Looking to pinch some pennies? Forget Netflix - the US only, costly subscription service - and try this new (and free) social networking site, which lets you browse your friends' DVD collections, request the movies you'd like to borrow, and lend out your own discs.
But as Newsday reports, LendAround is a little different. Instead of trading or bartering your DVDs, LendAround lets you lend and borrow movies from your pals, track who's got what, and create wish lists of the flicks you're waiting to see.
Here’s how it works: Just create a free account, then start adding DVDs to your online collection. The DVD entry fields displays possible matches as you type, so building your collection isn't all that arduous. Have a prized boxed DVD set you'd rather not lend out? Just don't add it to your collection.
Next, start adding friends; the site lets you grab contacts from popular Web-mail sites like Gmail and Yahoo! Mail, or you can invite Facebook friends via Facebook Connect.
Once you've build up a network and everyone's added their DVD collections, you can start lending and borrowing, and the site keeps track of which movies you’ve lent out (and to whom), which discs are in transit, and which movies you've borrowed from others.
OK, but how do you actually send out movies, you ask? Well, LendAround leaves that up to you. If your friend lives nearby, you can just hoof it on over. Otherwise, U.S. Mail works.
LendAround also awards "karma" points for users who send and return DVDs quickly—as well as demerits for anyone who loses, scratches, or otherwise damages a disc.
Overall, it's a clever concept—and frankly, my DVD collection is usually just gathering dust anyway, so I like the idea of actually putting it to good use.
So, what do you think: Like the idea of sharing your movie library with your pals over the Web?