Second screens: The social TV experience is all about apps - Apr. 9, 2012 (click for full article) "NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- While you're on the couch watching American Idol, chances are you're also updating your Facebook status on your smartphone or tablet, or hitting Google for the name of that ubiquitous character actor you can't quite identify. There's also Twitter. Posts on it set two all-time records during the Super Bowl, one at halftime and another just two hours later at the game's end. It's an advertiser's dream: not one, but two screens to capture consumers' attention. Companies are jumping on the trend with apps to enhance the television experience -- and, of course, to sell more ads. "The consumer has led the revolution, in that they're already having these social conversations," says Radha Subramanyam, a media analytics executive at Nielsen. "Marketers and programmers are just catching up with regular behavior."But it's hard to publicize a trend without a buzzword. There's a pile of clunky phrases being kicked around: Are these "second screen" apps? Or "social TV"? How about "simultaneous viewing" tools? "
