Battleground: Twitter

If you keep current with TechCrunch (which I highly recommend you do), you have probably heard about the ongoing battle between two of the world’s technology superpowers, Google and Microsoft. I find this battle to be particularly awesome for two reasons. First and foremost, I will admit that I am a nerd and this is like the Cold War of tech history. Secondly, I’m in Mountain View, California, home to Google’s Headquarters and Microsoft research offices. Essentially, I’m out here on the front lines of an aggressive battle over patents and the general dominance of the tech world. I never thought of Silicon Valley as a war zone.

In reality, however, location has nothing to do with this battle royale, nor should it considering our obsession with the internet and the almighty “Cloud” (enter dramatic music clip here). So, these two giants have chosen to fight primarily by tweeting. Is it just me or does that make this whole thing go from awesome to pathetic instantly? I can only imagine if all wars were fought this way… “Sir, we have to retweet, the enemy has already tweeted four times, and the insurgents have retweeted their tweets! Abandon ship, U.S.S. Public Image is going down!” I apologize if you actually read that, but you get my point. This is stupid.

The root issue has to do with Google’s claim that Microsoft, Apple, and some other parties bought patents without letting Google bid on them. The patents have to do with mobile devices, and Google is trying to prove that these companies are attempting to assassinate that funny looking little green guy named Android. At first, I was upset, because I like Android and I enjoy saying “Droid” in that creepy, low-pitched robot voice. What would I do if that went away forever? But, Microsoft had the sense to display an email proving that they did offer Google the chance to bid on the patents, and that Google declined. The fight is still ongoing, with the two companies slapping each other in the face. Apple on the other hand has watched from the sidelines.

So, who will win the war? Will Microsoft triumph and get back into the spotlight, or will Google come out on top, with Android eliminating Microsoft’s chance at competing in the mobile phone industry? Here’s the answer: Apple. That’s right, the iPhone will still continue to dominate, regardless of how much Google and Microsoft duke it out in Twitter. While Google and Microsoft continue to diminish themselves, they are drawing any attention away from the positive aspects of what they have to offer. Let’s be honest, everyone knows that Android has an obvious advantage over any Windows phone, so Google is hurting themselves more in this process. Meanwhile, Steve Jobs is laughing all the way to the bank, just like he has been for years. Well played sir, well played.

Images courtesy of:
www.android.com
www.wtfhub.com

Carlin with Technology

Google Plus and Why it’s Awesome

I’m sure some of you have heard of Google Plus, and you may be thinking, “I already have Facebook. Why do I need another Social network service?” I’m going to go out on a limb and make the argument that Google+ may be better for Google than the creation of Android, and I’m sure a lot of you have Android phones (and maybe you even like them). I was invited to try out Google+ a few weeks ago, and I decided to set up an account just to see what it’s all about, figuring I’d never go back and check since I have Facebook.

It turns out Google+ is really awesome, and once it’s out of testing phase it will be even better. As of July 20, Google+ had 18 million users versus Facebook’s 750 million users, although once it goes public, the numbers will continue to rise exponentially, meaning more content will be accessible and the entire experience will be better than it is now. But why is it so great? Its best quality is its simplicity. You drag people you want to follow into circles, and they don’t necessarily have to add you. You can then see what they post depending on whether they make it public or private. The circles allow you to visualize your different groups of friends or colleagues, and you can share different information depending on which circles you want to share with.

So how can this benefit the music industry? First and foremost, it is very easy to post media content to Google+, although there is a better chance that people will view that content compared to content posted on Facebook, due to the organization of the service. If you are a famous musician, fans could make a “favorite artists” circle and then choose to look only at that group’s content/posts. This is similar to Facebook groups, although Google has done a great job simplifying and organizing this system.

Essentially, you will be able to follow your favorite artists like you would on Twitter, but all of the content (videos, pictures, songs, etc.) will be easily visible in the news feed. This is especially helpful for new artists who want to be recognized. Anyone can view their content without having to go through the friend request process and thus artists can be followed by many people without having to look at everyone else’s content. Now artists can keep their profile nice and clean while still having a better chance of reaching more potential fans. It’s brilliant!

If you haven’t already, you should request to be invited on Google+ and start following your favorite people. Even if you find it boring at first, remember, it’s going to go public soon enough, and once that happens, it would be extremely beneficial to have a profile already set up along with media content so that people who want to follow you will be successful in searching for you the first time. Plus they’ll actually have something to look at. This is a great new marketing strategy that can greatly benefit those who take advantage of it early on. So, what are you waiting for? Sign up for Google+ now!

Images courtesy of:
impactlab.net
drivingtraffic.com


Carlin with Music and Technology

Spotify has Landed!

I was recently fortunate enough to be invited to Spotify, and for those of you who don’t have it yet, register. Now!

Spotify is similar to Grooveshark in the sense that you can search music online through Spotify's massive database. You can then build playlists of this music, and whenever you have internet access, you can listen to all of it. I forgot to mention the best part though: it’s free. There are subscriptions that you can pay if you want to avoid ads or download the music to your phone or iPod, but if you just enjoy listening to as much music as you want to on your laptop for free, with the ability to save playlists, then Spotify is perfect for you.

Another thing I love about Spotify is its connection with Facebook. Any of your Facebook friends who have Spotify show up on the right side of the screen, and you can drag and drop songs on their icon to send them music. So, if you want your best friend to know that you’re listening to “Party in the USA”, just drag and drop it into their profile. You can even send a message along with the song. For instance, in this example, you’d probably add, “I have terrible taste in music. I hope your ears bleed as much as mine do when I listen to this song on repeat. Have a nice day, buddy. <3”. Luckily, your friend doesn’t have to listen to the song if they don’t want to, but maybe it will be the perfect addition that they never even thought of for their Gangsta Rap playlist.

Another cool feature is the ability to share entire playlists, along with displaying your top songs and artists based on what you’ve listened to. Just a warning though, Spotify has some strange fascination with “Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster the People. I listened to it twice and it’s my top song. Yet, no matter how hard I try, I can’t get Snoop Dogg on my top artists list…

So maybe they’re a little racist, but regardless, it’s a fantastic service and I would encourage everyone to sign up if they haven’t already. It’s a great way to discover new music and keep track of it so you can keep enjoying it.

You can register for Spotify here:  http://www.spotify.com/us/hello-america/

Image courtesy of: www.celebrityhotnews.net

Carlin with Music