Last night, the news of David Bowie’s death spread quickly over social media. The news came from David Bowie’s official Facebook and Twitter profiles. His official Facebook page has over 6,000,000 “Likes,” and his Twitter page has over 772,000 followers. Though his illness was not public knowledge, the musician’s death comes after an 18-month battle with cancer.
How Listening to Music Can Make You a Better Blogger
It’s a pretty common fact that many writers and bloggers listen to music while they are imposing their latest and greatest novels, short story, or blog post (it also helps conquer writer’s block). A 1993 study in literary journal nature stated that when the participants listened to a Mozart sonata, they scored higher on standardized tests of reasoning ability then participants to sat in silence. This allowed experts to reason that listening to music while completing a task that takes up abstract for spatial reasoning can positively influence work production. [Read more…]
Twitter used to write collaborative opera lyrics
The Royal Opera House has announced that it’s opening up the writing of lyrics for a new opera to users of Twitter.
It’s simple: search for @youropera and then add a line of 140 characters or less.
Tweets will be compiled and sent to be scored by composer Helen Porter, and will be performed at the Deloitte Ignite 09 (4-6 September, Royal Opera House, London). [Read more…]
Twitgigs: live music in London gets Twitter treatment
The vibrant London live music scene is getting its first official airing on Twitter in August as the Twitgigs experiment begins.
On 6 August at The Vibe Bar, a battle-of-the-bands competition will take place featuring live on-screen Twitter feeds of the event.
The bands appearing — including Essay Like Nephew, The Seal Club Clubbing Club and Mike Dingham — have been picked because they already have a strong Twitter following, and Twitter users will vote for the winning band on the night. [Read more…]
Zemanta adds Last.fm support
Zemanta, the third-party blogging service that recently extended its reach to Safari and Chrome users, has announced that its users can now gain access to the Last.fm music database.
Bloggers using the service can now add contextual links to relevant tracks, videos, artist pages and other content stored in the Last.fm database.
Practically, this means that users who write about musicians and bands will gain access to a variety of information including biographies, artist photos and music video pages — and it’s all legal.
This will probably suit music and entertainment bloggers more than others, but others may find it useful to be able to link to this trusted information from time to time without fear of breaking copyright.
EMI exec: Bands shouldn’t have to Twitter unless it’s fun
The senior vice president of digital strategy at EMI has said that he believes that bands should only use Twitter if it’s fun and is building community.
Cory Ondrejka, who looks into ways for bands to interact with their fans online, told Music Ally:
“If you’re a band, you’re using Twitter because, y’know what, it’s really kinda fun giving your fans this blow-by-blow account of getting to the stage, or your bus breaking down in a snowstorm.
“Sharing stories is what builds communities, and for some artists that is really enjoyable. But if Twittering is work for you, maybe you should have someone else doing it for you. And that’s okay.”
5 Holiday Copyright Hazards for Bloggers
For at least some sites and some bloggers, the holiday season has already begun on a rather depressing note. Sites that have posted prices or information from Wal-Mart’s upcoming “Black Friday” advertisements have already been threatened. At least one site, SearchAllDeals, has received a DMCA Takedown Notice regarding it.
Even though the copyright element of the claim is questionable, especially considering that you can not copyright facts, including prices, it is clear that the holidays can introduce a new set of copyright hazards for bloggers and other Webmasters.
So, as we rapidly approach the holiday season, here are five of the biggest copyright hazards that you may need to watch out for as you celebrate the season online. [Read more…]
What Band Would Your Blog Be?
Music has always held a ridiculously important place in my life. So on the way into work this morning, when I was struggling with blog topics to write about, a thought popped into my mind:
What if your blog was a band? Who would you want it to be?
First, you would need to figure out the type of “music” your blog is currently generating.
What is the tone of your posts? Are they short and punchy kinda like a Ramones or Bad Religion song?
Are they musically all over the place like a Queen song?
Do they have an introspective nature like a Coldplay or Radiohead?
I want my blog to be like Pearl Jam (though nowhere near as good or cool!). Their songs vary greatly in length (just like my posts), their tone is consistent (as far as knowing what you’ll get, yet still finding it enjoyable), and they put on an amazing live show (fewer edits!).
Most of their songs are solid, however there are a few tracks that are skippable. Though those are few and far between.
What band or music group is your blog like?
