Challenge 4 & 5: New ways to get the same old content

Challenge 4: Pandora Radio

Pandora is a creative way to find new music online. Need music to listen to while you work? Have an internet connection? Perfect. Pandora allows you to create “stations” by artist sound-alikes, or song sound-alikes. Want to hear music that sounds like David Bowie? Type in David Bowie in the search box, and Pandora will create your very own station with artists and songs that are similar to David Bowie. They'll start you out with an actual David Bowie song (you don't get to pick which one, sorry) and if you like that track, they'll pick another similar one. Don't like a track they play? Click the thumbs down button, and they'll not only stop playing that song on your station, but they'll attempt to figure out what is different about that track and stay away from other tracks that are similar. The longer you listen to the station and rate the tracks, the more tailored the music is to your personal tastes. Pretty awesome.

If you want to get deeper into the hows and whys of what they've picked, click on “About this Music” and then on “Song”, and you can see how the Music Genome Project has the song categorized. Like your radio station and want to share? Click on “Share”! You can even browse shared stations.

Bonus Link: Internet Radio has been in some trouble lately, due to the way the music industry's current royalty rates work. Read the PC Magazine article about it here. However, things are looking up, as the Webcaster Settlement Act 2008 has passed in the House, and is moving on to the senate. Read about it here.

Your Challenge: Create a Pandora station. You don't have to have an account to create a station and listen to it-- only if you want to save it for later. What station did you create? Did you agree with Pandora's choices? If not, did it get better as you listened? Would you continue listening to Pandora?

Challenge 5: Playaways

So we've had Playaways in circulation for several months now, have you tried one? These pre-loaded mp3 players allow for patrons to listen to audiobooks on the go, doing dishes, working in the garden, anything that needs a hands-free and wireless experience. Playaway provides a PDF tutorial for using the devices here.

Your challenge: Take one home and try it out! Post about it in your blog. What did you take? Would you rather listen to your audiobook on the computer? Could you listen to an audiobook and do something else at the same time?