Storify adds GetGlue to improve social TV curation [interviews]

Posted by Natan Edelsburg on April 20, 2012

Storify has already been making a splash in the social TV world. Newsrooms like The Weather Channel have used the tools to curate conversations about severe weather, and in recent months the San Francisco-based startup has rolled out a new design and launched an iPad app. Today, the company has announced that they are adding GetGlue to the mix of social platforms you can pull content form to better curate conversations around TV.

While TV networks can already curate TV stories from Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, the fact that they?re letting you pull directly from GetGlue means that the startup is investing in social TV ? and that GetGlue gets to sit nicely next the established social channels. We interviewed�Burt Herman, Storify?s cofounder,�Alex Iskold, the founder and CEO of GetGlue, and BET?s Director of Social Media JP Lespinasse who will be the first TV network to use the tool for ?I Am Trayvon: A Family Fights for Justice? tonight (Friday) on the network.

Lost Remote: Why did you decide to add GetGlue?

Burt Herman: We spoke with GetGlue and they were interested in taking the many comments they are getting around TV shows and giving them more life beyond the real-time stream. We thought the integration made a lot of sense and fits with our philosophy of being a social media curation layer on top of all social networks. This allows networks, entertainment writers and anyone to use the best comments to write stories around entertainment.

LR: Was this a partnership with them, did you offer? Did they ask?

BH: It?s a partnership. I originally met Alex of GetGlue at a broadcast executives? gathering in California and the idea came out of that.

LR: How do you think this will make TV more social? Does Storify have plans to go after TV partnerships more now?

BH: Everyone now is using another device when they?re watching TV, we are not just passive consumers and want to be involved. By using Storify to elevate the most compelling comments above the noise, we are now completing the feedback loop with the network so the audience knows what they?re talking about is being acknowledged and being amplified. This should lead to more people commenting and better comments.

Alex Iskold: This partnership instantly makes GetGlue comments available for user stories. Networks and reporters can easily pull fans sentiment and use it for blogs, web sites, apps and articles. This is particularly significant because of the quality of GetGlue conversation and the volume of the chatter. Our comments get increasingly more exposure and this accelerates the trend.

LR: Why did you decide to use Storify for this special on BET? Was it because they added GetGlue?

JP Lespinasse: Our first Trayvon Martin BET News special (?Shoot First: The Tragedy of Trayvon Martin?) had multiple trending topics on Twitter an created plenty of fodder on our other social media platforms, so this follow-up�news documentary,�?I AM TRAYVON: A Family Fights For Justice? was the perfect opportunity for us to continue and capture the heart of those conversations. And yes, we have an existing relationship with GetGlue so that integration played a role in this partnership.

LR: How will you be using it for the show?

JPL: We are looking to publish the Storifyon our website, BET.com, to further enhance the social connection to our shows and to create an added driver to our digital content.

LR: How do you think this will make TV more social?

JPL: This is a great way for us to give our viewers a chance to see the thoughts and opinions of their peers. With Storify and GetGlue we hope to surface the bestfrom our most ardent users, and expect that more people will want to become engaged on GetGlue for the opportunity to see their thoughts published to the masses. It also is a terrific vehicle by which to do truly crowd-sourced articles ? so that, in aggregate, fans of our shows and specials can write the reviews themselves.

The special premiers tonight at 7:30pm Eastern. You can tune in on BET and via #IamTrayvon on Twitter. Storify is the perfect kind of tool to add to a growing list of technologies that will enable the social TV producer of the future.

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