RABT - App Curates YouTube Videos Based on Your Tastes

A startup based in New York and Greece is attempting to change the way we watch videos online with its app, rabt — pronounced "rabbit" — which launchedin the iTunes store on Monday.

The app creates a custom-curated playlist for iPads and iPhones by selecting from a database of over 500 videos. The videos are initially selected by a team of curators, and are then customized for individuals based on reactions to the videos they've watched.

When users first access the app, they're presented with a variety of photos, which users select to create the basis for a personalized profile that reportedly reveals tastes and interests.

However, the personalization doesn't stop there. After each video watched, a user has to either upvote or downvote it before accessing the next video, enabling the app to keep up with the user's preferences in real time.

Yiannis Broustas, rabt's CEO, explains that this kind of immediate feedback and response system is what differentiates rabt from other services, such asYouTube Recommendations.

The immediate upvote or downvote system takes it "a few steps further than YouTube Recommendations," Broustas says. "The model [YouTube has] is good, but we take it further; [YouTube] Recommendations are based on what you've watched, but they're often missing context," he explains.

Broustas says that just because you've watched something doesn't mean you actually like it, which is an ambiguity that rabt is trying to address.

Rabt accesses videos from YouTube's API, with most videos comprising an average length of three minutes and spanning a range of topics.

Users can watch up to 60 minutes of video a day, Broustas explains, since the app is designed for use in moments of relaxation, during commutes, or while catching up on news.

Rabt is free, and available for iOS, although an Android app is in the works, Broustas says.

Do you think this app could be useful in creating a more customizable video-watching experience? Or are you content with services such as YouTube Recommendations? Let us know in the comments, below.