Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Hulu + Facebook?

Hulu, if you haven't heard of it, is a website that allows you to watch television shows. It differs from most television watching sites in that is clean (no annoying pop-ups or slapdash advertisements , legit and this website actual works with television networks to display their programming. Recently Hulu integrated with Facebook. So, now you can see what you're friends are watching... At first, I was baffled. Why do I care that Guy-I-Never-Spoke-To-In-Middle-School is watching "Alf"? Also, do I want people to know what I'm watching? It seemed like an invasion of privacy on both ends, but I connected my Hulu account to my Facebook profile anyway (for the free month of HuluPlus). [HuluPlus, by the way is AWESOME!!! Commercial-free, full seasons of Law and Order: SVU?! Why isn't everyone using this thing???] However, I must say the Facebook integration did pay off when I noticed one of my friends was watching this show I was curious about. I decided to try it, too, now knowing I had a friend who had also seen it; it was good! Big #Win for "Huluface". Then I followed a show on Hulu. The action was made public on my Facebook wall, and a few friends indicated they also liked that show. Awesome! In conclusion... I stand by the thought that Facebook is slowly taking over the world, and my grandchildren may not ever leave home because all communication will be through Facebook (and future generations of social networking). More and more websites and services are using Facebook (and Twitter), and some Facebook/Twitter inclusions are unnecessary. However, before we call out a web service for jumping on the social networking bandwagon, we should assess whether their is an actual use for the technology. Post-Script: There is also the option of posting a comment from Hulu to Facebook about something you're watching. A clip is posted along with the comment, so there is a "spoiler" checkbox to alert your friends. No one likes to be a ruin-er.