Posterous: How to Post Super Easy Multimedia Updates Online

Would you like a quick and easy way to post photos, audio and even video clips online? And be able to automatically post links to them on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and more? Without spending a dime?

Then you should take a look at Posterous.com.

Here's why, along with a quick history lesson ...

Blogs, MP3 audio files, and streaming video have been around for several years. Over the last couple of years the short Twitter text update (which has been adopted by Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and more) became a more prominent way that people communicate online.

Makes sense. Few technical skills are required and it hardly takes any time to post something.

But instead of posting just simple text announcments all the time, people started linking to longer and more in-depth sources within their tweets and updates. This led to the popularity of URL shortener sites like Tinyurl.com and Bit.ly, which make it easy to fit live links within 140 characters.

Great. But the content you linked to had to be hosted somewhere. If you created a new video, you had to upload it to YouTube first. Then you had to convert the YouTube page address to a shorter URL. Then you posted an announcement with a link to the video.

Same thing with audio content. Create the MP3 (usually of your music), post it on your blog or MySpace page, shorten the URL, then post a link to it on Twitter.

That's a lot of steps just to send people to hear and see your newest stuff.

Now, TwitPic.com has been around for a while. This site allows you to email or upload photos, and the service automatically posts a short link to them with your quick description.

That's cool. But what if you could also do that with audio and video files? That's why Posterous is such a great no-cost service.

All you do is email a file to post@posterous.com. It will host the file and create a simple blog page for it. It will turn your audio and video files into streaming players. It even hosts Doc, PDF, and PowerPoint files.

Set up a Posterous account and you can even set it up to autopost to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social sites. It even creates the shortened URL for you. Super simple.

See how I used it to post multimedia updates during my recent trip to Los Angeles and San Diego. Just visit bob-baker.posterous.com and scroll through the first three pages to see photos and video of Jason Mraz performing, Chaka Kahn rehearsing, Bootsy Collins, Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers, singer Andrae Crouch, and more -- as well as audio updates during my travels.

The main drawback is that you can't embed the files you send to Posterous on other web sites. But it's still a pretty cool service.

I bet you're already thinking about how you can use it to communicate more quickly and easily with your fans.

-Bob

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'Pants on the Ground' & the American Idol Meme

Just got back home from an amazing week in Southern California where I attended the NAMM Show, spoke to an enthusiastic songwriters group in San Diego, and sat in with the Agape Choir to back up Chaka Khan and other wonderful singers during a benefit for Haiti.

While I was there the latest season of American Idol started. Even if you don't watch it and don't care, you may have heard the latest viral buzz about 62-year-old "General" Larry Platt. He auditioned for the show with a hilarious original hip-hop song called "Pants on the Ground."

If you missed it, watch it here.

The thing about pop culture memes like this (see this Wikipedia page for a definition) is that they provide great opportunities for smart artists to jump on them and get a temporary exposure boost.

Jimmy Fallon saw the light and did a spoof of Neil Young singing "Pants on the Ground." Funny stuff. See it here.

But what about indie acts? The best example I've found so far was created by DeStorm, who does a great video and audio remix version of "Pants on the Ground" on this page.

He even offers a free download of the track. I'm sure there are others doing this too, but it illustrates the point ...

Keep your eyes and ears open to new trends and hot topics. If there's a way to create something that's funny or amusing or that reinforces your musical identity to new fans ... jump on it while it's hot and buzz-worthy!

-Bob

P.S. Don't forget to wear a belt and ... keep your pants off the ground!

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Welcome to a New Kind of Multimedia Learning Experience for 2010

The Virtual Music Coach

Avatar 3D and Your Multimedia Future

Pooki and I saw the much talked about "Avatar" movie in 3D last night. Usually, when something is that hyped and described by friends in such glowing terms, your expectations are so high, the thing doesn't live up to it.

But the Avatar movie certainly did!

I'm sure the regular movie would have been great too, but seeing it in 3D really opening my eyes (so to speak) to what the future of entertainment holds in store. It was visually stunning and the most realistic computer generated images I've ever seen.

And the plot was filled with something for everyone: action, adventure, romance, anti-war and anti-greed sentiments, an environmental message, and even spiritual themes. Oh yeah, and lots of scary creatures and stuff that blows up!

It's interesting that I saw Avatar on the last day of the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES), where this year lots of new gadgets were introduced -- including new 3D televisions for the home.

As I mentioned last week, there are also new portable hand-held devices hitting the market that will act as mini multimedia centers. Much like the iPhone and Blackberry, you'll be able to surf the Internet, watch movies and TV shows, read ebooks, listen to audio, record and edit videos, and much more.

Sure, these things exist now, but the technology is becoming even more impressive, powerful and accessible to millions of people.

Are you feeding your fans through these new channels?

That's exactly why I just launched my new Virtual Music Coach web site, where I'm starting to offer online programs that deliver my message in multiple ways: text, audio, and video.

Sure, I'm a writer, and I could stay in my comfort zone and continue to just publish paper books and ebooks. But if I did, I'd miss an opportunity to inspire a LOT more people who prefer getting information by other means.

I encourage you not to get stuck in an outdated mode either. Embrace the new technologies. Use them yourself. See how other artists are using them. And start working them into the way you communicate with your fans.

FYI, here's a list of new gadget highlights from this year's CES.

To your multimedia success!

-Bob

Are You Ready for the Next Little Thing?

The Consumer Electronics Show is taking place over the next few days in Las Vegas. According to an article on MSNBC ...

"After years of being about the Next Big Thing, the annual International Consumer Electronics Show this week is all about the next little thing - small-in-one devices that are blurring the distinctions among tiny netbook computers, dedicated media players, e-book readers and cell phones."

But it was these sentences that really caught my eye:

"... content is the new king. As different people use electronics in different ways, publishers [and anyone who creates "content," like musicians] are under the gun to deliver whatever content people want on whatever devices they have."

So, are you meeting your fans where YOU want them to, based on YOUR idea of what the right platform is?

Or ... are you meeting your fans where they ARE?

Think about the next little thing as you plan your music promotion in 2010.

-Bob

P.S. Put your music marketing on steroids! Visit my new project: The Virtual Music Coach.

3 Keys to Easy Goal Setting in 2010

It's not only a new year, it's also the beginning of a new decade! What a great time to renew your commitment to letting your musical light shine and living to your fullest potential.

There's a good chance you've already set some goals for 2010 and are using a planning system of some type to make sure you stay on track. If so, congrats to you!

If not, that OK too. Getting clear about who you are and how you want to grow is something you can do at any time of the year -- whenever the time is right for you.

Photo by Cliff Muller
But I'd like to share a simple way to look at your life and music career in a way that will make it easier to set meaningful goals. This is something I learned from Jim Bunch when I attended one of his Ultimate Game of Life workshops.

Here's the essence of it ...

All the goals you will ever want to achieve can basically be broken down into three key areas of life:

• Goals that make you happy
• Goals that make you healthy
• Goals that make you wealthy

Jim calls it the Happy, Healthy, Wealthy Game. Looking at my life and livelihood in this manner really resonates with me. Perhaps it will with you too.

Too often our goals are focused on only one or two of the three areas. Some really ambitious people just play the Wealthy, Wealthy, Wealthy Game ... and ignore their happiness and health.

Some people who might be described as "slackers" will mainly play the Happy, Happy, Happy Game ... and downplay their health and ability to make money.

Still others focus on health and their appearance at the expense of the other categories.

The trick is finding a balance between all three. Although Jim says that "Happy" is listed first for a reason. It's the area of life most people overlook in the pursuit of achieving their material goals.

I love that idea. Because you're sense of joy and well-being gives you the juice to pursue the other areas of your life -- and music career.

Here are some examples from my own Happy, Healthy and Wealthy goals for the new year:

Happy

- Meditate every morning and enjoy the benefits of a clear mind
- Spend meaningful time with Pooki, my daughter, and good friends every week
- Write, record and/or perform one new song every month

Healthy

- Hit the treadmill and make a health shake every morning
- Do some strength training for 20 to 30 minutes three times a week
- Get up from the computer once every hour to stretch and move

Wealthy

- Write, publish and promote two new books this year
- Go through my audio and video archives and create at least five new info-products this year
- Pay off the Visa card bill and home equity loan

Now get out a notebook or journal, or open a new document on your computer. Type in the three category headings: Happy, Healthy and Wealthy. Then start adding meaningful goals in each of the three areas. And make certain there's an equal balance between them all.

Do this -- really do this! -- and you'll have a happier, healthier and wealthier year in 2010.

-Bob

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