Matt Singley | Social Media Optimization

I don’t even know the number of times I’ve tweeted something like, “so frustrated with my bluetooth headset in the car”, because I’m sure it’s been too much.  I have one of two problems: either I can hear the other person fine but they can’t hear me (such is the case with the Jabra sets I’ve tried), or they can hear me just fine but I have a hard time hearing them (such is the case with the Jawbones I’ve tried).  A few weeks back Jed Hallam saw one of my cries for help and replied with a direct message, “can I send you a Sony Ericcson bluetooth headset that I think you’ll like?”  Of course I said yes, but was skeptical.  I’ve been trying to find a decent bluetooth for years, and so far nothing has worked well.  Given that California, the state in which I reside, requires hand free devices for all drivers using mobile phone you can imagine how it’s more than a little maddening at times.

I got the Sony Ericsson HBH-IS800 package (in which Jed was kind enough to include a NA-friendly charger since he’s from across the pond) and was immediately impressed with the small size.  Jed didn’t tell me what he was sending, so I was quite happy to find two ear buds, no larger than what I normally use to listen to music, attached with only 1 cord.  Beautifully compact, these fit in my backpack or pocket quite nicely. (more…)

Last night I attended the 1st Annual Silicon Valley Rocks at The Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. Billed as a show of “tech professionals by day, garage band by night…” I wasn’t sure what to expect, although the promise of geeks and music wrapped up into one event certainly sounded good to me. 

I wasn’t disappointed.  For a first time show I think it turned out well. I met some interesting people (though somehow I didn’t run into anybody that was tweeting it) and was able to talk geek.  The music was surprsingly good for “garage band” talent.  I think my favorite of the night was the Punjabi-Hip Hop Jazz Funk Experience of blacKMahal.  I streamed the end of their set on Qik, but it’s kind of hard to hear since I was just a few feet from the stage and pretty much right in front of the speakers.  Check out the diversity of this group though…they were excellent and a crowd favorite.

I’m listening to Viva La Hova while I write this. It’s a mashup mix of Coldplay, one of the greatest rock bands in the world, and Jay-Z, one of the greatest hip hop artist in the world. “A Spy’s Prayer” is playing much louder than I should probably play things while I’m trying to work, butI just can’t help it.  What a great song.  What a great mashup album! I started hearing some buzz about it a week ago, and I finally downloaded it today.  I’m pretty sure I will do the digital equivilent of wearing this album out (remember that with cassette tape? ha ha!).  Haven’t heard of it yet?  You will.  I think that in the next few days it will trend on Twitscoop, I think it’s picking up some momentum.  Why?

It’s Free.

Yes, the great minds that put this together, Mick Boogie and Terry Urban, are giving their music away.  You can go download it right now, DRM free, no strings attached…all 20 tracks. I wonder how hours they put into this project? I wonder if they were tempted to try to sell it? What kind of buzz would they have if there was any cost involved to the consumer?

I have lost track of how many business owners and managers have asked me to create “something viral” that makes money for them right away.  They want visible, tangible results that they can track on Excel, sort of the equivelent of a coupon that tracks sales of a product.  Here’s the thing…you won’t always see immediate results, but if you can break free of the traditional business model of cashing in on the first step, you will probably do better in the long run.  I don’t know what the future holds for Boogie and Urban, but I think they are going to do well. Buzz about this project will continue, people will download their work for free, and they won’t make a nickel off of it at first glance.  But…they will make money.  Publicity, offers, promos…

In your next team strategy meeting, will you try to figure out something that you can give to your customers and fans free of charge? Don’t add conditions and hoops to jump through, just give it away. The loyalty and buzz you create will likely produce more long term gain than anything you can gather in the short term.

I should probably note that before you download the album, the language is, well…hip hop.  If you are not familiar with Jay-Z and are easily offended, you may want to proceed with caution.  Consider yourself warned.

Although the iPod users greatly outnumber the Zune users (not just in terms of my blogging audience but also across the world), Zune is making great headway.  You can’t be the #2 music player and not keep forging ahead.

Yesterday Zune released new hardware, software and firmware.  I’ve got to say, I’m incredibly impressed.  The new features are not just aesthetically pleasing, they are quite functional.  Some of the greatest additions are the ability to sync via wi-fi (incredible) and the new top-level organization.  I now have a place for podcasting (both audio and video) and it’s just a lot more functional in terms of use.

I love the addition of podcasting, it was definitely overdue.  I have subscribed to a couple of video podcasts but since I didn’t go to the gym today I didn’t get to watch them.

Also, they have added Christian music as a top-level category.  I think that’s pretty cool.  I could find it before by searching, but now it’s really each to get to.  I must admit that the secular to Christian ratio of music on my Zune is probably 5:1, but I do like to have the best of the best on there.

The firmware update went very smoothly, it only took about 10 minutes all together.

I haven’t purchased one of the new 8gb or 80gb players yet, I may hold off for a bit.  My 30gb is still treating me just fine.

Of course I still love Zune Marketplace.  The idea of paying just $15 per month for all the music I could ever ask for works so well for me. 
It allows me to experiment with the music that I like, and if I download an album and don’t like it after a couple of listens then I simply delete it.  It has cost me absolutely nothing extra.

I do have a question for the iPod fans that read this, and only one of them (ONE!) has ever answer me when I ask: how much do you spend at iTunes every month?  Be honest, I just want to know.  I’m not going to make fun of you for spending 3x what I do each month.

So, with all the new features, is it enough to get you to switch over yet?