Blippr recently removed invite-only requirements and entered into public beta, launching with the latest release a number of new features and a complete redesign. My colleague Ernst-Jan pointed out that the service allowed users to recommend things like music and films by writing reviews or rating them, when he reviewed the site in February. I wondered, so what is the deal with Blippr? I am accustomed of listing them online on IMDB for years now, and browsed around the site rather pre-judged, only to be surprised with the web 2.0 ’schwing’ that Chris and Jonathan added to the media reviewing concept.

Pro’s:

1. I have been listing my favorite movies on IMDB’s ‘my-movie’ service for years, but recently started thinking of quitting since IMDB started asking money for their premium services. Blippr is totally free, and seems to generate income from sending people to Amazon to buy all the media their friends recommend.
2. Blippr is not just another social network, they currently allow users to integrate within the context of other social networks. Currently, the application allows users to post their ‘blips’ with Twitter, Friendfeed and Facebook.
3. The site allows users to import lists from Amazon’s wishlist, Goodreads and Librarything.

Con’s:

1. I wasn’t surprised to find out that IMDB doesn’t allow users to export their data. But a web 2.0 service like Blippr should support open data! I can’t export my carefully entered data.
2. From my top ten movies, five were found! The site has difficulties with foreign movies, something IMDB has covered with the wide spread community. Can’t they integrate the titles from IMDB?

I would recommend to check the site out, at least to see the great reviews of different media. And with some effort, the site is able to recommend you with some new media for this weekend!