Me(dia), my phone and I part 1

So I should probably say that I am currently attending a course called “Information retrieval and new new media”. In that course we are suppose to talk about two things at the moment. The first thing is what kind of medias’ we use. To make it easier I am going to name each media and how I use it.

First of all I use the TV and interestingly enough I use it to watch various TV-shows on. I would say that I am both an active and non-active watcher – meaning: sometimes the TV just happens to be on or I just happen to be in front of it and therefore I watch. But I also watch some shows as well as sports actively – at a specific time, knowing they’re on. Sometimes I also connect it to my computer when I watch movies.

My second media I use is my mp3-player which I use both for listening to music and to watch videos. Before anyone ask – no, I don’t have an iPod. Not because I am one of those people who just can’t stand it because everyone else has one. It is because I need functions that the iPod lack. I have an iRiver clix and the things’ it has that the iPod doesn’t is a radio as well as the ability to record sound. I actually didn’t really need the radio when I bought it, but I am still glad that it’s there since I have been using it a lot. The reason why I need to able to record is because when I sit with me guitar at 4 am in the morning I am not that keen on turning my computer on and start recording – so what I do is that I turn on my clix, push record and play my guitar and sing. It is much easier. Once I have a rough version of a song I start to record it more serious.

I also have an Xbox 360 – which I use both as the gaming console it is and as a DVD-player. As a console I play games either with friends in real life or online where I got my online persona. Whether online gaming is a sane and healthy way to spend my time is a discussion I will not get in to in this post, maybe later.

Now to the media I use the most – of course I mean my computer. Or actually I should say computers, since I actually have two of them. I both have a PC and a Mac which has its reason. My Mac I only use for music production. I just connect it to my soundcard – an M-audio ProjectMix I/O if anyone is interested – and produce my music in Logic Pro. Now you probably wonder why I use two computers when the Mac is fully capable for doing everything. It is really just because when I get on my Mac its only purpose is to produce and record music – it doesn’t have a broadband connection so I can’t get distracted by that nor would I use Word since there really isn’t any reason.

It is pretty easy to guess what I use my PC for, but I am going to get a bit deeper in to it anyway. The most obvious use of the PC is of course the internet connection. I do all the regular things like checking my mail and such. I am also part of different communities – some of which you have a link to on the right side of this page. First of all I visit Myspace frequently. Partly because I have around three different pages myself there and also because I am always on the lookout for good new music. I could probably have a discussion about Myspace future and its transformation from underground music scene to a site overfilled with spammers – but that is also a later discussion. It is without any question the most used platform for music, even if it has lost a lot of the underground appeal it once had.

I am also part of the following communities:

- Facebook
- Last.fm
- Youtube – not a member, but a daily visitor.
- Xbox – I can access my profile online and see who’s online and what they’re playing.

I also look on several newspapers and magazines online:

Newspapers:
- Aftonbladet
- Expressen
- Svenska Dagbladet
- Dagens Nyheter

Magazines:
- Wired – music magazine
- Sonic – music magazine
- Pitchfork – music magazine
- Groove – music magazine
- Mojo – music magazine
- Studio – magazine about studio equipment

I also use my computer for different messaging- and connection services such as Windows Live Messenger and Skype. I also look on some blogs as well as internet radios.

Well that’s probably most of the media I use. I have most likely missed something, but these are the most obvious ones. You may wonder why I haven’t listed my cellphone since it is in the title – that is because I will come back with an in-depth story about my not so in-depth phone – more on that in part 2.

My first post

So, here it is - my first post ever on a blog. Not a very interesting first post, but it probably has its purpose. Who knows - I surely don't. Anyhow, you probably wonder why my blog is called Mircxism. It has a long and a short answer. The long answer is to long for anyone to stay interested so we'll skip that one. The short answer is that I am often called Mirc by my friends and over the years it has also become my name as an artist. As you probably figured out the reason behind that is of course the long answer. Let's just leave it with the fact that is has nothing to do with the IRC chat.

Since my nickname is Mirc it is obvious why I choose to call this blog for Mircxism. It is of course because if you take Mirc- and add -cism you get my views upon things. And since I am a music producer, an artist and somewhat of an entrepreneur these views usually consist of thoughts about the music industry and the development there, but also current events in general. At the moment I am primarily interested in marketing on the internet and how you can combine different medias’ to achieve a certain goal - for example increasing the sales for an artist by promoting it. So if you feel that you have anything interesting to say on the subject, for example interesting articles or likewise, please feel free to contact me.

Anyhow I will be sharing my thoughts with you – my readers – and I hope that you find my views either good enough so that you get a different perspective of things or that you find the views repulsive enough to give me a different view by commenting on what I say.

/Mirc