Friday, February 26, 2010

In Case You Missed it: Second Life Press Highlights from the Week of February 22

In Case You Missed it: Second Life Press Highlights from the Week of February 22
Posted by Pete Linden 

It's been quite a week for Second Life press! The press archive page has been updated with more Second Life press coverage, and below are some highlights from the week.

Viewer 2 launched in beta on Tuesday, with some great press attention. One of my favorite pieces was Robert Scoble's video interview with M Linden, which you can watch over at Building 43. Robert took the time to visit the Lab on Battery Street here in San Francisco last Friday to film the interview, and he and M had a great conversation. Mitch Wagner (aka the Copper Robot) also published a thoughtful review of Viewer 2 (and a follow-up) for Computerworld after having interviewed T Linden inworld. There's so much more good stuff on this topic - including great posts from well-known Second Life bloggers, so please do check out the archive for more. Next week, you can check out Amanda Linden and Esbee Linden on Wednesday's episode of Metanomics, where they'll be talking more about Viewer 2 and the beta launch.SecondLifeBetaViewer2.jpg
If you're following @SLBallyhoo on Twitter, you may already seen a great CNN Money segment about Second Life DJ Doubledown Tandino as part of their 'Best Job's series. Congratulations on the great coverage, Doubledown!

http://www.shambhalasun.com/sunspace/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/secondlife-108.jpg
Buddhist magazine the Shambhala Sun carried an article sharing one Buddhist's experience exploring Second Life. In it, the author (pictured right, from the site) writes that he joined a discussion with about 20 other avatars and says, "For me this was great: I hadn’t met many Buddhists in the real world so it had been hard to discuss things I was curious about." This gets at one of the great things about Second Life - the opportunity to connect with (and learn from) others in a meaningful way that you may not have the chance to in the physical world.

Not Second Life-specific, but interesting nonetheless: this week, the AFP covered research from Stanford University's Virtual Human Interaction Lab, exploring the impact that having an avatar can have on the rest of our lives. You can find the AFP piece over at France24, and check out Stanford University News' coverage of it as well.

Also this week, Ethical Corporation published a post about a new book called The Responsibility Revolution, which will be released on March 15. Linden Lab is among the companies profiled in the book, and some of our internal tools like the Love Machine are presented.
http://www.jeffhollender.com/files/imagecache/jh_page_full/jh_images/jh_responsbility-revolution_large-cover.jpg
As always, check out the press archive and follow @SLBallyhoo on Twitter for more Second Life coverage highlights - there's more coming!

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Practical Advice for Music Bloggers Worried About DMCA Takedown Censorship

Practical Advice for Music Bloggers Worried About DMCA Takedown Censorship
Commentary by Fred von Lohmann via EFF.org 

Let's say you are a blogger who writes about music regularly and includes links to music in your posts. How do you avoid having your blog censored off the Internet by "DMCA takedown notices" sent out by music industry lawyers (as happened last week to several blogs hosted by Blogger)?

Of course, you could get authorization from all the relevant copyright owners before you post or link to a song. Unfortunately, that's virtually impossible for many music bloggers. In some cases, it may be impossible to figure out who the copyright owners are (consider the problem of live concert bootlegs, rare B-sides, out-of-print material, defunct labels). In other cases, you might have authorization from someone, but it could end up being the wrong person (i.e., an independent promoter or member of the band who doesn't actually have all the rights to give you). And even if you get authorization from all the right people, you could still find yourself on the receiving end of a DMCA takedown from the entity that controls the copyright in another country (because your blog can be accessed from that country).

In other words, it's quite likely that many music bloggers can never be sure that a DMCA takedown notice won't arrive someday.

If one does arrive, your blog hosting service probably won't take your side. The law gives online hosting services strong incentives to comply with takedown notices—prompt responses to takedown notices are often the only reliable shield that hosting services have against copyright infringement lawsuits and potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars of damages. No matter how much your hosting service values your business, it is not likely that they will be willing to bet their business to save your blog.

While most hosting providers will let you send a "DMCA counter-notice" to contest a bogus takedown notice, sending a counter-notice can have serious consequences if you're not absolutely sure that you had all the necessary legal rights to post the songs or links in question. Sending a DMCA counter-notice is serious business, as it leaves the copyright owner with few options (other than suing) in order to keep the song down. So we recommend that bloggers research copyright law and, if in doubt, consult a qualified attorney (or contact EFF) before sending DMCA counter-notices.

The DMCA also gives hosting services strong incentives to "terminate repeat infringers." That's why most blog hosting services will delete your account (and thus your entire blog) after receiving multiple DMCA takedown notices. The industry norm seems to be a "3 strikes" policy, although the number of "strikes" can vary. This policy can be particularly unfair when a copyright owner sends multiple DMCA takedown notices all at once, or within a few days of each other — you can find your blog deleted before you even find out who was complaining or can send a DMCA counter-notice. Many hosting providers also mark every DMCA takedown notice on your "permanent record" — simply deleting the file or the link won't expunge the "strike" on your account (generally, only a DMCA counter-notice will do that). So a DMCA takedown notice received for your blog might still count as a "strike" years later (again, this is because service providers want to be able to tell a court that they were good about "terminating repeat infringers," lest they lose their shield against copyright infringement lawsuits).

Of course, you may be able to talk the copyright owner into withdrawing a DMCA notice ("your marketing department sent me an email saying this link was legit"). And there may be informal strategies that work most of the time (like deleting links after a short period of time). However, at the end of the day, it's nearly impossible to be sure you'll never receive a DMCA takedown notice.

With that in mind, here are a few practical things you can do to minimize the disruption that the DMCA process might inflict on your blog:

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

Brad Reason (Doubledown Tandino) is giving away his New Album *Multiple Worlds*

Brad Reason (Doubledown Tandino in Second Life)
Electronica/Dance / DJ / Experimental
PLAY SONGS     SHARE SONGS

That's right! I, Brad Reason, am giving away my new 2010 album release "Multiple Worlds."    The new album is currently not released and not available to the public.
 
Over the past few years, I have been performing live into the virtual world known as Second Life under the name Doubledown Tandino.  Through my experiences and exploration inworld, I have created instrumental electronic music inspired by this immersive environment.

14 original tracks by Brad Reason (with one collaboration track by Slim Girl Fat).  The music styles include eclectic electronica, nujazz breakbeat, house, drum-n-bass, intelligent dance music, avant-garde, & experimental.

The contest is simple: Listen to my tunes at http://reverbnation.com/BradReason  The FIVE people that listen to the most tunes between now and March 15th will receive the digital album release "Multiple Worlds" for FREE. The album comes in digital MP3 format and will be delivered straight to your email inbox.  FIVE people will receive my unreleased new album for free simply by listening to music.

Happy listening,
Brad Reason  (aka Doubledown Tandino)

PRESS CLIPPINGS

"CNNMoney interviews Brad Reason (Doubledown Tandino) "BEST JOBS: Second Life DJ""  CNN: Matthew Leung, CNNMoney

"Doubledown Tandino wins The Live Entertainment Music Award 2009 inSL for Best Live DJ!"  LEMA-Awards, LEMA AWARDS inS - The Live Entertainment Music Awards

"Electrolux & Millions of Us Honors Doubledown Tandino as DJ Innovator""  Blair, Millions of Us

"...DJ Doubledown Tandino—the pseudonym of Brad Reason is in demand for virtual clubs inside of Second Life.."  Eric Rice aka Spin Martin, URB Magazine


 ReverbNation       Twitter       Facebook 

Pitch Auto-Correction To Make Me Sound Like Kanye

Kevye West: 808s and Expiration Dates (Guac Lockdown)

Pitch auto-correction and a simple beat can make anything chart-worthy; even a freestyle about guacamole and expired milk.

kevin pereira :: http://kevinpereira.com
joe lynch :: http://joelynch.net/
luis hurtado :: http://luishurtado.com



----

Below, is the tutorial on how to create a piece of "music" using AutoTune. Spoiler alert: If you watch this tutorial and use autotune for creating your music, not only will your artistic integrity be sucked out of your immortal soul within seconds, but also a cute puppy dies.

I posted this video, to simply show the educational value... but I highly advise against actually creating your own music this way. People... autotune... it's pathetic. It sounds like trash, and it provides the key for listeners to instantly know you have no imagination or talent whatsoever. Don't do it... remember, puppies die.

Windows 7 was My Idea!

Windows 7 Parody

A million ideas. And they used every single one of them.

From CH Staff


Second Life 2.0 was MY idea too! I want a search that finds nothing, buttons that are on the ceiling, events that are happening last week, notifications that shoot laser beams, and gift-wrapped in the skin of a Linden ...
errrr

SL Shakespeare Company Changes Its Name to Metaverse Shakespeare Company

SL Shakespeare Company Changes Its Name to Metaverse Shakespeare Company
by: Lora Constantine

The SL Shakespeare Company (SLSC) today has finalized its name change process, and will now officially be known as The Metaverse Shakespeare Company (MSC).
“In its three years, the SL Shakespeare Company has accomplished its goal of spreading Shakespeare throughout SL via reviving his theatre and architecture on SL, and promoting affiliate events, from discussion groups to Renaissance music to non-SLSC sims,” said Ina Centaur, Artistic Director of the Metaverse Shakespeare Company. “Our new brand name better reflects our expanded mission to take Shakespeare to the metaverse—beyond just Second Life, but also OpenSim, WOW, Entropia, and other multiuser virtual worlds. Moreover, it frees up the general name of ‘SL Shakespeare’ for others to use, to continue to imbue SL with that aqua vitae of Shakespeare.”

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Website: http://mshakespeare.com
Press Center: http://mshakespeare.com/press
Blog: http://blog.mshakespeare.com
Playbills: http://playbills.mshakespeare.com
Programmes: http://programmes.mshakespeare.com

Announcing the Linden Endowment for the Arts

Supporting The Arts in Second Life
Posted by Niko Linden 
via https://blogs.secondlife.com/community/community/blog/2010/02/23/supporting-the-arts-in-second-life 

Announcing the Linden Endowment for the Arts
In the upcoming months, it is our pleasure to take a more active role in encouraging the arts inside of Second Life. We are excited to announce the creation of a Linden Endowment for the Arts (LEA) program which will help support, encourage, and highlight Second Life artists and their work. We hope that the
collaboration between Linden Lab and the wealth of talented Second Life artists will contribute to a vibrant new chapter for the arts in Second Life.

The
Linden Endowment for  the Arts (LEA) program's goal is twofold:
  1. To create an immersive space for artists to share their art, build connections, and prosper in the Second Life community
  2. To provide a new way for artwork to live on within our ever-changing virtual world. 
While still under design, this program will be a partnership between Linden Lab and Second Life artists, with the additional objective of gathering, displaying, and maintaining art at an inworld Arts Hub. We are currently building the LEA organizing committee, which will include members of the Second Life artist community and Linden Lab employees, to guide the program's management. Under the creative direction, organization and guidance of the LEA committee, we will hold biannual art exhibitions, highlighting the most creative artwork happening inworld.

Getting Involved
Whether you're interested in joining the committee or simply have a useful suggestion to share, don't be shy—go ahead and submit a LEA Committee Application or post your suggestions below. We are looking for a small but dedicated group of individuals who are willing to make an ongoing time commitment to this program. Got other thoughts? Post 'em below!

We can't wait to start working with the arts community on this tremendous endeavor. Stay tuned to the Community Blog as more information becomes available!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

CNNMoney interviews Doubledown Tandino (Brad Reason) BEST JOBS: Second Life DJ

CNNMoney
BEST JOBS

by Matthew Leung of CNN

The interview I did with CNN is RELEASED!! What a great job CNN and reporter Matthew Leung did putting the interview together!



DIGG IT: http://digg.com/business_finance/DJ_s_second_chance_in_Second_Life_Doubledown_Tandino_CNN

--

Also mentioned on Dusan Writer's Metaverse!  Thank you Dusan!

Also mentioned on Association of Virtual Worlds! Thank you Edita!

Also mentioned on Ed Clarity's Blog! Thank you Ed!

POLL: What do you think of the new Second Life 2.0 Viewer?



Please, post your opinions in comments. What are the pros to the new 2.0 SL viewer? What are the cons? Is the new 2.0 viewer going to be a workable viewer for all Second Life residents, old and new? What do we gain from the new viewer? Is it easier to use and find things? What is the new viewer lacking that is needed, and can only be found in the old viewer? I would love to hear all perspectives and usage commentary on the new Second Life 2.0 viewer.

Second Life Viewer 2.0, Now in Beta

Viewer 2Test Drive Second Life Viewer 2, Now in Beta

The next generation Second Life Viewer is here! Download Viewer 2 and experience new features such as:
  • Integrated Web-Based Media
  • Easier, Browser-Like Navigation
  • Side Panel for Frequently-Used Features
  • Improved Search
  • Contextual Help

Monday, February 22, 2010

Fresh New Reverb Nation Music Widgets are now Available

There are brand new fresh Widgets provided by ReverbNation!
I use ReverbNation widgets and you should too!

If you're a musician, you can log in (or join) Reverb Nation, and add these new music players, video players, fan collector boxes.  Or, if you're a fan, and want to display your favorite music on your site or blog, check out these new widgets too.  Highly recommended.

Brad%20ReasonQuantcast








Google Threatens to Kill Users

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Avatar... with Babies!

James Cameron's epic tells the story a baby given a adult/baby hybrid body, which he must pilot to learn the ways of the grown-up world.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Is the *Avatar* concept really possible?

Is the 'Avatar' concept really possible?
By Elizabeth Landau, CNN

(CNN) -- Now the highest-grossing film ever, "Avatar," has captivated millions of viewers with its picturesque scenery, extraterrestrial battles, and nature-loving, blue-skinned aliens.

The premise of the film is that humans can enter the world of these 10-foot aliens, called the Na'vi, by way of half-human, half-Na'vi hybrids. A high-tech interfacing mechanism allows a human to remain inert while controlling one of these avatar hybrids just by thinking.

Not only does the human manipulate the avatar's movements and speech, but he or she also experiences life -- every sensation, feeling and emotion -- through the eyes of the hybrid, as if consciousness were transferred.

Scientists say we are many decades, even centuries, away from making this kind of sophisticated interaction possible, if it can be done at all. But the fundamentals of components required to create this complicated system of mind-controlled avatars are already in the works, and have useful applications in medicine.

"We're starting to understand the basic building blocks, but the biggest challenges will be emotion and thought -- how to make another organism think what you think, to feel what you feel -- because those networks are much more difficult to sort out," said Dr. Brian Litt, associate professor of neurology and bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE ON CNN where they cover:
Moving remote objects by thinking
Uploading information
Understanding brain networks
Transferal of sensations and emotions
    

Friday, February 12, 2010

Second Life DJs - Unite and Vote on TheDJList.com

The DJ List is a DJ ranking site that's been around for a long time.  It's a site devoted to ranking the popularity of DJs based on votes.  Needless to say, the general population of club goers around the world fall for the "DJ superstar" image usually, and don't always understand or appreciate what it actually means to be a good DJ spinning good music (hence: Tiesto is always ranked #1).

I figure, lets team up and vote for each other.
The Second Life DJs and Second Life DJ fans should team up and vote for each other on the site.  There's a slew of fresh, modern, innovative DJs in Second Life right now.  There's also a massive handful of dedicated DJ listeners and followers inworld. Lets tap into our collective, and vote up Second Life DJs listed on TheDJList.com!

* If you're a DJ in Second Life, and also on TheDJList, then post the link to your page in the comments of this post (the link to comment is at the end of this post)
* If you're a fan of a DJ in Second Life that's listed on the site, post their link in comments.
* If you're not listed on TheDJList, join the site, grab yourself a DJ page, and post your link in comments.

I will update this post (or perhaps create a new post every so often) with the DJ's badges that are added to the comments of this post.

To vote for a DJ on TheDJList, just visit the DJ's page after you've signed into the site.



I will make sure I vote for every Second Life DJ that has a TheDJList page, and I encourage everyone else from Second Life to continually vote up the Second Life DJs.

(personally, I wouldn't mind seeing Tiesto bumped off his throne.)

Saturday, February 6, 2010

AvatarsUnited.com

I'm just pointing out AvatarsUnited.com.   It's not that I especially like the site.  Whether it is owned by Linden Lab now, or how it was before, it's just another social networking site in the long line of social networking sites.  The influx of Second Life users to dabble on the site and use the SL Blip HUD inworld is astounding though.  ...and that's what makes a social network thrive.  Right now, AvatarsUnited is hopping.  Whether we find use out of it remains to be seen.

Facebook has stood firm declaring all users need to be their real life personae, and not Second Life avatars, or else they will delete your FB account... so perhaps AvatarsUnited.com is a fresh start on a social network new media site for avatars.

I do hate the buy-coins scam section though.  LL needs to remove that from the equation of the site to have it gain any future credibility.

I have started the non-group "What the Hell are We Doing Here" on the site.  You are welcome to join it.


----

Linden Lab acquires Avatars United
Via Massively:


In a move that will no doubt perplex, flummox and befuddle many media commentators and technology columnists who erroneously believed that Second Life was a Web 2.0 social networking tool, Linden Lab has acquired social networking site, Avatars United (and developers of same, Enemy Unknown AB). This also has the side-effect of shooting down any semblance of Wallace Linden's identity piece last week being an overture of a conversation, instead making it look like the usual introduction to a Linden Lab fait accompli.
We've written about Avatars United on a couple of previous occasions, but never really had much call to get involved ourselves.

Monday, February 1, 2010

FreePlayVL - *Virtually Live Music IS Social Media!* - Music In 3D Feature Article February 2010

FreePlayVL – Music In 3D

* Virtually Live Music IS Social Media!*

By Teddi Davis of FreePlayVL

doubledown tandino image"All forms of social media work. It just depends on how you use them." Brad Reason aka Doubledown Tandino

Brad Reason’s music career continues to flourish entwined with computer and Internet technology.  He keenly demonstrates social media is about leveraging technology to connect, network, share, perform, promote, and learn.  Most importantly, he shows discipline with these social media platforms is worth the effort! By Teddi Davis

Brad Reason, also known as Doubledown Tandino in Second Life® and other virtual  communities, recently shared how the Internet helped him get his start, and how social media has advanced his career.  Besides being an accomplished musician and DJ, Brad Reason is uniquely positioned to comment on social media’s usefulness and efficacy.  Not only does he create, perform and DJ virtually live music, Brad’s also a new media marketing professional.  In fact, he’s a full time social media, new media, and trending technology specialist.  Since he spends 40 to 70 hours a week working with social media platforms, his experience and insights are sure to help other musicians make use of today’s most compelling promotional tools.

Brad began his music career over a decade ago.  “At first, it was more about using my computer and sampling, than about creating music,” he said.  “It was for my own personal enjoyment, and the intrigue.”  Creating music with a personal computer was in its infancy.  Brad started with a program called Impulse Tracker, which was a basic spreadsheet form of laying out sounds and samples.  “As I was creating my first music,” Brad recalled, “the Internet was starting to blossom as well.” He started connecting with other PC musicians via forums and message boards.  “Thanks to the Internet, we could share each other’s tunes, and swap samples–it was experimental, and avant-garde,” he recollected.

He was learning and growing by listening to other people’s music, and picking up tips and techniques from his virtual peers.  Heavily into electronica at the time, Brad was influenced by Aphex Twin, Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, and Air among others.  He began to appreciate he was on the cusp of something big because not only were the people around him beginning to listen to his tunes, there was a growing online community of other artists also experimenting.

When Brad decided to incorporate some of his compositions into a play he had written, he was stunned when he got his first request to purchase a CD.   “I didn’t even have a burner,” he said.  “I was in total shock that someone actually wanted to listen to the music I was creating.”
And then came the MP3.com Web site.  Brad could now upload his music, and create CDs.  “Once that site became popular, people around the world were listening, downloading, and buying my music,” he recalled.  MP3.com was the first online location for sharing, and downloading music.  “It was a social media community for music before the term ‘social media’ was even coined,” Brad noted.  “You could technically consider that experience as the start of my use of social media.”

Even though MP3.com got into a legal tangle and is no more, we all know the concept stuck.  Brad said he now uses sites like ReverbNation.com/BradReason and TheSixtyOne.com/Doubledown to share and sell his music.  “New technology, new equipment, and new software followed–such as, ACID, Reason, Cubase, Protools, Ableton Live, Serato Scratch, and Native Instruments–and now,” he said “the possibilities for music making are limitless.”  And so are the ways to connect with an audience.

Brad doesn’t use social media to communicate just with his fans, however.  He also uses these tools to connect with venues and other music business contacts.  As a new media marketing pro, Brad notes most venues are behind the times when it comes to social media.  “Venues don’t realize the potential for using these tools for promotion and booking quality music acts,” he said.  Not surprisingly, Brad finds venues are ‘very enthused’ that he expertly uses the Internet to both perform and promote.  “I use social media to share my music, announce when I have created a new piece of music, announce my live shows, and connect with industry professionals.”  He also uses social media platforms to house his portfolio, bio and resume, but Brad especially enjoys connecting with his fans.  “I am happy to respond to comments, and keep the lines of communication two-way.”

Brad finds social media so successful, he now limits his use of other promotional tools.  In the past, he used fliers, print media, and press releases, as well as posting event info at non-social media based Web sites.  “Now, because I am very skilled at using social media to market, advertise, and promote, I use social media fully, and have no need to focus on print anymore.”  Social media in tandem with CDs and business cards, with the occasional flier is all he needs now.

“I use FaceBook (for everything), Twitter (for real-time info spreading), LinkedIn (for professional networking), my blog, DJDoubledown.blogspot.com, to keep a portfolio of my work as well as share other people’s interesting concepts, Flickr (for photos and graphic designs), Reverb Nation (for my original music), Soundcloud (for my DJ mixes), Second Life, Club Cooee, Skype, Digsby, Google Wave, PHP bulletin boards, FourSquare, Mashable, and a multitude of other social media and new media platforms.”  Brad said, “I am everywhere on the Internet, either as Brad Reason or as Doubledown Tandino.”

When I asked what advice he would give digital musicians relative to social media, Brad suggests keeping all lines of communication open.  “Don’t be too quick to dismiss a new form of social media,” he advised.  “All forms of social media work. It just depends on how you use them.”

Brad’s music career began and continues to flourish entwined with computer and Internet technology.  He keenly demonstrates social media is really about leveraging technology to connect, network, share, perform, promote, and learn.  But most importantly, Brad Reason shows discipline with these social media platforms is worth the effort!

---

Thank you also to Sitearm:
"Nice article about music and social media: Virtually Live Music IS Social Media! Teddi Davis, editor of Free Play Virtually Live, interviews Brad Reason, a new media marketing professional who is also a musician and DJ.  The article shares experience and insights on how to use the newly available online promotional tools."
http://sitearm.wordpress.com/2010/02/11/music-and-social-media/