Puddlegum » Website http://puddlegum.net indie rock music blog Sun, 25 Sep 2011 20:14:51 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Facebook Blog Networks adds Friends feature http://puddlegum.net/facebook-blog-networks-adds-friends-feature/ http://puddlegum.net/facebook-blog-networks-adds-friends-feature/#comments Sun, 09 Nov 2008 22:12:18 +0000 Flick http://puddlegum.net/?p=1154 By now most people are familiar with Facebook Pages, where anyone or any entity can connect with their fans. Considering that Facebook has over 120 million active users and ranks as the fourth most-trafficked site (according to comScore), utilizing Facebook could potentially send your website quite a bit of traffic and exposure.

Blog Networks is a lesser known Facebook application that aggregates blog feeds. Add the application and you can become a reader (similar to being a fan) of a blog. Then the most recent posts from each blog you read will be listed in your Blog Networks news feed (a separate feed from your Facebook feed).

Inside the Blog Networks app, you can begin to sift through the list of blogs you read in your Blog Networks News Feed list. Vote for a post by clicking on the green thumbs-up icon next to the title of the post and others will be more likely to find the post even though they may not subscribe to that blog. The Most Voted tab shows a list of the posts with the most votes (self explanatory) out of all the blogs on Blog Networks.

Blog Networks added a new feature today that lists the latest posts from blogs that your Facebook read. You can also see a list of blogs that your friends have subscribed to, listed either by blog or by friend. This new feature should greatly improve Blog Networks since it creates a more fluid network, exposing you to the blogs your friends are reading.

Mashable posted some startling statistics about Blog Networks: There are 17,000 blogs already added to Blog Networks. 300 blogs are being added every day. They currently have over 230,000 monthly active users.

Join the Puddlegum Blog Network and invite your friends!

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]]> http://puddlegum.net/facebook-blog-networks-adds-friends-feature/feed/ 1 Indie on the Move: helping you book shows http://puddlegum.net/indie-on-the-move-helping-you-book-shows/ http://puddlegum.net/indie-on-the-move-helping-you-book-shows/#comments Fri, 07 Nov 2008 14:00:04 +0000 Flick http://puddlegum.net/?p=1125 There have been numerous attempts at creating websites aimed at helping independent artists book shows. Typically the sites are difficult to navigate and are bogged down with too many options yet not enough usability. Indie on the Move is a brand new site that making it easy to complete the task of booking shows without over complicating it in the process.

Indie on the Move was created by the touring band Zelazowa who boasts of performing over 500 shows in two years without the help of a record label, booking agent, or manager. Their passion is “to help you do the same.”

The site is straight forward in function: start with the map of the USA and click on the state you wish to tour. You’ll find a list of venue, complete with phone numbers and ratings. A drop down list allows you to narrow the list according the city.

As a member of Indie on the Move you are able to add venues, comment on your experiences with a particular venue, message other members, and store notes. Best of all, the site is completely free.

http://indieonthemove.com

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    ]]>     http://puddlegum.net/indie-on-the-move-helping-you-book-shows/feed/ 1     Bandcamp: viral distribution http://puddlegum.net/bandcamp-viral-distribution/ http://puddlegum.net/bandcamp-viral-distribution/#comments Thu, 18 Sep 2008 15:01:06 +0000 Flick http://chasinglions.com/?p=1870 There is a new network for bands called Bandcamp that is well worth your time. Artists can sign up for an account and create a page. Here are a few things that Bandcamp is doing that sets it apart:

    Bands can sell their digital music (or give it away for free). When fans download your music they decide what format and quality to download the files in… Mp3, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, or Apple Lossless. To accomplish this, Bandcamp requires that you upload the songs in AIFF or WAV format, and they handle the conversions.

    “We provide fast, dependable streaming and downloads of your entire catalog, and we do it for free. Give away your music, sell it for a set price, or let your fans name their price — it’s up to you.”

    You have the option of allowing fans to set the price of the downloads (think Radiohead), or you can set the price yourself. Provide your PayPal information to receive payments for downloads. At this point Bandcamp doesn’t take a percentage (they’re still determining what it’ll be, but promise it’ll be less than 15%).

    Your music spreads in a viral fashion (Bandcamp is calling Viral Distribution), as fans embed your songs around the web. The audio players have an option to download the song, taking them to your Bandcamp page.
    <a href="http://20minuteloop.bandcamp.mu/track/dr-vitus-werdegast">Dr. Vitus Werdegast by 20 Minute Loop</a>

    Check out 20 Minutes Loop for an example of a Bandcamp site.
    Sign up for a Bandcamp site: http://bandcamp.mu
    Watch the screencast for a demonstration of their features:

    Bandcamp Screencast from Ethan Diamond on Vimeo.

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    ]]>     http://puddlegum.net/bandcamp-viral-distribution/feed/ 0     Eight Ways To Improve Your Band Website http://puddlegum.net/eight-ways-to-improve-your-band-website/ http://puddlegum.net/eight-ways-to-improve-your-band-website/#comments Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:17:16 +0000 Flick http://chasinglions.com/?p=1813 I began to gather information on a large list of bands, and realized how 90% of them (I just made that number up) are missing out on simple ways of marketing themselves online. Record label websites have a tendency to be a little better, but they’re still missing the concept of viral marketing. So I compiled a list of eight ways to improve your band/label website…

    1. RSS Feeds – Wouldn’t you want hundreds of people to be updated the moment you publish a  news update? RSS feeds aren’t a new concept yet it’s rarely used by bands and record labels. Though many music fans may not use RSS Feed Readers to follow their bands, enough would if bands and labels made them available.

    If more label and band websites made RSS feeds available, music blogs would have an easier time staying updated and finding your news updates without having to visit your site. Consider that if a typical music blog covers 1,000 bands each year (I made that number up too), there’s no way a blog can check 1,000 websites every day to see if any news worthy updates have been posted. RSS feeds make it more likely that music blogs will pick up on your news.

    Providing an RSS feed also enables you to import your news stories into your social networking sites around the web, turning your updates into Facebook notes, for example.

    2. Forget Flash Driven Sites – Five years ago Flash websites were all the rage. They looked nice and they were highly creative, which is the reason I still hear bands saying that they want their site made in Flash. But there are major problems with Flash websites. They’re usually difficult to update, they don’t always work, and they rarely provide RSS feeds.

    A major studio asked me what I thought about Flash websites. My answer was, “They look nice, but I hate them.” I went on to explain, “Since there are so many people accessing websites via their cell phones, you need a website that breaks down nicely. Flash sites simply won’t work on most cell phones so you’ll be missing out on some potential clients. You’re also assuming that everyone has the latest Flash player installed, and they don’t.”

    Instead of building your website in Flash, use Flash driven applications for your media… such as video players, audio players, and widgets. Keep in mind that some of the viewers of your website won’t have access to your media, but at least they’ll be able to read your latest news or find tour dates.

    3. Using Myspace As Your Main Artist Page Is A Mistake – Not everyone uses Myspace, partly because Myspace crashes their browser. In order to build a decent looking Myspace page, you have to break your page by inserting code in specific places. What a terrible idea! Many Myspace pages have a dozen applications running javascript, so your fans may be stuck with a spinning beach ball or hourglass, waiting five minutes before they can hear your music.

    Unfortunately, Myspace became the de-facto for artists and the online music community has suffered because of it. We’re stuck with downloading Mp3 files titled with 32 random letters and numbers, such as full_82f42f56d71543163654d54217076907.mp3. Upcoming Shows and the Mypsace Players leave us without the ability to embed the player or feed the information on other sites, working against the concept of viral marketing.

    4. Embed Content – Hundreds of social networking sites have made it possible to embed content on your websites. Youtube is a prime example of why this is effective. If you need to post audio, videos, photos, etc., pick a social networking site that provides embedding code, and feed media to your website.

    5. Widgetize Your Content – If your websites provides RSS feeds, you can create widgets so your fans can embed your content on their websites. This concept makes your information viral, spreading from website to website. Widgetize your content at: Widgetbox.com, Gigya.com, Clearspring.com.

    6. WordPress – You don’t have to build a great website from scratch. WordPress has come a long way since they started, and it’s really easy to set up. You may want to have your friend help you get started in designing a template, but you can make a dynamic website that uses today’s web standards.

    7. Ping.fm – If you’re afraid of having too many social networking sites, try using Ping.fm. By providing the login information to dozens of your social network accounts, you can post content to all of them from one website. Update your status, mini-blog, blog, or all of them from one website. Ping.fm also has a mobile app and an iPhone app, making it easy to update your fans on the road. If you use WordPress, you can update all of your social networking sites using the PingPressFM plugin.

    8. Engage With Your Fans – The best thing you can do is update consistently. Never let your website lapse more than a week without fresh content. Even if it’s just a photo, at least your fans will know that you’re progressing. They want to see the world through your eyes, hear about your dining experience, and watch footage from your touring van. Engaging with your fans will keep them coming back

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    ]]>     http://puddlegum.net/eight-ways-to-improve-your-band-website/feed/ 3     Amie Street: not the typical digital store http://puddlegum.net/amie-street-not-the-typical-digital-store/ http://puddlegum.net/amie-street-not-the-typical-digital-store/#comments Wed, 06 Aug 2008 15:13:54 +0000 Flick http://chasinglions.com/?p=1514 While most people think of iTunes (and now Amazon) when thinking of a digital music store, the number of digital stores has grown tremendously over the past five years. There is a digital store that you may have not heard of, called Amie Street, and it takes a unique approach towards selling music… an approach that honors Music 2.0 principles and combines social networking aspects.

    At first glance, Amie Street looks like a normal digital store; sign up for an account and you’ll find out that the members affect the price of the songs. When a song or album is added to Amie Street, the price is set at free. This gives the album an initial boost of downloads and helps the artist climb into the charts (since so many of us are attracted to free music). As people begin to download songs, the price per song slowly increases, capping at .98cents per song. Amie Street sets the value of the songs according to demand of the song.

    As you purchase music you earn REC points, or recommendation points. You can’t simply jump into the site and begin recommending songs you haven’t purchased, either. You need to earn points so you can recommend songs to your friends. When you recommend, you can write a short review of the song and add tags of artists that the song reminds you of. This helps other members find the music.

    Why would I want to recommend music? Besides the thrill of being active in the Amie Street community, your recommendation actually grows in dollar value. If you’re one of the first people to recommend a song, the value of your recommendation increases as others download the song and or recommend it. You can cash in on your recommendation and make money (not just store credits). The value of your RECs is shown as your STREET CRED, or street credits. 38 STREET CREDs shows that the value of your recommendations is .38 cents.

    Amie Street ties in social networking into the store. You can friend people, whom you’ll send and receive recommendations. If you love an artist you can become their fan. Your library reveals all of the music you have downloaded, which can be downloaded again in the future at no extra cost. Amie Street eventually learns what style of music you enjoy, and based on tags and buying habits, the site will suggest music.

    We decided to test Amie Street out, so we created a ChasingLions account, and uploaded The Soft Drugs‘ Get Back album. If you join Amie Street, befriend us and recommend songs that you think we should hear.

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