Dive Brief:
- A new opt-in audio recognition program listens to what mobile users are hearing — via TV, radio, etc. — and suggests a status update when it recognizes the sound.
- For songs, the feature suggests a 30-second preview, and for TV shows, it recognizes the specific season and episode for users to share.
- Facebook is hoping to become a bigger part of real-time conversation for TV and other media, as Twitter still holds the lead for second screen.
Dive Insight:
While Facebook is certainly looking to gain ground in the second-screen race, the data that the opt-in audio recognition feature provides could be valuable in delivering ads to users. Facebook could use the data to recognize a TV show, for example, in order to deliver related ads on the social platform. On the flipside, Facebook could offer that data to TV partners that want to deliver targeted ads in real time based on when users on Facebook are watching. Still, there's also the possibility that the idea that Facebook is listening in could creep out a significant number of users.
