FYI: Tonight! 4/27/11 The Future of Music & Technology

philly tech week & two.one.five presents...

The Future of Music & Technology?
[feat. RJD2 & Tayyib Smith]

Wednesday, April 27 · 7:00pm - 10:00pm

Arts bank theater
601 South Broad Street

"Music and technology have grown together like an unstoppable hybrid. Recording artists now have access to a wide array of digital recording software and digital instruments. This, of course, has revolutionized the way music is made. The entire industry has felt these tectonic shifts. Listeners obtain but don't necessarily buy, and there are limitations to the experience of digital files.

Which way do we go from here? Acclaimed producer, musician, and singer RJD2 and Founding Publisher of two.one.five magazine Tayyib Smith will lead this discussion on future of music and technology."

More on Privacy

Check out this NYT's piece on location data from smart phones: Apple and Google Use Phone Data to Map the World.  We've talked quite a bit in class about our personal information and how we negotiate privacy in our over-connected lives. However, we haven't touched much on location and I'm wondering what the class thinks about this. This article brings up a number of questions. An excerpt:

"The use of this data by the companies has been under scrutiny since last week, when two technology researchers reported that a file stored on many iPhones and iPads keeps track of all the locations visited by a user. The file is unencrypted and is copied to people’s personal computers when they sync their devices.

The report prompted lawmakers in the United States to ask Apple for explanations. Several European governments said they would open investigations into Apple’s practices. On Monday, two customers sued Apple accusing it of privacy invasion and computer fraud."

On the other hand...

"Mobile advertising could be a $2.5 billion market by 2015, according to Frost & Sullivan, and ads tied to a location are much more lucrative than other ads. "

What is your opinion on broadcasting your location? Is there a break in Institutional Privacy and Social Privacy, related to our class reading? Does the advertising/marketing advantage outweigh the privacy cost?

Karmin Covers

As we watched Rip, and discussed in class, the topic of mixing music and covering songs was talked about much. Here's and example of a cover which has over 5 million views. The group is Karmin covers which consists of the amazing voice of Amy Heidemann and Nick Noonan. They are from Boston and went to College together. Recently they were on the Ellen show and got much exposure. Here is their cover of Chris Brown's look at me now

The Lion King REMIX

We recently watched RIP! A Remix Manifesto in class. One of the chapters talked about Disney following the manifesto of building from the past. During the Larry Lessig presentation portion, he displayed how Disney classics such as Snow White, Cinderella, and Steamboat Willie were works of that past that were updated to be made relevant for our culture. I recently came across a video of everyone's favorite Serengeti tale The Lion King, being brightly compared to an older animation called Kimba the white lion. It is evident that The Lion King was a clever remix of an unknown Japanese cartoon. Kimba...Simba.....Tomato...Tomaaaato....Let's not order a lawsuit!

Public Domain Protest Song

Temple Alum Adam McKay (also writer/director of Talladega Nights and Step Brothers) is trying to provoke music consumers get loud, get pissed, and use our right to protest about what has been happening in the pubic domain recently isn't right.

Adam wants the public domain back, so he wrote a song. The Public Domain Protest Song Website launched today. The first lyrics of the song say, "This song aint copywrited. This song aint trademarked either. It's a public domain protest song!" McKay encourages users to remix, rewrite, mash-up and repost the song. But, even more he want musicians and people to get upset about how big corporations are taking advantage of the American people. The lyrics also say, "Profits climb and the jobs get shipped. Bottom 90% gets ripped." He wants people to realize we have the power to have our voices heard, we just aren't using them.

You can read about it at the Huffington Post too. The site launched today and when I visited it, they already had 437 people "like" them on Facebook. When you visit, also comment on how many people like it. Let's see how quickly this site gets major attention. More importantly, spread the word!

Internet Addiction?

Check out this post at the NYT online: Miss G: A Case of Internet Addiction.

An excerpt:
"This kind of Internet use isn’t usefully described as an addiction, even if there’s some shirking of chores and insomnia to it. Fantasy life and real life should, ideally, be brought into balance — but no student who’s making decent grades needs to get off the Internet just because it would look more respectable or comprehensible to be playing chess, throwing a Frisbee or reading a George Orwellpaperback. The Internet as Gabriela uses it simply is intellectual life, and play. She’s just the person I’d want for a student, in fact — or a friend, or a daughter." 


Do you think you are addicted to the Internet? How do you strike a balance between online and offline engagement? 

free mortgage!

That is, if you let Adzookie turn your humble home into a blatant billboard. On the plus side, Adzookie will pay your mortgage as long as you keep your house painted. The downside, its a major eyesore for local community members. However, the manager of Adzookie states how amazed he was to find out just how desperate many families are to keep their heads above water; and this alternative could allow them to keep their houses.

What do you think? Would you turn your house into a giant billboard?!