More than half the internet is filled with videos and more than half the fun of videos is sharing them. Showyou combines all the videos shared from your friends and turns them into a personalised TV network for your iPad. The beautifully interactive 2D wall will give you material to watch for days.
What is it?
Showyou, Free, iPad and iPhone. Do you remember Flipboard? It’s the app that took your social networks and turned it into a beautiful magazine on your iPad. Showyou does something similar, but for videos. It aggregates the videos your Twitter and Facebook friends are sharing (and in the future, Tumblr and Youtube peeps too) and organises them (along with other popular videos) in a big 2D-grid wall. You can swipe across, down and whichever way to see if you want to watch the videos on your wall. It’s video only, the few lines of text is reserved only for the headlines and who shared the video.
Using Showyou is like having a personalised network at your fingertips, videos are played within the app and you can comment, thank, or share to your Facebook and Twitter straight from the app. It’s a video junkies paradise and really quite perfect for the iPad. You’ll feel as if the app was made just for you.
Who’s it good for?
People who love watching videos on the internet. People who love telling people what videos to watch on the internet. People who don’t like to be left behind on what’s going on in the internet. People who don’t know what videos to watch.
Why’s it better than alternatives?
Because it’s oh so easy. Connect your Twitter and Facebook and you’ll start to see interesting videos from your friends fill up your wall. It’s fun to use because you’ll be able to jump in and out of videos so quickly and watch videos you’ll most likely find interesting.
How could it be even better?
The layout is purposefully expansive but I wish it were a little more controlled (i.e. in a more linear magazine layout instead of multidirectional wall of videos) because it’s easy to get lost and forget where you are. I wish you could save some videos to watch later. I wish you could e-mail videos to friends too. Also, a little more info about each video – like length, a star rating, etc – wouldn’t hurt either. Oh! And the ability to add channels that match your interests like ‘sports’ or ‘tech’ or ‘girls’ would be great. Lastly, it’s not all Showyou’s fault but I wish the video thumbnails were clearer.
Showyou for iPad and iPhone [iTunes]