Lala Shutdown: Twitter Top 20
Apple caused a Twitter storm today with the abrupt announcement that their newly acquired cloud-based music service “Lala is shutting down.” I won’t speculate today on what this may mean for the future of iTunes and the music industry. Instead, here’s our top ten reactions to the news—reader discretion is advised.
iTunes Is The 7-Eleven of Media
Mac computers rock, but I’m no apple addict. When I talk on my iPhone 3G I feel like my head is melting, and even though iTunes launches every time I sync, I’ve never purchased music on iTunes. (I have downloaded apps.) The bottom line of this microwavable disclaimer is that I’m not your average music consumer. Apple continues to create a major dependence on iTunes through their mobile products, and I don’t think that anything is going to “kill” iTunes without a war. iTunes is the 7-Eleven of media—
An Infinite Freeway For Music Business?
On the road of sound, there are players, and there are consumessengers. Due to the increase in communication mediums, consumers—the fans—are spreading the message now more than ever. Hence, the consumessenger has emerged. These modern fans are still fueled by the music, but what we’ve seen is a shift to an era where musicians are the engine, and their fans are the only fuel that matters. Gassing up your car isn’t free, but hybrid music fuel can be.
![Facebook More Traffic Than Google [Stats]](http://img.virtualmusic.tv/thumbs/facebook-friendwheel_jahw.png)
Facebook More Traffic Than Google [Stats]
Here’s some graphical perspective on Facebook’s growth via estimated traffic data from Quantcast and Compete. The numbers are significantly different between the sources but the basic trend and relative traffic difference between Facebook and Google is evident: Facebook is a rocket, or, rather a full-blown planet with enough gravity to start a galaxy—the data shows it surpassed Google in traffic in late 2009.
Gaming For A Better Real World
Game designer/researcher Jane McGonigal asserts that collaborative videogames are the key to solving our real-world problems. In the video here, she outlines why she considers World of Warcraft to be an “ideal collaborative problem-solving environment.” She discusses four key factors in gaming culture that give gamers an edge at problem-solving—urgent optimism, social fabric, blissful productivity, and epic meaning.
![Music Photography: Quality vs. Memory [Poll]](http://img.virtualmusic.tv/thumbs/paramore-by-apartmentlife.jpg)
Music Photography: Quality vs. Memory [Poll]
Last week, with the help of photographer Adam Jackson, I posted a photoset from the Ultra Music Festival in Miami. UMF was a sellout event, but only a few photographers seemed to capture it. Adam voiced his frustration that for such a huge event like UMF, only a relatively small amount of decent media makes it to Flickr and YouTube.
