Juelz Santana once said, “Don’t watch me, watch TV.”As we get lonelier and more physically dispersed, we’ll do both at the same time: watch alone but virtually together thanks to picture-in-picture merging of video chatting and streaming. Last week, Facebook announced its latest home device called Portal TV. It’s like a camera for your TV that turns the big screen in your living room into a giant video phone. But as if we did not already have enough sticks, set-top boxes, gaming consoles and smart televisions to choose from, Portal TV also streams Amazon Prime Video, Showtime, CBS All Access and Facebook Watch shows to your TV. Where I think Portal TV points to a long-lasting new behavior is in its ability to merge those two functions together. During those brief moments when we're not at work and we're not at home with our security blanket sitcoms from the 90s and 2000s, when we're in an Uber to work or, G-d forbid, walking to work, we're still kept company either by our loved ones on FaceTime or our loved ones from those same sitcoms or the faux friends from podcasts in our ears.
We’re more comfortable being alone physically, but we’re uncomfortable if we’re not with others virtually. So when I noticed this bit about the new Portal TV, it caught my eye. From Casey Newton at the Verge:“Portal TV also introduces a new picture-in-picture mode that lets you keep one eye on friends and family members while you watch another show. Andrew ‘Boz’ Bosworth, who runs Facebook’s AR and virtual reality products, told me he could imagine using the feature to watch a Facebook Watch show together with his father.”In other words: a friend in the corner watching you watch TV, talking, listening and keeping you company. Maybe eventually this feature will evolve so that both parties can sync their streaming content together, so they’re watching the same thing at the same time, recreating what was once known as hanging out on the couch. It really is the perfect feature for the next decade, isn’t it? Right now, the Portal TV’s picture-in-picture video chat mode is only available while you watch Facebook Watch shows (?). But it’s only a matter of time before that includes other streaming platforms' shows.
Then, maybe the streaming platforms, set-top box companies or TV manufacturers roll out the feature, too. The reality of 21st-century relationships is that they are dispersed geographically, virtual and always on. We’re lonelier than ever, says any number of surveys and trend pieces that are on Google away. That's why platforms like Twitch and Peloton, both interactive community-building media, are such perfect cures for loneliness and why I think it was inevitable that we would see something similar for streaming.I could also see picture-in-picture-in-TV evolving from one-to-one video chats in the corner of Netflix to big group video and text chats in the corners and sides of Netflix like Twitch and Peloton. And just like those paltforms, interactivity may be next: imagine a streaming service that allows groups to watch together and communicate via picture-in-picture chat while messing with the content on screen through Bandersnatch-like interactive elements, allowing the group video chat to decide the plot twists together. Think of it like Twitch for content. Why FaceTime while we all stare at Netflix? Why not FaceTime while we all stare at Netflix?
The shorter stuff
Joker and Cuck both open on the same weekend. Free blog post idea for you: incel double feature. (The Daily Beast)
I'm predicting "The Politician" is the next show to be taken through the buzzed-about-and-then-bitched-about cycle by media Twitter and the culture writers. Phrases like these are a dead giveaway: "a perversely fascinating portrait of what it means to not only have ambition, but stop at nothing to serve it." (Variety)
Netflix paid far more for Seinfeld than the $500 million NBCUniversal paid for "The Office" and the $425 million WarnerMedia paid for "Friends." (LAT)
A roundup of embarrassing NYC real estate ads from the 2000s. (Medium)
Well-wishers needed permission from two bodyguards to shake Jeff Bezos' hand at the Amazon Emmys after-party at the Chateau Marmont. (NYT)
Has anyone tried Amazon HD audio streaming service yet? Would love to know your thoughts. (The Verge)
Bummed out that the iconic Harvard Square newsstand Out Of Town News is closing. I'm assuming the skaters and goth kids don't hang out in the pit behind the T stop right next to it anymore. (Boston Magazine)
I loved Farhad Manjoo's column about Tucker Carlson in the Times' opinion section. (NYT)
Drew Millard nails the weirdness and the pleasure of listening to satellite radio. I am also a subscriber to Sirius-XM, believe it or not. (The Outline)