I can see the primary use for this being a tool for companies to gain a real time view of a particular topic, instantly being able to respond to opinions, reactions and responses to a companies activity. Something which I’m happy to coin as Twoogling!

Could this create yet another way to measure and compare a PR campaigns success easily and cost free? I will certainly be watching this space…

Google Buzz is the newest addition to the Google family. It’s a social media organiser that is built directly into Gmail. According to the guys at Google “it’s a new way to start conversations about things you find interesting.” From first impressions it looks pretty much like Twitter although sharing videos, photos, links and updates appears simpler. Also, because it’s integrated into Gmail you can share all these things with the people you are in contact with the most, as well as connecting up to Picasa, Flickr, Google Reader and Twitter accounts.

It’s been debated in the past that Buzz is not ‘cool enough’ for social media while others say it has the potential to take over the social media world, after reading the latest reports it looks as if the latter is more likely. It seems Google have finally figured out social media as 160,000 posts per hour and 300,000 mobile check-ins per day will tell you. At first it seemed Google were merely adding ‘a little something extra’, as it turns out the little something turns out to be something much bigger.

Why? Well, not only does it do everything Twitter does it also has some very interesting and useful extras, including a recommendation feed. This allows users to get a incoming feed based on friends posts and feedback, Google then filters what news they think would be of interested to the user and distributes it. This is a way for Google to ‘turn down the noise’ and to deliver the updates that matter in real time. Lets face it, people telling the world that they have just brushed their teeth isn’t always something I want to read about.

Buzz also offers a ‘page rank’ type feature for status updates, this means that finding the most ‘clickable’ (interesting) links for example is made easier. If there is something I hate more than seeing the ‘Failwhale’ four or five times a day it’s how unhelpful the ‘find people’ tab and ‘Twitter search’ is – here’s hoping the page rank feature answers our prayers!

One of Buzz’s biggest assets (and my personal favourite) is that it is already available on the Android and iPhone. It seems that since the app store fiasco that was Google Voice they are now sticking to the web as its sole platform for application distribution. According to Google this was done because not only do they want people to update their statuses on the go but to Geo-tag their location in a Foursquare nature. This then links in with plans for all mobile users to utilise Google Maps and Google Voice to ‘speak status’ updates…world domination you say?!

The most obvious downside I have come across is the one-way communication roadblock. While Google’s people did indicate that Buzz would eventually allow you to Tweet at the same time it does not currently support it. This means that you can see other peoples Tweets and comment on them within Buzz but you wont be able to Retweet them or update your own Twitter status. This means you will still have to log in separately to the wide range of social networks or rely on services such as Ping.fm to update your Buzz status along with all your other networks.

In terms of the product, for once the outcome is simple. If enough friends, family and colleagues use Buzz it could become your one-stop-shop for all things social. If not it could be back to the drawing board for Google. I have to admit, there is one thing that is bothering me a little, as much as I admire Google for their innovating and groundbreaking technologies part of me feels that they could be moving too fast? And is it good business etiquette trying to overrule existing social networks?

Thoughts and feelings welcome as always!

The contact management system allows you to implement sign up forms to all your artists social networks and websites, letting more fans sign up for updates, tour dates, and new releases. The service appears to have a keen eye for usability and under closer inspection a couple of good features, there’s a mailing list widget that can be put onto the artists social networks which could be helpful for gathering new and interested fans and their information, it also offers nicely laid out and detailed insights.

However, there are one or two reasons we at Rising Digital have not jumped in with credit cards at the ready, the majority of the FanBridge features seem to be similar to that of free platforms that we are already using. For example for fans to be able to share information with friends via fan-2-fan invites, managing all social networks from one place, interacting with fans and collecting fan information from anywhere, especially from gigs. These particular features can be found through Ping.fm, Scribble and pretty much all social networks. They also say they can turn promotions into purchases (although I think that’s a fancy way of saying you can direct fans to iTunes by using a link!) For a small online, music marketing company like RD FanBridge’s best feature would be that it could save time, and sure, the combination of everything in one place, not having a million tabs open and different log-ins, thrown together with automatic contact updates would save time, but surely it’s nothing that a well organised, social media savvy account exec cant handle! To sum up, FanBrodge could be useful for companies that don’t have an online marketing team, have little social media knowledge or no time to manage their contacts and pointless to those that do!

If it’s good enough for Teisto, then it’s good enough for us! Band Metrics (currently in private beta) is a platform built solely for musicians, its features include: identifying fans, measuring social engagement, finding hot markets, tracking radio plays and discovering trends. Unlike pre-packaged measurement applications it allows fans to interact with artists as well as providing artists with real time statistics to enable them to gauge attitudes. So not only do we get our hands on pretty graphs, facts and figures but we can see the thoughts and feelings of the fans, which, in any musicians eyes is invaluable.

As of early this year (public launch due), end of month reports will not only be fun (Sadly, the ‘I heart Spreadsheet mug’ I received for Christmas sums me up perfectly!) but they will be filled with pleasure and ease!

When we pulled up to the centre it didn’t look like much was going on, there was no queue, no people, very little bouncers and definitely no sign of overly loud music (on reflection I couldn’t have been more wrong). We walked straight into the main room and my arms, legs, head and all internal organs shook to the bass. My vision was blurred, my hands were no longer steady and I felt for the first time what it was like to be deaf, needless to say the ear plugs went straight in. We got some drinks and mooched around to get a feel for the place whilst watching the already ruined dancers ‘throw shapes’, old men playing cards in the next room and women selling Jerk goat from a school dinner type canteen. This was undoubtedly the most surreal place I had ever experienced.

After my boyfriend and I had been laughed at for looking like rabbits in headlights we slowly started to warm to the seriously deep and ground shaking bass, we even started to enjoy ourselves! We waited in anticipation for Shackleton, who I had not heard much about although what I had heard was fantastic. I was pleased to discover that all the rumours were true, he, alone with only a Mac and a controller absolutely smashed it. As I watched the ‘normal’ looking man wearing glasses and a white t-shirt drop dark, rooted, and dubby beats I heard a very faint voice coming from my chest that said “I told you so”. I was lost for words, shocked, amazed, inspired, scared, overwhelmed and had butterflies all at the same time, this could only mean one thing, I was falling for the Dub and there was nothing I could do about it…in a word, sold.

The night warmed up with some long awaited French house thanks to Mike Shannon and despite having only slept for 2 hours, having bags under my eyes that Touche éclat couldn’t fix and being slightly dazed from drinking beer in the sun all afternoon, I instantly felt vivacious, something told me it was going to be a good night.

After a few drinks and attempting to speak French to the locals I took pride of place right at the front of the crowd awaiting a performance from the almighty legends that are; Mathew Jonson, Tyger Dhule & Danuel Tate. After dropping some new tunes they threw in one or two oldies for good measure, it was when they played ‘Dump Truck’ that I’m pretty sure the club came to a holt in amazement. I too found myself at a standstill as I watched the improvising pianist with my mouth wide open. The realisation of how talented these guys were started to sink further and further in when they, mid-set looked as if they could have been taking a walk through a park, effortlessly brilliant – is there anything more annoying?

There was no denying that the jaw droppingly good trio absolutely destroyed it, Rex went off, there were overpriced drinks spilling everywhere! It was completely different to any set I have ever witnessed, looped riffs and irregular chords thrown together with techno beats was a perfectly synchronised recipe that completely took my breath away. In one word…Genius!

The night/morning was rounded up by French DJ Yakine with some more, good solid techno followed by a spot more house, the perfect end to a perfect evening. There was one more thing left to do before returning to the hotel…breakfast at a French bakery, oui s’il vous plait!

There is just one burning question on my mind… where on earth can I find other Cobblestone Jazz – esque acts or are they one of a kind? Answers on the back of a postcard please!

Missed the gig? Check out their awesome set here!!

Cobblestone Jazz Live @ Un Reve Rex Club Paris – 26-09-2009 by R_co

I found my true love for music by accident whilst carrying out my first, two compulsory duties as a fresher…clubbing and getting drunk! After experimenting with different venues and partaking in relentless ‘student nights’ I can honestly say I was not impressed. Just when I had given up on the Leeds nightlife I stumbled across a night in what appeared to be a dodgy, backstreet club. As I reluctantly walked through the door I was hit clean in the face with a sweaty crowd of people, the deep vibrations of the dirty, dark techno beats rippled through my body. The involuntary smile and urge to nod my head made it all become apparent…I had found my happy place. This was my first experience of the Leeds techno scene and I have been a loyal delegate to it ever since.

So what’s next? Well, I’m the latest intern that has proudly set up camp at Rising Digital Towers. I would like to dive deeper into the world of music, soak up all the wisdom and knowledge I can and continue to work on behalf of ridiculously talented DJ’s, such as, Chris Lake, Sander van Doorn, Steve Angello, Swedish House Mafia, Eddie Thoneick and Sebastian Ingrosso. My aim is simple, to attain my dream job in music marketing at Rising Digital and spend the rest of my days rocking at it! One last thing before I go (promise!), and please bear in mind that what I am about to say could seriously put me at risk of being branded the new kid suck up, but it’s honestly a real privilege to work with such amazing artists and a refreshingly passionate team of people, a career in this influential industry is definitely where I’m headed…watch this space!