Tools to help discover new and engaging content easily

Over the past few days, several posts have popped up on social media, asking for recommendations on how to spend time in the lockdown due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

If you are one of those who have seen the pending list of movies, read all the books in your collection, are done listening to your favourite music artists and are now on the lookout for new things, here are a few apps and websites to help with the search:

Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar and other streaming services have a plethora of content but not the best recommendation engine. You can spend time browsing or searching through individual apps but it's better to use one of these discovery apps to decide on what to watch next.

Movix — This website uses artificial intelligence and deep learning to understand your taste in movies and then give you recommendations on what to watch.

There is no registration required, and the interface is beautiful. You need to like the movies that you prefer, and the recommendation engine immediately gives you suggestions on which films you should watch of a similar genre. Also, you can further sort out the recommended videos basis of year, keyword, rating and genres.

For those who don't want to go through the process of giving your preference, the website also has a section on collections based on various themes such as westerns, war movies, and popular animations and so on.

Taste – Movie & TV Recommendations — The aptly named app gives you movie and TV series suggestions based on your taste. On the first run of the app, it asks you to rate a few movies to understand your preferences (you can skip movies that you haven't watched).

After the initial setup, the app shows your top matches in an easy to use swipeable interface. For each recommendation, you view rating and details, watch the trailer as well as read other user comments. You can even choose the streaming services that you currently have to filter recommendations (currently only supports Netflix and Amazon Prime). Other similar apps you can try include Watcha, Betaseries, Letterboxd and TV Time.

JustWatch — JustWatch started as an app that helped find which movie is available on which streaming service.

However, now, the app has grown into a fully-fledged recommendation app for TV series and movies. You chose the type of movies/TV series you like, and the app recommends you what to watch.

It also continues to show what's new across streaming services (supports the majority of Indian streaming players). There is also a section on popular movies/TV shows, and you can also create your wishlist within the app.

Almost all streaming music apps available today give you theme/genre-based playlists where you might discover a new track. However, if you want to listen to emerging artists and new sounds, then you should consider the following.

Soundcloud — This one claims to be the world's largest audio and music streaming platform with over 200 million tracks. The app has a dedicated section of New & Hot that lists tracks based on various genres. In the playlist, you can view how many times a song has been played, view artist profile, check comments as well as create custom playlists.

Gnoosic — Gnoosic is a website that gives music recommendations basis your preference. You need to provide the name of your three favorite bands, and the site will then suggest another band/artist that you should check out. If you don't like the suggestion, you can choose to get another artist's suggestion. It's a simple website, but the recommendations it gave were apt for our music taste.

Indie Shuffle – New Songs — The free app is ideal for those who want to find new music as it's curated by team members from all over the world. There is no sign-up required, and the app shows a list-based interface with various tracks. You can choose to shuffle play songs randomly, hear popular tracks of the month, or choose to listen to a curated playlist. All songs are tagged by genre and also detail on why the team likes a particular song.

When it comes to books, it's easy to find a bestseller or a book from a known author. However, there are new authors continually coming up, and there could be books that you might have missed because it never made it to the charts. To find your next read, try these apps and sites.

Goodreads — This is the first app that anyone would recommend you for books. It has over 75 million users, and you can discuss books with other users through the app. There is a dedicated Explore tab where you can view featured lists, discover books by genre as well as see news on recommended books. You can keep track of books you have read as well as create a catalog of books you want to read. The app gives you the option to buy or borrow books as well.

WhatShouldIReadNext — The website works on simple formulae; you tell the name of the book that you like, and it will recommend similar books that you should read. You can also click on title, author, or category to get more recommendations along with a direct link to buy the book. While the recommendation page is free to use, you will have to sign-up for an account if you want to create a personalized reading list on the site.