Amidst all the CES shenanigans, the WSJ posted a piece about apps and TV, and whether consumers really want apps on their televisions. For me, the piece was thought provoking, specifically I’ve never realized how the compartmentalization of content could run counter to typical user behavior. That being said, TV apps are obviously here to stay, for the immediate future anyway, and I think that’s a good thing. Whether they’re a hit or a miss is yet to be seen, but we tend to think adding content to the tube is a good thing, even if the first draft isn’t completely what people want.

We’d love to hear comments on this idea, sound off below.

We are HUGE fans of bringing video to the living room using IP. We talk to existing and potential clients about this each and every day. We have dozens of devices, from the original Apple TVs to new ones, from old Roku’s to the newest ones (which are pretty awesome), Boxee, and most recently, the Google TV. An amazing assortment of devices, each with its strengths and weaknesses.

In experiencing the different plays on “interactive television,” the one thing that I am certain of is that bringing social streams (twitter, flickr, facebook) onto the big screen – especially while watching video with others – is broken. It’s out of place. It distracts from the social experience of television.

As my wife and I watch some of our favorite shows, we each have some sort of computing device open. Perhaps we each have our own laptop open. Or iPad. Or mobile phones [Yeah, our house is sort of crazy like that]. Regardless, each of us is able to interact with a variety of services while we watch the “big screen” together. This is key – my wife would get very frustrated watching my twitter or facebook stream on screen. She would go insane trying to follow my ADHD brain as I bounce through IMDB and Wikipedia trying to track each actor.

If interactive television, however, is to connect my personal device, be it an iPhone, iPad, Android or laptop, together with the programming on screen, than we have a HUGE WINNER. I can follow my own whims while my wife can have her own interactions. However, the social aspect of us watching Glee together remains. We can both sing along. We can laugh. We can pause the video and comment. It is an experience that has been with us for our entire life and is comforting.

A couple of Castfire clients are about to launch products that will incorporate behind the scenes footage and additional video on iPads, iPhones and Android at the same time as it is airing on broadcast. The audience can be fully immersed with not only the broadcast, but can explore additional streams in conjunction. An amazing first step.

The future however, will utilize IP delivery and the processing power of the set top device (or directly in the television) to enable audience members to move content from the “big screen” to their personal device. It will keep “companion” apps in sync with the big screen, pushing relevant information to those who display interest. Want to learn more about that Lexus advertisement? How about being able to open a driving simulator on your own device. Want to purchase that same shirt that the star is wearing? What if the Gap store opened in conjunction on your laptop? Want to find out Tim Lincecum’s stats for pitching to left handed batters? Want to know how your fantasy football league is doing in real time? And on and on and on…

In the near future, the majority of people will carry a touch device with an internet connection. These devices should be leveraged to provide the interactive in interactive television. These devices should be the connection between both the content creators and the advertisers with the audience. These devices will allow us to enjoy the television experience together while connecting to our different circles online.

Television is social; social media is personal. Don’t confuse the two.

Check that out… it’s the first chance many of us have had to see the Google TV on video. We’ll get you briefly caught up on what people are saying about Logitech’s Revue.

Among the highlights? Check out Nilay’s full impressions at Engadget. He thinks the keyboards are pretty cool, and the web browser works effectively. He notes the Logitech unit has IR blaster ports on the sides, which means the Google TV can control most of your other home theater equipment if it’s placed within range.

It’s not all roses, however. The box itself isn’t cheap. At $300, some, like ZDNET, are declaring the box virtually dead on arrival. And a lot of other people are piling on with the same sentiment.

Then there’s Lance Ulanoff at PC Mag. He’s concerned because the browser really is just a desktop style web browser without the interface. That means if a whole bunch of windows start opening, it’s going to be difficult to close them at all.

Also making its way around the Google TV announcement-scape? Apparently, Sony’s Google TV powered TVs are going to go for $1,300 for the 32-inch flavor, up to $1,900 for the 46-inch set.

Oh, and lastly, Google has opened its official Google TV page. It should give you a starting point if you’re going to get into developing content.

While perusing online video industry rag NewTeeVee, I stumbled across a report that DVR usage eats away at TV ratings by 15%-20%. I know in my household, it’s more like 95% of our household ratings. With that growth in DVRs comes a shift in the way people consume content, and specifically they’ve altered the mainstream media diet of consumers dramatically. Now, some viewers don’t look at the TV as a place to see what’s on, but rather what’s good to watch.

It’s easy to take this new behavior pattern and infer that the day of on-demand is just around the corner. I think a lot of smart folks will take that approach, and there’s some sound logic behind it. Now that consumers are willing to “bookmark” shows and watch them on their schedules, that has to mean internet-enabled TVs will lead a monumental shift away from primetime, right?

It could be the case, but rather than walk down the road that’s likely to get overcrowded and overhyped in the next six months, let me recommend starting with the road less traveled. Think about why people like TV.

Why do I like TV? Curated content, brainless interface. When I show up to my TV, I don’t actively need to search for a topic, find an actor, look by keyword, but instead I can simply show up expecting to be entertained… and guess what? I’m entertained. I simply swap between 3-4 cable networks and I can (usually) find something that catches my fancy. That’s the way it’s been for 50 years. People expect TV to entertain them without asking much from the user.

There are some smart folks taking a look at the passive entertainment experience online. For instance, take a peek at Google Reader Play. It’s a product that takes a bunch of sites online, and tries to serve you up content based on the ones you’re most likely to enjoy. Another fav worth checking out is Upl8.tv. When you show up to the site, it’s simply an old-skool rendered TV with a YouTube embedded player. Rather than leaning into the product, and selecting some category, or searching, instead the site throws a selection of hand curated YouTube videos at you, one after another. The beauty is in the simplicity: Just smash the spacebar when you get bored.

Those are two good examples where someone has ventured outside the lines, but I think content producers can take some adventurous risks without spending a ton of cash. Find a smart web developer, come up with some ways of presenting content that doesn’t look like YouTube, create it in some spare time, and find some users who will give you a shot. Worst case scenario? They don’t like it and you learned something about what people don’t like.

The reward is figuring out a non-traditional experience that users will love, and then being able to share your content in a way that connects with people. It’s not going to be easy, but the only downside is time. Try to carve some out to create a future, and your future self will thank you.

Business Insider has a chart that shows an amazing amount of growth for TV viewers on DVR’s and Mobile devices:

We continue to see the same amount of growth on those devices across our customer base. While flash delivery of web video continues to be a large portion of delivery, delivery for iPhone, Android, Tivo, Roku and Vudu are growing rapidly. We expect this growth to only accelerate over the coming 12-18 months as these platforms increase their install base and platforms like Yahoo Widgets begin taking hold in the living room.