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This little bit about our internal monologues amuses me so very much.
Tag: internet
Google, Music, Spotify and Being Behind Knowledge-Wise
So, my family watched quite a bit of YouTube. Everything from Rick Steves to vloggers to geek stuff. I’ve learned so much more about the extended Star Wars universe than I ever thought possible. I consider myself a great master of Jedi lore and wisdom, until YouTubers instilled great humility in me.
Seemed a good idea to pony up for YouTube Red: I hate commercials. HATE! Clearly I failed to read my terms clearly enough as, just today I discovered that I had full access to Google music. So my Spotify account was a bit redundant.
I spent today exploring it. Quite happy so far. I like the interface, and that it’s not a resource hog like Spotify. Plus I seem to have better access to artists like Peter Gabriel. Oh, they have podcasts in there (yeah, Spotify does, too) and my favorite podcast, Radio Free Burrito is in there, too. No sign of Design Matters with Debbie Millman, but I guess we can’t have everything. Hopefully we’ll get them in Google, too.
I’m leaning heavily towards dropping Spotify and getting a family plan for YouTube Red. I’ve not sure what my metrics are for making the shift. Music selection is a big one, and resource use. I’d like to see how they compare regarding artist compensation, too.
Now here’s my weird Seattle connection. Years ago, one of the first streaming services was Real Networks, headquartered in downtown Seattle. I explored them for awhile before launching into iTunes and streaming radio. And evolution has evolved us, so, here we are.
What are you using? I’d love to hear. Also, if you could give a “like”, share, it helps support the site. And follow us! We’d love to stay in touch.
Spotify, Apple Music, And The Masses Of Online Music Choices
A few months back, I gave the new Apple Music a go. As a long time Spotify user, I was mainly compelled by access to Apple’s library, with the expectation that the service would have access to the full catalog. Well, that’s not the case. With that, it’s not quite clear when a song is available for streaming vs. only for download. Well, at least that’s how I found it. Ultimately, I found the whole experience underwhelming. Particularly sad considering Apple’s aura as masters of design. Another compelling piece was the price of the family plan. Spotify has been making some noise of matching that plan, though. That would make the Apple benefit small, very small. Lastly, there’s the bit where Spotify’s been arguing with artists over pay. I need to agree that the public discourse Spotify launched was very defensive and, to sound like Wil Wheaton, “dickish”. However, as I dug around the internet for data, I didn’t find much to support that artists are making more with Apple, or that the Apple Music service was going to make them able to subsist.
I cancelled the renewal of Apple music. However, I’m not entirely convinced that Spotify is the best. There are so damn many of these services out there and I’ve only scraped the surface. And, as a Seattle guy, I need to consider to home-spun entries into the space: Real Network’s Rhapsody, probably the oldest streaming service out there. Then there’s Microsoft’s Groove. As a former Microsoftie, I feel compelled to give my chums in Redmond a fair shake.
My next steps need to include giving some thought to what constitutes “the best”. I know I want access to a large library, one that includes great jazz and classical content besides the latest pop hits. I want to work with a company that’s working hard to ensure their artists are compensated fairly. The interface needs to be clean and intuitive. And music discovery is critical. I want a family plan, so the three of us can all use it with independent accounts. Oh, and it needs to excel across platforms. Any given day I’ll be on Windows 7, 8, Mac, and Android.
So check in and see where this leads. And let me know what you’ve discovered, what you recommend, what pitfalls I should be considering. Your wisdom is what I value you most.
Digg is back | VentureBeat | Social | by Gregory Ferenstein
I’m quite happy to read that Digg is Back over at VentureBeat. I was a heavy user at Digg some time ago. As the article notes, several key changes caused me to drift away, mostly to Reddit. Now, though, I’ve grown weary of the crowd at Reddit…meaning the trolls. The ugly commentary and rude treatment of each other there made me wander off. So, I’m pleased that Digg is making some sort of a comeback.
Yet I’m skeptical. In the internet world, comebacks have met minimal success. AOL, Yahoo! and MySpace come to mind, mainly. But we’ll see. Anything is possible. And their is a niche to be filled for the wonky-types, at least.
Oh, and I just discovered the Digg Reader. Building in a RSS reader could make this particularly glorious to me. Just starting the exploration, so we’ll see what comes of it.
Online Music Explorations
Another thing that makes me *heart* the internet: music. The ability to connect, on myriad levels, with a huge variety of artists just delights me.
Today I started exploring both Reverbnation and SoundCloud. They seem like great ways to dive deeper into lesser-covered music. One of my hipster-eque traits: I love to be able to say “I knew that band back before they were famous”. Just need to get paid for such.
I like both sites pretty well, though they’re pretty different. I spent more time at ReverbNation, but mostly to explore a friend’s band (check out Verdant Mile). SoundCloud hosts one of my favorite podcasts, Story Collider. Having the larger library of content is particularly delightful to me. I’ll need a deeper dive, though, until I really can form an opion.
Any of you use either of these much? Love them? Hate them? Know of another site that’s way better? Let me know!