Go DJ, That’s My DJ: Plug.DJ Empowers Global Media Lovers

Stephanie Nguyen Jul 28, 2012 Tweet

For a DJ and flash developer of 15 years, Steven Sacks had dreams of bringing the world together on one digital platform. Plug.DJ introduces a new way to find and enjoy music and videos with friends from around the world.

“I’m a huge fan of YouTube. It’s an incredible medium. New and upcoming artists and creative people need to have an outlet to share their creations. I wanted to combine all of those things together. And that’s how Plug.DJ was born,” explains Sacks, Founder and CEO.

With Plug.DJ, you instantly become a virtual DJ. Search for your favorite music and videos, chat in real-time with other music lovers and choose your own dancing avatar. After logging in with your Twitter, Facebook or Google account, your animated avatar is already planted at the DJ station ready to jam the night (or day) away. You have the option to join virtual listening rooms of any genre or create a playlist yourself. If you’re done with your 80’s funk mix, simply leave and join “Trance Tuesdays.”

Seemingly comparable to Turntable.fm, Plug.DJ distinguishes its platform by incorporating video and audio. “We’re not just about the music,” explains Sacks. “Music is a major part, but movie, stand-up comedy and TV show clips are also included in your playlist.”

Plug.DJ is using both YouTube and SoundCloud’s publicly available APIs to access content in a way that is consistent with their terms of use. Because of this, they are granted license to do so by the copyright holders. YouTube search automatically geo-filters the results for media you’re looking for depending on where you are in the world. If you’re in a listening room where your DJ plays a song unavailable in your location, Plug.DJ provides a list of alternatives.

“We want our site to be a destination for people to come where new music and videos can introduce them to new artists and genres,” says Sacks. Now, a Japanese James Brown inspired band and Brazilian dubstep artist can find their way onto your music playlist just by the influence of music-junkies from around the world. In fact, with a multilingual chat feature with real-time translation available in 50 languages, you can talk to people from the Philippines about underground Czech house music.

Guest author Stephanie Nguyen loves digital storytelling, the data way. Follow her on Twitter @nguyenist.