Giving You Control Over Your Television | Yvette Kanouff Chief Strategy Officer, SeaChange International
Photo/Ron Bouley
Yvette Kanouff translated an interest in math into a career in the cable industry.
Facebook and Twitter have revolutionized the way Americans interact online. And the lessons technology experts have learned from social media on the Internet will soon be translated to your television.
At least according to Yvette Kanouff.
She knows a thing or two about cutting-edge technology in the cable and television world. As chief strategy officer for Acton-based SeaChange International, it's Kanouff's job to spot the next big thing as it relates to the company's business, which is providing hardware, software and services to telecommunications companies.
The largest pool of Seachange customers are cable companies, which rely on SeaChange's technology to create on-demand services that allow subscribers to order a movie with the click of the remote control.
Time Shifting
But some day in the not-too-distant future, Kanouff predicts that TV viewers will use their remote controls to cast instant votes (no more texting to vote for American Idol) or to recommend a program to friends. Television ads will likely become as interactive as they are online, allowing viewers to "click through" to learn more about a specific product or service.
Another big shift Kanouff has her eyes on is the move to make content "platform agnostic." In other words, you'll soon be able to watch Grey's Anatomy on your flat screen TV, pause it, and pick up right where you left off on your mobile phone.
"It's all very real, it's not imaginary," Kanouff says. "So much of this (technology) is working in labs right now."
And SeaChange's technology will have a part in making all these changes possible.
"It's a fun time to be in this space," she says.
Kanouff is a mathematician by trade. She remembers fondly the days when she could spend hours sitting behind her desk developing algorithms to solve technology problems. Today, her time is spent meeting with SeaChange's key customers and keeping a watchful eye on the rapid changes in technology.
If Kanouff has one frustration about her industry it's that there are still so few women who are working in the technology sector generally and the cable industry specifically. She's active with women's networks within the tech industry and does her part to dispel any myths about the cable companies being an old-boys network.
"It's not that women aren't welcome," she says. "When I had a baby, I had 25 men throw me a baby shower."
She's also a strong advocate for mentoring. Kanouff credits the father of a childhood friend for giving her the drive to pursue a career in math - even though as a teenager she considered herself just an average math student.
"I was just like everybody else. I didn't do that well in math in middle school, I just always liked it.... What made the difference for me was having had a mentor," she says.
That mentor meant so much to Kanouff that she dedicated her doctoral thesis to him and she tries to pass on the same encouragement to the young upstarts she meets today.
"Mentors are so powerful," she says. "It's such a great way to give something back."
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