Business with Arts

Web Design and web 2.0

2008-04-01T04:19:00.000-07:00

I will now take a look at website design in the face of web 2.0....

The interfaces of Web 2.0 will become the frontier of design innovation. Web 2.0 has often been described as “the Web as platform,” and if we think about the Web as a platform for interacting with content, we begin to see how it impacts design. The main areas of consideration are within the technical element, the layout and the design of the new web 2.0 applications. Web 2.0 is created for the Internet user and therefore the design of these websites have to consider its user.

Web design in Web 2.0 is about building event-driven experiences, rather than sites, and RSS is one of the key building blocks. RSS feeds enable people to subscribe to your content and read it in an aggregator any time, sans extraneous design. Searches can also be mixed with RSS to let people subscribe to content via topic and tag RSS feeds. One feature of Web 1.0 that seemed to change everything about publishing was the ability to make changes to the primary publication at any time. There are no “editions” or “printings” on the Web like there are in the print world. There is simply the site and its current state. What we see happening in Web 2.0 is a step beyond this, to where users are adding their own metadata. On Flickr and Del.icio.us, any user can attach tags to digital media items (files, bookmarks, images). The tagging aspect of these services isn’t the most interesting part of them, though. In Web 1.0, there were two stages to visual Web design. In the early years, designers used tricks like animated GIFs in clever and interesting ways. In the last few years, CSS came into fashion to help separate style from structure, with styling information defined in an external CSS file. Even so, the focus was still on visual design. With Web 2.0, it is not defined as much by place and is less about visual style. XML is the currency of choice in Web 2.0, so words and semantics are more important than presentation and layout. In the words of Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos, “Web 2.0… is about making the Internet useful for computers.” This has meant that designers need to become more like programmers.

In relation to the design, there is no official standard for what makes something “Web 2.0”, but there certainly are a few telltale signs. These new sites usually feature modern web technologies like Ajax and often have something to do with building online communities. But even more characteristic among these brands is their appearance. Web 2.0 sites nearly always feel open and friendly and often use small chunks of large type. The colours are bright and cheery, usually lots of blue, orange, and what is sometimes referred to as the official colour of Web 2.0: lime green.
The layout of the site is seen to have taken a more simple form, with one or two columns and more laid out around a central axis in contrast to pre web 2.0 where many columns were used and the information was presented on the left side of the page. The new simple form leads to more scrolling, which people seem happy in doing. Many designs use good-sized margins to space elements apart, and extra line-height to aid on-screen reading. The new layout is in favour of open space on the site.

Along with the development of Web 2.0 applications, websites have moved forward with the new phenomenon. This move has seen both design and application developments. The programmes have become more advance, and the design simpler and easier on the eye.

The Music Industry and web 2.0

2008-04-01T04:17:00.000-07:00

This is a blog on the subject of web 2.0 and the arts, now I will focus on the music industry.....

Web 2.0 has had an overwhelming affect on the Music Industry. The industry was once very difficult to break into, but once this feat was achieved with the signing of a record deal, artists had the opportunity to promote and publicise their music to an extensive audience with the support of their record label. However, advances in the downloading technology and in web applications have changed the industry in recent years. Now, artists can promote themselves for free on the Internet and built a loyal fan base even before signing any deal.

The main web 2.0 applications which have propelled artists to stardom are social network sites particularly mySpace, Facebook and bebo. Here up and coming artists have the opportunity to offer their music as well as information about themselves and their music. An artist who has successfully used these platforms to promote herself is Lily Allen. Lily Allen used mySpace to communicate with her fans and created more media attention through this than through her record label, EMI.

Another trend is that of open-content music guides. One such site is WikiMusicGuide, which is an open-content music guide, written collaboratively by people from all around the world. It is a place where music fans can acquire and share knowledge about their favourite songs and artists. The site is a wiki, which means that anyone can edit content simply by clicking on the edit link.
Another example of a new application as a platform is TransmissionFM, which is a free DJ promotion network. The website hosts DJs that play many styles of music and provide playback though free downloads. Every DJ on the site also has the opportunity to host a live Show. We also provide community features like user profiles, forums, messaging and chat for both the artist and their audience.

The way in which music is sold is also a revolution. Earlier this year Amazon announced that it is partnering with a European startup company called SellABand and will sell music from SellABand artists. On SellABand, unknown artists upload music to the site and ask fans to chip in $10 if they like what they hear. Once the band gets to $50,000 they’ve proven themselves, and they get to record a CD in a professional studio. Each fan gets a limited edition CD. If the artist doesn’t reach $50,000, the fans can get their money back or give it to another artist.
Amazon also invested in a different startup in the music space; Amie Street. Amie Street is a company, which has been recognised as a “web 2.0 company I couldn’t live without.” Amie Street has a model for selling music that simultaneously earns artists money and ranks artists by popularity of downloads. All songs start at free. As users begin to download a song, the price rises steadily until it reaches $0.99. So the more a song costs, the more popular it is. The latest public example of the success of this application was in the recent propulsion to stardom of Ashleigh Dupré, a wannabe music star, who was recently in the press in relation to Governor Eliot Spitzer. Since the scandal behind the termination of his post as Governor, Ashleigh Dupré has posted two songs on Amie Street and has been downloaded several thousand times.

The signs are everywhere that a revolution is taking place in music. The revolution of the influence individuals can have is imprinting on the music industry. Music groups and artists used to be chosen by record labels as the chosen few, however, now the artists have an opportunity to be chosen by the people.

Web 2.0 and Publishing

2008-04-01T04:16:00.000-07:00

This blog will cover how web 2.0 has affected publishing....

Web 2.0 has influenced publishing as a whole. Free access to photos, videos and audio recordings means that organisations can target a new possible audience with no cost and very little effort. Podcasting, YouTube and newer applications such as Flickr and del.icio.us are making ground around the world. It is recommended that arts organisations utilize this new resource available to them to try and target as many people as possible.

Podcasting is a digital recording of a radio broadcast, audio program or video recording, made available on the Internet by anyone for downloading to ones computer and further to a personal audio player. The Arts need something like this to reach there audience and break down the barriers that hold people back. Arts organisations, want a newer, younger audience to take an interest in Theatre, Dance and Visual Art. It is commonly known that every single student has an mp3 player of some kind, targeting them through this medium would be a strategic move for arts organisations. Possible ways of using Podcasting to publish the arts is through reviews of exhibitions, which is already undertaken in the Guggenheim and other prestigious galleries around the world. Podcasting is already somewhat established in the arts in Ireland, for example Bubble, which is a weekly video podcast reporting on weekly arts events and video podcast.
Another web 2.0 application, which could be utilized in the arts is in video publishing on such sites as YouTube. YouTube has an extensive audience worldwide, who could be a possible audience for the arts. Video recordings of performances or exhibitions could be fed to possible audience members through such an application or a specific video publishing site for the arts in Ireland could be established to hold the information.

Flickr, another form of web 2.0 application, is almost certainly the best online photo management and sharing application in the world. Although setup mainly for personal photographic use, there is no reason why such an application could be used in the arts sector. Photographs of performances such as theatre productions or music performances as well as exhibitions, festivals and even public art could be displayed and shared on such an application. One of the features of Flickr is that others can reorganise pictures, add tags, notes or comments to photographs. A similar application could be established in Ireland specific to artistic photographs, or photographs of Irish art events.

Del.icio.us is a social bookmarking website. The primary use of del.icio.us is to store bookmarks online. This then allows you to access the same bookmarks from any computer and add bookmarks from anywhere. Del.icio.us gives you the opportunity to create tags to organize and remember your bookmarks, which is a much more flexible system than folders. The way in which it may relate to the arts sector is that you can also use del.icio.us to see the interesting links that other people bookmark, and share links with them in return. You can even browse and search del.icio.us to discover the cool and useful bookmarks that everyone else has saved, which is made accessible with tags. An application such as this would give artists and art enthusiast the opportunity to network online and to share interesting links to reviews, blogs and music all relevant to the arts industry.

Web 2.0 applications have provided opportunities for publishing in the arts that were not available before. The main area that it could benefit the arts is by artists or art enthusiasts spreading the information they have gathered. This information could be undertaken by arts organisations, for example by creating Podcasts, video recordings or taking images and then post them on such websites like YouTube, Flickr or del.icio.us, so that the information could be spread by the people to target new audiences. It would be recommended that the websites would be established in Ireland specifically to ensure that the information spread would motivate people to attend the arts or support the arts in Ireland.

Blogging and the Arts

2008-04-01T04:15:00.000-07:00

My first blog will be on blogging on the arts.....

One of the most known Web 2.0 applications is blogging. The word blog originates form a ‘web log’. The key idea behind blogging is that is user-generated. A blog is an online journal with ones personal reflections, ideas, comments and links. However, they are not just for personal use, blogs are a growing tools for organisations, companies and any team environment, allowing groups of people to create and publish content online quickly and easily, without too much technical background. The blog website is where entries are commonly displayed, usually in reverse chronological order. It is quite common for organisations to have a separate website dedicated to blogs. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.

The content on the blogs varies from providing commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. Others then have the opportunity to respond and comment on blogs, which are posted.
The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art, photographs, sketchblog, videos, music, and audio, which are a part of a wider network of social media. Micro-blogging is another type of blogging, which consists of blogs with very short posts. As of December 2007, blog search engine Technorati was tracking more than 112 million blogs.
The reason for blogging’s success is that it is user-generated. Post blogging, the information available online was generated by the organisation and posted on their website. In contrast, blogging offers a different realm of information where the information is generated from the people.

Art blogs are already well established internationally. A renowned arts blog is artsblogs.com, which is published by Arts Hub, publishers of arts industry publications artshub.com, artshub.co.uk and artshub.com.au. Artsblogs.com has been especially established to provide a gathering place for arts people around the world to congregate and blog.
A recent trend for blogging is its use as a business tool for the Arts. There are many already established blogs available specific to the arts. In Ireland these include www.siopaeile.com, which is an online alternative shopping blog. The name, Siopa Eile is Irish for ‘other shop’. The aim of the site is to search the Internet for high quality and unique products. The Internet makes unique art accessible to everyone and blogging is one of the cheapest and most effective ways to marketing such art.

There are other blogs established in Ireland such as Irishartblogs.ie. Other art related blogs, which were recently recognised at the Irish Blog Awards in March 2008. Sinead Gleeson was the winner for the ‘Best Arts and Culture Blog’ and the ‘Best music blog’ was awarded to DownloadMusic.ie. Both blogs give a personal perspective on current and upcoming arts events. Another organisation that is trying a pragmatic approach to using web 2.0 applications in the arts is Poetry Ireland. They hosted a workshop in 2007 called ‘Blogging, Podcasting and the Arts.’ The workshop took place in the College of Surgeons in Dublin and was attended by about 40 people. The key issue was the demonstration of the ways in which artists and arts organisations are embracing the new platforms created by web 2.0 for both the production and promotion of work.

The key way in which arts organisations can use blogging is in marketing and market research. A blog for an arts organisation could give key insight into what its audience thinks of shows and it would also give organisations a key opportunity to market upcoming events and to create anticipation for upcoming events. Blogs could also be a useful tool for artists to use as a platform to promote themselves to those with an interest in the sector.

Business with arts management

2008-03-19T04:12:00.001-07:00

This is a blog dedicated to Arts Management and New Media Technologies. I will be posting a series of blogs related to this topic which will cover how the arts sector could use the world of web 2.0 and the opportunities provided by it.

I hope it is useful and would love any feedback on how any of you are using web 2.0 in the arts!

Talk soon.....