gaia.com
Now, I know that this show might be new, and maybe a lot of people don?t have the time to watch an entire series, but seriously, can we move on from these types of shows already?
With all due respect, I think you're spot on when you say that 99% of the content featured on premium streaming platforms today is shallow and vapid. I mean really, what is going on? Have you watched the current number one show on Netflix? Blind Love? If you have never heard of it, I'll break it down for you really quick- it's a reality TV show, so it shouldn't be too hard to do- basically two perfect strangers spend some period of time talking with a wall between them. The entire time that they are getting to know each other, they are not able to see each other. By the time the season is over, they have to decide to be together before ever laying eyes on one another. Now, I know that this show might be new, and maybe a lot of people don't have the time to watch an entire series, but seriously can we move on from these types of shows already?
Sure, okay, the argument could be made that this is not, in fact, as superficial as I am making it out to be, seeing as well, the ·lovers? in question are not basing their decision to be with one another on physical appearance at all. Okay, I hear that. But if you have never watched this show, jeez, you should hear the ·conversations? that they have. They aren't discussing anything if import. They are not delving into important matters of the mind, the heart, their core beliefs. For a show that seems to go out of its way to evade the stereotypical reality TV cliché of being vain and narcissistic, it is almost admirable how shallow it still manages to be.
I am not here to discuss the weirdly false cash grab that is Blind Love with you. I am merely using this show, Netflix's most popular, to illustrate a larger point - there is not much in the way of conscious, philosophical, deep, or cosmic content to be found on most of the mainstream streaming services. Where are the shows that speak to our soul? Where are the movies about the interconnectedness of all things in the universe? Where can I stream something that sheds off the entrapments of the ego and delves into the inner light of all living beings?
If you are looking for a streaming service that will offer something more substantial than the typical narrative of digital entertainment, then Gaia is the perfect place for you. I believe that Gaia has stumbled upon a way to explore deeper understandings of society, challenge commercialism and materialism, and explore some of the most fascinating mysteries of human existence. Gaia is an incredibly powerful streaming service that is changing how people view digital entertainment.
Gaia is the goddess of earth and nature, so it's appropriate that she has her own streaming service. Through educational, exploratory, inquisitive, and thoughtful series and films (as well as instructional yoga and guided meditation lessons), Gaia aims to enlighten its viewers so they can connect with the world and the cosmic energy plane.
History
The media company Gaia (formerly Gaiam) was founded in Boulder, Colorado (because, of course it was) in 1988 by Jirka Rysavy. He had a vision of ?serving the conscious consumer,? which has alternately been referred to by sociologist Paul Ray in 1966 as the ?cultural creatives.? Rysavy apparently saw a huge missed opportunity in this underserved niche, and so decided to speak directly to consumers who are educated and tend to make purchases based more on their values than any other motivation. The original name of the company, Gaiam, comes from the aforementioned mother goddess Gaia being linguistically fused with the phrase ?I am,? as a nod to ?the interconnectivity of all things.?
Gaiam merged with the Californian company, Real Goods Solar in 2001. In 2005, Gaia acquired two media companies-Good Times Entertainment and Jetlag Productions. The company continued its ascent, acquiring more media companies in 2007- this time in the form of the sites Lime.com and Zaadz.com in order to increase its online presence and begin to make the shift into digital media, the final frontier.
In 2007, Gaiam TV, one iteration of the streaming service, was launched. It offered videos on yoga, meditation, and pseudoscientific theory. However, it wasn't until relatively recently that Gaia would officially change its name and expand its offerings exponentially.
The Gaiam company made several smart business moves in 2012, when they acquired a DVD distributor from the Universal Music Group subsidiary Vivendi. They merged this distributor with its home entertainment division, resulting in a merger known as Gaiam Vivendi Entertainment. And in 2019, USA Today listed Gaia Inc. as one of the world's fastest-growing entertainment retailers.
Gaia Broadcasting began streaming live events from their newly acquired event center on their Louisville, Kentucky campus. These events are live streamed to 187 different countries, and also come equipped with live translations. They feature big names in the pseudoscience and spiritualist world, such as Graham Hancock, Gregg Braden, Bruce Lipton, Caroline Myss.
Design
The bottom of the page features a quick access to your favorite videos, as well as ratings and reviews from people just like you. Gaia is a great option if you are looking for an alternative to Netflix or Hulu, and its minimalist design is slick and modern.
In the site menu bar, quickly access whatever category or interest you like. You can choose from Yoga, Meditation, Series, Docs and Films, Topics, New Videos, Events, Recipes, or Articles. Below these options is the user menu which is conveniently splayed out. This allows you to access your customized playlists, watch history, the community blog, or Gaia Stream live channel. Few streaming sites are so open in their design and it makes for very effortless and streamlined user experience.
Content
This is one of the things that I absolutely love about Gaia. First of all, this streaming site has a lot of content (they boast over 8,000 videos). But it's more than mere quantity that impresses me about Gaia. The range of different types of content offered is equally impressive. The fact that you can access yoga lessons, guided meditations, series about aliens and ancient mysteries, films about the collective conscious and metaphysics, delicious and healthy recipes, astrology, psychology, articles, a thriving community blog, and a live TV channel all in one place is astounding to me. Some of the stuff goes a little too far off the deep end for my preferences, but hey, there's something here for truth seekers of all stripes.
Desktop and Mobile Experience
This may be the first streaming service that I have been inspired to recommend the app over the desktop site. Usually, I am not a huge fan of watching content on my phone or tablet. But Gaia app is so good, that you can't make use of it if you subscribe. Other Gaia users seem to agree with me on this, seeing as it has an average rating of 4.8 stars on the Apple App Store (from over 49,000 reviews). I don't think I have ever seen an app rated that highly.
Pricing and Plans
The first model is a monthly subscription that costs $10/month.
The second model is a quarterly subscription that costs $30/year.
The third model is a yearly subscription that costs $100/year.
The monthly price for live access is $11.99, while the annual price is $99. The live access fee is charged every month, and it costs $24.92 if you purchase it annually.
To view any of Gaia?s live-streamed events, you'll need the live access tier. You also get access to live chat sessions with experts and replays of all archived events. Gaia is not the cheapest streaming service, but it does offer a one-week free trial if you want to see if it is right for you.
Suggestions that I have for Gaia
I would love to see Gaia become more affordable as it grows in popularity. There are also a few design flaws, such as the fact that the scrub bar and title won't go away when you play a video in full-screen, and the font of the descriptions on the Roku/smart TV app is way too small to read from a reasonable distance. Other than that, though, Gaia has pretty much cracked the code of conscious streaming!