Last.fm

One great web 2.0 application I have been using for some time is last.fm. After installing a small application that communicates with my iTunes, last.fm collects the information and not only informs the web surfing public of my musical tastes but also suggests new artists for me.

You can check my profile here: www.last.fm/user/nickjade

Last.fm allow me to listen to a "radio" that plays songs by my favorite artists as well as artists in a similar genre. It is a great way to find new bands, or in my case, old bands that I have never heard of.

Last.fm has gone through many changes over the years. You used to be able to place a small playlist on your blog or website that input songs you played. This feature is now disabled as last.fm included no ads in the playlist and this is an important aspect of their revenue. Last.fm function in an entirely legal realm as they pay royalties to the bands they feature. I think this is a positive step forward to sharing music on the web.

The web is now part of our basic communication with people. If I want to play a song for a friend I am not looking at the web as some tunnel for distribution the same as I would a store. The web is now an extension of my body. I do not have to be in the same room with somebody to communicate with them. I think this is an important aspect to except for the media industries and they hopefully can learn to adapt to it.

Sometimes it may be hard to browse the catalog and know what music may be enjoyable or not. Most artists appear on last.fm and can be helpful in identifying artists within a patron's tastes.

I found the Clay Shirky video very interesting! My roomate and I were just speaking last night about dropping our cable. We still want to keep it because there are a few shows that we do enjoy watching. Although we record them to our DVR and watch them on our own time. And even then I only watch TV while I am eating or doing something in which my attention is being occupied by a task. Otherwise I am typically pretty busy working on a project!