GadgetMan
Some of us already use service such as Dropbox and have moved our Virtual DJ folder from the "documents" folder to "dropbox" and then updated the registry. While this works as a very good back up solution I think this only just touches what could be possible.
For example, myself and two other local VDJ users both share our Dropbox VDJ folders with each other. This is mainly to share playlists and history files - It's a good way of bouncing ideas off of each other.
Of course, you then run in to the problems that the .m3u files are based on the filename, not the tag info and therefore you end up spending a lot of time examining file names and not being able to load the actual track to try a mix they did etc.
Although we have music groups, in the current socially connected world they are outdated. I think it would be great to have built in to VDJ a socially connected area where you and fellow VDJ users can share stuff. Not at the filename level, but at the tag level and in real time.
I got this idea when playing live and seeing constant updates from Dropbox that my friends tracklist.txt files were constantly being updated - as they were playing live too... A quick check and I could see who was playing what and was far more interesting than the single music group track feed I was getting.
This information could also be tied in to a much more rich user profile page here and is where DJ's would set up their social feeds and who they share with.
For example, why build Twitter and Facebopk feeds in to VDJ, when you could set p your profile here to post for you, then all VDJ has to do is update your VDJ profile, which then posts the track details for you on the social sites of your choice.
Even the reverse, get your Twitter feed hooked to your VDJ profile to scan for hash tags like #request or #shout and feed those directly back in to VDJ with the social "connector" being able to group any hash tag in a pane so you can get involved with your crowd...
Having a single reliable feed from the software, rather than several plugin feeds should also be more reliable and trustworthy.
Maybe even a profile API so developers can write social apps for the VDJ site... Man I could go on ;-)
Being online is now key at any gig. From Netsearch to social blogging, its real time marketing and being able to share this with your audience and have your audience be involved is crucial and will make VDJ stand out from the crowd.
Cheers,
Roy
For example, myself and two other local VDJ users both share our Dropbox VDJ folders with each other. This is mainly to share playlists and history files - It's a good way of bouncing ideas off of each other.
Of course, you then run in to the problems that the .m3u files are based on the filename, not the tag info and therefore you end up spending a lot of time examining file names and not being able to load the actual track to try a mix they did etc.
Although we have music groups, in the current socially connected world they are outdated. I think it would be great to have built in to VDJ a socially connected area where you and fellow VDJ users can share stuff. Not at the filename level, but at the tag level and in real time.
I got this idea when playing live and seeing constant updates from Dropbox that my friends tracklist.txt files were constantly being updated - as they were playing live too... A quick check and I could see who was playing what and was far more interesting than the single music group track feed I was getting.
This information could also be tied in to a much more rich user profile page here and is where DJ's would set up their social feeds and who they share with.
For example, why build Twitter and Facebopk feeds in to VDJ, when you could set p your profile here to post for you, then all VDJ has to do is update your VDJ profile, which then posts the track details for you on the social sites of your choice.
Even the reverse, get your Twitter feed hooked to your VDJ profile to scan for hash tags like #request or #shout and feed those directly back in to VDJ with the social "connector" being able to group any hash tag in a pane so you can get involved with your crowd...
Having a single reliable feed from the software, rather than several plugin feeds should also be more reliable and trustworthy.
Maybe even a profile API so developers can write social apps for the VDJ site... Man I could go on ;-)
Being online is now key at any gig. From Netsearch to social blogging, its real time marketing and being able to share this with your audience and have your audience be involved is crucial and will make VDJ stand out from the crowd.
Cheers,
Roy
Inviato Fri 22 Feb 13 @ 1:55 am
kradcliffe
I currently sync my VDJ folder and my music collection between various machines via SkyDrive and it works a treat.
To be honest the music groups and cloudlist features are just gimmicks. I bet no-one has used cloudlist for more than a week!
I agree a joined up social strategy is what VDJ needs, but obviously the code re-write needs to concentrate on the core abilities of the software first!
Keith
To be honest the music groups and cloudlist features are just gimmicks. I bet no-one has used cloudlist for more than a week!
I agree a joined up social strategy is what VDJ needs, but obviously the code re-write needs to concentrate on the core abilities of the software first!
Keith
Inviato Fri 22 Feb 13 @ 4:50 am
groovindj
Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I really can't see the need to be online at gigs.
I know in advance when my gigs are, so I make sure that my music is up to date before I leave the house. I make sure I have any lists of songs that have either been given to me by the client, or I've put together as a "cheat sheet".
After many years of gigging, my track collection is such that I can meet the vast majority of requests. If I can't, then I simply say I don't have that song. I see no need to go online and download it there and then. Most people have no issue with it, and ask for something else.
Having said that, I do sometimes find a hole in my collection - someone'll ask me for a track, and I'll say "Yeah OK no problem".
I'll go to load it up and find that I don't have it! What I do then is make a note, and make sure I have it for future gigs.
As for finding out what's hot and what's not, I do that all at home between gigs. I check various charts and have a listen to stuff I don't know, then make my own decision on whether I need it or not.
I know in advance when my gigs are, so I make sure that my music is up to date before I leave the house. I make sure I have any lists of songs that have either been given to me by the client, or I've put together as a "cheat sheet".
After many years of gigging, my track collection is such that I can meet the vast majority of requests. If I can't, then I simply say I don't have that song. I see no need to go online and download it there and then. Most people have no issue with it, and ask for something else.
Having said that, I do sometimes find a hole in my collection - someone'll ask me for a track, and I'll say "Yeah OK no problem".
I'll go to load it up and find that I don't have it! What I do then is make a note, and make sure I have it for future gigs.
As for finding out what's hot and what's not, I do that all at home between gigs. I check various charts and have a listen to stuff I don't know, then make my own decision on whether I need it or not.
Inviato Fri 22 Feb 13 @ 6:32 am
GadgetMan
I get your point, and I don't think I have ever had to download at a gig.
I do a lot of event type gigs. Using social media is a great way to let people know what's going on and feedback. For example event pages on Facebook are a good way to get interest going. I know several events that stimulate conversation, interest, get the DJs to post, link to you tube videos, get people to suggest tracks by linking to videos, it gets a "hype" going around an event.
Extend that to the night itself and often photographers will post directly to the feed for those who haven't made their minds up yet or for who are either on their way or at another bar etc.
If you are simply the "paid DJ" then it probably doesn't make sense. If you are involved with the night or clubs promotions, looking to get more people through the door then effective social marketing is something you can deliver right to peoples pockets via their smartphones etc.
I have also been involved in internet radio and again its the social media side of things that these stations rely on to get listeners to pick up the stream - it's much harder for internet radio to grab a foot hold.
Take VDJ Radio for example, having the DJ's be able to have their track listing fed directly to the VDJ radio web site use hash tags to promote their shows or take requests etc.
Again, it depends on the type of DJ you are, but whether you want to connect with other DJ's, clubs or punters, right now social media is the way to do it.
Cheers,
Roy
I do a lot of event type gigs. Using social media is a great way to let people know what's going on and feedback. For example event pages on Facebook are a good way to get interest going. I know several events that stimulate conversation, interest, get the DJs to post, link to you tube videos, get people to suggest tracks by linking to videos, it gets a "hype" going around an event.
Extend that to the night itself and often photographers will post directly to the feed for those who haven't made their minds up yet or for who are either on their way or at another bar etc.
If you are simply the "paid DJ" then it probably doesn't make sense. If you are involved with the night or clubs promotions, looking to get more people through the door then effective social marketing is something you can deliver right to peoples pockets via their smartphones etc.
I have also been involved in internet radio and again its the social media side of things that these stations rely on to get listeners to pick up the stream - it's much harder for internet radio to grab a foot hold.
Take VDJ Radio for example, having the DJ's be able to have their track listing fed directly to the VDJ radio web site use hash tags to promote their shows or take requests etc.
Again, it depends on the type of DJ you are, but whether you want to connect with other DJ's, clubs or punters, right now social media is the way to do it.
Cheers,
Roy
Inviato Fri 22 Feb 13 @ 9:42 am
DHoude
I like the idea, I just can't see 60+ Facebook song posts in a night. Feels a little SPAMish. Possibly the main live track list could happen here at this site. Then this site could post on your FB wall alerting your guests that you are starting live at a show and linking them to here to show them the tracklist.
I have my Public events posted on my page. So when fans get the message once from my feed, it gives them a link to here to see what music I am mixing that night. Then maybe post a link to my Events if they decide they want to come out. All the details would be there for them to get to my show.
That would be a really good promo tool and would make fans feel included in real time. Which really would be the way of the future.
One step further would be to broadcast live some how through my Cell phone internet at the show, without maxing out my data plan and have somewhere to host the sound on another site so they tune to that site and not connected directly to my PC like they do now. I could link my feed on the promoter's page. Maybe.. Maybe it gives people a free party... Anyway, I like the above idea at least!
I have my Public events posted on my page. So when fans get the message once from my feed, it gives them a link to here to see what music I am mixing that night. Then maybe post a link to my Events if they decide they want to come out. All the details would be there for them to get to my show.
That would be a really good promo tool and would make fans feel included in real time. Which really would be the way of the future.
One step further would be to broadcast live some how through my Cell phone internet at the show, without maxing out my data plan and have somewhere to host the sound on another site so they tune to that site and not connected directly to my PC like they do now. I could link my feed on the promoter's page. Maybe.. Maybe it gives people a free party... Anyway, I like the above idea at least!
Inviato Fri 22 Feb 13 @ 11:34 am
GadgetMan
Completely agree with you... As I said originally, post here first then outwards in to the social world from there. I agree it could be spammish so options could be:
You could create "circles", to coin a Google+ phrase, of DJ's who play similar styles - like music groups do, and have your post publish on tha groups circle page.
Build a list of stats for a track like: most played/mixed before and most played/mixed after.
Allow DJ's to easily change their circle based on the current event. Like posting to a wedding circle instead of a UK club circle - Friday Vs. Saturday!
So many options, but making them web based means that the software needs to change very infrequently with just and in/out web services.
The out would be how you post what you are doing, and the in would be how your social feeds get routed back to VDJ. With a local webviewer, this information could be rendered in a multitude of ways - again without having to resort to updating the software.
The same webviewer service could provide a feed to a mobile/tablet app if you didn't want the in feed messing with VDJ, so being able to configure which feeds are active or not is really important.
This has kinda drifted off of the topic of "sync", but it's what you do with the data a DJ builds as he/she plays and stores.
Cheers,
Roy
- Post "I'm spinning now" only
- Post Every Track
- Post every nth tracks
- Post with/without Track/Artist Name (#NowPlaying)
- Post with or without link to Tracklisting page
- Post with link to YouTube video
- Post to multiple accounts: event account (minimal posts) DJ account (post every track)
You could create "circles", to coin a Google+ phrase, of DJ's who play similar styles - like music groups do, and have your post publish on tha groups circle page.
Build a list of stats for a track like: most played/mixed before and most played/mixed after.
Allow DJ's to easily change their circle based on the current event. Like posting to a wedding circle instead of a UK club circle - Friday Vs. Saturday!
So many options, but making them web based means that the software needs to change very infrequently with just and in/out web services.
The out would be how you post what you are doing, and the in would be how your social feeds get routed back to VDJ. With a local webviewer, this information could be rendered in a multitude of ways - again without having to resort to updating the software.
The same webviewer service could provide a feed to a mobile/tablet app if you didn't want the in feed messing with VDJ, so being able to configure which feeds are active or not is really important.
This has kinda drifted off of the topic of "sync", but it's what you do with the data a DJ builds as he/she plays and stores.
Cheers,
Roy
Inviato Fri 22 Feb 13 @ 1:23 pm
DHoude
Maybe last 10 tracks like the radios stations do...
Inviato Sat 23 Feb 13 @ 5:30 pm