I used Glogster for this project. The goal was to creat a glog that gave a little background on me and my career as a musician. I haven’t been doing it long, but it is never too early to start trying to build a fanbase. My target audience is anyone who listens to rap music, specificallly, but not limited to anyone from Savannah, GA and Memphis, TN who listens to rap. Along with Glogster I used Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube. Facebook more than any other social media sites. I believe I will continue this glog, It is fun, and easy to share on my social media sites. My Glog can be viewed through both my facebook and twitter accounts. While viewing videos on the glog, you can redirect yourself to youtube if you prefer. I normally just sell my demos at my job, but with Glogster I can just tell whoever where to find me in order to purchase their $5 demo from DG! Here are my links:

Glogster: http://www.glogster.com/spider72/-dgtheprince/g-6l5bd3i7ndkngsiq84jtda0

Facebook: David Gayden https://www.facebook.com/mobileprotection#!/david.gayden.3

Twitter: @DGThePrince https://twitter.com/DGThePrince

Youtube: dagayden http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cp4D317g4aI & http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JAmlJkfpW0

Niche Culture, Tools of Distribution, Media Convergence, Participatory Culture Collective Intelligence, and Tools of Production are only a few things I learned this semester in this Media 2.0 class. I would have never thought that Wikipedia could actually be a great source for information, I also found out that if the information is incorrect actions will be taken in order to make sure the information on the site is as accurate as possible. I learned that independent artists in any field who are in the niche category of The Long Tail can survive and succeed due to the growth of technology, social media, and youtube. This class to my surprised has given me the tools I need in order to expand my music career. It is a fact that today I am a niche rap/hip-hop artist, but if I just remember the importance of the true fans and their loyalty, constantloy promote myself on facebook, tweet about what’s going on, post pictures of my performances on Instagram, and post vidoes of my performances on youtube, then maybe one day the right person will notice and I could end up in the Hits portion of The Long Tail for as long as the world gets tired of what I can bring to the music industry. I have also learned that is good to have more the one option, so if they ever get tired of my music; or if I do, I can just do movies or something. Thank you Ms. Markman for a great semester and being ever so patient with me. Your The Best!!!! I will never forget Niche Culture, Tools of Distribution, Media Convergence, Participatory Culture Collective Intelligence, and Tools of Production are my keys to success.

The 2008 election was a Facebook campaign and this year twitter and facebook played major roles in the presidential campaign of 2012. President Obama won and a statistic came out that his campaign out tweeted Governor Romney’s campaign by a ratio of 8 to 1. Ms. Markman showed us a chart and people at 30 and under age wise had the higher percentage of those who were participating in some way during the presidsential campaign on social media sites, the only percentage where young voters were not a higher percentage was verbally telling others to vote. I had to work on election day from 2pm-10pm and I was able to keep up with everything that was going on via facebook and twitter. From Romney’s early 19-3 lead to when President Obama began to surge and went up 244-193 and I believe I stopped after The President won Ohio. I tried to look at official websites, but Twitter and Facebook were the most accurate, so I didn’t miss a thing. I am sure people with phones far better than mine were able to use Fox News on their phones, but my facebook on my Cricket phone served me just fine. Social Media, I believe will be a major asset for presidential campaigns from now on, and I say that with much confidence.

What is niche? Indie game designers feel really personal about the game they put out as opposed to the major label games. Halo is a huge game that is apart of a major label in gaming, whereas Super Meat Boy was created by two guys. Halo has all the commercials and advertisements unlike Super Meat Boy. Super Meat Boy did well enough where the two creators ended up selling over 1 million copies and getting a great pay day, but chances of this happening to indie game designers doesn’t happen very often. It is possible for niche artists to excel at what they do, but the big brands still do better, because of the financial backing and history they have; for now. Today we talked about Fragmentation and Common vs. Specific, for example sports is common, but LaCrosse a specific category of sports that fit in the niche category, due to its lack of popularity in the United States. This can go hand in hand with the gaming world. Halo, Call of Duty, Madden, etc are all common games, and Braid, Super Meat Boy, and Fez fit into the specific side of things. In The Long Tail you have the Hits, and niches, and only a small percentage of the niches actually evolve to being in the Hits portion of The Long Tail.

Jonathan Coulton’s success should be a motivating force to any up and coming artists. He does tours where he knows he will have a great turnout and I don’t use the internet, but I sell my demos to people I know will buy them. I have yet to take my business to the internet, but speaking from my experience the last week of just selling my demos on the street, I am a true believer that the internet is a great source as far as getting your career off to a great start. Of course people have to be careful, your stuff must be protected/have a copyright, butr the sky is the limit if your an unsigned artist. All these social networks work in your favor also. I can see myself using facebook, and twitter to promote my records I have for sell and so my website can be promoted as well. Out of the two, I am all for how Coulton went about his business. Everyone can’t be as successful as he was, but success leaves clues. Use those clues to find out how you can benefit from certain situations in your own way. Can’t wait to see how Super Meat Boy turned in the next class either. Hope it turned out great, because I would play it!

I learned that when a corporation copyrights something it is covered for 95 years. When an individual copyrights something, they are covered for a lifetime and 70 years after that. It is important to avoid copyright infringement at all costs. Some are not as strict as others when it comes to filing lawsuits against those they feel may tarnish their brand. George Lucas is one of those people who is not as strict as Disney is when it comes to his brand. You see all types of Star Wars inspired stories like, Family Guy, Robot Chicken, Spaceballs, etc. If someone were to get an idea an showcase Star Wars in a way that is not family friendly then they more than likely will be in the midst in a lawsuit filed by George Lucas who does not want Star Wars portrayed in that way period. I have seen porn that had a Star Trek theme, and it is safe to say I will not see one with a Star Wars theme, because they do not want to pay what they would have to in a lawsuit, I wouldn’t. A parody can fall under fair use, somehow, so you may be protected if you title it that, but who knows? Don’t play with Disney like that though…

I know I am late, but that is only because I don’t know if semi-locked rules this out, but I wish to do Harry Potter. Let me know if that is cool or not… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter if this isn’t ok I would like to do Lord Voldemort which also is semi-locked, but only to block vandelism, is this one ok? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Voldemort And if all else fails, how about… How about one of my favorite Dragonball Z characters Vegeta???? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegeta This one isn’t locked at all…

Professionals and Ameteaurs are not that different, they are only seperated by a couple of things. Experience and documented/approved paperwork, such as degrees, doctrines, etc. For example when it comes to certain forms of journalism and music, professionals and ameteaurs are not far from being equal at all, and in some cases one may be better than the other. I also believe ameteaurs have a higher ceiling of improvement to become quote on quote professionals. Being a professional shouldn’t be overlooked or anything though. I have had ACL surgery on my right knee and I am so hapy that, Dr. Fly is a professional, because I would hope they would not even notify me if it were someone else who just so happen to be an ameteaur surgeon. I would have been scared out of my mind. Long story short, in some cases professionals vs ameteaurs go hand in hand, while in other siuations or professions; the difference really matters.

Back in the day, the futufre was supposed to include a huge screen on your wall at home. We were supposed to be able to watch television, talk on the phone, listen to music, and browse the web among many other activities. What was failed to be realized by the people with this great idea; was that people typically don’t spend majority of their time at home and people like to take things with them. Fast forward to today and it isn’t far off from the original idea of the wall screen that allows you to do everything you possibly need on it; only it is a little smaller and it is called an iPhone. Tommorrow the iPhone 5 is released, and you can use it as a phone of course, a music source, an internet source, a book, a flashlight, and even as crazy as this may seem you can even track people with the iPhone.

When something new arrives, people test it out, then other people react to the guinea pigs’ reactions, let the price lower and then try it for themselves, and some even wait way longer and get the product after an upgraded version of the product is released, but product distribution, and the beauty an art of the new audience is still going through their respective circle of life as far as technology goes. The scary/exciting thing about it is technology will never stop, new an improved items/products will continue to rise from the ashes, and people will continue to make purchases and do whatever it takes to obtain these new devices, even if it means waiting three days in line to pay about $500 for the iPhone 5 or whatever new technology device is coming out.