7 Alternatives to Pandora and Last.FM Whether you are annoyed by the ads on Pandora, the limited number of skips, or the abyss of cruel 30-second song teasers from Last.FM, many online listeners are growing weary of mainstream methods of hearing new music. While the Pandora algorithm is strong, and the Last.FM related artists tool is pretty useful, don’t fool yourself in to thinking that there aren’t other great ways to expose yourself to new music in the depths of cyberspace. Here are 7 alternatives to Pandora and Last.FM that will infuse your day with an uninterrupted stream of music that large record companies haven’t managed to squash under their thumbs yet. StumbleAudio
How to effectively moderate forums As regular readers will be aware, I have often written about the importance of moderation. Articles I have already written on this subject include ‘The importance of speedy moderation‘, ‘Responding to a community revolt‘ and ‘Personal advice – abusive members‘. In this article I want to be a little more specific and write about the most effective way of moderating your forum.
Online Contests Lead to Increases Sales and Better Brand Awareness - WTE Solutions Insightful marketers know the power of hosting contests on their website as a means to generate sales, increase brand awareness, and create a buzz about a company. Online sweepstakes drive traffic to your Web site and keep your visitors engaged which helps convert visitors to shoppers. The information collected via contest entry forms can be invaluable in understanding your potential customers; and with the addition of an "opt-in" acceptance to those forms you can use those names for proactive marketing such as email newsletters. There are well over 100 sites that will link to any site offering contests, and many of these are high traffic sites - so your contest will benefit from their exposure. You can also allow contest entrants to send the contest to a friend - the best source of leads with the least amount of work. Prizes can be as simple as a special coupon code or free product, or more elaborate with shopping sprees or trips.
My Album is Finished– Now What? Ten cardboard boxes arrive in the mail containing a thousand shrink-wrapped CDs. You’re feeling pretty proud. All those precious hours writing, practicing, scrimping & saving, recording… All for NOTHING!!! SMO vs. Engagement: Why They're Different and How You Can Rock Both Many brands and organizations developing digital strategies have moved beyond asking whether Twitter and Facebook presences are necessary. (Yes, they are.) Now the question is: We're on the social web, so how do we make the most of it?
Gamification in Moodle I tried to set up the moodle 1.9 gradebook to reflect xp and player levels. The context is that the student may work on any of the modules at any time so levels are not categories that group activities. Instead I tried to edit the letter grades to display levels. The settings are as follows: 1. change category and subcategory total name to XP etc. 2. set display grade type to real for subcategory and level (real) for parent category sum. 3 Must-Read Articles on Writing a Band Bio or Press Release April 6, 2012 Critics, bookers, and bloggers don’t have the time to listen to every CD or MP3 they receive. Sometimes your music only gets to speak for itself AFTER you’ve spoken on its behalf. How do you do that effectively? Well, over the past few months our pals at the Echoes Blog have posted some informative articles on the art of crafting your artist bio, press kit materials, and press releases.
5 Tips for Optimizing Your Brand’s Facebook Presence Steve Coulson is a partner at The Advance Guard, a new media company that creates radical marketing programs using disruptive technologies, community platforms and social media. So – you’ve set up a Facebook public profile for yourself, your brand or your company, and you’re starting to post content. Now what? BCN Social & Musical Experience (Barcelona Hi All - The purpose of this group is simply to get people together from all cultures and nationalities , party together , learn from each other and make new friends in the process! As a live music lover, all the meetups will turn around concerts; jazz, blues, flamenco, salsa, worldmusic... Barcelona has SO much to offer- and variety IS the spice of life ... So lets check out some of the GREAT venues , shows , concers and nightlife that this great city has to offer!!
Learn something new – your brain will thank you Editor's note: Gary Marcus is a cognitive psychologist and author of the book "Guitar Zero." He is the director of the New York University Center for Language And Music. The idea that learning a new skill - say juggling, cooking, or playing guitar - can be like an addiction is no joke. I should know. How to monitor social media mentions in five minutes a day - TNW Lifehacks One of social media’s biggest obstacles is the amount of time required to do it properly. But it is an obstacle that can be overcome if you put some simple and effective processes in place. In this tutorial I’m going to walk you through a system that will help you stay on top of the bulk of your social media mentions. The best part? Once set up, you only need five minutes a day to make it work for you.
CrowdSurge For his first-ever show in Uruguay, CrowdSurge helped Paul McCartney sell tickets directly to fans from his website, empowering him to sell 35% of all online tickets for his historic concert at Estadio Centenario From theaters, arenas, pavilions and parks to academies, palacios, coliseums and castles, Arcade Fire used CrowdSurge to sell tickets directly to their fans around the world for every show on their The Suburbs 2011-2012 tour After a seven year hiatus from touring, The Knife used CrowdSurge's services to gauge demand for their return to markets across Europe and, ultimately, to sell over 50% of their tickets directly to their awaiting fans How Gotye 'Somebody That I Used To Know' Became an Unlikely No. 1 Dance Hit Nothing says "dance music" more than a xylophone. As previously reported, Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know," featuring Kimbra, ascended to No. 1 on the Billboard's Dance Club Songs and Dance/Mix Show Airplay charts dated May 19. The track also led the Billboard Hot 100 the past four weeks and Alternative for 10 and is the first to top all four tallies. Gotye's 'Somebody' Makes History -- First Song to Top Hot 100, Alternative and Dance Club Songs In the 23 years that the Hot 100, Dance Club Songs and Alternative have co-existed (the lattermost list is the youngest of the three, having premiered the week of Sept. 10, 1988), "Somebody" is the first song to score a No. 1 hat trick, while only two titles had reached the top of even Dance Play and Alternative: U2's "Discotheque" (1997) and New Order's "Regret" (1993).