Viggle

It will come as no surprise to anyone who reads this, but... I watch a lot of TV. I watch good TV (Homeland, Game of Thrones, Community, Mad Men) and I watch bad TV (America's Next Top Model, Gossip Girl, 90210). I watch some things just because they're popular (American Idol), and I watch other things in the dark confines of my house and will never openly admit that I enjoy them (Toddlers and Tiaras). I've tried to justify it in the past, but I've come to accept it. The good news is that my tv habits are now being used for good and not evil, all with the help of a new app, and I feel the need to share this good news with my friends.

The app is called Viggle and it makes me feel as if I'm getting paid to watch television. It's now my job. I need to "exceed expectations" on my performance review, so I must watch TV. I need to put food on the table....so I must watch TV. (You get the idea.)

In a nutshell - using the app, you "check-in" to a TV show by letting the app listen to your TV to "hear" what you are watching. It verifies the show, and you get approximately 1 point for every minute you watch. Some shows get you bonus points, and other shows have games associated so that you can answer questions while watching to earn even more points. Then what do you do with the points you ask?  You get free stuff!!  Good free stuff!!  You redeem the points (via the app) for electronic gift cards at places that you already spend money: Starbucks, Lowes, Burger King, ITunes, Sephora, Old Navy, CVS, Best Buy, etc... You can also redeem points to make a donation to a charity. I've only been using the app for a few days, but (so far) it seems like a win win.

The app is currently available to iPhone/iPad users via the app store. For Android users, the app is still in beta testing, but can be easily downloaded from their website.

If you're interested, there's a great article from AdAge about Viggle explaining the thinking behind the app, and how it may just change the way people watch TV.

Things I've learned while using the app:

• Once you check into a show, you can change the channel, do the dishes, whatever. The app assumes that if you check in at 8:00 to American Idol that you are going to watch the entire episode and will give you all the points associated. (as long as you don't try and check into something else while American Idol is still on.)
• You can check into shows on your DVR that are no more than 7 days old. The only issue I've encountered is when the app can't "hear" my TV well enough and asks me to manually check in (by searching for the name of the show.) You can only manually check in to live TV shows. (For example, I was watching Mad Men last night via my DVR and the app didn't recognize the show. It could have been because my air conditioning was running, or because the TV wasn't loud enough, but regardless... I couldn't manually check in because the show wasn't currently airing live on television.)
• You can only be checked into one show at a time. Quit watching 90210 after 15 minutes and decide to check into Dancing with the Stars? You'll get 15 points for 90210, and then start accruing points for when you checked into DWTS.
• Checking into prime-time TV shows tends to get you the most points. The app will tell you which shows have bonus points associated. For example, last night I checked into The Bachelor to get the 300 bonus points, but immediately changed the channel and watched American Pickers.