HBO is partnering with Miso to bring Game of Thrones fans an awesome second screen experience.

Miso launched its new SideShow platform at the end of 2011. The idea is to allow fans or networks to create customizable, synchronized content to go alongside what airs on TV. This can include trivia, character information, quotable moments, polls and more.

This is not the first use of the SideShow platform — USA Network recently launched official SideShows for the show White Collar. But HBO is taking a slightly different approach. Recognizing that Game of Thrones has a fanatical following, the network is asking fans to create their own SideShow content for each episode of the first season of the show.

Fans can vote on what SideShows they like best and the top three entries for each episode will win Game of Thrones swag and other goodies. When Game of Thrones season 2 premieres on Apr. 1, 2012, HBO and Miso will announce the winning SideShow for each episode. Those winners will get additional prizes, social mentions and have the honor of having their SideShow dubbed the "official" pick in the Miso iOS app.







Sabrina Caluori, VP of Social Media/Marketing at HBO, told us that the idea is not only to embrace the diehard fans of the show but to encourage viewers who may have missed the first season to catch up on what they missed.

HBO is re-airing the first season of Game of Thrones every Thursday night at 10:00 p.m., leading up to the season 2 premiere on Apr. 1. Caluori says HBO is using this as an opportunity to experiment with Miso's SideShow platform and to look at other ways fans can connect via the second screen. If this promotion takes off, she says HBO will look into bringing the concept to other shows, including my personal favorite, True Blood.

To help fans get started with the SideShow platform, HBO and Miso reached out to fan sites Winteriscoming.com and Westeros.org to create SideShows for the first two episodes of the series. To us, this is brilliant outreach and a great way to encourage fans to get more involved.

What we like about this promotion is that it gives fans a reason to tune into the show a second or third time, while also creating worthwhile second-screen content for viewers that might not be fanatical enough to create their own experiences.

We're impressed with what Miso is doing with its SideShow platform and hope to see other networks embracing the possibilities of fan interaction in the future.