This week, Apple acquired Topsy, a social media analytics company that focuses on tracking Twitter data. The acquisition is interesting, not only because of its purported price (a hefty $200 million), but also for what role it might might play in the Cupertino giant's future plans.
Immediately after the acquisition was confirmed, analysts and pundits started to speculate as to why Apple would acquire Topsy. If this were any other company, the promise of "leveraging big data" and "mining social conversations" for real-time data and "sentiment impact" and other buzzword-laden drivel might be enough. But this is Apple.
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My own initial reaction to the news was a visceral "this is weird." After spending more time thinking about it and talking to people smarter than myself, I think I might have an idea of what Apple could do with Topsy and its technology.
It's all about solving the problem of content discovery, particularly when it comes to the mythical Apple TV set/service.
The idea was spurred by a Twitter conversation with Jesse Redniss, the newly-appointed chief strategy officer at Mass Relevance, a company that creates social experiences around brands, agencies and and media companies.
@film_girl @mashable I'm actually seeing a larger tie in to AppleTV and TV/Film content recommendations as well as music & apps— Jesse Redniss (@jesseredniss) December 3, 2013
As a former television executive, Redniss is in a unique position to offer this kind of insight. It should be comes as no surprise that he thinks Topsy's data could have huge potential for helping Apple with content recommendations.
"Access to Twitter's firehose offers the ability to look back at trending content, especially when it comes to staples within Apple's business such as TV, music and apps," Redniss said. He added that having access to this kind of data for "pure historical understanding" could be useful as well.
"Apple has already had the ability to set trends," Redniss said, noting the importance of being featured by Apple on its homepage, in the App Store or on iTunes. "This data could be used as predictive analysis when making those types of promotional decisions of what to feature and when."
Redniss also sees potential for SeeIt-esque integration. SeeIt is Comcast's new initiative that lets users tune into certain shows on their TVs or DVRs directly from Twitter.
What if you have that kind of experience, the ability to instantly access content on a separate source, but it is integrated more completely into the Apple ecosystem?
The TV landscape as we enter 2014 looks a lot different than it did three years ago, let alone five or 10. Some of the most-talked-about shows on TV don't even air on traditional networks; they debut on services such as Netflix, Amazon Video and Hulu Plus.
Meanwhile, a new generation of content viewers is finding content to watch by searching YouTube, not browsing TV Guide.
Plus, the content battle between TV Everywhere and online streaming services is fiercer than ever. Never before have consumers had so much access to so much content from so many disparate sources.
All of this access, all of this variety, means that content discovery has to become a focal point for anyone serious about reshaping the future of TV.
This hasn't escaped content or electronics makers. At the NAB Show 2013, I moderated a panel on content discovery about the difficulties in helping users find what to watch and when. To get content discovery right, you not only need access to a plethora of content sources (something that is becoming easier over time), but also social cues from the viewer to recommend what to watch and when to watch it.
It's interesting, then, that Twitter is one of the best data sources for recommendations, especially when it comes to TV. This is both by coincidence and design. Users frequently discuss live programming on Twitter as it happens, to the point where studies show a correlation between conversations and viewership.
Twitter itself is heavily invested in TV, with its latest app update adding a "Trending TV Shows" section. The company also released a new ad product that lets advertisers directly target users engaging over a specific show, whether that company has purchased a TV ad or not.
Now, let's just imagine Apple is planning a big play into TV. Wouldn't access to technology that can analyze sentiment, conversations and trends over certain types of programs, especially across different demographics and geographic areas, be useful for helping users solve the question of What should I watch right now?
Moreover, imagine being able to grab that data to be part of an interface, either on a TV or a second screen, to allow purchasing, streaming or accessing content instantly.
Although my interest is primarily piqued by the potential of using Topsy data in terms of TV and content discovery, that isn't the only potential of this kind of data.
I largely agree with the thesis of entrepreneur and Wired cofounder John Battelle, that having access to an interest graph is a key part of Apple's plan for Topsy. I can even see how this sort of data could be extremely useful when pared with Siri, creating the potential for an alternative to Google Now.
Regardless of Apple's plans for Topsy, the fact it sought to acquire this type of company is further validation of the power of big data, something Google and Microsoft have already embraced.
Still, given Apple's tenuous record with integrating acquisitions with its core business (let's not revisit Apple Maps), it's ultimately the execution that will matter.
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Image courtesy of iStockphoto, dem10