Teens prefer Facebook for music

by Audrey Stuart – Mon Jan 24, 9:31 pm ET

CANNES, France (AFP) – Facebook and Twitter have ousted Myspace as the hot new spaces for fans to connect with their favourite artists and acts, industry insiders say.

They are also providing a major new way to publicize concerts and persuade increasingly youthful fans to buy their music.

While 16-24 year-olds prefer to rip and burn CDs without paying for them, twelve-to-fifteen year-olds are the digital natives of today and tomorrow, influential market survey group Forrester's vice president of research Mark Mulligan told the music industry's annual MIDEM get-together in Cannes.

Though a mere 15 percent of this young group download peer-to-peer music and just 12 percent buy tracks, 56 percent listen to music on theirs mobiles and 53 percent watch videos on the Internet.

"Twelve-to-fifteen year olds, who represent the consumers of tomorrow and have grown up with the Internet, want rich immersive music experiences in which they can watch, listen and share," Mulligan told a conference here.

An increasing number of musicians have tuned in to this shift and are trying a variety of creative approaches to reach out to their fans in order to boost their popularity and their sales of music.

"Knowing how to use social media to connect with fans is key," Adrian Pope, director of digital and business development at PIAS Entertainment, told a conference entitled "Marketing to Fans - the new mix".

But fans want much more than just information about their favourite bands' upcoming concerts and the release date of a new track or CD, said Jeremy Welt of Warner Bros Records.

Canadian rock band Arcade Fire, for example, used Google maps to give fans an interactive and immersive video experience to help sales of their last album.

Their "Wilderness Downtown" video takes fans back to the street they grew up by allowing them to enter the address on a website, which then sends them a personalized video clip that includes images of their first home.

Grammy-winning singer and multi-instrumentalist, Imogen Heap, and lead singer for the Chicago-based rock band OK Go, Damian Kulash, are two examples of how artists are now connecting with their fans in a variety of ways.

Kulash said not being tied to a record label has helped him get in touch directly with his fan base through blogs and Twitter. And this has helped fuel his creativity, Kulash said at MIDEM.

Britain's Imogen Heap, who has been "tweeting" on micro blog site Twitter for a number of years, regularly gets her fans involved in helping her write new songs.

Fans also sent in around 1,000 video clips of nature recently to enable Heap make a short film that was projected during her Albert Hall concert in London last year and also viewed by 482,000 people online.

But whilst social networks play an important role in helping artists build a high profile with fans, it is still not clear whether this really boosts sales of their music.

"We are trying to be social to get paid," Eric Garland, CEO of media tracking and technology company BigChampagne, said at MIDEM.

"But there often is no correlation between an artist's popularity on the Internet and their sales of music," Garland added.

Heap however revealed here that when she recently travelled to Jakarta in Indonesia to give a concert, thousands turned up at the gig to her great surprise.

How had word got around about the concert? Because of her blogs and tweets, she said.

Social networking leads to sex faster: survey

NEW YORK | Mon Jan 24, 2011 3:44pm EST

(Reuters) - Nearly four out of five women and three of five men say they believe texting, Facebook and other social media tools for staying connected cause new couples to jump into bed faster, a survey released on Monday found.

However, only 38 percent of women say they have actually slept with a date any sooner because of digital intimacy, according to the 1,200 women and men who participated in the third annual sex survey by Shape and Men's Fitness magazines.

Smart phones and laptops are the new toys that lead to the bedroom, it said, with nearly 80 percent of women and 58 percent of men saying social media tools leads to sex faster.

Texting is the No. 1 way lovers stay in touch, the survey found, with men texting 39 percent more often than phoning and women 150 percent more.

Even before the magic begins, 70 percent of women and 63 percent of men use Google and other online tools to screen potential dates.

A full 65 percent of those polled said they had been asked out by text and 49 percent through a Facebook message.

Once the relationship clicks, 72 percent of women report scouring a current partner's ex-girlfriends' Facebook pages.

Even in the heat of passion, some people just can't get enough of their digital devices, the survey found.

When a call or text comes in during sex, a full 5 percent of respondents said they glance to see who is calling and 1 percent say they stop to answer the phone.

And when the spark is extinguished, digital dumping is the new way to break up, with 43 percent of women and 27 percent of men reporting getting a text along the lines of "It's not you, it's me."

For the heartbroken, the Internet keeps hope alive, with 81 percent of all respondents saying they won't de-friend an ex on Facebook and 75 percent admitting to constantly checking a former sweetheart's page.

Anti-tower protest kicks-off

PETALING JAYA: Protests against the proposed 100-storey Warisan Merdeka tower has gone online with the "Mega Demonstration on Facebook – 'Say No to Mega Tower' which kicked off yesterday with.
More than 2,000 "online protestors" have confirmed their participation in the cyber-rally, set to go on until Sunday.

But, while the campaign sought to get the 2,228 supporters to change their Facebook profile images on personal sites as well, only a handful have done so.

University student Ram Kumar from Kedah objected to the tower because he felt the government had to get their "priorities right as there is an urgent need to lower the cost of medical, education and housing for the low-income earners”.

Broadcast engineer Fazli Abas, 27, said: “I don’t understand why it’s necessary to build a 100-storey mega tower as there are many buildings in the city’s Golden Triangle, especially the Petronas Twin Towers, (that have) yet to be fully occupied.”

Another university student, Victor Tan, wondered if the profit generated from the project would be able to reach up to three or five times the amount of the RM5 billion investment.

The Facebook campaign “1M Malaysians Reject 100-storey Mega Tower” was created a day after the Budget 2011 announcement and has registered 156,853 approvals at Press time.

READ: Taking on the 100-storey tower

READ: Najib defends 100-storey Warisan Merdeka tower plan

Facebook status appears glitchy Saturday

NEW YORK (AP) -- Facebook users have been complaining about problems at the social media site.

Users in the U.S. and other countries reported problems beginning Saturday morning. Some could not log in, and the site was unusually slow and glitchy for others.

Users in London, Bangkok and Mexico City reported problems. Many used Twitter to complain.

Facebook spokesman Matt Hicks it was a "small percentage of users" who had problems accessing Facebook, their friends' profiles or specific site features because of an isolated server problem.

At 6 p.m. Saturday, Facebook said it had restored access to the users who were having access problems.

Facebook, which has more than 400 million users, has generally avoided such hiccups. 

Twitter has had bigger problems. Last August, hackers shut down the short messaging service for several hours. Facebook also experienced problems, but it was never shut down completely.

PM: Promote moderation online

By Rozanna Latiff

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Razak has called on Malaysians, as the world's heaviest users of social media, to promote a culture of moderation online.

The prime minister said yesterday that Malaysians should use their vast online presence to counteract extremist behaviour with balanced discourse and moderate views.

"Our strength should not lie just in the number of online friends we amass, but in the number of intelligent, mature and open dialogues we engage in with them.

"We should take the lead in guiding our social media connections towards constructive conversations, whether on Facebook, Twitter or other social networks of preference."

The prime minister was writing in his blog www.1malaysia.com.my.

Najib was responding to the findings of a global study conducted by international research firm Digital Life, which revealed that Malaysians were the world's most active users of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

Malaysian users were also found to have the highest average number of friends on social networks.

Najib said that considering the modest size of the country's population and ever growing rate of broadband penetration, the findings showed Malaysians' readiness to embrace social media and it reflected a high degree of acceptance of others.

"Our remarkable online connectivity presents both an opportunity and a responsibility for us to communicate as moderates.

"We as a people have ably demonstrated a moderate's viewpoint in the spirit of 1Malaysia, as evidenced this past year on issues such as national sovereignty and religious tolerance."

He said Malaysian online users could be vital players in a global movement to push moderates to the forefront, by rejecting groups propagating extreme ideologies.

"We should not be swayed to respond to coarse and immature online provocation with similar behaviour. Instead, we should take an approach that best reflects our integrity and culture as a people."

It was Najib's first blog entry in two weeks after a bout of chicken pox.

He thanked readers who sent well-wishes and prayers, adding that he was comforted not only by the positive messages but by the ability to connect virtually instantly with others through online media.

Spurned man calls woman 'scammer' on Facebook

Debra Lim newsdesk@thesundaily.com KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 18, 2010): A 26-year-old woman claimed today that she had been accused of being a "scammer" on Facebook by a man she once spurned. Sammi Lam Sin Yee, a part-time real estate agent and tuition centre owner, was browsing through her Facebook account on Nov 9 when she found out that a man named Chai Hui Feng was spreading rumours about her. Lam said that Chai had added her friends to his contact list and published a posting accusing her of being a "scammer" who cheated men, and one would use all kinds of alluring words to court, flirt and gain their trust for money. Chai has also claimed that Lam had cheated her "victims" of about RM300,000 in Bahau, Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. Lam is worried as her MyKad and car registration numbers were also published on Lam’s profile. Lam suspected that Chai’s Facebook account was created by her insurance agent Simen, who tried unsuccessfully to court her three years ago and is now taking revenge by attempting to destroy her life. "I have received (short) messages and emails from Simen before. He said he would not let me lead a peaceful life," said Lam at a press conference held by MCA Public Service and Complaints Department chief Datuk Michael Chong at Wisma MCA, Kuala Lumpur. Lam said Chai has removed the postings about her after she lodged a police report on Nov 15. Describing people who use the Internet to destroy other people’s lives as cowards, Chong said he would bring the matter up with Simen’s insurance company. He said it is against the code of conduct for an insurance agent to expose a client’s details and would ask the company concerned to conduct an investigation.

Students go on Facebook to accuse teacher of molest

Other news & views
Compiled by Tan Sin Chow

STUDENTS of a secondary school in Ipoh – boys and girls – claim they have been molested by their school teacher. They posted the allegations on Facebook, China Press reported.

The teacher has denied the allegations and the school’s board of governors has accepted his defence.
It is not clear if the accusations, posted on Sunday, were just a prank.

The schoolgirls claimed that the teacher, in his 40s, had groped their buttocks or breasts, purportedly to give them a massage.

One of the boys claimed the teacher grabbed his private parts.

The school board said it was unfair to act against the teacher when the allegations could not be verified.

The principal, contacted by the daily, admitted that a teacher in his school bears a similar name as the one mentioned on the social media website.

However, he could not ascertain whether the teacher had committed the alleged acts.

The teacher, while denying the allegations, also claimed that his Facebook account had been hacked.

Other News & Views is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). 

As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with this > sign, it denotes a separate news item

7.5 juta pemilik akaun Facebook

 

Oleh SHAWKATH AZDE
shawkath.ashraf@kosmo.com.my

 

KUALA LUMPUR – Rakyat Malaysia merupakan antara pengguna aplikasi rangkaian sosial Facebook, Friendster dan Twitter yang tertinggi di dunia.

Menteri Penerangan, Komunikasi dan Kebudayaan Malaysia, Datuk Seri Dr. Rais Yatim berkata, dianggarkan terdapat 7.5 juta pemilik akaun Facebook di Malaysia kini.

“Ini adalah potensi rakyat yang harus digunakan oleh industri dalam bidang ini untuk memajukan negara khususnya menerusi kandungan mudah alih.

“Terdapat fakta yang menunjukkan bahawa kewujudan Facebook, Twitter, inovasi platform Android, aplikasi dalam talian dan mudah alih telah mengubah landskap komunikasi, pemikiran manusia dan melahirkan jutawan baru di Amerika Syarikat,” katanya.

Ikuti berita selanjutnya di KOSMO! hari ini.

Ahli MBPJ disaman kerana fitnah menerusi Facebook

SHAH ALAM - Seorang wanita memfailkan saman terhadap Ahli Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya (MBPJ), Mahharul Ismail dan tiga anggota keluarganya kerana didakwa mengeluarkan kata-kata fitnah menerusi laman sosial Facebook.

Zalina Jaafar, 42, selaku plaintif memfailkan saman itu menerusi peguamnya Faizul Mohd. Nasir di pejabat Pendaftar Mahkamah Tinggi di sini hari ini.

Selain Mahharul, dua adik perempuannya, Maisarah dan Norsyam serta anak saudara mereka, Wan Ikhwan Wan Azani, turut dinamakan sebagai defendan.

Zalina, yang menyatakan jawatannya sebagai pembantu seorang “ahli majlis" Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), mendakwa Mahharul telah mengeluarkan kata-kata fitnah terhadapnya di laman sosial milik Mahharul pada 28 September lepas dan kenyataan di laman sosial milik Wan Ikhwan dikeluarkan pada 21 September lepas.

Beliau turut mendakwa Maisarah dan Norsyam dengan niat jahat telah mengeluarkan kata-kata fitnah yang menyentuh peribadinya secara palsu pada laman sosial milik Wan Ikhwan. - Bernama

Woman fired after posting Facebook remarks fights back

WASHINGTON: A Connecticut woman who was fired after she posted disparaging remarks about her boss on Facebook has prompted a first-of-its-kind legal case by federal authorities who say her comments are protected speech under labour laws.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) alleges that American Medical Response of Connecticut Inc illegally fired Dawnmarie Souza from her job as an emergency medical technician late last year after she criticised her supervisor on her personal Facebook page and then traded Facebook messages about the negative comments with other employees.

The complaint, filed Oct 27 by the board's Hartford, Connecticut, regional office, could set a precedent for employers to heed as more workers use social networking sites to share details about their jobs.

"It's the same as talking at the water cooler," said Lafe Solomon, the board's acting general counsel. "The point is that employees have protection under the law to talk to each other about conditions at work."
Federal labour law has long protected employees against reprisal for talking to co-workers on their own time about their jobs and working conditions, including remarks that may be critical of managers. The law applies whether or not workers are covered by a union.

NLRB officials claim the Connecticut ambulance company has an unlawful policy that prohibits employees from making disparaging remarks about supervisors and depicting the company "in any way" over the Internet without permission.

"This is the first complaint we've issued over comments on Facebook, but I have no doubt that we'll be seeing more," Solomon said. "We have to develop policies as we go in this fast-changing environment."

The trouble for Souza started when her supervisor asked her to prepare an investigative report when a customer complained about her work, according to the complaint. Souza claimed she was denied representation by her union, the Teamsters Local 443.

Later that day, Souza logged onto her Facebook page from a home computer and wrote: "Looks like I'm getting some time off. Love how the company allows a 17 to be a supervisor."

A 17 is the code the company uses for a psychiatric patient. Souza also referred to her supervisor with two expletives. Her remarks drew supportive Facebook postings from other colleagues.

John Barr, an attorney representing the company, said the real reason Souza was fired was because of two separate complaints about her "rude and discourteous service" within a 10-day period. He said Souza would have been fired whether the Facebook comments were made or not.

Barr said the company understands that workers have right to talk about wages and working conditions. But he said it stands by its policy against employees discussing the company on the Internet, including social media sites.

"If you're going to make disgusting, slanderous statements about co-workers, that is something that our policy does not allow," Barr said.

Jonathan Kreisberg, director of the board's regional office in Hartford, said the company's policy is overly broad. He acknowledged that the law protecting worker speech has some limits, such as not allowing employees to disrupt the workplace or engage in threatening conduct. But Kreisberg argued that Souza's Facebook comments did not cross a legal line.

"Here she was on her own time, on her own computer and on her own Facebook page making these comments," Kreisberg said. "If employees are upset about their supervisor and get together on their own time talk about him, criticise and call him names, they can do that."

A hearing on the case before an administrative law judge is set for Jan 25. - AP

Report lodged over fake Umno Facebook account

JOHOR BARU: Tebrau Umno Youth has lodged a police report that an individual has set up a Pemuda Tebrau account on Facebook with the Umno logo to spread rumours. 

Division vice-chief Norazhar Abd Hamid said the individual had posted that Pekan was preparing for a by-election because of the failing health of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is also the MP for Pekan.

He said Pemuda Tebrau was not Tebrau Umno Youth and that the individual had caused confusion among Umno members and the public.

"We believe this person is trying to tarnish our image," he said.

Web browser pioneer backs new way to surf Internet

REINVENTING THE WEB: Andreessen (left) and Horowitz are betting people are ready to try a different websurfing technique on a new browser called RockMelt. - AP

 

SAN FRANCISCO: The Web has changed a lot since Marc Andreessen revolutionised the Internet with the introduction of his Netscape browser in the mid-1990s. That's why he's betting people are ready to try a different websurfing technique on a new browser called RockMelt.

The browser, available now, is built on the premise that most online activity today revolves around socialising on Facebook, searching on Google, tweeting on Twitter and monitoring a handful of favourite websites.
It tries to minimise the need to roam from one website to the next by corralling all vital information and favourite services in panes and drop-down windows.

"This is a chance for us to build a browser all over again," Andreessen said. "These are all things we would have done (at Netscape) if we had known how people were going to use the Web."

Andreessen didn't develop the RockMelt browser the way he did Netscape, whose early popularity waned as Microsoft Corp bundled its Internet Explorer browser with the Windows operating system.

RockMelt is the handiwork of Tim Howes and Eric Vishria, who formerly worked with Andreessen. But Andreessen's seal of approval has been stamped on startup.

The biggest chunk of RockMelt's US$10mil (RM32mil) in funding has come from the venture capital firm that Andreessen runs with his partner, Ben Horowitz.

Andreessen also sits on RockMelt's board of directors, and his advice has been called upon frequently.
"When you are trying to reinvent the web browser, who would you rather run your ideas by besides Marc?" said Howes, RockMelt's chief technology officer (Vishria is CEO).

Facebook's imprint also is all over RockMelt, although the two companies' only business connection so far is Andreessen. He also serves on Facebook's board of directors.

RockMelt only works if you have a Facebook account. That restriction still gives RockMelt plenty of room to grow, given Facebook has more than 500 million users.

After Facebook users log on to RockMelt with their Facebook account information, the person's Facebook profile picture is planted in the browser's left hand corner and a list of favourite friends can be displayed in the browser's left hand pane. There's also a built-in tool for posting updates in a pop-up box.

The features extend beyond Facebook and Twitter. RockMelt includes a tool that shows results from Google searches in a drop-down box that can be scrolled through to peruse the recommended websites in the main part of the browser.

The browser's right-hand pane is reserved for listing favourite websites, with automatic notifications whenever they get fresh information on them.

RockMelt stores each user's preferences on a remote server, making them available on any computer that has the browser installed on its hard drive.

Although its backers hail the browser as a breakthrough, RockMelt is borrowing some technology and ideas from other sources. Its foundation is built on Chromium, the same open-source coding that spawned Google Inc's Chrome browser two years ago.

Another browser called Flock has been trying to tap into the online social scene for the past five years.
No browser has come close to surpassing Internet Explorer, despite various challenges through the years.
Internet Explorer still holds a roughly 60% market share, according to the research firm Net Applications. The Mozilla Foundation's Firefox, which drew upon Netscape, ranks a distant second at 23% followed by Chrome at about 9%.

RockMelt is starting off with a modest goal: it hopes to attract a million users as it extends invitations to people interested in trying the browser. Requests can be made through www.rockmelt.com.
Andreessen is convinced Internet Explorer's lead remains vulnerable, even after more than a decade of domination and repeated upgrades.

"I don't believe in mature markets," he said. "I think markets are only mature when there is a lack of innovative products." - AP