FORA.tv Selects CrowdOptic Mobile Technology to Track Live Audience Interest in Candidates During Final Presidential Debate

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- FORA.tv, the leading online destination for video programs from the world's best events and conferences, and CrowdOptic, a maker of crowd-powered mobile applications, today announced that they have teamed up to offer, for the first time, the ability to view the immediate reaction and interest of the in-person audience at the final presidential debate, through a real-time social activity stream available exclusively at FORA.tv.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121022/SF96908 )

Online viewers of tonight's live stream of the final presidential debate on FORA.tv will be able to see how many people in the debate audience are watching and taking photos of one candidate versus another, as a measure of the crowd's interest, via a real-time social activity stream that will be displayed in a widget alongside the live stream.  In an accompanying feature, viewers will also be able to join in social media conversations online with live eyewitnesses at the event.

Powering this new capability at FORA.tv is a breakthrough mobile technology from CrowdOptic that uses the sensor technologies in the smartphones of the in-person audience members to create a new way to track the interest of a live audience.  CrowdOptic calculates, tags and analyzes where individuals in the audience are looking through their smartphones (their focus), and then displays the resulting photos and videos in a real-time activity stream. 

"The integration of the CrowdOptic technology gives our online viewers a new way to engage with the live presidential debate, and you'll only see this kind of interaction on FORA.tv," said Blaise Zerega, CEO of FORA.tv.  "This debate is a great example of why FORA.tv exists. The live event can only seat an audience of a few hundred inside the auditorium, but there are millions of people who are interested in watching it as well.  By combining our live stream with the CrowdOptic technology, we are inviting our viewers to be active participants. Whether they are watching the debate on FORA.tv at home, on their iPad on the train,  or anywhere else,  our viewers will be able to see how the live, in-person audience is responding in real time to the debate, and will be able to weigh in and spark dialogue directly with the live audience members."

The live stream of the third and final presidential debate will begin tonight at 9:00 pm ET online at debate.fora.tv.  

About FORA.tv 
FORA.tv is the leading online destination for video programs from the world's best conferences and events. With more than 10,000 free and fee-based videos and its iPad "Conference Channel" app, FORA.tv has the web's largest collection of programs that feature the people, issues, and ideas changing the world. FORA.tv helps hundreds of organizations including the Aspen Institute, the Economist, the New York Public Library, and Wired expand the audience for their events. FORA.tv has been named a Top 50 Web Site by TIME, and a Top Education Site by The Telegraph. FORA.tv is funded by a select group of investors led by William R. Hearst III and is based in San Francisco. For more information, visit http://fora.tv.

About CrowdOptic
CrowdOptic is a new crowd-powered "heat" signal – the next evolution of location-based services that recognizes the hottest crowd activity as it occurs.  By tracking where smartphone cameras are located and where they are pointed, CrowdOptic can instantly filter mobile social media and create new opportunities for fan engagement.  CrowdOptic identifies, tags and rebroadcasts the live event experience to the world, on mobile, social TV and second screens.  CrowdOptic is a privately-held, venture-backed company based in San Francisco.  For more information, visit www.crowdoptic.com.

SOURCE CrowdOptic