A Day In The Life With Zeebox, Perhaps The Best New Social App Of 2012

As one might expect, it isn’t easy to impress app reviewers, let alone get two shout-outs on the same site in a matter of days. With zeebox though, I found something worth a second look. At its core, zeebox is a social networking app for TV fanatics. The universal app also includes a personalized television guide, but other apps are much better at that sort of thing. Just take a look at the official TV Guide app and you’ll see what I mean. What makes zeebox so promising and should I say, addictive, is just how well it merges with social networks like Twitter and Facebook. It is this seamless integration that make shows like “The Big Bang Theory” or “Grey’s Anatomy” feel more like “event” television. Zeebox does this by making it easy to connect friends, stars, and other fans in the blogosphere in real-time. Or as a friend in Chicago suggested, it made Mark Sloan’s death at Seattle Grace on “Grey’s” feel much more intimate, as she surrounded herself with hundreds of other “mourners” online. I can’t say that tears were involved with my zeebox experience (sorry, “Grey’s” fans, I was never into Mer/Der), but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t equally meaningful. As I watched the first NFL game of the season that included real refs, zeebox showed me who else was watching the game from Baltimore. You see, at the same time I started watching the game, I also told zeebox what I was doing. Using this information, the app showed me who from my social network of friends was also watching, and vice versa. Soon, I was “watching” the game with an AppAdvice reader, who also happened to be one of my followers on Twitter. Twenty-five minutes later, and after talk turned from football to other topics, I was hooked.

Zeebox became my TV companion as its creators intended. It also reminded me that neither the Ravens nor the Browns interested me. As such, instead of watching the game, I used the time to chat through zeebox. Was this chat a time-waster? Absolutely not. In fact, it was a far easier tool to use to connect with readers than the actual Twitter app. Still, the app did keep me from experiencing the game, which may not have been zeebox's intention. My praise for zeebox doesn't mean it's perfect. In fact, it may confuse some users. In particular, the app needs to do a better job of explaining its true intention. For this, I'd like to see either a better help page, or better yet, an introductory video within the app. Overall, however, I continue being impressed by zeebox and can’t wait to see what future updates will bring. For more information on Zeebox, be sure to look at my previous report. The free Zeebox app is available for the iPhone/iPod touch and iPad.  

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