Ian “Enables” My Gaming Habit

Red Bull Space knows how to do Happy Hour. Not only did they provide alcohol for Social Media Week attendees last week, but they provided video games! Each day of SMW11, attendees could hang out in the Gaming Lounge and drink Red Bull & Vodkas as they tried their hand at Wii Snowboarding, raced in Gran Turismo, or shot at enemy soldiers in the new HALO Reach game. The star of the Happy Hour on the third day of SMW, however, was Ian “Enable” Wyatt. At only 17 years old, he’s one of the top HALO players in the world! Gaming fans had the opportunity to play with Wyatt in a relaxed atmosphere, allowing them to get into the minds and play-style of one of their gamer idols. And so did I!

Just before interviewing him, which you’ll read in this space next week, I had the chance to “play” with Wyatt having NEVER. PLAYED. HALO. BEFORE. It was all I could do to move around the game map properly, but Wyatt was really good-natured and encouraging, telling me I was doing a really good job of “not dying.” Yes, “not dying” is key to game play! After he saved my ass countless times in-game, he said that I was the best “girl” he played that day, and he was surprised that I was able to get as far as I got. Clearly, no gamer-girls were in attendance at Social Media Week that day! But Wyatt was a great gaming teammate, and was lovely to talk to. I’m very much looking forward to presenting my interview with him next week, where you will see how it is possible for a kid who games to be smart, grounded, and polite.

Social Media and Discovering New Music

It was like a “Who’s Who” of music writing at the Guided by Voices…The Changing Face of Music Discovery panel at Red Bull Space. Doug Brod (SPIN Magazine), Elliot Aronow (RCRD LBL), Tim Heineke (Shuffler.fm), Nick Catchdubs (DJ), and Bill Pearis (Brooklyn Vegan) spoke with Brenna Ehrlich (Mashable.com) about how social media was changing how people discover music, as well as their place as music curators.

The panel maintained that, whether people were online, or trying to comb through bins at record stores, that they still rely on trusted sources to point them toward good music, because there’s just so much out there and a good portion of it is crap. Aronow made the excellent point that curators of music, like SPIN, provide guideposts for artists by which they can measure their success.

Ehrlich asked Brod how he decides who’s still going to be musically relevant in 3 months, considering he writes for one of the few, if not the only, print music magazines left. Brod clarified that he handles both the print version of SPIN as well as the web content, which is getting more focus these days. However, he sees SPIN’s role as something that gets behind music and digs deeper rather than simply blasting the world with hot new tracks for instant gratification. It’s one thing to hear a new song, but it’s another to nurture an artist so they can continue to make music. As far as more SPIN in digital form, the magazine is developing an iPhone app that’s coming out March 11, which will allow you to “listen along” with the online content you’re reading.

As far as the role music blogs play in the discovery of new music, Pearis says that his blog, Brooklyn Vegan, is very news centric, so it’s not just about the music, but about the artists: where they’re touring, what they’ve got going on, etc. He says, too, that while it covers a lot of NYC music by virtue of being based there, he doesn’t consider it a NY-centric blog, and hopes that music lovers everywhere can get something out of it. Heineke’s Shuffler.FM provides music lovers with both an audio and visual experience, which is something more and more music fans require. Aronow’s RCRDLBL.com is a blog with a structure that allows participation from record labels, rather than shutting them out or trying to circumvent them. Catchdubs, a popular NYC DJ, says that “no one has time for general-interest anything” and people want someone to say “here’s the best thing ever!”

As far as getting through to more casual listeners, Catchdubs says “not everything is meant to break through [to the mainstream], and if it is, it’ll find a way.” Music fans should simply “find something that [they] love, get up on the mountain and yell about it!” Aronow says we’ve arrived at a cultural moment, because of the internet, that “it’s more possible to find something between indie and Entertainment Tonight.” Heineke pointed out that “niches rule” right now because of the internet, and so even the mainstream audience is looking for, and able to find, more quality music in their niche of choice. According to Catchdubs, there’s also the fact that as technology improves, the differences between something like the algorhythm Pandora uses to make recommendations and human recommendations from friends will be less.

However, just because the internet gives people more access to different genres doesn’t mean everything is all roses and sunshine. When asked what their biggest challenges are in reaching the music-loving audience, Brod mentioned that SPIN still has a long way to go with regard to digital/web content, and so that’s an area they’re trying to improve. Aronow says he struggles with expanding the genres covered at RCRDLBL. Heineke is working on moving from the web to other platforms.

Then Ehrlich asked an interesting question: What music discovery methods do you think are dead or obsolete? Catchdubs’ first thought was iTunes, but then he reconsidered, saying that iTunes was to WalMart what Beatport is to rummaging through a record bin to find hidden gems. Take from that what you will. Brod and Catchdubs discussed whether radio is dead. Brod sees little value in radio anymore, while Catchdubs allows that while radio is less good at breaking new artists, it’s still the thing that makes stars. Artists, no matter how DIY their sensibility would still love radio play if they can get it. Aronow says college radio is dead. Whereas radio plays the same five songs 100 times, college radio plays 100 songs once, which doesn’t really allow for discovery at all. Today, music recommendations are controlled by fans/connoisseurs more than by corporate types in record companies.

Aronow chuckled as he said that having access to everything all the time is not so great if you have “gasp! Other things to do!” Thus, he reaffirms the importance of music curators, and the importance of social media to those curators in order to promote the best of the best.

When discussing their personal preferences, Pearis says that he prefers blogs that post two cool new things a day, rather than twenty-five so as not to overwhelm people with too many things to look into. Brod goes so far as to say that the internet has replaced record company A&R people. And yet, as Catchdubs and Aronow point out, the music industry is still organized around the album, despite people buying more singles from sources like iTunes. As Catchdub said, “Cars have progressed, but we still drive, you know? We’re not hovering yet.” Aronow joked, “The music industry is like the dating world, marginalizing the singles.”

Words and pictures by Teresa Jusino.