No surprise, people tend to hit TV Web sites during TV prime time, reports Ars Technica's Eric Bangeman. That only makes sense, especially as some shows offer real-time online voting (American Idol), chat (RealTime with Bill Maher), extra clips (BattleStar Galactica) and other enhancements.
But it also implies a larger trend of thinking of Web sites in day parts. As the post points out, cooking (moms making dinner) and kid-oriented (homework) Web sites tend to peak between 5pm and 8pm.
Similarly, in my experience tech news sites tend to peak during the workday, while online shopping sites get a boost at lunchtime.
Despite these tendencies, few sites actively program to the various day parts. It's a lot of work, after all, and it's not like the appropriate content isn't already there. Still, I'd like to see more sites pay attention to the time of day and what people are most likely looking for at that time.
There is a limit though. While I've got a laptop in the living room mostly for getting background movie info from IMDb, I seldom use it for the TV show activities described above. And while I originally thought I'd be all over it for stats and stuff on live sporting events, that almost never happens.
Why?
Cuz' I hardly ever watch anything live anymore. The goal is to record everything on DVR and watch it later to avoid commercials and save time. And the last thing I'd want is to find out from the Web whether the White Sox blew their lead in the 9th before seeing it on the big screen.
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