IntoNow is an application that lets friends see what their other friends are listening to or watching on their iPhone. If it sounds a little familiar, that may be because Apple, Facebook and Google are working on similar applications to make their streaming media services better, and that's why it was so important for Yahoo to buy it for $30 million.
Facebook has already had some interest in streaming films and other media on the social networking site, and Apple, too, has tried to create a one-stop shop at iTunes. Android and Amazon are also competing head-to-head with cloud-based music and media streaming and are doing whatever they can to achieve marketshare. While it's unknown if any of the streaming services would help users keep track of what other friends are hearing or seeing, it seems like a no-brainer to include it.
Part of what's great about Facebook, the nation's biggest social network, is that friends connect and comment on things they hear or see. If Facebook continues to allow streaming media, then friends could easily be able to experience media together. Want a few friends to watch "Harry Potter" with you, but they're three states away? No problem.
The same would go for music services, where a user could share a tune with a group of friends and have a group chat about it. Yahoo's social network is a bit patchy, but at least it's trying and IntoNow will likely help rather than hinder its growth.
