If you want to really step up your podcast, video blog, or next live streaming event, here are some things to consider when setting up.  There’s a saying in the audio industry:

TV without picture is radio. TV without sound is useless.

Take your sound seriously. Other people are listening.

Set Your Gain Correctly.

This is hands down the most important stage of your signal chain.  If it isn’t correct, it compromises everything thereafter.  If you set your gain on your mic preamp to low, you’ll have a very low signal overall, resulting in a quiet and frustrating recording.  You’ll risk losing listeners or viewers.  However, if you have it set too high and it’s what would be considered “hot”, you’ll have clipping and will distort your signal.  This can be even more frustrating that a level that is too low.  It sounds harsh and unprofessional.  It sounds like an amateur recorded it in their garage without a clue.

So find a happy medium.  A gain setting that isn’t too low, but not so high that if you or your guest gets loud or excited it won’t clip. Do a few tests, record the same phrase each time, and then listen to them back to see which sounds the best.

Use a Compressor.

So you’ve set your gain at an appropriate level.  But it’s still not quite as loud as you’d like.  It doesn’t sound like “the pros” sound.  You know what I’m talking about.  Listen to the radio.  The DJs have that big, full, “pro” sound to their voice.  It’s not weak, thin, or tinny sounding.  It never clips, and you can always hear them over the background music.

I’ll let you in on an audio engineers secret weapon.  Compression.

Okay, so a compressor is not a secret.  What it does and how to use it correctly, though, is often a mystery to people.  Even in my line of work, I come across other “engineers” that admit they don’t fully understand how a compressor works.  Unfortunately, if you don’t understand how a tool works, you can’t maximize its potential.

Compressors basically hug your audio signal.  With the left arm wrapping around, it’s keeping the low signals from being too low.  Then, with the compressors right arm, it’s pulling in the signals that might be too loud.  What it’s doing is keeping the fringe signal levels in a more controllable, appropriate, and enjoyable dB range.  When used correctly, it truly helps polish a vocal signal.

You have a couple choices when looking to start using a compressor.  You can go with a nice little hardware version like the dbx 266XS 2 channel compressor.  This is a two channel compressor, so if you have a guest, you can run two mics through it and have a great sound.  In this setup, you’d plug your mic into the compressor, then run a line from the compressor to your existing audio interface.

Most audio recording software suites will have a plug-in that would also work just as well.  The nice thing about the software versions are the presets and the ability to save your settings for particular guests and scenarios.

It is very easy to get the settings wrong on your compressor and wind up peaking your signal.  I’ll be posting an article on how to use a compressor correctly following this post.

Maintain Proper Position.

One of the most simple things to do to improve your sound for your audio or video podcast is to use correct positioning of your mic.  In the audio engineering world, we call this proximity.  Maintaining proper distance from your microphone goes a long way.  If you’re too close, you’re using a bad mic, and you’ve got your gain set too high, you might as well light it on fire.  If you’re sitting too far from it and your gain is set too low, you’ll only be pulling your hair out when you listen to it back.  Or, if you’re too far away, you might boost the gain so that it picks up your voice.  The down side to this is what’s called the noise floor.  The noise floor is the ambient sounds in your surrounding environment.  For instance, you are recording in your office.  There is a dog barking outside, cars driving by, the HVAC pumping air, and a loud fan on your PC.  All of these noises, while not terribly distracting to us individually, when added together create a noise floor that you can’t get rid of.  If you boost your gain on your mic pre, you’ve made your mic more sensitive, thereby picking up all of these little noises even more and creating an unprofessional sounding recording or live stream.

So, stay close enough to the mic that you’re the only thing it’s picking up, keep your gain at a manageable level, and invest in a compressor.

Thanks for reading and as usual, I’m looking forward to your comments below.

Cheers,

Josh

I am beginning a new series of blog posts regarding the new music industry.  In it I will layout some definitions, myths, and truths as they pertain to the music industry, record industry, radio industry, and more.  These industries are notorious for confusing the musicians, fans, and businesses that work in them.  Let’s try to get some things cleared up.

First, the music industry is not the record industry. Let’s get that straight. The music industry is comprised of musicians; the record industry is made up of corporations and business people.

Secondly, CD sales do not mean the music industry is in a dismal state.  The way that the numbers are skewed is ridiculous.  Rather, the music industry is booming. The major labels want you to believe that they are a product of the economy and the piracy issue.  Even the state of radio has changed dramatically.  We have changed the way we as listeners consume music.  We have changed the way we hear about new music.  Failing companies have tried to change their models while others have stuck to their guns.  The bottom line is that the fans won’t wait for them to catch up.

How many new artists did you hear in 2010 compared to new artists in 1996? The music industry is alive and thriving, regardless of what you read about music downloads and CD sales or radio.  Let’s talk about the condition of radio.

1996

The number of commercial radio stations? Roughly 6,100.

In 1996 the top ten radio companies controlled only 600 or so radio stations.

2010

The number of commercial radio stations? 6,479.  That’s an increase of just over 300 new stations.

Today Clear Channel owns more than 800 radio stations.

One company today controls more radio than the top ten companies of 1996 combined.

I am not happy with the current way that radio stations are run. The majority of major market radio stations nation-wide (USA) are owned by Clear Channel, reaching the majority of the country. I would classify that as a monopoly. Fifteen years ago there was diversity among the markets. Today, the stations are owned by a few large corporations and play the same tracks by the same artists all day long, all over the country.

Number of markets reached by radio in 2008

I for one do not like to be “sold” something. Especially music. I like what I like. I don’t need some major record label spending millions of dollars to tell me why I should buy the latest pop record that the 13 year old girls are buying. I will go to shows, talk with friends, and work with artists. These are a select few ways I find new music.  On a side note, here’s a related post I wrote on buying songs versus buying artists.  Remember that the music industry is changing daily.  Bands need to find new ways to make a dollar.  We all know at this point that it’s not going to be from your next album.  It will be from partnerships, collaborations, integration, and networking.

There is little chance for an independent artist to get serious exposure on the radio without being endeared by Clear Channel. The upside to this situation is that the radio stations in their current format, and as we know them, are on their way out, just as are the major record labels.  The music industry is changing, not dying.

If you haven’t noticed, Internet radio, Pandora, AOL Radio, Shazam, Last.fm, and other digital music outlets are exploding.  These platforms are affecting the way we consume music.  Why would someone listen to a Top 40 station anymore when they can pull up Pandora and have a highly customized library of music literally catered to them?  Why buy a physical CD when you can have your music streamed to you anytime and anywhere?  Services like these are intelligent and adaptive. This is what makes them appealing. Major record labels, and in turn major radio, tells us what to listen to. The digital platforms allow us to decide what we listen to. Pandora and similar platforms listen to the user and adapt. They are embracing social media in its truest sense, encouraging constant communication from both sides.

The old way of doing things is changing.  Major record labels, FM radio, and traditional print advertising will never cease to exist completely. They will, however, cease to be the norm.  CD sales are declining.  Radio is becoming just one big playlist.  Illegal downloads are thriving.  Yet in spite of this we are discovering new working bands on a daily basis and purchasing their music, tickets, and merchandise.

The music industry IS NOT the record industry.  The record industry as well as radio are losing out.  The music will prevail.

That’s a wrap for the first post in the series titled “The New Music Industry Series”.  Coming up, I’ll be writing about how an artist can make money and survive in the new industry without a record label, how to use social media as a band, whether or not you need a manager, and much more.

The surface answer would be that the labels are taking all of the money for themselves. How much are they taking? How much does the artist get? It varies from artist and label, but typically it’s to the tune of pennies per album sold to the artist and the rest is divided up between the label, management, producer, etc. That huge advance that the artist got for signing a contract? That’s not really their money. The label just loaned it to the artist so they could make a record and eat for a couple of months while doing it. The band has to pay all that money back. Meaning usually they need to go platinum before they even see a penny in profits.

We need to make sure that we don’t just believe whatever it is that we’re told.  There’s always a spin on just about any argument.  So are digital downloads robbing the music industry blind?  I believe that the industry has taken awhile to realize that there are adaptations that need to happen in order to appeal to the consumer and still turn a profit.  If people are downloading music illegally, find a way to capitalize on it.  And lawsuits are the worst way to try and make your money back.

Is the RIAA For Real?

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has been complaining for years now that illegal downloads were killing their CD sales. Sure, I can believe that.  But are they really hurting that badly in comparision to the independent labels that are trying to sell albums to the same consumer base?  You tell me.  Just look at the major record labels share of the market below.

Image from http://wikipedia.com

But then they started complaining the legitimate digital downloads are the cause of the decline in CD sales. Really? Maybe they need to restructure their sales pipeline and focus more on what people are actually buying in that case. Just a thought.  The RIAA and major record labels should have struck a deal with Napster right off the bat to develop a system where everyone wins.  The Electronic Frontier Foundation has put some serious thought into such a system.  A system where you can download all the music you want and the artists still get paid.

Have the record labels considered that the rest of the country is in a recession?  They’re not the only companies losing money!  Consumers will buy less products overall and opt for cheaper alternatives, i.e. iTunes, Rhapsody, and other digital music services when their dollar doesn’t stretch as far?  Not to mention that it’s easier to acquire these digital files in the first place.  No hopping in the car and driving to the store, only to find out that they don’t have it in stock.

The Downward Spiral

Image from http://money.cnn.com

When cassette tapes started being outnumbered in sales to CDs, did the industry try to keep pushing tapes? Or did they instead start manufacturing more CDs and releasing older albums in CD format? They embraced the new format and pushed it (while hiking the cost each year, of course).  How are they making up the difference?  If you want to take a look at their year-end physical CD shipment numbers, they’ll charge you.  If the labels are being hurt by digital downloads, and their sales numbers and cost per unit reflected that, why not make this information free to the public instead of charging $25 for a week of access just to view the very data that could corroborate their claims?  That’s one way they’re trying to make up some lost sales.  Another is by suing people for downloading music online.  We’ve seen time and again where the RIAA slams a huge fine on a person and then spends five times that amount in litigation costs.

While the record labels are claiming a decline in sales due to pirated music, the RIAA then turns around and spends almost $1.4M in lobbying costs in the second quarter of 2010!  Seriously?  They’re dumping millions into lawsuits that only return a couple thousand dollars per settlement, all in the name of “making an example out of someone.”  Are these “examples” working?  Apparently not. (Note: They also forget to mention that one of their top label executive’s very own children were pirating music illegally. I didn’t see the news article on that one.) The RIAA has abandoned its peer-to-peer monitoring and is instead now working with Internet Service Providers (Comcast, Verizon, etc) to deter pirating.

I am a big proponent of artists and musicians being fairly compensated.  An industry group or third party organization can be a great thing for all musicians and everyone involved in the music industry.  Is the RIAA that organization?  I do not believe it is.  They’re deteriorating and not adapting to the ever changing industry like they should be.  As a result, the artists have been conceiving their own ways to further their careers.

I’m here for the artsist.  I love working with independent musicians.  And I will continue to keep a pulse on the industry that I work in.  All of you artists are too busy creating music and trying to avoid being taken advantage of.  Let me help.

Cheers,

Josh

So far, I’ve found this event to be rather hit or miss.  Some of the workshops have been very watered down with just enough flash and tech talk to get the standard hobbyist interested in buying some new gear.  The Producers Forum, on the other hand, was a panel of Geoff Daking, Fab Dupont, Ross Hogarth, Dusty Wakeman, and Mitch Gallagher.  They went into how they became producers and what all that means to them individually.  They hit on topics such as running a session effectively and how to accomodate artists on a budget.  As a producer/engineer myself, it was great to hear these industry veterans reiterate a school of thought that I already subscribe to.

Things such as:

- Just because you “make beats” does not make you a producer. There is so much more to producing than most people realize.

- Software and hardware are not what make you a good engineer and/or producer. Knowing how to get a particular performance and sound out of an artist is what sets the best apart from the good.

- Avoid mixing with a timestamp. For example, the snare reverb of the 80′s.

- Try to create an environment for the artist. Sometimes this means doing the tracking sessions out of their home town.

These are some points I have always thought to be true.  I realized at an early age that there were people making music and putting food on the table at the same time.  But I knew that if it were easy, everyone would be doing it (and it seems now as though everyone is trying).  I knew that you had to have an ear for the entire process and be able to communicate with all different kinds of people.

This can be a huge downfall for some engineers.  They could care less about the comfort level of the artist.  They just want the person to play so they can record and edit it.  If you can’t effectively communicate with an artist and make them feel at home and comfortable, you will not get the best possible performance out of them.  This ability is what makes a good producer/engineer a great one.

There is a lot that goes into being a successful and appreciated audio engineer and producer.  Always remember that you are never done learning.

So, if you’re looking to get into the audio industry and are not quite sure if it’s for you, shoot me an email.  Or drop by the studio during a session.  And you can always come out to GearFest 2011 next year at Sweetwater.

Thanks for reading another slightly random post!

Cheers,

Josh Walker

Sweetwater Sound recently held a Pro Tools demonstration of the new Eleven Rack.  The event was graciously hosted by the Chicago Recording Company, a beautiful and full-featured recording and post-production studio on the east side of Chicago.

I started out learning how to engineer on Acid (in my barracks room while in the Army), then Pro Tools, Logic, and now am chief engineer at a studio in northern Indiana using Cubase 5.  I got very quick with Pro Tools, but then when it came time to purchase interfacing, Logic became more and more attractive.  I’ve learned many different editing suites on both the Windows and Mac OSX platforms.

When it comes to audio editing software, here’s what I say:

Audio software is like a car; show me where the gas pedal and steering wheel are and I’m good to go.

My personal computer is a Macbook Pro.  I have an iPhone.  I believe that Apple makes great products.  But if another company makes a product that is better, I will prefer to use it.  Believe it or not, I am not a “fan boy”.  It just so happens that Apple puts serious research and effort into their products before releasing them.  They design products for professionals, creatives, and specific niches.

I went to an Apple Logic conference in Chicago last fall where they introduced a lot of the new features including the new Pedal Board and Amp Designer features.  I have Logic Pro on my Macbook Pro and have used it for various projects.  It is pretty impressive.  I have no qualms using it for studio or live recording situations.

The Eleven Rack by Pro Tools is virtually identical to the Pedal Board in Logic.  However,the actual processing power is contained in the rack unit itself, where as Logic’s Pedal Board and Amp Designer are powered by the host CPU.  The benefit to this is that you can really develop some great guitar sounds without detracting from your computers power.  The downside is that you’re using a CPU to develop guitar tones and not an amp.  I would rather use the real deal, whether amp or outboard, any day of the week over a plugin.  However, the Eleven Rack is very powerful and useful for studios and musicians that want efficient, accurate, and cost effective options for their money.

I know this was a slightly random post, but felt like writing tonight.  Thanks for reading!

Cheers,

Josh Walker

On that note, Sweetwater is once again producing their annual GearFest 2010 event where they will be giving away $75,000 in gear.  This is a two day festival/conference where audio professionals and musicians alike will benefit.  There are workshops, a musicians flea market, live performances, tours, and more.  It is being held on Friday June 25th (noon-7pm EST) and Saturday June 26th (9am-5pm EST).

If you’re an artist, songwriter, recording engineer, band, producer, or involved in the music industry, it is a great place to find new gear and meet some new people in the industry.  After all, it’s all about who you know, right?  You never know either; you just might walk away with a new project studio setup!

Recently I was listening to a podcast in which Tom Silverman of Tommy Boy Entertainment was talking about the music industry and album sales. He touched on the idea of “buying songs vs. buying artists.”

When you go to the record store (wait, what’s that?  I thought those were mythical places that people only dreamed of) or iTunes, what music are you buying?  Are you buying the stuff that you’ve loved your entire life, or songs that you have heard ten times a day for the last three weeks?  Are you getting the Top 40, or are you getting the latest stuff that nobody else has heard of?  Do you buy music for the content and what the artist stands for, or do you buy it because it’s the coolest new thing?

A Look at the Numbers

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) posts some key information on their website.  This is important when considering trends in the music industry because it helps show how different mediums or formats are doing in their respective sales.  According to the RIAA:

CD singles have decreased by 12.5% ($3,500,000 to $3,100,000) from 2008 to 2009, while digital download purchases increased by 20.2% ($1,032,200,000 to $1,220,300,000).

Full-length album sales for CDs decreased 21.9% ($5,471,300,000 to $4,274,100,000), while digital download purchases increased 18.2% ($635,300,000 to $763,400,000).

What does this mean?  It means that more people are buying digital formats over physical CDs.  As for overall sales, physical CDs are bought in full-length albums more often than singles, while digital downloads are more often single songs than full-length albums.  Physical CD full-length album sales still make up the majority of sales in the industry from a dollar standpoint.  I’m not going to get into it in this post, but there are many factors that impact these sales numbers.  When you’re comparing physical goods to digital goods, you really need to take into consideration manufacturing, shipping, and general overhead costs.  You don’t have nearly as much costs involved with a digital product.  Again, that is another post for another time!

Buying Songs

So, what exactly does “buying songs” mean?  To start, we need to realize that it’s how people perceive the music they listen to.  Is it a commodity like a bottle of soda, or is it a piece of art like a painting?  Let’s try to be objective while defining this:
If you listen to the radio, and especially Top 40, you’re being sold on songs.  Not artists.  The record labels do their research on various demographics and attempt to create an artist and sound that will appeal to that market.  Instead of letting the people choose by way of calling in to radio stations, buying tickets to shows, and showing their support, the labels are increasingly packaging artists to look, act, and sound a certain way.  Then they are marketed to a particular audience and pumped up on the radio stations.  When a 14-year old girl hears the same song over and over on the radio, she makes the assumption that it must be good if it’s being played so much.  People must be calling in to request it, right?  So what does she do?  She calls in and requests it.  Downloads it on iTunes.  And repeats the process with the next song.  She doesn’t buy the full album because she could care less about the other songs on the album.  The rest of the album isn’t being played on the radio.  That one song is.  And that’s what she wants.  Just like that pair of shoes or some McDonald’s.

People who buy songs listen to the radio.

How, then, does this impact the sales for an artist? For an artist on a major label, chances are his or her singles are being purchased much more than his or her full album.  The musician is not making money because the kids are only buying one song at 99 cents (most of which goes to the label, management, producer, etc).  The label gives the group tour support so that the artist can make a couple bucks doing shows, though.  So the musician goes out on the road to support his or her album, most of which a lot of people probably haven’t even heard because they only bought the single.  It seems as though buying singles wouldn’t be as beneficial to the artist as buying an entire album.  Or better yet, going to his or her show and buying the full album.

Buying Artists

People that buy artists are supporting them.  They show that they enjoy the art that these musicians are creating.  By purchasing full albums, we get to experience the full intentions of that artist.  Many albums are written that have a dynamic flow to them from song to song.  I’m all for buying a single of a new group if you’re not quite sure whether or not you like them.  But if you’ve heard the group before and like them, why not buy the full album?  You often get a discount, especially when you go and get the digital format.  On iTunes, single releases range from $0.99 cents to $1.29.  For instance, Timbaland has an album on iTunes.  ”Shock Value II” is 17 tracks (There’s also a 13 track album by the same name).  Each track individually costs $1.29, bringing the total of all songs on his album to $21.93.  But, if you purchase the full album, all at one time, digitally, you’re looking at $12.99 on iTunes.  That’s a savings of $8.94, or almost 41%!  It only makes financial sense to buy the whole album in that case.  Additionally, you as the listener become exposed to more of the artist’s creativity, hearing things you may very well appreciate even more than the single you heard on the radio.

So, what about fan loyalty?  How does that compare with the current Top 40?  If I show you that it’s on the top of the charts, then it must be good, right? Seriously, though.  Take 10 songs from the top 40 and pull them out.  Pretend with me for a second that these were artists you’d never heard of.  Strip away the large marketing budget.  Disable the Autotune on the vocals.  In many cases, the opinion of the general public would probably change.  (But now we’re getting into reasons why artists are artists, and that’s an entirely separate blog.)

Now, take your favorite band that is playing in your home town this weekend.  They work 9-5′s, practice in the evenings, and drive themselves to their shows every weekend.  They are truly talented musicians writing great music that really connects with their fans.  Why aren’t they in the Top 40?  Because the labels have determined that you won’t like them.  Or more accurately, they’ve determined that the 14 year-old girl who will buy the music won’t like them.  And by “determined,” I mean, “we have had our decision made for us.” And those decisions aren’t always based on quality of music as much as profit potential (again, an entirely separate blog).

Conclusion

So, is it better as an artist to push your singles, or your full album?   That depends, really.  It depends on how the pay structure is broken down, who you have to pay before you get paid, whether your fans are more likely to buy singles or albums, and a whole lot more.  One thing to keep in mind, though, is how iTunes works.  For example, Apple will not let you sell your album in its iTunes store unless you make each of the individual tracks available for single sale.  Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Did you realize that there are artists who don’t release their albums on iTunes or break them down into single tracks?  Kid Rock, AC/DC, The Beatles, Tool, Jay-Z, and more have not released their albums on iTunes.  The usual reason for not selling their music on iTunes? They want their album sold as one piece of work to represent their musical creativity, not split into many fractions.  As a musician, I completely appreciate where they’re coming from.  Tool’s latest release, “10,000 Days” is a perfect example of the previous statement.  After listening to that album I realized very quickly that they had written the entire album with each song in mind.  In an interview between Guitar World and Tool guitarist Adam Jones, they talk about the full album in this way:

“[The songs] start in one place, go somewhere else, and end in a completely different place altogether. It’s as if the songs are telling a story in a linear fashion.”

Think for a moment about the last time you heard a song on the radio, in a friend’s car, or in a restaurant.  A song you’d never heard before.  Perhaps you found out who that artist was and found them for sale online, only to realize that you had to buy the full album in order to get that one song that you’d heard.

Now, say you went on over to iTunes and found that same album for sale digitally.  But you also had the option to purchase the one song that you’d heard.  You buy it for 99 cents (or $1.29) and listen to it for a few days.  Then you go back to iTunes and buy the whole album because you liked that single so much.

Obviously it varies from person to person and artist to artist, but I do believe that it is a good thing to purchase singles and then go back and get the entire album. There are many positive benefits to buying full albums from the beginning. You become an invested fan; you almost feel a sense of  ownership in that artist’s creative output.  I’d say that the tendency to really hear the artist’s music increases when you’re listening to the other songs on the album, when you’re critiquing their work.  But what if you buy a full album and you’re sorely disappointed?  Well, first of all, you probably wouldn’t have bought the album if you hadn’t heard at least one good song you liked.  Secondly, you now have a well-rounded perspective of the band and who they really are.  Plus, at least you made that judgment call yourself–you were able to base your opinion off of your own perspective. If more fans were music critics instead of radio junkies, I’d guess that our world of music, as we know it, would be drastically different.

Conclusion? Stop buying songs and instead buy artists.   Support the artists that you like.  Don’t buy music for the sake of buying music, either.  Don’t get the song because you want to have it at the next party so people think you’re cool, which leads you to create a party mix of overrated musicians just because they get played on your local Top 40 station every hour.  Critique musicians like you critique ball players or actors or politicians. Get music that you like, that connects with you.  Music that moves you and makes sense to you.  Don’t settle for less.

Thanks for reading, guys!  Let’s hear your thoughts and feedback now.

*DISCLAIMER* It is always a good practice to make a backup of your calendars.  The reader assumes all responsibility by following the steps listed below and understands that it is their responsibility to backup their files prior to beginning the sync process.

1.  Set up your Google Calendars

- If you don’t already have one, sign up for Google Calendar.  It’s free and easy to use.
- After you’ve set up your Google Calendar, go ahead and create multiple calendars if you’d like.  For instance, make one “Family”, “Work”, and “Church”, etc.

- Click on the down arrow next to one of the calendars and click on “Calendar Settings”
- Next, scroll down to “Calendar Address” and click on the green iCal button.  A dialogue box will pop up.  Make sure you copy the full address here!

2.  Set up iCal on your Mac

- in iCal, go to the iCal main menu and click on “Preferences”.  From here, you’ll click the + sign in the bottom left of the window.

- Under “Account Type”, choose “CalDAV”.
- For your username, use the Google email address that you used to sign up for your Google Calendar account.  The password is the corresponding Google password that you chose.  For the server, use google.com.
- Click “Create”.  You should see some of your appointments populating the calendar at this point (assuming you already added some in Google Calendar).
- Now, click on the “Calendar” menu and then on “Subscribe”.

- In the dialogue box that opens up, paste the address that you copied from your Google Calendar settings.
- Next, click on the main iCal menu and go to “Preferences”.
- Click on the “Accounts” tab and go to the right under “Delegation”; check the boxes next to your Google Calendars so that you can post to them directly out of iCal.  After this, you’re finished with iCal.

3.  Set up iPhone Calendar

- Click on the “Settings” icon.
- Next, open the “Mail, Contacts, Calendars” menu under “Settings”.
- Under “Accounts”, click on “Add Account”.
- Next, choose “Microsoft Exchange” from the very top.

- For “Email”, use the same address that you used for the Google Calendar.
- For “Username”, again, use that same email address.  And for “Password”, use the Google password you set.
- Under “Description”, I recommend labeling it as “Google”.  Click “Next”.
- When the dialogue box pops up, click “Accept” and then put “m.google.com” in the new “Server” field.
- The next menu gives you the option to sync your Google Mail, Contacts, and Calendars.  For the purpose of this article, turn off Mail and Contacts so that we’re only syncing the calendars.

- Now, open Safari on your iPhone and in the address bar type “m.google.com/sync”.
- From here, choose the calendars that you want to sync on your iPhone Calendar and click “Save”

That should do it!  Comment below to let me know if you have any issues, or how easy/hard you thought the whole process was.  Once it’s set up, though, you’ll never have to worry about saying “Let me check my iCal when I get home”.  Do it on your iPhone.  On your Mac.  Or on someone else’s computer with Google Calendars.

We’ve been using Facebook and Twitter now for awhile.  Some prefer one over the other.  Some only use one tool.  Others are addicted to both. (Then there’s MySpace.  Remember that?  Facebook needs to take a hint.  But that’s another post…)

Twitter and Facebook.  They’re two completely different platforms.

Like oil and water, they both have their place.  We use both.  Yet they don’t always mix.  Likewise, Twitter and Facebook are two very different mediums with two very different niches.

Facebook.

When Mark Zuckerberg was at Harvard, he had an idea.

He and three classmates got together and developed their idea into a platform that connected them with their friends.  They kept it exclusive to begin with (you had to have a .edu email address).  This allowed them to test it out and have their ideal demographic figure out how they wanted to use it.  Once they were able to set the standards, they slowly started opening the gates to other people.  This exclusivity only helped to build anticipation (can we say Apple?) for the release of updates and the allowing of everyone to participate.

On Facebook you are able to post native pictures, embed links, write comments and replies, send personal messages, and more.  You can see full conversations at a glance.  Entire photo albums.  All within Facebook.  You aren’t limited too much in terms of content length, either.

An interesting thing has happend with Facebook.  The original users (mostly college students) set the standard methods of use.  After a few years, we’ve seen the way Facebook is used transform into something that it wasn’t originally.  This is most apparent with all of the Farmville and Chef’s World updates you probably see in your Live Feed.  The people that started out with Facebook in its early days are easily frustrated by this and many other little things that have popped up, such as privacy issues.  Yet the new Facebook users have no preexisting concept of how it is supposed to be used; to them, it’s a networking/gaming platform.  Others use it specifically to share photos from family trips.  Still others use it for the messaging and chat.  It’s quickly developing into a catch-all platform where you can do just about everything you need.

These things aren’t necessarily bad.  It’s to be expected with anything.  Facebook started with an idea.  Mark Zuckerberg had no idea what it would become. Evolution and growth.  Adaptation.  These all propel success.

Twitter.

If you can’t adapt to this format, it’s probably because you wish it were more like Facebook.  But it’s not, nor is it supposed to be.  Twitter is a different platform where a different language is spoken.  Hashtags (#), replies (@), and retweets (RT) are just a few items.  Then there’s Follow Friday (#followfriday or #ff) and Music Monday (#musicmonday or #mm).  And the ever popular Tweetups (#tweetup) in their various formats and locations.

Twitter was developed to allow people to communicate and update what was happening in their lives at that moment.  It was not designed as a sales tool for businesses. Too often I see companies just using it to throw out their sales pitch in hopes that people will respond to the call-to-action and buy the product or service. These companies spew out their content without adding value to anything other than their own messages.  It’s a shame to see this misuse of a wonderful communication medium.  To use it effectively, listen more than you speak.  Create relationships.  Build networks.  Engage in conversation. Neither was it designed so much as a communication tool where you see a back-and-forth conversation, though this does happen routinely.  It is more of a tool that helps you propagate your content, ideas, and thoughts to the masses.  Let people know what’s going on.  Quickly and efficiently.

We’ve seen Twitter expand and adapt as well.  From the news anchors using it to update the world to the bands keeping fans posted on show times.  Twitter has helped me gain new real life friends and freelance work.  I’ve been able to meet some really great and interesting people thanks to Twitter.  When I first started using Twitter, I was overwhelmed by the fact that I had 13 followers while these other guys had 5,000 or more.  Then I realized that it’s not about how many followers you have, it’s about the relationships you build.  When people see that you’re using Twitter effictively and unselfishly, they will be more likely to follow you.  Then your numbers go up, and all without the help of a third-party app or bot.

If you’re looking to find ways to use Twitter more effectively and live in the Northern Indiana area, the #nwitweetup is a great place to meet people that are using social media in one way or another.  There are many, many more Tweetups around the country.  I encourage you to find one close to you and see what it’s all about.  It there isn’t one in your area, start one!

That’s about it for this post.  I’d love to hear your comments and experiences concerning Facebook and Twitter.  How do you use these tools?  And remember, it’s not that one is better than the other.  It’s not apples to apples here.  We need to learn how to maximize the effectiveness of each tool while realizing what works on one platform won’t always work on the other.  Now, go take a look at this video by @equalman that shows the magnitude of social media today.

I was born in the early 80′s, which means I was witness to a huge swing in the music pendulum come the early 90′s.  In the 80′s, we had Twisted Sister, Metallica, Bruce Springsteen, Guns N’ Roses,   10,000 Maniacs, AC/DC, and plenty more.  And it was cool…in its time. If I had to describe the late part of the decade in one word, I would say: Reverb.  (Obviously that’s not the only difference; here I use “reverb” to describe the extravagant amounts of unnecessary delay and reverb along with hair metal guitar solos and tight leather outfits.)

Then came the 90′s, which introduced us to Soundgarden.  Stone Temple Pilots.  Nirvana.  Korn. Pearl Jam.  Sepultura.  Beck.  Rage Against the Machine.  Radiohead.  And many, many more.  Stripped down alternative rock.  Music with some raw emotion to it.  Lyrics that pushed the envelope in a different direction.  Each decade has its own artists that do this.  And we can appreciate them all accordingly.  I have to admit, though, that I am glad to have experienced the 90′s at the time that I did.  I was  a 13 year-old, keeping a blank tape in my deck so that when Bulls On Parade just happened to get airtime, I could hit record (and miss the first 7 seconds of the song on every recorded attempt).  This music was stuff that I could relate to.  Along with thousands of other kids, we threw out the music that our parents listened to (I must insert here that I was one of the exceptions: I did listen to my dad’s music.  He turned me on to White Zombie, Johhny Lang, B.B. King, and a lot more).  We found a new genre of music–music that we could identify with and hold on to.  Music that our parents wouldn’t understand.

Fast forward to 1999.  We start seeing another shift in the music trends.  You start hearing less and less alternative rock on the Top 40.  2001 we start seeing the emergence of “emo” music.  2006.  The bands still have long hair, but now they use straighteners to manage it.  Similar to the perms of the 80′s, only straighter.  2010 and it seems as though Pearl Jam should almost be on the classic rock station (I feel so old!).

One of the big reasons I was pursuing a career in the music industry was because of the music that I loved and was influenced by.  However, once I started getting into the industry, I realized that “my” music was not popular anymore.  Could I truly enjoy myself working in an industry where the music just wasn’t my thing?  Upon more reflection, I started realizing that the music industry and its trends are, for the most part, cyclical.  Sure, I was discouraged going into the industry because I was seeing more and more mediocre talent “making it” while the truly talented musicians were left in the dust because they didn’t have the look or the marketability.  It’s become much more about image than it is about the creativity and talent.  The record labels decide what they think we will like and then create a group or solo artist to fit the bill.  Autotune is hugely popular as an “effect” instead of the original intention of minor and transparent pitch correction for the occasional vocal error.  (On a side note, I am for the most part disgusted by the blatant abuse of Autotune and the masses of people jumping on the band wagon)

Had I been born a decade earlier, I would have been saying the same thing about the reverb-drenched vocals and snare drums of the late 80′s.  Thinking that music was in a downward spiral.  Then, just a few years later, the garage bands that had been getting the door slammed in their face time and again finally got some recognition.  They got it from the kids that were tired of listening to music that was all starting to sound the same.  They listened to music that was stripped down and real.  Minimalistic in a sense.

This is where we are headed.  A revolution where the real talented groups will take the helm and lead us into another decade of truly great music that will remind us why we listen to music in the first place.  I tell artists and bands that I work with to avoid the overuse of Autotune.  Invest in vocal lessons.  Practice.  The music of the next decade is going to be a stark contrast to what is on the radio today.  People will get tired of it and listen to something else.  If you are a musician, play what you want, not what you think people want to hear.  Your time will come.