YouTube Videos Just got Better Thanks to Groupideo
Ever since the dawn of time, mankind has longed for entertainment. And experiencing entertainment with others makes things all that much more fun; whether it be watching TV, enjoying a movie, or playing a video game, electronic and virtual entertainment has come a long way since the days of drive-in blockbusters and pong. And with more people sharing content over a little invention called The Internet, it’s clear that we don’t always have a way to share the fun with friends. That is, until now. Sort of.
Groupideo is an experience that may still be in the beta stages, but has some serious potential. The ability to share videos in a chat room setting can be a lot of fun, similar to that of the recent incarnation of MSN messenger. The twist is that in this room, friends from Facebook, Meebo and other social networking sites can join you while endlessly adding content to a playlist.
As previously mentioned, this unique experiment is still in the beta stages, but the potential for this to be one of the best chat experiences in recent history is off the charts. Let me give you an example of how this tool could be used in a modern setting, which I very well may be using it for too.
Say it’s the night of a huge UFC Pay-Per-View event and no one feels like paying money for it. My three friends and I join the room and go on a quest to find the best possible quality live-streams from across the internet. We put each stream in a queue, so that if one goes down, we each have another to fall back on to continue enjoying the action, all while talking with one another in real time through either the basic chat option, or better, webcams and microphones, making the whole scene that much more like being in an actual room together.
This may seem a bit similar to something a certain small company planned on doing recently too. And by small company, I mean Microsoft. To refresh your memory, Microsoft really focused its efforts during the E3 2011 on making the Xbox 360 more of a content-sharing machine, while pushing the boundaries of entertainment by allowing us to enjoy movies with friends from all over. What Groupideo promises is essentially the same thing, and to be honest, I personally feel it can be better at it too. Which is saying something.
Is the beta perfect? Absolutely not. There are still many things to hammer out, functions to add, and changes to make. But as previously said, there is some serious potential in this application if done properly. Having myself and some friends enjoying a film online in the same chat room sounds like fun. Plus, it allows us all to watch it at the exact same time, eliminating any problems as mundane as precisely when someone presses the play button.
I’d recommend giving it a go. Spreading the word. And giving feedback. As a fan of this product, I want to see it work. It’s not quite there yet, but if done properly, it’ll give a whole new definition to what we call ‘movie night’.
Want more info? Visit Groupideo via your favourite social stalking site. Still want more info? Read more about it’s launch via nextmontreal.
