I'll be presenting on the media sharing service site Soundcloud tomorrow, so I'd like to use this post to introduce the central element of the site's service today while also posing a question for tomorrow. As I explained earlier, the site serves those who are looking to consume and distribute audio media online, sort of in the way youtube works with video media. The difference comes in the community aspect of it which is guided strongly by the visual design of the site itself. In the Manovich article we read toward the beginning of the semester, he theorized how how connection between a website's visual layout and design has a very practical connection to how it is used and interpreted by its audience. Soundcloud is a prime example of a website that exemplifies this idea. Community is facilitated though comments and brief discussions that occur on the waveform of the music itself. This is what a standard song on Soundcloud looks like to listeners:
That is an actual embedded music player, so go ahead and press play if you want to see Soundcloud in action. As the music plays, you can see that it's actually a waveform of the song itself. Under the song you can see a ticker that is going through comments users have submitted onto certain parts of the song itself, making commenting a much more specific endeavor. This allows people to give feedback on certain parts of the song. After it's done, you can post it to facebook, tweet it, "google plus it" (RIP Google+), and post it to a number of different internet spots.
My question to think about during my presentation tomorrow is: What tools are used by media sharing sites you use to find and share music with your friends? What can you think of that would be useful for media sites to employ that could make it easier to find new music and share it once you find it?
