fallon began making key appearances on web sites whose users are generally active in social media. His CES video with Engadget editor Joshua Topolsky received over 100,000 views, for example, and a week after that he appeared on geek-favorite web video show Diggnation. Later, Fallon invited Diggnation hosts Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht on his show as guests during its first week, and helped turned a random audience member into a Twitter star (that person’s follower count went from 7 to over 30,000 in just a couple of days). He also won the 2009 “Webby Person of the Year” award for being the celebrity who is “most actively engaging with his audience online.”

This is a brilliant case study and stands in sharp contrast to Dave Letterman’s luddite approach. Why does this matter? Look at what Josh goes on to say: Fallen’s efforts “could be very valuable down the road as more eyeballs shift from the television screen to the computer screen. Because make no mistake, that is slowly happening. In February, Nielsen — the company that measures TV audience numbers — released their first-ever web TV rankings, because as Nielsen Online CEO John Burbank said, people are “using the web like it’s a giant DVR.”

This is spot on and what we are saying here, TV and the Web will merge. Those that understand this will emerge the winners.

Until Now Robust Search Has Mostly Bypassed Television Schedules

I am still amazed at how important Search has become in many different areas, with the exception of television scheduling. This is an area that is becoming more complex, is very dynamic, and quite localized. Searching for Television programming has been a need since the early 80s, when the number of channels and programming exploded as a result of service coming through cable delivering about 40 channels at first, becoming several hundreds today.

Until the arrival of the Internet fifteen years ago, the search activity was nothing more than sequential browsing while reading a printed quide. Since searches for TV shows are performed daily by the large majority of the population, this activity is a widespread need. However, so far has not created the technologically feasible sophisticated solution

As most of us still look for television programming in a browsing mode, almost as if we were reading TV guide online, on-screen, or even on paper. Some people still do that literally, one technology investor said he pays $40 per year to DirectTV for a monthly printed guide he uses to find his program. When asked how he finds programs to watch, he said he reads the list from A to Z to mark the shows/ movies he intends to watch.

This was the challenge we decided to solve a year and a half ago when we embarked on creating TVissimo. This new website search tool provides a unified, fast and robust “Google-style” search, focused specifically on the channels and offerings of your specific television service provider at your residence or business,

The unified search interface displays both scheduled TV shows, as well as programming from online video providers like Hulu, Joost, TidalTV and others. The tool also focuses on the future convergence of the Internet and your living room Television, where your remote becomes your mouse and an on-screen keyboard becomes your input device. In that mode of operation, having your searches stored and accessible by a single click will make you searches faster and easier to perform repeatedly.

Twitter Search vs. Google

I recently came across an interesting article, Twitter and Local Search: A Status Update, by Michael Boland, Search Engine Watch. Michael conveyed the idea that Twitter search brings structure to all the noise on the Web with an index of real time conversations. I agree and now, at times, I get better results on a niche topic through Twitter search than through Google.

Michael points out that while Google spiders are quick to index new content, it still takes hours or days rather than seconds. He adds that's perfectly okay if you're researching a new flat-screen TV, or the history of Mongolia.

But it could be less effective in emergency situations or where to get the best pizza in San Francisco. Twitter search covers conversation, while Google search covers topics. Search is becoming more refined and spreading to more areas. It is the second most common activity on the Web after email. Search needs to continue to evolve to stay up with the rest of the Web. But really struck me was one of the last paragraphs.

“… So what's the message for search engines? Don't become the yellow pages, having gotten fat and happy from years as a de facto standard. Search was born on the heels of other online media, such as email and content portals. Keep sight of how things have evolved and how they'll continue to grow…”

This triggered some thoughts about the state of search for television schedules that we will discuss in our next post. In the meanwhile, when do you use Google search and when do you use twitter search. What has been your experience?

Google TV Ads Goes Online

Google recently announced the beta launch of Google TV Ads Online. This new feature of Google TV Ads lets advertisers place commercials into the ad breaks of TV programs watched online. It works in the same way as Google TV Ads: advertisers can target specific programs and select their cost-per-thousand (CPM) bid. Based on their targets, budget and bid, ads are inserted in the same program breaks that were designed for advertising when the programs first aired.

As Google notes, “these days, many full-length television programs are also available for Internet users to watch online. These programs may appear in various places, including the websites of the networks which originally broadcast them and on other sites that specialize in video content.” This extension of Google TV Ads allows an advertiser to reach the audience of a particular program, no matter whether they're watching on a television or online. This is a good idea.

American Idol Continues to Rake in the Cash

Despite declining ratings and a declining economy, American Idol continues to grow its profits according to a recent New York Times article, No Slowing in Cash Flow for ‘Idol.’ There are lessons learned here as “the manner that the show’s creators are going about it could change the way that producers and broadcast networks think about the longevity of reality television programs.”

The NYTs reports that it is generating ever-growing profits for the show’s creators and, it appears, for Fox Broadcasting through brand extensions, marketing arrangements and licensing fees. There are products as varied as ice cream and trading cards. While its rating has declined form a peak of 30 million to about 25 million, it is still the top rated show on television. Producers say it could go on forever. What do you think?

Television Trivia Sites

We recently discovered this sites that focus on television trivia and offer quizzes. Hope you find some of them fun.

Absurd Trivia – TV “Absurd Trivia is a community powered site, where all of our trivia quizzes are written and rated by our ever growing population of members. Got an idea for a quiz, then submit it to us and the thousands of trivia fans that visit us daily can play it.”

Movie and TV Entertainment Trivia – provides many categories

Fun Trivia – has different types of trivia including television. The link is to the television section.

80s Television Trivia Questions - Questions about television of the decade.

TV and Movie Trivia Tribute – “Challenges your knowledge of TV shows and movies.”

TV Popquiz - TV trivia game. Subjects include television, cartoons, sit-coms, soap operas, game shows and dramas.

TV Show Trivia and Fun Facts - Tidbits of information and history on shows from the 1950s to the present. Includes celebrity entertainment news.

TV Tunes Online: TV Trivia - Trivia in the form of quizzes for several television shows organized by type.

Top Rated TV Show Review Web Sites and Blogs

We did more research to find top rated TV web sites and blogs that offer reviews to help you keep up with how people feel about the shows. Many of these are listed in the right side bar. Here they are in order of the number of blog reactions reported by Technorati. The number of inbound links according to Google is also listed as well as the blog reactions to these site and blogs as reported by Technorati. These statistics change daily. Our data was collected at the beginning of April 2008. The descriptions below are provided by the sites or found Technorati.

Like the TV industry news sites, we used the Technorati blog reactions since all sites had this data. Many, but not all, of these sites also have a Technorati authority rating. Google reports all the inbound links, regardless of where they come from. Leave us a comment and let us know of any good TV review sites or blogs that we left out.

TV Squad - “There are many blogs that write detailed recaps of television shows, but that's not what we do. We write reviews of the episodes for people who have already seen them and want to comment on the episodes and tell us why our opinions are so terribly, terribly wrong.” Technorati has 110,335 blog reactions and a rating of 2,747. Google reports 62,400 inbound links

TVgasm: The Best Recaps, News and Gossip in Television - “TVgasm brings you smart, snarky commentary on television and television culture. “ Technorati has 3,036 blog reactions and a rating of 399. Google reports 6,870 inbound links

Best Week Ever/TV - “The Best Week Ever blog is your one-stop pop culture stop: Full of the hottest up-to-the minute celebrity news & gossip. Mp3 roundups. Web videos & pics. User-generated content. From TV to Movies, blockbusters to sex tapes, BWE.TV has it all.” Technorati has 34,512 blog reactions and a rating of 2,198. Google reports 16,300 inbound links

News Hounds - “We are nine citizens who believe a viable democracy depends upon viable media. We watch FOX so you don't have to.” Technorati has 7,193 blog reactions and a rating of 1,030. Google reports 7,730 inbound links

Time Tuned In Blog - A blog about television from TIME's TV critic, James Poniewozik. Technorati has 903 blog reactions and no rating. Google reports 105,000 inbound links

Metacritic TV - “Metacritic's mission is to help you make an informed decision about how to spend your money on entertainment.” It has been acquired by CNET. Technorati has 521 blog reactions and no rating. Google reports 3,920 inbound links

CNET’s TV.com - It has everything. Technorati has 48,029 blog reactions and no rating. Google reports 3,280,000 inbound links. That is big time.

Hollywood Reporter TV - There are reviews, ratings and more under the TV tab. Technorati has 267 blog reactions and no rating. Google reports 111 inbound links

Kid’s TV Show Reviews - “Reviews about kids' TV shows and their content and educational value. Reviews also contain information about show characters, themes, and values. News section contains info about current trends and announcements about currently running shows.” Technorati has 926 blog reactions and no rating. Google reports 214 inbound links

New Show Reviews - Technorati has 859 blog reactions and no rating. Google reports 893 inbound links

Television History Web Sites

Here is a collection of web sites that focus on the history of television. We hope you enjoy them and let us know of others. Some of them cover both film and TV.

Classic TV Database - Listings and reviews of popular American television programs from the 1950s to the present day.

George Eastman House - Collects and interprets images, films, and equipment in the disciplines of photography and motion picture. Located in Rochester, New York. Entrance Charge.

Museum of the Moving Image - Located in Astoria, New York. Integrating works of art, artifacts, audio-visual presentations, and interactive exhibits. Entrance charge.

Early Television Foundation - Early television hardware, restoration tips, database of prewar sets and historical TV information.

Fifties TV - U.S.-orientated catalog of popular television in the 1950s.

MZTV Museum of Television - Online collection showing the development of television.

National Cable Television Center - Education, training and research about cable telecommunications and the history of the American cable industry and its pioneers.

The San Francisco Film Museum - Non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the art, history, and technique of film and digital media. General information, film collection, resources, and events.

Television History - The First 75 Years - Features technical information, program guides, timelines, hardware, TV facts and examples of early televisions

Television Forums and Chat Rooms

Many people like to discuss their favorite television shows on the web with others. Here are some sites to engage in these conversations. Let us know if we missed your favorite.

Able2Know: TV – forum for members to discuss their favorite TV shows and related news.

High Def Forum – focuses on high definition technology. Topic threads include TVs, DVDs, cameras, camcorders, players, recorders, and receivers.

Oliv3r.net - forum with TV show discussion, spoilers, previews, quiz leagues, and photo galleries.

Talk about Television – discussion forum with threads relating to individual shows, stations, programming, cable, and DVD compilations.

TubeYak Forum - general television discussion forum that includes sections for many of the most popular television shows.

TV Fan Forums - forum devoted to the discussion of both regular and reality television shows ranging in variety, from 24 to Dancing with the Stars.

TV Forums - forum for television equipment, repair, shows, and systems.

TV FunSpot - forum community for television discussion, and the participation in TV-related games.

PC Magazine’s Best Web Sites for Movie Fans

Here is a very useful list, The Best Web Sites for Movie Fans, for those who want to understand many aspects of the movies you watch on TV or want to set as alerts on TVissimo to make sure you do not miss them. There are many categories, reviews, news, facts, trailers, spoilers, social networking, and blogs. I added a number of them to our movie site/blog list in the side bar.

As a sample, the two I liked the best are quoted below:

MovieMistakes.com

At first glance, MovieMistakes.com isn't much to look at, but look deeper, and you'll see that the site is chock full of the worst movie goofs in recent history. Did you know that there are already 66 found mistakes in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull? For example, "In the chase scene around the campus, Mutts' motorcycle has a belt drive. Harley Davidson did not make belt drive bikes until two decades later." Currently, Apocalypse Now holds the record for the most goofs, with 396. There's also a list of the "best" movie mistakes, the most mistakes of 2008, movie trivia, best movie quotes, and even TV mistakes.

The Four Word Film Review
What's unique about this movie reviews site is that no more than four words can be used. Some example reviews of Kung Fu Panda are: "Slacker Black repels attack," "Bear is grasshopper," and "Saving Valley? Panda fu!" The site has over 272,000 reviews and features over 25,000 films. An amusing element of the site is the clue balloon in the upper right hand corner. From the four words provided, guess which movie it is describing. Click on Clue if you need some help.


Television Awards Web Sites

Here is where you can find information about the major television awards, as well as some that are less known. Let us know if we missed any.

Academy of Television Arts and Sciences - Official Emmy Awards site.

Aurora Awards Independent Film and Video Competition - Honors commercials, cable programming, documentaries, industrial, instructional, and corporate videos. Includes information on entries, rules, winners, and categories.

Hollywood Foreign Press Association - Official Golden Globe site with news, winners, award history, photos, videos, and mission statement.

Midsummer Awards - international festival that was founded by working creative people. It is sponsored and organised by people who are themselves in the business of creating and producing films for television and cinema. Includes background information, entry forms, and past winners.

PRISM Awards – Provides awards to the Entertainment Industry for the accurate depiction of social issues.

Screen Actors Guild Awards - Official site with news, history, rules, past and current nominees and recipients, photos, tickets and other details.

The Telly Awards - US award for non-network TV commercials and programs, and for non-broadcast videos. Features entering information.

Videographer Awards - International awards competition honoring excellence in commercials, video production, broadcast television and cable.

Blogs on Specific TV Shows

Many television shows have fans writing a blog focused just on them. Here are a dozen examples. Do you have a blog on a specific TV show? Please feel free to add it in the comment field.

Watching Ugly Betty - contains in depth information from the hit ABC TV show. Episode: Quotes, Recaps, Spoilers and Ratings. Actor Profiles, Breaking News, Fashions, Sightings, Trivia, Awards and much more!

Jericho~On~CBS - Fan Blog for the CBS Show Jericho, now also mainly concerning the effort the fans put forth to save the show, and how they are promoting the show now.

Heroes Blog - Heroes Blog provides you with all the Heroes episodes, News, Gossip, pictures, Articles, opinions, polls and lets you leave your own opinion! Updated daily.

Heroes Among Us - Heroes Among Us examines the hit television show "Heroes", providing recaps, theories, speculations and news/commentary on its characters, storylines and other concepts.

Gossip Girl Chat - Gossip Girl TV show blog with spoilers, episode recaps, discussion, previews, downloads, also lots of Gossip Girl fashion.

Gossip Girl Report - everything about CW's new Gossip Girl, the “best show this Fall.”

Boston Legal Blog - Blog dedicated to the television show Bostpn Legal. Episode guide videos, cast list and pictures, online polls, classic quotes

Big Brother 10 Insider - Big Brother 10 spoilers, news, gossip,, rumors and live feed updates.

Watching The Office - Blog fan site of the TV show The Office

Watching CSI - follows the ins and outs of all three CSIs. They cover everything from CSI contract negotiation to light spoilers.

Not Confused Just Lost - Overanalyzing Lost one episode at a time.

Bionic Woman blog offers all the episodes of Bionic Woman, pictures, news and more! watch Bionic Woman here in streaming video!

Public Television Sites

Here are some of the web sites connected to public television. We hope you find them useful. We will add more to the side bar listing as we find them. Suggestions are welcome.

Association of America's Public Television Stations - A nonprofit membership organization established in 1980 to support the continued growth and development of noncommercial television service for the American public.

Corporation for Public Broadcasting - CPB funds Public Television and Public Radio programs.

Current Online - web service of the biweekly newspaper about Public Television and Public Radio in the United States.

Independent Lens – “Airing weekly on PBS, the Emmy Award-winning series Independent Lens is like an independent film festival in your living room. Each episode introduces new documentaries and dramas made by independent thinkers: filmmakers who are taking creative risks, calling their own shots and finding untold stories in unexpected places.”

Independent Television Service (ITVS) - The Independent Television Service (ITVS) brings to local, national and international audiences high-quality, content-rich programs created by a diverse body of independent producers.

NETA Online - National Educational Telecommunications Association site.

PBS Station Finder - Contact information for every PBS affiliate. Links to web site if available.

PBS Online - web site from the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) features companion web sites for nearly 250 PBS programs and specials, as well as seven online neighborhoods that aggregate content by genre and interest.

Sports Television Review Sites

It has been hard to find sites and/or blogs that review TV sports shows even there are a lot of these shows on a topic where many people have strong opinions. Here is what I found so far. I welcome your input of more good sites or blogs.

Hollywood Reporter – Their site says – “Go behind-the-scenes and beyond the locker room of sports on TV with HollywoodReporter.com. Stay on top of up-to-the-minute sports programming news, corporate partnerships, sports television ratings, production information, licensing and more. Our journalists cover all the network and cable sports TV shows from a unique, insider perspective.” You have to register but it is free.

Best Seat in My House – “Pete Dougherty has been the Times Union's sports on TV/radio critic for nearly two decades as time and space permits. Now neither are an issue, and whatever Pete takes in from his couch, in the car or on the Web, he'll discuss here.”

Sports Couch Potato – “Sports broadcasting specialists: The blog delivers all-pro news and commentary -- from the booth to the satellites, from AM radio to high definition. All sports media considered. Covers the controversies, the personalitiies and the big networks.”

Hugging Harold Reynolds – “We embrace sports. We know sports. We love sports. But we aren't going to take anything too seriously.”

Television Soap Opera Forums

People like to talk about soap operas. Here is an initial list of web sites that allow you to do it with many others. Let us know in the comment field if you have another favorite and we can add it to the list.

Coffeerooms - features discussions for daytime and primetime shows.

Media Domain Soap Opera Discussion Group - message boards and chat for all soap opera fans.

Message Central's Soap Opera Discussion Forum - discussion forums for all of your favorite soaps.

Prime-Time Soaps - a place to discuss prime-time soap operas.

Soap Fan Chat Page - fan page for daytime Soap Operas.

The Soap Opera Network - includes forum discussions on news, spoilers, scoops, and ratings.

Soaps World - message boards and chat on the soaps.

Twitter Marketing Expands in Television

I recently wrote about Twitter and TV – a Good Combination – Making TV More Social. Twitter is also being increasingly used to market television shows according to a TV Week blog post by Daisy Whitney, Twitter Qua Marketing Tool, Part Deux. This is consistent with other industries were companies like Comcast, Dell, and Zappos shoes use twitter to enhance their image.

In television, companies such as Hulu and Veoh are leaning on Twitter to track user feedback and what’s being said about them. Now PBS is getting inot the act. Look at www.Twitter.com/PBSEngage. Daisey writes that this is “one of the better examples by a broadcaster and media company of using Twitter interactively. Being interactive on Twitter—that means actually talking, responding and replying–to Twitter comments and posts about your service is what engenders viewer loyalty.”

PBS has long used blogs and now they have moved into the latest social media channel, microblogging. I think that Twitter complements blogs rather than replace them. Twitter provides the sound-bytes and headlines in 140 characters or less while the blog can give the complete story.

Cape Cod Times Covers Tvissimo

The Cape Cod Times recently published a nice article on TVissimo and our new direction. Sarah Shemkus wrote, “Fine tuning an idea”. She discussed how TVissimo began nearly two years ago, when our founder, Robert Baron just wanted an easier way to figure out when and on which channels he could watch episodes of “The Twilight Zone” and “Seinfeld”. Robert was frustrated by what he saw as inefficiencies and inaccuracies in existing ways of searching for TV listings, and this led to the creation of TVIssimo.

Robert has funded the product development from his personal savings, as investors have been reluctant in today’s economy. As Sarah wrote, he began in July 2007 with “a thorough assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of existing online television listings such as TV Guide’s grids and Comcast’s search system.”

After a lot of work and revisions, TVissimo was formally launched as a free service on February 10. In its present form, www.tvissimo.com allows users to look for programming by show name; actor, director or producer name; content; or category. Users can save their favorite searches and set up email alerts to remind them when a desired program is coming up. Search results include both scheduled broadcasts and links to online videos.

However, with investment funds scarce, Tvissimo has shifted its business plan from gaining user volume, as we had to shut down the data feed for current shows, our largest current expense. Instead, we are looking to find an existing company that would be interested in acquiring the search technology to integrate into its existing business model. We feel that the technology is worth a lot to another company, as it will help them retain users as well as gain new ones.

Sarah’s article concludes with a quote from Clifford Robbins, senior business advisor for the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center. Discussing the situation facing startups these days, Clifford said: “You’ve just got to keep going forward, keep networking, keep going to the angel group meetings … Keep plugging.”