MySpace Panasonic | Digital Social Screens

I’m fortunate to have some gizmos and gadgets in my house and my office. Xbox, Wii, PS2/3, LCDs, Mac abound and more. As social networks have tried integrating with these sources to bring a true “Dual Screen”  or OTT (Over the Top) experience, I have jumped on as an early adopter to test it out.

First lets define this DualScreen thing:

Basically, media industries (music, movies, gaming) want you to enjoy your entertainment as you normally would. However, instead of commenting on an event by tweeting or posting from your mobile or your nearby laptop (the number research shows that nearly 80% of you are doing so) they want you to integrate with their networks and make it seamless. At the very least, they do not want you to leave what’s called the “common platform” and use another tool. This means if you are playing Xbox and want to share a high score or find others playing, Microsoft wants you doing it within Xbox. If you want to post on Facebook, they want you to not turn off your Xbox and instead just switch menus.  CBS wished you Tweeted about basketball in their chat rooms, award shows wish you would post pics on their site an dnot facebook . Why? Traffic, time on site, advertising dollars, frequency, interaction. These are all marketing metrics that go to the bottom line.

They also know that you will get sidetracked with other news and get involved in a tweet war when you *should* be watching their commercials or fancy graphics.

However, some want to make the experience easier for you so that you will share what you are doing, this feeds the social graph and we are right back to metrics.

OK, class over.

So, MySpace is the latest to jump into the fray… See story here: http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2012/01/ces-myspace-on-your-tv-pandora-in-your-car.html

Well, here’s the problem: keyboards.

I don’t want a keyboard next to my LCD Tv or my Xbox controller and I’m not going to unhook my Mac one.

Anyone who has tried a video service on an LCD or the social services on gaming platforms knows that typing sucks ass. Just typing in a search is a bewildering experience of arrowing to the corresponding number that matches with a letter or character. It’s hard enough for a username, but to search Youtube on a digital OTT is next to impossible.

So, Myspace is going to want you to watch music related channels and comment/share/spread through their site in real-time. Without a keyboard, this deal is dead. Perhaps they will be smart and wrap in Text to post from Mobile, I suspect not. If they do it will be mostly iphone based.

Most people don’t buy wireless keyboards for TV because it feels like work.

And this is why we use our mobiles and laptops to comment, tweet, share, post. It’s just where one does that.

So, Keyboards are still key, funnily enough. Just watch. You’ll see.

Happy New Year…

I learned a lot in 2011, which is my mark for a good year. Half was brutally hard- financially and personally- but that left room for a stunning recovery financially, health-wise personally and professionally. I Lost too many close friends way too young, but that reconnected me with other friends and my place in this life.

I learned I can trust myself and skills to pull off some amazing business stuff. I learned I am very fortunate to have music as a gift and I intend to focus on creation as a means of gratitude. I met people from all over the world that enriched my life and was in awe by science and technological breakthroughs. I learned that some people are not worth my good time as they simply want to take. I learned I need more sun, less food, more naps and less success. I also learned to pace and set my own time boundaries. Making room to play and reflect.

I laughed, drank, shared deep thoughts and fantastic moments with so many of you personally, thank you for that. So, here’s to raising a glass for another year of life, whatever that may bring.

Cheers to you and yours. Much love and peace and joy.

What is a Song? What is the visual representation of a song? It’s not easy to answer.

Is it a picture of sheet music? Kinda. Although if there are no words, that’s really a musical interlude or movement.

Is it a video? Maybe. Although, serious musicians would probably disagree. And you can’t really put a picture of an instrument as a visual representation of a song because it may not be appropriate to show a Cello as the standard for an Iron Maiden tune.

Maybe tune is a better word.

Regardless, I am asked constantly: “What kind of song should I write to get a placement?”

My answer is this: Don’t write Songs. Write about life, passion, love, heartache (yours or others’) and write about it uniquely in your own view in a way that to anyone who speaks your language will get. Write about emotions. Write about situations.

Then you have written a song.

Of course, recording that “song”  is a whole new ball-o-wax.

Music

St. James Media is here for all your music and music production related needs.