Technology

This turned out to be an extremely eventful week, not only because of the long-awaited release of my new album, but also because I learned a lesson on just how powerful (and intimidating) social networking can really be, and how difficult it is to “sell” yourself online. I’ve always been fascinated by how people use social networks to get attention and build awareness. Although I’ve been part of the “social web” since 2006 (when I created my first MySpace profile), I never really “got” social networking; especially the concept of taking something viral. As a musician, I understood that I needed the Web nowadays to make a name for myself, but I never understood how, nor did I realize how much time and effort went into making that possible....

If I ever needed proof that the smartphone is quickly becoming the 21st century’s version of the Tamagotchi (those widely popular and extremely annoying “digital pets” from the 90′s), I found it on Saturday while waiting to catch my train back home. On a beautiful, warm, bright Saturday morning, I was shocked and intrigued by just how many people I witnessed (myself included) hunched over, faces buried in the tiny screens occupying the palms of their hands. Based on my very unscientific observations, it’s quite easy to tell which type of current smartphone people are using: - If they’re hunched over while flicking with their left or right index finger in different directions, or sporadically rocking from side to side or forwards and...

Two days ago, a court in Sweden found the four men who created the internet file sharing site “The Pirate Bay” guilty of copyright infringement and of aiding and abetting the piracy of copyrighted material. The men were each sentenced to a year in jail and a fine of 30 million Swedish Kroner (about $3.6 million USD). The reaction in the media and in cyberspace was swift; much of the commentary came down on the side of The Pirate Bay founders, blaming the entertainment and software industries for causing the need for such sites in the first place through years of unfair pricing of music, video and software, as well as the draconian steps these companies have taken to stop piracy in recent years. Others are of the opinion that the Pirate Bay creators got what...