So we just got used to the explosion of moodboard madness that is Pinterest, when Chill gains momentum as the video version of the pinboarding phenomenon. TV is not just TV any more folks…it, like everything else, just got social.

Chill launched in August 2011 and had a re-design update last month. The premise is much like Pinterest, with videos being padded to your stream, sorted into categories and the ability to follow users and their video watching habits. Chill co-founder Brian Norgard, acknowledges the similarities with Pinterest; “Everywhere we go, there’s this Pinterest for video comparison, which isn’t all that inaccurate,”  (via Mashable),  “But the reason we think it’s important is because the web has been so diffuse that eventually you need to move to a curational model. Algorithms are not going to solve everything.”

Chill is the brainchild of the team behind Ad.ly and Namesake, and is very similar to Turntable.fm in style and ethos. A Facebook account is needed to sign up for the site, and in order to watch a video in a social “room” you need a friend on Facebook already on Chill in order to participate. Rooms can be shared on Twitter or via email, and once there you can load up a VJ queue with videos by searching from within the site for Youtube and Vimeo videos. Videos can also be watched in unison with friends online in the room, allowing for social comments, points to be awarded, and thumbs up/down to be given to a video.

As a concept, Chill is in an early stage of evolution; althoughthe format is not dissimilar to the Pinterest, the additional benefits of watching videos and moving imagery in a social way have far reaching effects. Real time lectures and discussions can be facilitated, media houses can launch music videos or exclusive virals, and the power of the moving image can be harnessed in a different way; YouTube has changed how we interact online with the ability to self broadcast, and with the extra social addition this is certainly a site to engage with, play with, and be there when the movement takes off.

Social TV is here – how will you use it?

Jo