I didn't know Uriel or know anything about him, but I used wmii as my main window manager for quite a while around 7 years ago. It was my introduction to tiled window managers, and I haven't looked back since.
1) Yes, this is something I am thinking hard about.
2) Yes, points and gaming like features with player rankings are key here. I would be very happy to hear about more specific thoughts or suggestions.
3) I am not yet thinking too much about monetization, but there are definitely a lot of interesting opportunities. Your idea here is something I will keep in mind!
My thinking behind this was indeed to somehow bring a TV feel to the web.
But I am actually leaning towards adding even more interactive features to the site. We already have TV. And Youtube and other sites are already moving in the direction of what you describe(eg. Youtube "leanback").
I believe that this is the wrong approach. The web makes it possible for viewers to interact in new ways, and I think that there is a lot of potential here. I believe that the future of TV-like entertainment will be something that is very interactive/social and game-like. People have already suggested that I add to this site points and game like features, which I plan on doing, among many other interative features.
Also, I have even more long-term plans for expanding beyond video, but that is for another comment :)
Yes, "TV internet" and interactive game-like features are two different markets.
I agree that the web provides new possibilities of interaction. But I still think there's a big market for TV-like streaming; a lot of people just want to sit back and watch something they find interesting. And no website on the internet has got it right yet. I can imagine people logging into your website via facebook, and seeing a list of channels that their friends are currently watching.
I'm not saying you shouldn't add any game-like features. I just think they're a distraction from what you already have. After all, content is king when it comes to these sorts of services. I think you should focus on that before game mechanics, since content will be what attracts users the most.
On the other hand, this is just an opinion of some guy on the internet :)
1,2,3) You are right that the front page does not explain any of this. My thoughts right now are to hope that people click through into a video, and then from there that things are hopefully self-explanatory.
Regarding revenue: I have several ideas about this, but no clear well defined strategy. I would love to hear any ideas :)
Hey guys, I've been reading HN for a long time (since before it was called HN). I rarely comment or submit to HN, but I am really proud to finally submit my site here.
1. where will you get the actual video content from?
2. I think that voice would be better for this type of stuff, atleast with friends. Typing is slow and not that interactive.
3. Have you thought about focusing on educational videos? Those strike me as the best candidate for group watching because discussing actually makes more sense than during, say, a movie.
4. So what's the deal with the name? :)
5. The design needs work. For example, I found the voting process to suble.
I too have thought about making video's more social but honestly I'm not sure what the value is in adding chat. But maybe the idea needs to be fleshed out more?
1. The videos are embedded from youtube. They are hand selected.
2. Voice is an interesting idea, will think about it :)
3. This is a very good idea, and definitely something that is being considered.
4. The name doesn't really have any meaning. It was just a good domain that was available.
5. Yes, the design needs a lot of work. I'm looking for a designer now. When there are more people voting then it's a bit clearer how it works, but yeah, it could be improved.
Very cool, I registered. How does this differ from jtv?
In addition, needs voting for room members for next video, or to change video. Is that implemented and I just missed it? Otherwise it's just... the Internet on rails.
Could be very cool, needs some/a lot of aesthetic polish and features that make it actually social besides a chatroom and a "tweet this" button (ESPN has "tweet this" buttons as well as chatrooms with real-time game updates. I don't think anyone would call that "social" though.)
I like the concept, needs to tie in more with other concepts of social applications. Also a javascript bookmarklet would be great. Say if I want to show a buddy this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L64c5vT3NBw, I click the bookmarklet on that page and it creates a Frozenhot URL that would take the user into a chatroom and spin up that video automatically. Something like that.
Seems like most of the comments are ambivalent about your idea, and maybe it's been done before, or could've been done 5 years ago, but this could be cool for a lot of people. I can see you getting traction here. (Especially once you overhaul the layout!)
Say if I want to show a buddy this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L64c5vT3NBw, I click the bookmarklet on that page and it creates a Frozenhot URL that would take the user into a chatroom and spin up that video automatically.
jtv is similar but is for live video only. also, i plan on adding a lot more interactive features to the site.
Right now all of the users in the room are able to vote for the next video. I hope this clarifies things. Several people have suggested adding a way for the room to collectively decide to "skip video" which is a good idea that I am considering.
Your idea for clicking a bookmarklet and spinning up a video room is good, but it might detract from the main focus of the site now (and there are actually sites that exist that already do this).
I had a similar idea to this with some minor differences around 2-3 years ago but never ended up implementing it.
Instead of doing this for streaming videos, maybe you could do stuff for TV programs (such a primetime TV or news) so that people could chat with other people in real time when watching TV.
Thank you Uriel.