When Tivo was released, it revolutionized television and changed the world. Life got better, and everyone believed this was as good as it was going to get.
Fortunately, that belief is not true. There is a new technology gaining the ear and the interest of the cable television. This time it’s a Google Chrome plug-in for a personal computer called the Twivo.
Twivo helps TV watchers by dealing with their worst enemies, the spoilers. People who watch TV like it; media companies like it because it keeps people watching the shows. Spoilers have become the scourge of Twitter. People love to talk about their favorite shows, and Twitter is the easiest place to do it. Unfortunately, this opens up everyone who does not watch their shows at the time they hit the airwaves to massive spoiler attacks.
Tivo, DVR, better Internet plans, increased online digital video availability and other factors have led many people to time-shift their television viewing. It’s a reality everyone and every company has accepted. Time shifting is watching shows on your own schedule as opposed to that of the broadcast networks.
To aid this shift, a teenager has come to the rescue, Jennie Lamere. She is responsible for creating the Twivo plug-in in her spare time as a senior at a New Hampshire high school. She had the idea for the unique software when she was attacked by spoilers during her tweeting time. Jennie watches all of her shows on the site Hulu.com, where many people use their internet plans to watch streaming video. Her problem stems from the fact that Hulu does not upload most of its programs until the day after they air on television.
But she watches, avidly, just like any other fan.
Twivo’s function is to block mentions of certain television shows that appear on your Twitter feed. If someone mentions The Walking Dead, that tweet will not show up in your feed. This means that tweeters will no longer need to live in fear that they will be unexpectedly hit by a spoiler that could ruin everything they hold dear.
The Twivo program was useful enough to win Lamere the first prize in a coding contest that accepted challengers throughout the US. Surprisingly, she was the only female who presented a program in the competition. However, there were many experienced and successful professional programmers competing with her.
One of the things that makes Twitter useful is the wide array of software that can be tailored to the needs of a specific user. Lamere’s creation is a great addition to a number of exciting new plug-ins that make Twitter great customizable fun.