Hip Hop Stars Who are Internet Technology and Social Media Savy

When I listened to this podcast from Stanford Technology Ventures, I was amazed to hear hip-hop artists who were articulate about the use of the internet, crowd sourcing, social media, digital branding, and more as ways of promoting themselves, their music, their merchandise (or "merch"), and more.  This is basically a panel disucssion in front of a crowd of Stanford University MBA students.   One of them makes a remark about people not taking him seriously but "five million ring tones later" he gets the last laugh.

Successful Independent Promotion: From Artist to Entrepreneur

Hip-hop artists Quincy Jones III and Chamillionaire discuss mastering the business side of the music industry. Keeping up with cutting-edge technologies, production logistics, and finding creative ways to gain direct audience contact are essential tactics for the self-produced artist in the digital age.

Be sure to check out the video or listen to the audio on iTunes.

The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age

This podcast really made me think. Today so much information about our lives is archived and stored basically forever.  However, our biological memory fades.  This podcast poses the question, "Would we be better off if our digital memories faded (or expired) over time like our biological memory?"  Would it be easier to move on and get on with life easier or quicker? to think more clearly? 

Check out Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Inbox, episode 133.

Here's a link to the book discussed, Delete: The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age

How the Internet Really Works and How it Encourages Random Acts of Kindness

If you've began to think of the Internet as becoming more trouble than it is worth because of phishing attempts, viruses, and other ways that one man tries to take advantage of another, this video podcast will certainly make you think again. 

Jonathan Zittrain, a professor of Internet law, first does a great job of explaining in a humorous way how low-level technology that makes the Internet possible actually works and how dependent it is on people voluntarily playing by the rules.  He gives a great example of what happens when this does not happen when he describes how Pakistani internet censorship inadvertently hijacked YouTube a couple of years back.

He then goes on to provide real-world examples of how people who do not know each other come together on the Internet to voluntarily provide value to others and even self-police themselves.

Watch "The Web As Random Acts of Kindness" on Ted.com or download the talk on iTunes.