Although it’s often forgotten and dismissed, Google’s TV platform is actually a pretty big and successful product. Apparently there are currently more than 270 million owners of Google TV devices worldwide. The online giant is launching a special kind of ‘insider’ program to shape the future of the operating system.
It’s called the Google TV Advisory Community, and people have started reporting it and seeing banners to join that community appear on their Google TV devices. The banner description states that the space is an “exclusive online community where you can help improve the Google TV experience.”
It seems like Google intends for the whole thing to be a bit more involved than just taking surveys. Sure, there will be, but the tech giant also expected other “fun research activities” to take place. Expect interaction once or twice a month. There are certain benefits to participating. The most obvious one would be to beta test “new Google TV features coming soon.” In addition, participants are eligible to win one of five $50 gift cards in a monthly drawing.
Presumably you need to own a Google TV device to participate in the advice community, although there is one public registration form that seems to be open to everyone at the moment.
Of course, participants will give up quite a bit of personal data, and the terms and conditions allow Google to collect “audio, video, or photos of you and your interactions with our products and services.” The content captured by the brand may include “your face, voice, physical characteristics, mannerisms, likeness, and interactions.” So maybe not applicable if you want your media consumption habits to remain relatively private.