I'm with Germanprof re "introduce you to your new favorite artist or song" - it's the sort of thing you might see on emusic. I personally hate advertising that Wants To Be My Friend. In the context of the mission statement it kinda makes sense, but if the blog is good and the music is good then you don't have to make any promises.
As regards any contributions I might make, unless there's any objections, musicisgood seems like an ideal place for what will prove to be the 5th Nereffid's Guide Awards (due at the end of January). Another possibility is an occasional - maybe fortnightly or monthly - digest of what's been getting good reviews in the classical world. I also have a wildly ambitious idea for a sort of "history of classical music through recordings" series but that's very much dependent on how much time I can spare.
amclark2 - Having the twitter certainly isn't a bad thing. I'm sure we can think of a way to use it, even if it's just to tweet new posts.
Dr. Mutex - Thanks for all your work on that. I'll start really digging into what it can do this evening.
greg - We haven't really nailed down a policy on peer review. Knowing the folks on here I have no doubt that anything of length will get shown around, but what are your thoughts on how that would work?
jonah - Definitely agree on the capitalization at the end, and was noticing the repeated use of good as I wrote. Anyone else have an opinion on whether it's used too many times? I can see it both ways.
As for submissions, that hasn't been firmed up yet, but I like GP's suggestions to have them go through one or two people to make sure they are spread out (although a good batch initially is preferred). I would hope stuff would go up daily, but that depends on how many of us actively participate. Obviously we all have jobs or other duties that take priority.
GP - I think that should be up to each writer. I've seen it both ways and see positives and negatives to both. Personally my emuser handle is so close to my real name (and I use it so many places) that I'll probably stick with that.
ETA: Nereffid - That sounds absolutely perfect for contributions, and I'll take another look at the offending sentence.
eMusic remains focused on providing music ownership and discovery. eMusic radio is an additional benefit to your membership, featuring unique channels created by editors and staff to enhance your music discovery experience. Our aim is for members to explore new music scenes and sounds- hoping youll find your next favorite artist.
Just an idea GP - the figure really just came out of my head anyway, it is almost half a side of A4 typed. It is a 'suck and see' type of thing. In any case I wass thinking of basic album reviews. Other things are bound to be longer
Craig - With peer reviewing I was thinking of longer more reflective pieces. I, for one, would welcome someone checking out anything like that I wrote. But I am sure we could do that informally anyway. So, for example, of I wrote something on English folk I might send it (email??) to, say, BT first
As I use my first name on here I'll stick with that! I'm a bit like Craig from that perspective.
Another thought, probaly for Dr Mutex or one of the other emuser administrators - as there is a link to emusers, do we need to have a very straight forward intro for first time visitors, a bit like what Craig has written for the blog? Most of us came here via emusic, that may not always be the case from now on
Exciting times, though. Thanks Craig, Dr Mutex and others!
As I use my first name on here I'll stick with that!
I'm wondering about doing the same thing. My hesitation about names comes from the fact that I already publish a fair bit in particular academic and professional contexts and I have mixed feelings about whether I'd want that writing and this identifiably connected (in either direction). Not so much because I think I'd be embarrassed about what I'd write here as because it could make me feel as if it had to be another part of the public oeuvre and so would need more forethought.
I'm new to blogging. Anyone else have any thoughts about how bloggers should identify themselves? Would first name only look too coy or precious? Is a pseudonym more pretentious on a blog than a nickname is on a discussion board?? Is there a norm or an etiquette out there?
The workflow plugin looks pretty straightforward from the user perspective. I'm sure there will be some learning curve for us and we may tweak the roles and our working arrangements as we go along. Editors (and Admins) are able to make things public. They also have the option to leave something they've written unpublished and notify other people to take a look, comment, etc. Authors/Contributors (I don't have the roles nailed down yet but Contributor is one of the built-in ones so I may just use that) can save drafts, then notify their editor(s) to review. The editor can send it back with comments, or tweak it up and publish it. The notification sends email. You can also see your items when you are logged in.
I'm liking the WordPress layout so far. Just edited the about us and reposted it with the changes recommended above.
GP - That's part of the reason I don't think I'm going to use my full real name. At the moment at least I need to keep the professional me separate from this.
@Dr. Mutex - before I start whispering, what exactly is the significance of the account name I choose? Is that just for me to log in with or does it appear on the blog somewhere?
@greg: There's a sticky "A beginner's guide to eMusers". Maybe we need to rename it "NEW USERS START HERE!!!!!" as some boards do. If you have any recommendations to add to the intro we can put them in. I should probably consolidate the thread and delete the discussion now that it's stable.
@Germanprof: What I usually see on personal blogs is first name, some use first + last. Nyms seem to appear more on public platforms like Blogger. On the shared blogs I read it seems to be real or pseudonymous name. By nym, I mean the sort of name most folks are using here. By pseudonym I mean something that looks like a real name.
Since we intend this to be serious writing I think one's real name or a pseudonym is best (just to be clear, I'm fine with intital + last name). I think first names and cute nyms (including Dr. Mutex) make the writing look less serious. On the other hand, this creates a disconnect between people's identity on musicisgood and emusers. It probably only matters to us, though. Also IIRC, a few folks have mentioned not putting much thought into their user name here. I think xtrev even changed one for somebody.
There's a long tradition of writers using pseudonyms for different types of writing. One popular way to make a pseudonym is to use some variation of your first and middle name. I've also seen ladies use their middle + maiden name if they go by their first name, or vice-versa. Middle name + chosen/made up last name is another formula, or of course you can make the whole name up as you would for a character in a story.
I think it's up to the editors to decide what sort of byline they want people to use. I'd like us to project a serious image. What do you folks think?
@Germanprof: The account name can be used for the byline, or a different name can be set for the byline. I've been using emusers acccount names to keep things simple. You can have any account name you want, though. We can change the byline any time. The change affects all of the user's articles.
I'd like us to project a serious image. What do you folks think?
Yes, agreed. I think the balance I'd like us to draw is "fun writing by serious people" kind of thing.
I've decided to go all-in with the Jonah Powell thing. That's the name I'm gonna go by on emusic, emusers, and musicisgood, as well as any freelance writing I do for other projects. I can go by my real name for my fiction pursuits; Jonah for music. No matter how diligently I try to shake it, I think Jonah and jazz are pretty much inseparable in people's minds at this point.
Thanks, DM, that's helpful. Middle name is a good idea (as my last name is Smith that only narrows me down to several million people anyway).
There's serious-inaccessible, serious-pretentious, serious-humorless, serious-committed, serious-informed, serious-thoughtful. I'm in favor of the last three of these. (Tendentious list, I know, but loosely based on possible translations of "serious").
Thanks Dr M. A beginner's guide to eMusers jumps straight in. We probably need a paragraph for anyone exploring from the new blog link, just explaining what we are about. I'll have a go at writing something tomorrow -it's now evening here - and put it up here for others to play around with. It will need the "NEW USERS START HERE!!!!!" heading putting at the top of the list. One of the administrators will need to do that to get it there and make it a sticky
At least one of our members already uses a pseudonym when he writes elsewhere. After reading the above post I'm currently thinking about using my first name and my mother's maiden name - I don't have a middle name. I suspect most of the regulars here will quickly work out who is who anyway. I do take GP's point about names being used in a professional capapcity. I could see that it could be that one of my students or one of GP's, for example, might find out about the blog, and maybe we wouldn't want the connection to be made. I totally agree that we should have a serious image
I've already had to edit my above post twice, for typing errors! As someone verging on dsylexia I'll need my posts on the blog checked anyway! Ironically, I'm so used to marking essays and checking for grammar. puntuation and spelling errors that I notice it more in other people's writing (Explanation - I train primary teachers and we have to make sure that their spelling, punctuation and grammar are perfect)
@greg: I'd stay away from using mother's maiden name, since that's a common verification question. No need to possibly expose the information. Maybe heist one of your friend's maiden names.
@jonahpwll: I know what you mean about pseudonym's sticking. I may have to use the surname Mutex on musicisgood. I always supposed Dr. Mutex's name was something like Einstein Tesla Mutex, but I'd probably use something like Augustus Mutex.
I take your point Dr M, back to the drawing board. My wife's maiden name is so rare - there are only about 40 or so in the UK - that that would actually be a real giveaway!
Re names-
I don't have a problem either way when it comes to using Nereffid or my real name, if a collective decision is to be made. That said, my inclination is to stick with Nereffid because it's how I picture "that guy who used to do the classical lists on emusic". I suppose I could just give Nereffid a first name. Or possibly a pair of initials.
I noticed lately that MusicWeb has a reviewer going by the name "Byzantion", whereas every other contributor has been using a real name (or convincing pseudonym). "Byzantion" sticks out a mile and immediately prompted me to wonder, "why the nickname?" But I've just held an impromptu focus group with my wife and she said it wouldn't matter to her what the writer called themselves (and that "maybe classical music people are sniffier about that sort of thing").
Thanks Nereffid. On both the change and the correction. That is one of the few homonyms that give me trouble. Already fixed.
I agree that using an actual "name" is a good idea, although for both Mutex and Nereffid I see no issue with that being a last name.
My first thought was to use the old "porn name" idea of your middle name becoming your first name and the street you grew up on being the last, but I don't think I can pull off Allen Birchwood. So I'll have to give it some thought.
Nothing to do with the blog y'all are starting up but one of the comments made was about changing the title of the current sticky thread "A beginner's guide to eMusers". The current name has a lot more appeal to me than a generic "NEW USERS START HERE" kind of title. The current title always reminds me of the compilation album by King Crimson: "A Young Person's Guide to King Crimson". Also, with only 3 stickies to choose from any new user would be hard pressed to miss the one they probably need to at least glance through a bit before jumping in. I vote you leave the title of that thread alone but feel free to clean up the contents... I have no idea what is even in there to be honest as I haven't looked at it since forever.
Good luck to emusing blog. I'll happily write - give me an excuse to pen some lines about my favorite hobby and take a break from the rest-of-my-life rigors. Finetuning this I'll leave to my emusers better. Fun! But keep it that way too... these things can get inadvertently high strung.
@Sort: whisper me your email, the user name you want (can be same as here) and the byline you want.
@luddite: My suggestion to change the title was tongue-in-cheek. We do have a volunteer to write an introductory blurb to sit at the top of one of the stickies.
If you've provided your information, you should have received email with your login for the blog. If you don't find it after checking your spam folder, ping me and I'll resend it.
I vote that we tag entries by genre, and if the entry is basically a draw to site like eMu, Bandcamp, SoundCloud, etc., those should be tags too... I'd advise against tagging by artist name, we'd just end up with too many tags.
Assuming we tag by genre, how far down into subgenres should we go? For example, "Ambient" would be a tag, maybe "Ambient Electronica," but probably not "Darkwave Ambient Electronica."
Also, I could write a piece on Charlotte Hatherley to get the ball rolling, so to speak, since she seems to be the only artist I'm listening to at the moment.
ScissorMan - Yeah can't get to deep into the subgenres, but that seems the best way to go.
Write about whatever you want! That's the glory of having our own space. I'm going to be working on a piece this weekend that will be the first in an occasional series exploring Minnesota music. The series will be called "Dispatches from Funkytown".
Heads up (specially for BigD or Greg (or Kez, should she sign on)[/url]):
Assuming I get a respite from fatherhood, community service, and a cold, I'll have a longish piece on "Give Me The Banjo" (video) that will require some moderation. Will anyone be able to look at it tomorrow?
Comments
I'm with Germanprof re "introduce you to your new favorite artist or song" - it's the sort of thing you might see on emusic. I personally hate advertising that Wants To Be My Friend. In the context of the mission statement it kinda makes sense, but if the blog is good and the music is good then you don't have to make any promises.
As regards any contributions I might make, unless there's any objections, musicisgood seems like an ideal place for what will prove to be the 5th Nereffid's Guide Awards (due at the end of January). Another possibility is an occasional - maybe fortnightly or monthly - digest of what's been getting good reviews in the classical world. I also have a wildly ambitious idea for a sort of "history of classical music through recordings" series but that's very much dependent on how much time I can spare.
Dr. Mutex - Thanks for all your work on that. I'll start really digging into what it can do this evening.
greg - We haven't really nailed down a policy on peer review. Knowing the folks on here I have no doubt that anything of length will get shown around, but what are your thoughts on how that would work?
jonah - Definitely agree on the capitalization at the end, and was noticing the repeated use of good as I wrote. Anyone else have an opinion on whether it's used too many times? I can see it both ways.
As for submissions, that hasn't been firmed up yet, but I like GP's suggestions to have them go through one or two people to make sure they are spread out (although a good batch initially is preferred). I would hope stuff would go up daily, but that depends on how many of us actively participate. Obviously we all have jobs or other duties that take priority.
GP - I think that should be up to each writer. I've seen it both ways and see positives and negatives to both. Personally my emuser handle is so close to my real name (and I use it so many places) that I'll probably stick with that.
ETA: Nereffid - That sounds absolutely perfect for contributions, and I'll take another look at the offending sentence.
Craig
@greg, 250 is too low for some things. (Like the piece I have building in my head on Alva Noto's debt to Kraftwerk)
I'll cheerfully abandon "Germanprof" - wouldn't fit this context and never thought of it as public in the first place.
Craig - With peer reviewing I was thinking of longer more reflective pieces. I, for one, would welcome someone checking out anything like that I wrote. But I am sure we could do that informally anyway. So, for example, of I wrote something on English folk I might send it (email??) to, say, BT first
As I use my first name on here I'll stick with that! I'm a bit like Craig from that perspective.
Another thought, probaly for Dr Mutex or one of the other emuser administrators - as there is a link to emusers, do we need to have a very straight forward intro for first time visitors, a bit like what Craig has written for the blog? Most of us came here via emusic, that may not always be the case from now on
Exciting times, though. Thanks Craig, Dr Mutex and others!
I'm new to blogging. Anyone else have any thoughts about how bloggers should identify themselves? Would first name only look too coy or precious? Is a pseudonym more pretentious on a blog than a nickname is on a discussion board?? Is there a norm or an etiquette out there?
GP - That's part of the reason I don't think I'm going to use my full real name. At the moment at least I need to keep the professional me separate from this.
Craig
@Germanprof: What I usually see on personal blogs is first name, some use first + last. Nyms seem to appear more on public platforms like Blogger. On the shared blogs I read it seems to be real or pseudonymous name. By nym, I mean the sort of name most folks are using here. By pseudonym I mean something that looks like a real name.
Since we intend this to be serious writing I think one's real name or a pseudonym is best (just to be clear, I'm fine with intital + last name). I think first names and cute nyms (including Dr. Mutex) make the writing look less serious. On the other hand, this creates a disconnect between people's identity on musicisgood and emusers. It probably only matters to us, though. Also IIRC, a few folks have mentioned not putting much thought into their user name here. I think xtrev even changed one for somebody.
There's a long tradition of writers using pseudonyms for different types of writing. One popular way to make a pseudonym is to use some variation of your first and middle name. I've also seen ladies use their middle + maiden name if they go by their first name, or vice-versa. Middle name + chosen/made up last name is another formula, or of course you can make the whole name up as you would for a character in a story.
I think it's up to the editors to decide what sort of byline they want people to use. I'd like us to project a serious image. What do you folks think?
Yes, agreed. I think the balance I'd like us to draw is "fun writing by serious people" kind of thing.
I've decided to go all-in with the Jonah Powell thing. That's the name I'm gonna go by on emusic, emusers, and musicisgood, as well as any freelance writing I do for other projects. I can go by my real name for my fiction pursuits; Jonah for music. No matter how diligently I try to shake it, I think Jonah and jazz are pretty much inseparable in people's minds at this point.
There's serious-inaccessible, serious-pretentious, serious-humorless, serious-committed, serious-informed, serious-thoughtful. I'm in favor of the last three of these. (Tendentious list, I know, but loosely based on possible translations of "serious").
At least one of our members already uses a pseudonym when he writes elsewhere. After reading the above post I'm currently thinking about using my first name and my mother's maiden name - I don't have a middle name. I suspect most of the regulars here will quickly work out who is who anyway. I do take GP's point about names being used in a professional capapcity. I could see that it could be that one of my students or one of GP's, for example, might find out about the blog, and maybe we wouldn't want the connection to be made. I totally agree that we should have a serious image
@jonahpwll: I know what you mean about pseudonym's sticking. I may have to use the surname Mutex on musicisgood. I always supposed Dr. Mutex's name was something like Einstein Tesla Mutex, but I'd probably use something like Augustus Mutex.
I don't have a problem either way when it comes to using Nereffid or my real name, if a collective decision is to be made. That said, my inclination is to stick with Nereffid because it's how I picture "that guy who used to do the classical lists on emusic". I suppose I could just give Nereffid a first name. Or possibly a pair of initials.
I noticed lately that MusicWeb has a reviewer going by the name "Byzantion", whereas every other contributor has been using a real name (or convincing pseudonym). "Byzantion" sticks out a mile and immediately prompted me to wonder, "why the nickname?" But I've just held an impromptu focus group with my wife and she said it wouldn't matter to her what the writer called themselves (and that "maybe classical music people are sniffier about that sort of thing").
Also, a typo: "What better way to do that then to start a blog?" - "then" should be "than".
I agree that using an actual "name" is a good idea, although for both Mutex and Nereffid I see no issue with that being a last name.
My first thought was to use the old "porn name" idea of your middle name becoming your first name and the street you grew up on being the last, but I don't think I can pull off Allen Birchwood. So I'll have to give it some thought.
Craig
@luddite: My suggestion to change the title was tongue-in-cheek. We do have a volunteer to write an introductory blurb to sit at the top of one of the stickies.
jonahpwll
Nereffid
Doofy
@Nereffid: Do you want to be an editor? We've seen your skill at beating words into subservience.
Jonah - yours will be out in a few minutes.
I vote that we tag entries by genre, and if the entry is basically a draw to site like eMu, Bandcamp, SoundCloud, etc., those should be tags too... I'd advise against tagging by artist name, we'd just end up with too many tags.
Assuming we tag by genre, how far down into subgenres should we go? For example, "Ambient" would be a tag, maybe "Ambient Electronica," but probably not "Darkwave Ambient Electronica."
Also, I could write a piece on Charlotte Hatherley to get the ball rolling, so to speak, since she seems to be the only artist I'm listening to at the moment.
Write about whatever you want! That's the glory of having our own space. I'm going to be working on a piece this weekend that will be the first in an occasional series exploring Minnesota music. The series will be called "Dispatches from Funkytown".
Craig
Assuming I get a respite from fatherhood, community service, and a cold, I'll have a longish piece on "Give Me The Banjo" (video) that will require some moderation. Will anyone be able to look at it tomorrow?