You use Facebook to check-in when you go to the gym. You check-in on Foursquare when you’re at Happy Hour with your co-workers. And you definitely check-in on Yelp when you’re at the hottest, nearly-impossible-to-get-into bar in town. Now, you can check-in on Viggle when you…watch your favorite TV show? It may sound strange, but Viggle is turning TV watching into a more social experience.
Viggle is a loyalty program for television that gives people real rewards for checking into the television shows they’re watching.
Viggle, Explained
When you’re watching a TV show, you can enable Viggle to listen to the audio and figure out what it is you’re viewing, similar to how Shazam recognizes songs. Viggle has taken Shazam’s technology and amped it up quite a bit, since it’s pretty difficult to figure out a specific episode from just a few seconds of dialogue.
Why Social TV is Awesome
Sure, there are times when you want to veg out on the couch and watch TV as a way to get away from everybody and everything. Tuning in to TV and tuning out from your life is one of the big perks of unwinding with your favorite show. Most of the time, though, people actually want to talk to other fans about what they’re watching. That’s why Twitter is so overrun with commentary when popular shows have a brand new episode on playing.
So, You’ve Checked In… Now What?
First, it’s important to reiterate just how easy it is to check-in on Viggle: very. It’s very easy to check-in when you’re watching a show, which is ideal because A) easy is good and B) you don’t have to take time away from the tube to navigate a bunch of buttons just to check-in.
Once you’ve checked in, you have two choices. You can spread the word across your various social media profiles or you can just start chatting with other viewers (you can also do both, of course). Viggle has a built-in chat application that lets you compare notes with other fans of the show in real time.
Never Miss Another Show Again!
Okay, so never missing another show is probably impossible, assuming you have a life. But if you’d love to chat with fellow fans, yet you always seem to forget when the new episode of Dexter is on, Viggle will remind you. The app syncs your unique viewing guide with your cable provider so that you can be alerted to new episodes of your must-see shows.
Sounds Like the TV App You Already Have, Doesn’t It…
Admittedly, Viggle doesn’t do much that’s extremely novel – a lot of social TV apps have pretty much the same features. The main difference between Viggle and the other guys is that Viggle combines all of these features into one app. Otherwise, you’d have to download a few different apps just to get all of these useful features.
Wait, There’s More – You Get Free Stuff
Contrary to popular belief, Viggle does have one very unique feature that sets it apart from other apps – it gives users rewards. Options range from Viggle tees to Caribbean cruises. Most rewards are somewhere in the middle, including gift cards to Starbucks and discounts at Travelocity. Have enough stuff? You can opt to change your rewards points into contributions for charity.
What are you waiting for – download Viggle before the new episode of Vanderpump Rules airs.
Everything PR contributor Paul Hinshaw is a blogger who has recently switched to satellite TV. He likes to share his thoughts on a variety of technology and entertainment blogs. Call or click 1-877-558-2002 to find out more.
