Jason Bradford

Is Twitter Heading Down The Myspace Road?

// February 3rd, 2009 // 17 Comments » // Technology

You guys know I love Twitter…  as a matter of fact, most of you think I live on Facebook because my Twitter account is connected to my Facebook status updates.  BUT, I’ve recently started feeling a bit the same about Twitter as I did when I was ready to abandon Myspace.  Why? What has happened?  Here’s my thoughts on the future of Twitter, I may be way off but hear me out!

Twitter is about connecting and building community.  Myspace was about finding friends and building community as well (before it became a booty call station).  However, Myspace became a game about who had the most friends.  I’m guilty… I had 1800+ friends and really only talked/connected with a hundred or so…  I was overwhelmed with trying to keep up with them all and usually missed the “real” friends because of the noise of unknown “friends”.  It wasn’t long after reaching that 1800+ mark that I “cleaned” house and narrowed my connections back down to people that I knew or people that I had common interests with.  Even so, I eventually looked at Myspace as a chore- and have since moved on to Facebook.  The whole Facebook vs. Myspace saga is another post, I just choose Facebook over Myspace.

So how do I see Twitter as another Myspace?  The “followers” war.  Once again, I’ve played this game too.  I started following anyone who followed me even if I had nothing in common with them.  As the numbers started to grow I slowly disconnected with the people that I had truly connected with.  Then I started seeing people post stuff like “If you don’t follow me back, you will be dropped…  Fair is Fair!”.  That’s not a joke.

First off people, get a clue.  A follower doesn’t mean a friend-  friendships are built by talking and getting to know one another.  There are many folks that I respond too and converse with but don’t follow and the same with other folks who respond to me.  Why do I follow people who’s sole goal is to gain followers then 90% of their tweets are the song they are listening to.  Really? Really?  Ego trips are quickly taking over Twitter… one guy is following 12,000+ people and he has 11,000+ followers, yet he doesn’t talk with his followers rather he spouts out information and 9 times out of 10 it’s a retweet of someone else that everyone is already following.   I’m seeing this more and more daily which is why I’ve realized that soon we are all going to get tired of the game and look for the next manageable communication/media breakthrough.

This is how I relate Twitter to Myspace… Myspace and Facebook are basically the same idea, Facebook was executed better by giving the user more control over their connections and privacy… the interface was also very user friendly. Twitter is basically an open & easy interface place to connect. However with mass followers it gets hard to manage (I say hard to manage, I’m talking about the average user- see below to see how I manage Twitter sanely!!!)

I know I’m stepping on some of the toes of the “Twitter Elite”.  If it feels like I’m stepping on your toes, I’m sorry but I just don’t think you get the idea of building community- whether online or off.  Give me some info, give me a reason to be your “follower”!

This applies to me as well.  I try to be myself on Twitter, I post through out the day with stuff I’m working on, music I like, food I love, interesting links I find, and respond to those I may be able to help.  If I’m not offering you anything then unfollow me… it’s ok… I’m not going to be offended!!!

I still love Twitter but mainly because I’ve found a way to manage it.  If you are overwhelmed with Twitter or feel like you are missing conversations then I encourage you to check out Tweetdeck.  Tweetdeck let’s you create groups…  I have the following groups setup:  local/real friends, music related friends, marketing/interactive friends, then the big group of “All”. 

I have hope for Twitter but we’ve got to get a grip on the egos and the serial followers to create a great and useful community.  Who’s on board?

Facebook Connect : Connect Your Communities

// January 21st, 2009 // No Comments » // Technology

So what’s so great about Facebook Connect and why do I like it so much? Facebook Connect is a tool that let’s you connect your blog or website to Facebook… You’ve spent hours building community on Facebook while spending even more hours on your personal blog trying to build readers. Why not use a backend that is proven and connects seamless to align them both?

Facebook Connect does just that. I think a few folks have over looked it because they aren’t programmers and/or developers. Words like API, code, php scare a lot of bloggers- they did me for a while! Thanks to some savy programmers/developers a WordPress plugin has been created and has simplified the process.

I’m using a simplified version of this plugin but fully functional you can utilize many more features from Facebook including photo tagging, wall posting, commenting and connectivity. Absolutely amazing possibilities with this!

If you look to the top right you’ll see a working plugin of Facebook Connect. I had this installed and running in less than an hour. My own Facebook app.. pretty dang cool if you ask me.

So, why do I want to use this app? I want to create an easy way to build community and since most of the people I interact with are on Twitter and/or Facebook why not give them an easy way to participate in my blog world? However, it gives me an opportunity to participate in their world as well. It’s community. It’s talking. It’s sharing via Facebook and our own personal blogs.

You can read more about Facebook Connect here. And you can check out the developer of the WordPress Facebook Connect plugin here. Please email with any questions you have or if you need some help setting it up. I’m more than happy to help build up this tool!

Now, let’s connect!

Wired.com and Tone Box Digital

// December 7th, 2008 // No Comments » // Music & Entertainment, Technology

We are a few days into this competition and Tone Box is getting some great exposure and I’ve had some great inquiries from artists and labels. The voting? Well, we are still way behind. The others have taken way off from us. I learned from Wired last week that there was a little “glitch” in the voting system and they are very aware of it.

So what do we do? Nothing. We are going to keep voting and doing this thing with integrity. Tone Box Digital and myself are unwilling to find a way to “beat the system”. We’ve received over a 1000 votes from fans and friends and we are super excited to know we have support in all we do.

What can you do? Keep voting. Spread the word and let’s find a way to win by true votes by the people. Over the next two weeks we have two newsletters going out and a possible feature on a very large music site- This will be more great exposure- it doesn’t mean votes and it doesn’t mean winning but it does mean we are spreading the Tone Box model.

If you are spreading the word, I appreciate all you are doing.  Please make sure you join our Facebook group: “I Voted For Tone Box Digital @ Wired.com“.  Share on the wall how you are spreading the word and you could get a $30 gift card to iTunes, Amazon.com or Starbucks.

Thanks again for all you guys are doing!!!

VOTE FOR TONE BOX DIGITAL HERE!!!

Tone Box Digital and Wired.com : The Story

// December 2nd, 2008 // No Comments » // Music & Entertainment, Technology

As many of you know Tone Box Digital was chosen as one of the five finalist in Wired.com’s small business program.  The program launched today and I wanted to get the word out.

Tone Box Digital is an indie label and distribution service for the arts.  We currently distribute and market over 25 artists and are working on digital distribution for independent films and shorts.  Unlike the other competitors, Tone Box Digital is funded by one individual.  No backers.  No investors. No deep pockets.  Just one individual, me. That’s not me complaining, I am 100% proud that Tone Box has survived this long and has been making a profit (small as is) since it was launched in late 2003.  What’s the coolest thing about Tone Box?  The best part is that the artists make more money than anyone in the chain.  This gives them the opportunity to make a living at what they do best.

I’d like to ask you to take a minute or two and go vote for Tone Box and all that I am trying to accomplish.

It’s real simple.  Go to this Link.  Check out the video… have a giggle or two at my chattering and then vote!

To vote hit the red button with the arrow above it.  It’s right beside my video to the left.

Thanks for all the support and help over the years.  I couldn’t have done any of this without my friends, family and most importantly the artists that have let me be a part of their music.

Wired.com Interview and Finalists

// November 7th, 2008 // No Comments » // Music & Entertainment, Technology

I just finished my interview/video with Wired.com and have really enjoyed the whole process. Wired.com has started a new small business section on their website and to kick it off they asked for submissions for small businesses that aligned with the Wired mentality. I submitted Tone Box Digital, my indie record label/distribution service to them and truthfully, forgot about it. A few weeks ago I received an email that said I was one of five finalists- wow. As a finalist they flew me to NY to shoot a short video to talk about Tone Box. On December 1st all the videos will go live on Wired.com and you, the public, get to decide who is the winner.

The other finalists are really cool and have some super great ideas! I’m in great company and am honored to be among them.  No matter who wins this thing we are all going to benefit from the exposure. Here are the other finalists and their websites, great stuff and great minds behind them all!

• Scryve: a collaborative web resource and browser tool combination that provides a resource for environmentally and socially aware Internet browsing. (check out the firefox plugin!)
• CrowdSPRING : was started to help people from around the world access creative talent, and to help creatives from across the globe find new customers
• Greenlines: Classic boardshorts made from 100% recycled polyester fabric.

  Every purchase supports your local beach.

• Livespeakr: The LiveSpeakR™ is a boombox in your pocket! Designed for use with the iPhone and iPod Touch. Designed by a customer, for the customer.
• and me.  Tone Box Digital-  You can check us out to!

Big Things for Tone Box Digital : Stay Tuned!

// October 20th, 2008 // No Comments » // Music & Entertainment, Technology

Some of you may have seen my twitter last week about Wired magazine.  Tone Box Digital has been selected by Wired to participate in a small biz program very soon.  We don’t know all the details except that we are one of five small businesses chosen…  we are very excited and truly believe this will build some interest and  momentum as we continue to redefine the traditional record label business model.

I’ll be blogging/twittering the experience and will keep you all informed.  I’m going to need all of your help when we get into this thing.

Thanks for all the support over the years, let’s do this… now!

The Digital TV Conversion- Best Video To Help

// October 14th, 2008 // No Comments » // Funny, Technology

This was shared with me this morning…  Great public service announcement for the digital TV conversion coming up February 2009.

wuh, wuh, wuh

Top 9 iPhone Apps

// October 7th, 2008 // No Comments » // Music & Entertainment, Technology

So I’m really digging the iPhone..  granted, the battery consumption is frustrating because it only allows you to use “all” the tools it came with for a few hours- but I’ve adapted for now.  As a business tool and a personal tool this phone has become my 11th finger, my third hand, my second head, my… well, you get the picture.  I’ve found ways to incorporate the iphone into every aspect of my 9-5 life and my independent music night life…

I thought I’d share a few of the tools that I have found to be invaluable.  Please share you favorite apps with me and others who read this!

1. Evernote-  This app is a great note/to do piece.  I have found myself humming melody lines that were trapped in my head into the voice recorder, making quick notes of stuff to pick up at the grocery store and snapping pictures to remember later (like the name of a wine I had- it also does image recognition)
2. Fring- This could be an all around app of the future. This social tool incorporates a ton of media sites and communications including Skype.  Yes, Skype.  When we recently made Tone Box completely digital we switched all phones to Skype so now I have it with me every where. Look me up on Skype:  toneboxdigital
3. Airsharing- This app turns my iphone into a wireless hard drive.  I can take my documents with me everywhere I go.  Works with tons of document formats-  MS Word, Excel, PDF, jpgs, html, rtf, audio files and so many more.
4. Facebook-  This is a killer app.  Recently updated, the feel of this app is very close to the real Facebook.  I can keep up friends, messages, status, comments and requests.  If we can get flash for the iPhone I can play Mob Wars and we’ll all be in trouble.
5. Myspace- The reason I like this app is because I hate Myspace but continue to have a presence on there.  I never actually go to myspace anymore.  I can see friend requests and messages from the iphone and not get bogged down into that clunky myspace.
6. BeatMaker-  This was one of my favorite apps for the plane.  I was able to create loops, edit loops and then dump to my macbook in a usable format.  I haven’t used it in a while because it got removed and the last sync didn’t bring it back!  I’m working on getting it back and will be using it as soon as I do!
7. Sportacular- I know, this isn’t a business app but it rocks.  Updates often during games and allows me to create a fantasy player list so I can see how my fantasy players are doing from one page!  Saves me time, so it’s beneficial to my business.
8. Twitterific-  Yes, if you know me, then you know I live on Twitter.  Most of my facebook friends have no idea that Twitter drives my facebook status and I’m not really on Facebook all day!
9. Oblique Strategies- not new to me but new to the iphone.  Great app with one liners or sayings that can generate thought in almost any situation.

Doesn’t it suck when you are reading a list and it ends at like 9?  or 13?  Who said all lists had to be 3, 5, 10, 20, 50?     Those are my nine.  What is my 10th favorite?  You tell me!!!  What are your favorite apps?

Is Twitter Killing the Blogger Kingdom?

// September 15th, 2008 // No Comments » // life, Technology

I was just thinking about how much less that I blog these days.  I Twitter my random thoughts and structured thoughts more than anything.  Because I twitter, sometimes I feel I don’t need to blog my thoughts because I got them off my chest.

I’m curious how many people blog less because they Twitter?  How many people never blogged before but love to Twitter?

Any patterns?  Just curious if anyone else has thoughts on Twitter vs. Blogging?

Who's Your Interactive or Internet Marketing Guru?

// July 21st, 2008 // No Comments » // Technology

I know the millions of folks who visit my site consider me their personal interactive marketing guru, quit laughing… really.  Who is your interactive/internet marketing guru? What sites do you visit to keep up with the ever evolving internet and interactive world?  I’m going to add a category to the blog roll called Guru and Marketing Sites so send some good stuff to add!

I can’t keep up with them all… so share your Guru in the comments section!

• David Meerman Scott — Author of “The New Rules Of Marketing & PR” (my internet marketing bible)
• The Long Tail — Site of ideas based on the book.
• Black Rim Glasses — VP of Technology at Warner Records
• Wired Magazine — If you don’t subscribe.  You should. Really.
• PR Squared — Social Media and Marketing
• iMedia Connection –  A great site with a great daily email about marketing online.
• Engadget — Site dedicated to gadgets, computers, future stuff
• Mashable! – Site for news and happenings with social networks.

That’s my short list-  I have plenty more in the link list to the right.

Tell me who your guru is…