TWITTER is cool, but if you like listening to music while you surf and micro-blog, you might want to check out Blip.
I previously blogged about Blip, which allows you to let people know what you’re listening to and share the music with them by embedding an MP3 in your Blip update.
In an e-mail interview, I talked to Jeff Yasuda, CEO of Fuzz.com, the company behind Blip.
TWITTER asks you: “What are you doing?” Blip, however, not only allows you to microblog, but also asks: “What are you listening to?”
You can let people know which music you’re listening to at the moment by searching for the MP3 on the site, and then blipping it, which automatically includes the song in your update. Other users can then click on your blip to play the song, and if they like it, they can then buy the song on Amazon.com. You can check out the profile I created.
It’s an interesting service which is still in beta. Blip is actually part of Fuzz.com, which aims to help music lovers keep track of their favorite bands and share music with their friends, while allowing artists to promote their music. You can upload songs you’ve purchased to your music library or choose from Fuzz’s playlists, create mixtapes, blog, add photos, list events, and write local news.
Check out Blip if you love music, and see if it’s a good alternative while Twitter is still erratic 
Stumbled upon this site via Mashable.
YUP, it’s frickin’ Hulu all over again
PluggedIn is an interesting site that offers thousands of high-def and broadcast-quality music videos on demand.
Will Smith, by the way, is one of the investors. Here’s an excerpt from the press statement:
IF you haven’t seen it yet, here’s a copy of “Don’t be too CNN,” the music video that’s criticizing Western media such as CNN for allegedly demonizing China and coming out with distorted reports on the unrest in Tibet.
And here’s a Reuters video report on the “Don’t be too CNN” video.
Now, I’m not the biggest fan of the Chinese government, though I find a lot to admire about China and its culture. Frankly, however, I can understand the frustration of some Chinese citizens over how Western media portrays their country. For all its claims of being objective, it’s hard not to think of media outlets such as CNN as being biased in presenting the Western viewpoint or version of events. Yup, I know there’s no such thing as complete objectivity, but Western media, intentionally or not, views everything through its own eyes and set of values, which it then tries to apply to the non-Western world.
This seeming bias has become even more pronounced in a post-9/11 world and the neverending “War on Terror,” almost as if it were unpatriotic for any mainstream media outlet in the US to criticize the American government or offer dissenting opinions on the war against terrorists. How many years did George W. Bush get a free ride from US media? Which prompted people to look for alternative news sources such as blogs and media outlets such as Al Jazeera. Whether you agree with what’s on Al Jazeera or not, it owes its success to the perception of people that they can find stories and viewpoints here that you probably weren’t going to see on CNN.
It’s almost taken for granted by Western media that the Chinese people are not free and are unhappy, and I suppose with the way the Internet is regulated in China, many foreigners just assume that the Chinese netizens who speak out against the Western media’s alleged distortions are brainwashed, coerced, or paid by the government. Because they just assume that’s the way it must be, yet who speaks for the Chinese, if not themselves? The reality is probably quite complicated — certainly more so than the West’s penchant for painting things in black and white and designating one Evil Empire after another.
“Quid est veritas?” Pilate once asked. “What is truth?” Now that question is being asked in cyberspace.
Then, as now, there are no easy answers.
I HAVE our editor in chief JV Rufino to thank for introducing me to the Zinio.com digital newsstand, and while I haven’t subscribed to a digital magazine yet, I really love this technology and hope to see more magazines making their digital editions available in this manner.
If you’re skeptical about digital magazines, try out the free samples. As of this writing, the free samples include an issue each of BusinessWeek, Men’s Health, Motor Trend, PC Magazine, Reader’s Digest, Shutterbug, Viv Magazine, and Women’s Health. You can read them online, or download the magazines and read them offline using the Zinio Reader.
Another great thing I discovered is that they’re currently offering free digital editions of over 100 classics, including Beowulf, Little Women, Don Quixote, Ulysses, The Trial, Les Miserables, Dracula, and War and Peace.
Check them out. Honestly, I would love to digitize all the books and magazines I currently have; imagine how much space we would save if digital editions become the norm. Of course, another great thing about going digital is that we have to sacrifice fewer trees
