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Wonk 2.0

Social Media, Digital Music, Gaming, and Other Geeky Ways to Look Cool Online

I get so tickled anytime anyone mentions "the coming war with Google." I find it terribly intriguing, and my mind goes directly to Middle Earth. Maybe I'm the only one who noticed this, but the verbiage used in reference to the ever-increasing power of Google is fantastically Tolkienesque (and also Orwellian, but 1984, while brilliant, lacks wizards and therefore loses my passionate attention).

Competition is an integral part of progress. I get my kicks watching company after company gear up for their inevitable battle with Google, because in my head developers and analysts turn into Orcs and Elves and that's awesome.

I realize that I may be painting an unflattering picture of developers as Orcs, but please don't take offense, I don't actually think that Google is evil; Google is powerful (and most developers aren't nearly as smelly as your average Orc). Like the Orcs, developers design the cunning devices used to do the bidding of a giant, creepy eyeball turning it into a legitimate threat to the Shire. This is just like that, only instead of slaughtering Hobbits, they're creating FriendFeed so I can see what obscure blog Louis Gray is reading without leaving my Facebook page.

In this delightful scenario, I've cast analysts as Elves, because, frankly, I like to pretend that I'm an Elf Witch at work

Stand by Your Band (Digitally and Otherwise)July 5

My favorite aspect of digital technology is by far the inherent power it holds to connect us to each other. I have this lovely Utopian fantasy of connecting great artists to great listeners. As a former rock writer, I have the great pleasure of knowing some of the most talented (and obscure) musicians on the planet. This may be my overtly biased opinion because I know bands like Snarky Puppy, but I've long held pride as what Nick Hornby refers to as "Snob Obscurantist," I've opined on many occasions my overt love for this band, and it's not just because they have (as a band) agreed to be my boyfriend. They're musically brilliant and deserve at least four minutes of your attention. Plus I have fantastic taste.

How does technology work in the favor of those who fall into my personal favor?

First of all, you can hit their MySpace page to see what all the fuss is about, because there exists a fair chance that you their music will make you feel good on the inside.
If you feel particularly enamored of the sound, you can easily vote for them as Dallas Observer's Best Jazz Band (do it).
You can buy their albums so they can affor

Don't be blue, Rhapsody!June 30

I am a super fan of Rhapsody. So when I read this morning in Bits that my best friend in digital form is having some hiccups (and not the Twitter kind of hiccups that never end, the foreboding will-this-business-model-make-it kind of hiccups). Well, I can't have that. I believe Rhapsody is a promising horizon for the future of music; it just needs some tweaking and, more importantly, needs to become a part of your music listening routine.

Here's why I love Rhapsody: When I was reading Nick Hornby's Songbook a couple weeks ago, I was able to create a nifty play list to be streamed through my Rhapsody player whilst I read about whatever fantastic song he was opining. I did the same thing with Chuck Klosterman's Killing Yourself to Live. It's a great way to keep up with the dozens of artists my Jazz Cats refer me to, or the oodles of music newsletters happily running over my inbox each week. I just pop over to Rhapsody, add The Ting Ting's to my library, and it's suddenly my laptop is ready for a Super Fantastic Dance Party (as there is wont to be around my tech devices).

Rhapsody also has my favorite Facebook application (currently in Beta). My Facebook profile p