Virtual Viewing Parties - Public or Private?

Virtual viewing parties are popping up everywhere, with Hulu and YouTube both coming to the table (check out YouTube’s viewing party of Taxi Driver tonight at 9pm EST).

These developments are all moving the Social TV space in the right direction, and also highlight some of the main decisions that providers will need to make when they think about offering these services.

One of the major decisions is whether or not to have virtual viewing parties – or any group interaction – public or private.  Tonight’s YouTube showing will integrate Twitter, resulting in an entirely public experience.  For Hulu’s viewing party, they did offer the option of either getting the full stream of comments during the show, or filtering it down to the level of their friends.  We take conversation to an even more private level, using SMS and basing group members on the contacts in your phone.

All in all, it’ll be interesting to see which level of group interaction the users prefer.  It may be that entirely public viewing is good for some settings, or for some individuals, while others may require a more private level of access.

What would you prefer?  Do you think things will move in the direction of a more public forum, or one that’s more private?

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