In an invitation to engage Eastside Angelenos in a locally-bred streaming media experience, Mike Binarios and Sean Traba have officially unveiled the Beta version of ToobBox.com. As a free video streaming syndicate, ToobBox.com provides users with a unique way to quickly build, organize and share unlimited streaming video playlists by fusing YouTube-hosted content with a “back-to-basics” media player interface.
“This site is the simple and obvious solution for people who simply want to listen to music while working or studying,” said Traba, ToobBox.com designer and daytime search engine optimization specialist. “All the website coding and planning goes on locally; the East L.A. area serves as our creative mecca. We really want the East L.A. community to become involved in ToobBox.com, since it’s literally being built in their backyard.”
Binarios, born and raised in East L.A., spent his high school years playing in an ‘80s cover band before meeting Traba at the University of California, Irvine in 1998. Despite their contrasting majors (Binarios in computer science; Traba in aerospace engineering), the two found themselves following career paths in web development and promotion after graduating. In 2009, the duo created the site with a mission to provide solutions for their music-loving peers’ online listening and video organization problems. The project was born out of Binarios’ parents’ house, where its official headquarters remain today.
ToobBox.com currently allows users to search for YouTube-hosted videos and add them to an unlimited amount of personalized playlists, which can also be imported and shared among members. However, the biggest advantage of the playlist-organizing ToobBox.com over its popular video hosting competitors is the minimalism of its interface, which makes building video/music libraries as simple as a two-click process. Unhassled by a content-heavy layout or flashy advertisements, the site’s navigation is user-friendly enough to master upon initial attempts. The duo also hosts a website blog, ToobBlox, to connect with users by discussing anything from site developments to general music interests.
“It’s really the quickest way to build an online music library right now,” said Binarios. “Although that’s its most convenient function, people can also build video playlists by topic such as favorite video recipes or acts from their favorite comedians. And it’s even better for parties! We notice people will fight over who can create the best party playlist.”
The development of ToobBox.com feeds off of the Eastside community, with sporadic brainstorming and design sessions occurring at local eateries and the releases of new site features often celebrated in Japantown.
Although the site is purely “sweat capital” and not currently generating profit, Binarios and Traba have been focusing on “getting down with the community” and building a solid local user base by supporting local events and bands. Likewise, they are constantly observing the gaps and issues that users of large-scale video hosting sites encounter in order to improve ToobBox.com’s capabilities.
The duo were mum when asked about future development releases, but encourage Eastsiders to check out the site and stay tuned.
“We have so many exciting features in the works,” says Traba. “We hope that ToobBox.com will be one of the main destinations on the Internet in the near future.”
For more information or to create a free account, visit www.toobbox.com.