Even though we like to blame the shortening length of music tracks on TikTok, the fact is that songs have been getting shorter ever since we started to live on the Internet. Just as written content went from being longer to more ephemeral tweets, the same has happened with music, and TikTok has made things … Continue reading TikTok & The Tiny Tune Trend

Should we drop “social” from social media? There is nothing social about this social media. And most of these platforms are essentially networked information distribution systems, and more and more of that information is just noise or disinformation. And humans aren’t helping either.  Everyone, including Captain America fantasist billionaires and yours truly, in some fashion … Continue reading There is no “social” in “social media”

Okay, I didn’t mean to be so dramatic. Or use a clickbait headline, but in reality, what used to be Instagram is now dead. It was a wonderful gathering place for photographers to showcase their work and build an audience. Not a day goes by when some photographer friend or the other bemoans how Instagram … Continue reading Instagram is dead

Social music is streaming’s new growth driver, generating around $1.5 billion in 2020 and growing fast in 2021. It represents a natural evolution of social media rather than an evolution of streaming. Read article on Music Industry Blog Continue reading Spotify’s uncertain future

Happy Sunday, everyone! I have slowly (and unintentionally) slipped into “summer mode.” I have been working only a little and reading quite a lot. Last week, I also met Ken Kocienda, a former Apple software engineer and designer, to talk about art, life, photography, and watches.  I didn’t spend as much time on Twitter (either perusing … Continue reading Vinyl Conundrum + other notables

I came across this opinion piece about the role of social media in the demise and subsequent rebirth of blogging, a topic not unfamiliar to readers of my blog. It credits Twitter for providing a platform that allows for interactions similar to those that distinguished early blogging communities. And at least in a superficial way, that’s not wrong, … Continue reading Future of Media – a quick reality check

No TikTok For You

TikTok wouldn’t be selling its US operations to Microsoft. “We look forward to seeing how the service evolves in these important areas,” Microsoft said in a tersely worded blog post. That’s like a jilted teenager, saying good luck after being spurned. I thought the whole notion of Microsoft buying TikTok was a bad idea anyway. And as … Continue reading No TikTok For You