By Ryan Van Etten on 04/21/2010
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.
Posted in Activism, Education, Gaming, Infoculture | Tagged collaboration, counterculture, creativity, culture, game design, gaming culture, innovation, Jane McGonigal, mindset, MMO, MMORPG, motivation, problem-solving, psychology, social gaming, social intelligence, TED, trust, urgent evoke, video, videogame, virtual worlds, WoW
![Music Photography: Quality vs. Memory [Poll]](http://img.virtualmusic.tv/thumbs/paramore-by-apartmentlife.jpg)
By Ryan Van Etten on 04/16/2010
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.
Posted in Editorial, Infoculture, Media/Journalism, Music | Tagged culture, flickr, Internet Generation, live music, media, mobile, motivation, music photography, paramore, photojournalism, poll, quality, sentimental value, tips, youth, YouTube
By Ryan Van Etten on 11/24/2009
Musicians (artists) are driven by a fundamental need to create. Music is their art and their expression. Even in a world without money there would be music, and arguably there would be even more music (and other art) than there is today. In his 2009 TED talk, Daniel Pink makes a strong case relating the science of motivation to creativity and business.
Posted in Editorial, Infoculture, Music, Music Flux, Popular | Tagged artwork, behavior, business, change, consumers, creativity, Daniel Ek, Daniel Pink, direct-to-fan, empowerment, engagement, entertainment, fans, human, idea, money, motivation, music industry, MusicBiz, musicians, p2p, Pink Floyd, piracy, platform, positivity, psychology, purpose, research, revenue, science, social media, sociology, spotify, streaming, TED
