Dispatch: A Band for the Web

A few weeks ago I was at a friend's house for homemade pizza night and stumbled upon the band - Dispatch. Heard of 'em? Well, neither had I. As it turns out, we were enjoying their Madison Square Garden show on the flat screen while we created our personal pizza masterpieces. "Who is this?" I asked. "Oh! This is Dispatch. I have been dying to go to a show. This one sold out in 30 minutes on MySpace. They're great!" my friend smiled.

I had never heard of this band but the fact that they sold out Madison Square Gardens via MySpace was impressive to me, plus I really liked the music. I did a little online research and I am now officially a fan. I am not only impressed that they were able to sell out the show online. I am impressed by the band itself. I don't believe that all you need is a strong marketing program to create a viable online business. Their accessibility isn't the ONLY ingredient that makes Dispatch so good... or so successful. It's the incredible content. The musicianship. The songs. And the whole band itself. Add in the charitable giving and you have a recipe for some authentic fan building. Start with a good product. Period.

Here are just some of the things I found interesting about the way the band communicates with their rabid fan base.

1) Gained exposure without a label back when Limewire and and Napster were going strong (Although I hear Napster's founders are launching a video chat service). People loved the music and wanted to share. Good content is king...still.
2) Their farewell concert in 2004 was the largest independent music event ever. Over 100,000 people showed up to see the Last Dispatch. It started as a free event and they expected about 20-30,000 people.



3) In 2007, they performed a benefit concert in Madison Square Garden called Dispatch: Zimbabwe and sold tickets exclusively via MySpace. Show sold out in 30 minutes. They added a second show which sold out in less than 24 hours. They then scheduled a third show and sold tickets on Ticketmaster which also sold out.
4) Sold performance footage on MySpace and SNOCAP.
5) Video streamed the concert for a week on MySpace
6) In 2009, they played an acoustic show at the Kennedy Center and sold out within 10 minutes.

Lately the band has been considering a comeback. How do we know? An icon on their website "Dispatch 2011" followed by a tweet in November 2010 containing a QR code to a Google Places location at Red Rocks Amplitheater in Colorado. Then a QR code a week pointing to more Google Places map locations in Chicago, Atlanta and other US cities. Then at midnight Jan 1, 2011 the band confirmed a reunion tour this June in all the cities previously tweeted. All that plus a video on YouTube to promote the tour.

Ah, it's probably too late for me to get tickets but what an incredible story!

"We The Users" A Social Network User's Bill of Rights

Most of us belong to at least one social network: Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Foursquare, etc. Recently, some of us have become a little irked with the social networks we use, namely Facebook's privacy issues.

This is why a number of social network users met in San Jose, CA for the annual Computers, Freedom and Privacy (CFP) Conference to discuss the creation of a Social Network User's Bill of Rights. You can follow what people are saying about the Bill on Twitter (#BillOfRights).

The document begins "We the Users..." and outlines what users have come to expect from social networks. The hot topics include honesty, transparency, privacy, disclosure and control. You can voice your opinion of the bill by voting on the Act.ly petition here.

Promote Your Blog with a Blidget

Got a blog? Why not promote it with a Blidget! A blidget is simply a widget which updates itself along with your blog's RSS feed.

Widgetbox allows you to create free blidgets to put on your website, blog, Facebook, Twitter or Myspace profile. You can customize the look and feel of your blidget by adding a title, subtitle, tags and by changing the color of your blidget.

Blidgets are useful in promoting your blog because it creates an eye-catching way to access your blog. You can reach out to related bloggers in the blogosphere and trade blidgets just like you would trade blogroll links. Other bloggers and their readers can stay up to date with your blog's content wherever the blidget is added and will visit your blog to read more if they are interested in what you have to say.

Facebook Custom URLs: Like or disLike?

I recently heard about Facebook announcing that they will soon be allowing users to register usernames and custom URLs for profiles. This will come into effect on June 13th at 12:00 AM EST. This means you will be able to register Facebook.com/username for your profile.

I think this is a great idea, especially for SEO purposes, but for personal profiles it may pose privacy issues and the fact that people with common names such as mine, will be competing with trying to be the one and only (for example) Facebook.com/JaneDoe. There is also the idea that competing brands will take other brand names just to keep it out of their hands, which would eventually lead to complaints for Facebook to deal with.

So there are definitely pros and cons, but it really isn't that much different from Twitter or MySpace, which already offer custom vanity URLs.

What do you think? Like this or dislike? Will you be waiting at your computer on June 13 so you can make sure no one else can get your name?

Mobile Social Networks Will Be the Rage In 2009

As more people upgrade their mobile phones, such as to the iPhone, Blackberry, or Google Phone, I believe mobile social networks will be noticed more this year.

With Facebook and MySpace having their own mobile version of their sites, many newly created mobile sites are already hoping to be the next best thing. A site meant to use on the go is Brightkite, which allows users to post updates from wherever they are, as well as ‘Check In’ from a specific location. This may be interesting for those who want to meet the people nearby and see what they’re doing at a particular point in time. Privacy is very important to Brightkite and allows their users to control who sees what.

ZYB is another interesting mobile social network site that allows you to sync your contacts’ phone numbers and other information, as well as their social networking activity all in one place. You can also share calendars and photos and see what your friends are up to. You can set any data to be visible to the public or only show information to the friends in your ZYB contact list.

Right now, I’m sure many people are hesitant to join such websites due to privacy reasons, so make sure the mobile site you are thinking of joining really stress that. Otherwise, skip it.

Social Media Overload : Tips on Being Successful with Social Media

Many of us, me included has dealt with information overload at some point, and because the internet is limitless, the creation of social media sites are always popping up. I’m sure a lot of the social media fanatics out there try out every social media site that comes up, but at some point there is always a feeling of being overwhelmed. If we spent all day on social networking sites, we’d never get anything done.

Here are a few tips to avoid social media overload.

1. Pick social media sites that you find that benefit you. Are you trying to keep in touch with friends who live all over the world? Then you’ll probably enjoy Facebook or MySpace. Like to express what’s on your mind? Maybe you’ll enjoy Twitter. Do you like to read about the latest news on the Internet? Then you may like Digg.

2. It’s ok to try but not ‘buy.’ You may enjoy Plurk, Pownce or Brightkite, but is it interfering with your life? If you don’t want to feel out of the loop then don’t give yourself more than 5 minutes on each site.

3. Think about why you joined these social networks in the first place? Did you sign up because you want to be the first to know? Or is it useful to your everyday life? Not everyone is the same and it’s ok if you don’t have a Facebook account if you know that you won’t use it. Those who are looking for you will eventually find you.