By Ryan Van Etten on 03/04/2010
This year’s Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education conference aims to focus on imagination. Themed Imagination Around the World, this free virtual event takes place in Second Life on March 12–13. Second Life is growing as a venue for education at multiple grade levels.
Posted in Education, Events, Gaming, News, Second Life, SL Events | Tagged augmented reality, best practices, collaboration, communication, conference, creativity, event, HARP, imagination, learning, specialization, teaching, video, virtual worlds, VWBPE
By Ryan Van Etten on 02/02/2010
Piano music is as popular in Second Life as it is in real life. The setting is a virtual world—the music is real, interactive, and on key. This vivid photoset features pianos and players (avatars) in Second Life. 11 photos and 1 video.
Posted in Gaming, Music, News, Second Life, VirtualArt | Tagged avatars, culture, Gaming, nightlife, photos, piano, pianos, Second Life, videogame, virtual piano, virtual worlds, virtuality
By Ryan Van Etten on 12/31/2009
Pandora is blowing music consumption off the grid. Myriad digital choices are sending audio junkies into sensory overload—music wants to be everywhere. The stage is lit—music has always been social, and the web continues to make it even more so. Communication is on the rise.
Posted in Apps, Editorial, Gaming, iPhone Apps, Music, Music Flux, News, Visualization | Tagged Activision, Amie Street, analysis, AOL Music, Apps, blip.fm, ccMixter, chart, collaboration, comparison, consumption, Creative Commons, deezer, Delicious, Digidrummer, DJ Hero, DJing, EA Mobile, emusic, facebook, friends, games, gigzee, Grooveshark, Guitar Rock Tour, Harmonix, Hip Hop All Star, Hype Machine, iheart radio, iLike, Imeem, Indaba Music, indie, industry, influencers, iPhone, iTunes, jamble music mashups, jamendo, jamglue, Lala, last.fm, Looptastic, mashups, mobile, mobility, MOG, music sites, musicians, musicovery, MySpace, Napster, networks, NIN, NLog Synth, pandora, predictions, project playlist, PureVolume, recommendation engine, ReverbNation, Rhapsody, rhythm games, Rock Band Network, scratching, Second Life, seeqpod, sensory overload, Sirius, Slacker Radio, social intelligence, social media, social music, songza, soundcloud, spotify, stats, streaming, Tap Tap Revenge, Tapulous, The Beatles Rock Band, thesixtyone, tinysong, trends, twisten.fm, ustream, Vevo, video, Virtuoso Piano, visualization, we7, YouTube
By Ryan Van Etten on 11/17/2009
I saw this interview of Dhani Harrison on Conan O’Brien the night before The Beatles Rock Band’s debut in September, and until then I had not realized that George’s son, Dhani Harrison, had played such a major role in the development of the game. In the interview Dhani describes how he ended up working on creation of The Beatles Rock Band, which started with his 5-year-long Guitar Hero obsession.
Posted in Band Radar, Design, Editorial, Gaming, Music, News, Rock Band | Tagged alternative, band, band websites, Conan O'Brien, development, Dhani Harrison, facebook, Gaming, interaction, interview, musicians, MySpace, rock/pop, social media, social music, stickam, The Beatles, The Beatles Rock Band, thenewno2, video, videogame
By Ryan Van Etten on 11/16/2009
The Beatles rock on in 2009 and players of The Beatles Rock Band have posted YouTube videos to show it. Here you can compare a video of Revolution from the videogame with the video of Revolution performed by The Beatles in 1968.
Posted in Gaming, Music, News, Rock Band | Tagged arts, band, comparison, fans, flashback, gamers, generation, live music, players, revolution, rock/pop, The Beatles, The Beatles Rock Band, video, videogame, virtuality, YouTube
By Ryan Van Etten on 10/15/2009
Moral values—are they learned or are they built into our genetic makeup? Are our brains hard-wired to draw a line between right and wrong? Different cultures might vary on specific issues—there are social activities you can do freely in Amsterdam that you would be arrested for doing in New York for example—but generally most current cultures make similar separations between right and wrong. In essence morals transcend culture, right? But why exactly do we feel the need to separate right and wrong—what is it that makes our moral clock tick?
Posted in Discussion, Editorial, Education, Gaming, News | Tagged behavior, culture, evolution, future, human, interaction, modern, moral values, psychology, right vs wrong, series, sociology
By Ryan Van Etten on 10/09/2009
Musicians will soon be able to submit their original tracks into Rock Band via the Rock Band Network. This looks to be a promising virtual platform allowing indie artists—creators—to contribute songs to the game in a democratic fashion—each new track is reviewed and voted on by peers in the community before being accepted into the game. This is great news for players and indie musicians alike.
Posted in Editorial, Gaming, Music, Music Flux, News, Rock Band | Tagged creators, entertainment, Gaming, Harmonix, indie, industry, Microsoft, musicians, platform, revenue, Rock Band Network, videogame, Xbox
By Tanya Robertson on 09/30/2009
Metaverse TV (MBC) is opening its beautiful sim at Metverse Island on October 3rd and you are all invited. Events start at 3pm SLT and carry on right through until 8.30pm SLT with SpaceJunky coming on stage at 7.30pm SLT for their concert and pyrotechnics show that includes giveaways during the performance.
Posted in Band Radar, Design, Events, Gaming, Music, Second Life, SL Events | Tagged architecture, bands, Design, event, island, live music, Lumiere Noir, metaverse, metaverse-tv, opening, party, photos, Second Life, sim, spacejunky, video, virtual bands