Archive for the 'New Media & Software' Category

How Mixman Failed to become a DJ Hero

Published on September 10, 2009 in Entertainment and New Media & Software. Comments

DJ Hero, a game modeled after Guitar Hero, is making tracks as one of the first video games where the DJ is the central character. And while there were other hip-hop themed games, this one focuses on scoring points. However, I can’t help but think that I saw this turntable concept before. So, let me thell you about a game that was actually an earlier and stylish form of a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software that came out way before DJ Hero, Guitar Hero… even the music producer games such as MTV Music Generator for the game systems. Allow me to (re)introduce you to: the Mixman.

Feel Free to Zoom in

Back in college (1997/98) when the Internet was literally for the bleeding edge geeks, I was rapping and performing shows in the Virgin Islands. After performing songs over other artists beats for a while, naturally, I wanted to remix and create my own beats. So, I studied music production by getting any information from the Internet and music equipment store back on St. Thomas. While I managed to collect a keyboard, I was never able to get two turntables and a mic that isn’t a computer knockoff. The next best thing was to get a DAW and while Acid existed back then, it was expensive. So, this is where the Mixman came in.
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The Case of the Fake People: Keisha Knight Pulliam on Twitter

Published on April 14, 2009 in Entertainment and New Media & Software. Comments Tags: , , , .

Keisha Knight Pulliam... or so we thoughtWere you following Keisha Knight Pulliam on Twitter? 5,000+ followers, which included celebrities, were all fooled by a prankster, proofing a point that no one is safe from a prankster. (Yes, I was fooled as well. I followed a lot of people, and I rarely talk to celebrities on there because I don’t really see a point.)

The account was created innocently as “K_KnightPulliam,” and with tweets that sounded like it was from the real person. The gig was up when she followed some celebrity friends that knew the real Pulliam was not using it at all. The user of the account then decided to “Put Em On Blast” and changed the name to FakeRudyHuxtbl.

Before “she” left Twitter, she placed celebrity’s phone numbers on Twitter and warned future users that anyone can fake a celebrity. *rolls eyes*

(The bye-bye message after the jump)

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Making the Most (or a better Alternative to) #FollowFriday on Twitter

Published on March 20, 2009 in New Media & Software. Comments Tags: , , , , .

If you been on Twitter, you might notice that every Friday, there’s #followfriday. It’s basically an Internet meme that was started with good intentions. Mashable helped explained the concept and even tracked the process. It makes an excellent case study on how Twitter works (hint hint to those artists that want to take advantage). However, there’s a few problems with this concept.

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How To Be A Successful Artist Using Social Media (or Not)

Published on March 13, 2009 in New Media & Software and Social Commentary. Comments Tags: , , , .

image So, you’ve done a few shows, produced a few tracks and all of your friends are telling you to should share your talent with the world. You created a few user accounts on MySpace, Facebook, Twitter & ReverbNation, just to name a few. After setting up them and uploading your tracks, you hope that someone will take notice. After 4 weeks, you realize no one notices you or your music. You decide to take bigger steps, but how?

Well, I’ve got a few ideas to help you get your music/message to as many people as possible. Just follow these tips to get the numbers you are looking for: Continue reading ‘How To Be A Successful Artist Using Social Media (or Not)’

Diddy is Now P.Twitty

Published on March 6, 2009 in Entertainment and New Media & Software. Closed Tags: , , , , , .

This blog post is dedicated to Wayne Sutton because this type of topic is so much like him. LOL

Say what you want about Diddy, but even I have to give credit where credit is due. Twitter is the new way for musicians to keep in touch with their fan base. Shaq done it. Nore is doing. Joe Budden is on the case. And Diddy ante up the twitter game. How you, asked? Well, if you find yourself asking “which chicken tastes better: popeyes or kfc” yesterday, then even YOU got caught in his matrix.

Diddy on March 4th launched “P. Twitty TV” to promote his newest album that he’s currently working on called "Last Train to Paris", a “concept album” that’s going to be more like a story (his words, not mine). So, in addition to tweeting updates, he’s also giving “close to real time” updates on YouTube. As of this post, there’s currently 6 episodes.


All Six (and future) P. Twitty Episodes are here for your viewing pleasure.

While Diddy’s idea isn’t exactly new (vblogging), what makes this different is that he’s promoting his twitter… and that alone! Of course, one may wonder why he’s promoting Twitter harder than all his other social profiles or even *gasp* his own website? But, his main website is on his twitter page, promoting possible way you can reach out to him.

Does Diddy engage in conversations? If you’re lucky. Does he follows back non-celebrities? Again… if you’re lucky. I would follow him, but he’s not my up of tea…

… but he IS entertaining. By doing this, he’s schooling hip-hop artists on branding in this new age. Record labels, take notes. Diddy’s schooling y’all!

P.S. – If you are from the U.K., his name is P. Diddy over there. Over here, we don’t know what to call him anymore. Don’t believe me?