Sometimes it can be fun to watch movies or videos as a group in real-time even when everyone is located in different regions of the globe. There are some new apps that make this usual solo endeavor a more social experience. Here’s a run-down of the best web apps available for sharing videos in real-time with groups for free.
SynchTube provides a simple way to share any video from YouTube including your own original videos that you’ve uploaded. Just copy and paste the YouTube URL and create a room for the viewing part. Then share the link with your team. The room can be public or private which is a good option to have. This allows you to have private sessions for training, for example or public sessions where you can share a demo of a new product or service with the general audience along with your team members. It allows live chatting so everyone can interact during the viewing experience. Here’s a sample room that I created with the short film “Validation”
Note: You can actually create a playlist of videos to watch in your public or private screening rooms.
If you want to setup a viewing party for video content of your own, then try Meebo Rooms which lets you or any member share videos. This is done simply by copy and pasting the URL of the streaming video, such as from YouTube. The videos then appear in order on a timeline. The room includes live group chatting so everyone can comment while watching the video. One of the nice things about Meebo Rooms is the fact that it can connect you to all of the major instant messenger services such as Yahoo messenger, AIM, MSN, GTalk, and more.
Here’s a live sample of a Meebo Room that I created for Dad-O-Matic.
CBS Social TV has been around a while but it continues to improve with time. This can be used for non-business social activities for employees. You can watch many programs in either a public room with others or you can create your own private screening room where you can invite your own team members or friends. They’ve added the ability to connect your account to your Facebook profile which helps the invitation process a great deal. Every room you create gets its own link that you can send out to those not on Facebook.Once in a social TV room you can chat live or privately and even throw things at the screen such as tomatoes, darts, hearts or kisses. Some of the programs you can watch are well-known entries such as How I Met Your Mother, Survivor, CSI:Miami, Medium and more.
