In the real world one of the best way to find cool TV shows or discover new and exciting music is to ask your friends. My daily consumption of shows like The Onion, TED Talks or Coolhunting was started because friends brought these shows to my attention. However up to now, social tools for online video viewing have been few and far between. When you found something cool - you had to copy paste the url and email it to someone whom you think might like it. This is of course is not an optimal way of sharing viewing tips or creating social interaction/context around great content.

So at Joost we are working to change that. We are making new features that allow you find great content based on what your friends are watching and to make it easier for users to communicate to their buddies which shows they may like. A few of those are already on our site. You can go into your friend's JoostFeed and see what they have been watching and/or you can show people when you find something VERY funny by using our shout buttons (e.g. LOL'ing). We will continue to release these types of features as we strongly believe that the social side of online content exploration has been largely ignored.

We added a new feature today that allow you to get email alerts if your friends do something on our site that we think you might find interesting. (e.g write a comment or shout "WTF").
You can of course disable the notifications under your settings (or de-friend really annoying people :) if you start to get too many notifications from your friends. We are also teaming up with a number of social networks and online tools so you can share your viewing with your friends that way. So there you go; now I'll be off to find some cool stuff to watch - with a little help from my friends.

Henrik
See what I am watching on: http://www.joost.com/users/henrik

P.S. small tip of the day. To disable alerts – click on "settings" and then select "preferences". Select your preferences – and save them by clicking on "Change" The direct link is http://www.joost.com/users/ InsertYourJoostNameHere /preferences/
Another small tip is that you can go into stealth mode under the 'privacy' setting if you want to have friends - but don't want to broadcast your activity.

I'm JR, Joost's resident film geek and the guy behind The Best of Joost Short Films. I'm not into indie snobbery or celebrity obsessions. I'm just addicted to watching as many Joost films as possible and serving up the best, most unexpected collections for you to check out...

First up, I'd like to present 11 of the funniest, wackiest shorts on Joost - it's the Best of Joost Comedy Shorts. Spam-Ku is directed by up-and-comer Steven Tsuchida and has been featured at top festivals around the world from SXSW to Raindance. It's about a hapless young hero who wins an unparalleled, transformative prize in a haiku contest - a lifetime supply of Spam! The short is nicely shot and has a really likable, quirky quality that I think you'll appreciate. Other highlights include a priceless cartoon spoof of Russell Crowe, a silly caricature of the branding business by Andy Dick, and the unabashed, off-beat internal monologues of Lev's Tales of Mere Existence.

I like these shorts because of their cutting observations of human behavior and their unrelenting parody of the everyday norm. From dry Brit wit to Spam-inspired poetry to a fake commercial for Toxic Toys, this collection is guaranteed to make you smile...

Friend me when you get a chance and keep me posted on what you like!

American Thanksgiving is coming up next Thursday. It used to be that Thanksgiving was the unofficial start to the holiday season...but it seems like Halloween has taken its place. And as our Canadian friends remind us, it should be timed to the harvest, like their Thanksgiving is...but that idea seems as archaic as pilgrims and Plymouth Rock. So we're left with a four-day weekend and a lot of turkey.

And just in case that's not enough to be thankful for, we asked our colleagues: what music videos are you most thankful for, and why? And they responded...some seriously, some maybe less so...

Daniel:I am thankful for this video, because I would follow Will Smith through the gates of Hell and he doesn't even have to curse to make slamming jamz!

Owen: Oh, the irony...The Killers are the best British band to come out of America.

Ben: This Flobots video inspired me to get off my ass and actually do something this past election season.

Dagmara : The Knife - Heartbeats, 'cos it's a skinny jeans dance floor classic.

Lidija: The Knife - Pass It On is simply the most beautiful video ever. Director Johan Renck and editor Johan Söderberg are both the most talented in their respective fields...and the output of them working together is a masterpiece. But I hope you start dancing in random places someday...

Remco: I love Moan mostly because it is a very good song, with a lovely music video, that is both touching and surreal. It has all the characteristics of a being in love theme song.

Cindy: Is my name associated with this? I've liked Leona Lewis ever since I saw her on Oprah earlier this year.

Pim: You cannot listen to Hallelujah without getting goosebumps...a very talented singer/songwriter died before his time.

Elissa: Freedom is still my favorite song to dance to...although I admit I always loved this Michael Jackson video as well because the closing dance scene is so ridiculous.

Jens: I saw this Obituary video and went out to buy the album - it's pretty awesome.

And last but not least...

Matt: This video always gets me - every single time.

Almost as big as Thanksgiving is the tradition of the day-after leftovers. The good thing about leftovers is that they usually taste better than they did during the actual cooking. I'm guessing there's a reason rooted in chemistry that explains this phenomenon, but let's be honest: turkey, on its own, is kind of bland. That's why you put so much gravy on it, and that's why it tastes really good the next day when you layer it on a sandwich with tons of condiments, or make a turkey chili, or...well, I'm not worth much in the kitchen, but there are tons of leftover options.

But I digress, especially since this list of movies and film should not be considered leftovers - there were just so many music picks I decided to split up the lists. Anyway, it's time for part two: what our staff is thankful for, shows and film edition.

Cortney: Underworld: Evolution – because who wouldn't be thankful for a sequel to Underworld?

Daniel: I am thankful for this video because Seal puts on a really impassioned performance and it makes me excited for this year's show!

John: The Onion's In the Know series is a hilarious laugh-out-loud take on news roundtable shows. The deadpan acting and outrageous topics make this show a must-see. If you need a pick-me-up, just add a few of these shows to your queue and you'll be giggling in no time. My favorite is their hard-hitting debate over the question: "Are our children learning enough about whales?"

Don: Procrastination always leads me to greater focus. This and a number of related videos by the same artist are very funny stuff.

Ludo: Blue Reef Adventures might be long, but it was the first show to be played on any version of Joost.

Maartje: I am very thankful for The Pearce Sisters by Aardman Animations. It's sad, quirky and funny at the same time, and the artwork is beautiful. Also by Aardman, I love The Adventures of Jeffrey. Completely wacky and just great.

Lauren: Minute Planet, a film festival of one-minute films, is pretty much the weirdest channel ever, but totally fun – very, very short Brazilian films. I specifically like Little Pie, Explicit Sex (not what it sounds like) and Cubes.

As for me, Balloonhat has long been one of my favorite documentaries on Joost; I used to be so upset when my balloon animals "died," but I received a disproportionate amount of joy from their all-to-brief lives. I'm totally jealous of this guy. In a completely separate vein, I'm a little jealous of these guys because their jobs are to beat people up. I'm conflict-averse in a verbal way; I'm pretty sure I'd run away if anyone really wanted to fight me.

So many choices...so little time. So why not take it easy on a Friday afternoon and start your weekend early? Plus, it's certainly a lot more refreshing to watch Joost than it is to track today's financial markets.

Up first, we have A Very Special Episode: Thanksgiving. I admit, I started watching these yesterday to help get in the mood...and realized that my family Thanksgiving is missing a bit of the drama and comedy – instead of a homeless person, we invited over my dad's colleague. Instead of beefy dessert, we had pumpkin soup (which, after much protest, was finally removed from the menu).

Next we have the Music We're (Secretly) Thankful For. I will admit – I am not ashamed – I picked many of the songs on this list. This prompted my colleague David to say that I had the best bad taste in the office, and I took that as a compliment. Anyway, there are some real gems. Like, remember when there used to be the versions of songs that were cut in with scenes from movies? Some of my favorites were the Celine Dion/Titanic duet, and Bruce Springsteen's "Secret Garden" mixed with Jerry Maguire (and OMG, I didn't realize that the video for "Secret Garden" has scenes from the movie...pure gold). One might stop to wonder if Tom Cruise secretly harbored dreams of a music career – and showing up in these music videos was the way he made it happen.

Oh, and you might have heard about a little movie that opens this weekend? If you start watching Vampires Suck now, you can learn everything you need to know about vampires before twilight.

And we still have more to be thankful for. And because it's the holidays, a little lesson to go along with each "present."

1. Gridiron, Gadgets and Girls...if you're a hot-blooded male, these are all things to be thankful for...and if you're not, the lesson is "things are not always what they seem." You might see that title and think, oh, I am not a manly man, I would not like this channel. And while there are probably some shows with hot girls that probably aren't for you, there's also Rudy, quite possibly one of my favorite sports movies of all time.
2. Thanksgiving Recipes...the lesson here, courtesy of Woody Allen, is "tradition is the illusion of permanence." Tons of options here that can - ugh - spice up your Thanksgiving deal - or make your leftovers palatable. In case anyone who's cooking my Thanksgiving dinner is reading this, I have one request: stuffed mushrooms.
3. Thanksgiving How-tos...with these tips, you, like the Boy Scouts, will always be prepared...for anything that could possibly happen during your Thanksgiving day celebration. Although I am jealous of the disaster-solver's costume - I always tried to get my family to dress up like Pilgrims for Thanksgiving dinner, but they never would. Ever.
   
4. Cheaters...last but not least, with a rather predictable lesson. Cheaters never win. Just ask Joe Greco. And Misty Love's husband. 

Oh, there's no place like home for the holidays - except for people like me, that means at least two hours in an airport, if there are no delays.

In fact, I found myself in just such a situation this past weekend. Stuck at Newark, and then in Atlanta, with nothing to do but watch the rotating screen that told me I had absolutely no chance of getting upgraded. 

But...like MacGyver, I was able to create a movie theater for myself - and you can too! All it takes is a laptop, some Wifi, and Joost. 

Plus, there are eight great movies that you have to watch now. Or at least before the end of November, so that gives you five days. 

We have the family flicks: Jumanji and Legends of the Fall. Hey, I never promised a family story for the family.

And the chick flicks: Sleepless in Seattle and Sense and Sensibility. (I realize that thee movies fit in more than one category.)

There's the sci-fi/horror: Flatliners and Christine. 

If you expect/worry you're going to be stuck in an airport for four hours, sit back with an epic: Lawrence of Arabia.

And last but not least, because it's the sappy feel-good time of year, there's Finding Forrester. 

Enjoy - and stay tuned for more movies in December!

Late last night, a Joost application made its way into the Apple App Store and subsequently onto many iPhone and iPod touch devices. I’d like to take a moment to share with you my perspective on what this means for you (the user) and for us (Joost).

First, for you it means another way to view our ever-expanding library of content on Joost. The first version of the iPhone application provides access to our full content library via Wi-Fi. You can browse, search, or simply enjoy some of our most popular programs. Personally, I’ve found it to be a great way to enjoy our extensive music video library and settle some of those “who did that song?” bets at the same time.

We’ve just scratched the surface of the full Joost experience with the first version of the iPhone app. For example, our social features and personalization haven’t found their way to the app yet. We are working to get more of the things you like about Joost on the iPhone right away. If there are particular things you’d like to see, drop us a note at feedback@joost.com. Like all first versions, you may encounter issues as well. If you do, please take the time to drop us a note with the details.

Secondly, for us this is another example of the flexibility of our new Joost platform. In October, we launched our Flash-based player (no download required) and that was big news. But the even bigger news for us was that video was served via our new hybrid content distribution infrastructure – one that respects our peer-to-peer roots but also allows us the flexibility of choosing the best distribution option based upon what, where, and how a user is watching. We’ve quickly followed the initial launch with an embedded player and now the iPhone application. That is just the beginning, and it’s the thing that has us all very excited about the future – and particularly a future that lets you enjoy Joost whenever and wherever you want.

Happy (mobile) viewing!