Hey all, Is there an open version of Fanhattan <http://www.fanhattan.com/>. And if not, I'd totally be down for helping build that.
If you're not familiar with Fanhattan it's an app that aggregates entertainment media from various sources. It is not a portal to directly watch content but it tells you how to get to the content. Let's say, for example, I want to watch *Memento*. I can search for this film on Fanhattan and it will tell where on the internet to rent, stream or own. Ultimately though an open version of Fanhattan wouldn't exclusively service mainstream closed ecosystems that provide content. But an aggregated database of content that's sold on independent artists. Not one or the other but both. I want to know where to watch *Avatar* as much as where I can watch *Indie Game the Movie*. It attracts the everyday consumer and also might bring more traffic to the independent artist. Ultimately, a perfectly open web, would have a large number of artists selling and or sharing their content and distributing the way they want. A direct download, a torrent etc. In place of proprietary DRM/Streaming services. There's an infinite number of custom pages, online communities and torrent sites that artists might make their content available on. That's awesome but I think that chaos is what keeps everyday entertainment consumers living in locked down ecosystems. iTunes is centralized and safe in their minds and it has a ton of content. A lot of these iTunes like services (Netflic etc) have recommendation services. Some of them are even good. The idea of needing spend time researching and looking from site after site service after service to find content seems daunting to someone that just wants to take a load off and be entertained. Adding a "Where to Watch" widget to a movie's, show's or album's wiki page might be cool but it's limited. And an XBMC plugin is cool but XBMC is tight knit community and not as open as something like web app. I think Fanhattan could service this reality as well but who know if they will partner with groups like Hulu etc for advertising them as a watching source and leave independents in the dust. Bottom line this would be a open webapp that brings together the mainstream and independent media so you can see what's really out there. Like a global channel guide. Thoughts? Best, Ernie
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