What’s the deal with social, TV you ask?  Some people don’t get it either but I don’t blame you.  Why would you even want to chat with people while watching TV? For some of us, the only peace of mind we get in a day is when we watch our favorite show.  But today’s generation it’s more about connecting to everyone, all the time.  People want to know if there are others who enjoy watching crime investigation shows, or are addicted to reality shows.  You might hate social TV in the sense that you feel like they’ve invaded your ‘me time’ but social TV actually contributes a lot as to whether your favorite show will be sticking around for another season.

The second Social TV Summit was held this past Wednesday.  It is a conference that focuses on the effects of social media on what people watch on their TVs, tablets, computers or any mobile computing device.  The event was sponsored by ClipSync and GetGlue.

ClipSync, the pioneer of social TV, recently launched ClipSync Moments – a new application that lets people express themselves and interact with their friends around the video moments that matter most.  So when you’re watching a certain show, even if you don’t like the whole show but you found a scene or a moment that really struck you or made you go ‘aaaawwwww’, you can comment or share that moment because of the snap feature the app has.

“ClipSync Moments is fixing today’s broken conversation around digital video. We are now able to capture the conversation, self-expression and passion around fans’ favorite movie scenes and moments and connect it with their social graph. We know that content needs to be bite-sized and contextual in order to be socialized and shared. ClipSync Moments accomplishes this for movies and television, making it the most captivating social viewing product in the industry,” said Itzik Cohen, CEO and co-founder of ClipSync.

EPIX, the cross-platform premium entertainment service which is a joint venture from Paramount Pictures, MGM, and Lionsgate, already commited to socializing their premium video content with ClipSync Moments.

“ClipSync Moments enable our viewers to share the movies and performances they love and discover new favorites,” said EPIX Chief Digital Officer Emil Rensing. “EPIX is excited to work with ClipSync to offer new viewing experiences and connect fans to their favorite movies and artists.”

GetGlue, an entertainment-based social networking website for mobile devices, recently updated their offerings with the Tumblr integration, check-in widgets, and their latest social TV service FX Has The Movies.  They are also more socially integrated, as you can use GetGlue, Facebook and Twitter to connect to the service.

And the broadcasters seem to want in on the socialization of TV as well.  Start-up ConnecTV, a social TV app currently in its beta phase, announced earlier this week that they made a deal with 10 broadcast groups with 201 stations, including ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, CW and WB affiliates, in markets that cover 76 million U.S. homes. The TV groups include Belo Corp., E.W. Scripps Co., Gannett Broadcasting, Hearst Television and others.  A number of broadcasters involved in the deal also invested an undisclosed amount to ConnecTV.

“Our mission is for ConnecTV to be the social network that empowers entertainment, news and sports fans to share the greatest moments in television,” said ConnecTV co-founder Ian Aaron. “With over five billion TV viewers and the explosion of tablets and smart phones globally, we are truly at the beginning of a new way to watch TV.”

As for other news on social TV, YuMe received a $12 million strategic investment from Samsung Ventures and Translink Capital, while Boxee started selling a $50 device that lets users toggle between broadcast TV and web video options.

If you still feel a little doubtful about the effects of social TV to your favorite program, here’s a little bit of fun facts: according to Madati, Facebook affected the rating of Psych when its newest season premiered last October 12th.  #HashTagKiller, a game on Facebook that allowed the audience to participate in solving crimes for the first seven episodes of the new season, contributed to the 8% increase in viewers when the show premiered.

People love to be involved in things, from voting on American Idol, or telling show producers which characters they love or hate to just about anything.  Want it or not, social TV is here to stay.