web culture: October 2008 Archives
Here's a video that's sure to go viral, from MoveOn.org:
Build your own video at http://www.cnnbcvideo.com/index.html
Google Alerts is one of the most useful, yet basic tools for monitoring the Internet. With the current service, you receive email notification of your preferred searches when new information is added to the index.
If you're new to RSS, or just hungry to learn more, visit this link, which aggregates popular links tagged "RSS" at del.icio.us.
Harder-to-reach audiences are ripe for social media interaction
Boston (September 25, 2008) – Sixty percent of Americans use social media, and of those, 59 percent interact with companies on social media Web sites. One in four interacts more than once per week. These are among the findings of the 2008 Cone Business in Social Media Study.
While I'm working my way through the excellent "Traneumentary," I'm also happy to report that Bob Dylan's "Theme Time Radio Hour" season three begins this Wednesday.If you've ever seen Dylan in concert, you know how enigmatic he can be. So I was a completely surprised to hear him open up on his radio show. He's a charming, genial, quirky host, with an excellent sense of humor and an even better playlist. Each episode is based on a theme, which is explored with music, anecdotes and interviews, all held together with Dylan's bemused presence. You'll hear lots of vintage roots music, including jazz, country and rhythm 'n blues, along with a sprinkling of the best music from modern times.
CROZ FM has archived the shows from seasons 1 and 2. I highly recommend you visit and grab a few shows. Or, you can subscribe to XM Radio and listen on channel 2, XMX, every Wednesday.
Finding time to listen? That's your problem.
In the photo: Bob's playing a sweet old Gibson J-45.
Here, you can watch "Be Here to Love Me," a documentary about the wonderful songwriter Townes Van Zandt ("Pancho and Lefty"). There's a catch: wildly inappropriate commercials may intrude on your viewing (in my case, eye lash makeup ads, not exactly great targeting). Oh well, small price to pay. Enjoy the film, click through, and share the love.
If you're an indie filmmaker, this may be a worthwhile distribution channel.
Learn more from Walt Mossberg's column, originally published in the Wall St. Journal. One more warning: the service is still in beta, so you might find some bugs. But it worked fine for me.
The Wall St. Journal says Joe Vella "aims to be the Ken Burns of the podcast world." He's completed massive audio documentaries on some of the leading lights of the pop and jazz music worlds, including a 33-part epic on John Coltrane, featuring interviews with McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Cobb and Sonny Rollins.
Hit his website for a complete rundown on his oeuvre. You can follow the links to listen online or at iTunes.
Here's a nice feature on him at Apple's website. In production: works on Stephen Sondheim, Miles Davis and Motown.
Load up and listen.
