Interesting piece in the Economist about the booming convergence of interactive TV and mobile devices in Europe. According to Gartner research cited in the story, one of the fastest-growing uses of SMS in Europe is interacting with television.
Gartner's figures show that 20% of
teenagers in France, 11% in Britain and 9% in Germany have sent messages in
response to TV shows…This has much to do with the boom in "reality TV" shows, such as "Big
Brother", in which viewers' votes decide the outcome. Most reality shows now
allow text-message voting, and in some cases, such as the most recent series
of "Big Brother" in Norway, the majority of votes are cast in this way.
