Called 5by, StumbleUpon’s new iOS app is designed to let users, well, stumble upon videos that might be of interest to them.
5by is basically a video concierge service that sifts through the mountains of videos available online, and creates custom playlists based not just on your mood and interests, but also the time of day and the length of time you have available for viewing.
Whether you’re at work and want to watch videos on your lunch break, or looking for a dinner recipe while waiting for the bus, 5by can pull up relevant content.
Making the system more useful it that it grows and learns with the user over time — as your response to recommendations are used to fine-tune the recommender process.
5by advertizes its features as:
‣ Personalized Video
‣ Highly Curated Channels
‣ Time Sensitive Streams
‣ Time-Based Commenting
‣ Continuous Stream
‣ React to Videos With Custom Emoji’s
‣ New Content Daily
‣ Viral Videos and Hidden Gems
‣ No More Wasting Time Searching
‣ Ability to ‘Favorite’ Videos
5by is available free from the App Store for any iOS devices running iOS 7.
Source: iTunes
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
