A startup called Althea Systems wants to reinvent the way we find videos online. Its app Shufflr is already available on desktops, the Web, iPhone, and Android, and today it’s launching on the iPad.
Shufflr co-founder Rajnish (he goes by a single name) isn’t shy about his larger ambition. In the same way that companies like Facebook are reorganizing the web around social identity and connections, Rajnish wants to build a new form of video discovery that’s organized around people — one that could eventually surpass television. Yes, it’s a crazy goal, and while I’m not sure Shufflr will be quite that popular, I was impressed by the product that Rajnish showed me earlier this week.
Rajnish says that one way to think of Shufflr is as a cross between Flipboard and Pandora — like Flipboard, it pulls content from your social networks and organizes them into a slick layout, and like Pandora, it recommends content based on your personal interests.
Shufflr’s main feature is something called The Daily Fix, which is a stream of recommended videos based on data such as your social work activity, your location, and what’s trending. When we brought up my Daily Fix, it was a fun mix of tech news, politics, music videos, and random, amusing content — some from my friends, some from people I know, and some from celebrities. Each video is shown with the commentary of whoever shared it on Facebook or Twitter. And even if you sign up for Shufflr today, you can go back and see what it would have recommended for you one day or one week or one month ago.
There are other ways to explore videos in the app. Using the Flip Side function, you can look exclusively at videos shared in your social stream, at videos shared by celebrities in certain topics like tech, or at content from a specific channel like BBC.
Shufflr already has 2.8 million registered users Rajnish says, and the average session time for an iPhone or Android user is between 10 and 12 minutes. With the iPad, he’s hoping to see that number go up dramatically.
You can download the app here.
Althea Systems is an early stage technology start-up with a mission to build products that demystify todays complicated multifunction consumer electronics by delivering a simple but engaging user experience.
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