Over the last week or so, I started seeing updates on Twitter about movies and TV shows coming from something called GetGlue.com. As curiosity would have it, I checked out GetGlue and discovered it’s actually a burgeoning social network that mixes three distinct elements: what you’re doing, what you like and suggestions of other things you might also like. With the recent release of their free iPhone app, GetGlue has now opened itself up to a new audience—the “check-in” crowd—but calling it a Foursquare for movies, TV, music and books is selling it short. That’s only the tip of the iceberg.
After downloading the app, you’ll need to log in to GetGlue (which you can also do with your existing Facebook or Twitter credentials) and check-in using one of the eight main activities (watching a TV show, listening to music, playing a video game, etc.) or you just start rating your favorite entertainment as you see fit. Checking in and rating items even earns you virtual “stickers”that you can also get real copies of, should you wish. Something worth mentioning is how GetGlue asks you to rate things—not as granular as the Netflix five-star scale yet not as simplistic as the Facebook “Like” button—by choosing “I like it”, “Don’t like it”, “Save for later”, “Add to favorites” and “Not for me.” It really forces you to think about your choices because any suggestions you get—which sometimes appear in mere seconds—will be based on those ratings. Maybe you really got a kick out of watching all those reruns of Green Acres when you were younger, but can you still say you like it now? Maybe it’s just “not for you” anymore.
Now, the potential for a constant barrage of updates to your Twitter and Facebook friends about what TV show you’re watching is pretty high (I personally don’t mind seeing what kind of shows my friends are into), but one of the great things about GetGlue is that it’s also self-contained. You can disconnect from those services while still using the app and interacting with the community on the site itself. Users that contribute frequently to discussions can be elevated to “guru” status, which lets them make suggestions to other users, while anyone can follow another user (or groups of users) with similar tastes for a more organic approach.
After using GetGlue for nearly a week now, it seems clear to me that their goal of giving people a way to discover new entertainment is working. I’ve already discovered some new movies that were just outside of my scope or never caught my attention, and seeing where some musical artists intersect with others that I’d only heard of by name is always a treat. Before GetGlue, I had tried using newcomer Miso’s similar app, but without the dedicated community that wants to know what you’re watching, checking-in felt more like bragging than sharing. That’s where GetGlue has found the missing puzzle piece—and yes, I’m liking it a whole lot.
