Page Flake Tour (Coming soon to a city near you!)

I recently discovered Pageflakes and, I have to say, it's probably my new favorite web organization tool (I may even like it more than Diigo...). It's great for those who are really visual (like me) and want all of their bookmarks, feeds, and resources right in front of them. In my pageflake, I put in a lot of Blog and Music News RSS feeds, as well as some helpful Diigo tags and search engines. If you'd like to take a look at my Pageflake, click here. For those of you who are still confused (or want to read more!) here's a tour of my Pageflake: Music Industry, The Scene, and Deals.

Left Side (Searches, Tags, and Sources)

Need to write a paper on 360 degree deals or some other music industry topic? Well, the left side of my page is an excellent place to go to find some really great sources and tools to do so! First I have the Music Industry Blog and News Search bars, where you could search for virtually anything you'd want to find out about the music industry and stay updated, or type in your own search term. For example, in the Industry Search section I typed in "Ticketmaster Live Nation" since there are numerous reports of a possible merger between the two companies, that way every time I go to my Pageflake, I will have the most up to date news about both companies and their merger.

Next I set up a Diigo flake with specific tags on my possible topic (360 degree deals). I used my very own personal Diigo tags and cited specific articles and blogs (including my own) discussing the topic. They are all laid out conveniently for you or anyone else to view under the header: Useful Articles.

Underneath Useful Articles, I have an actual annotated bibliography (you may recognize the sources from a few previous posts!) courtesy of Citeline. So if you want legit, semi-academic sources, want to learn more about the source, or just need the bibliography information for your own paper it's all there for you to use at your own disposal. Also, if you want to to send me a thank you gift, I enjoy See's chocolate and clothes from Urban Outfitters...

Last, but not least, the left side ends with some additional Diigo tags, including my own, very general, music tag, in addition to my social bookmarking soul mate, journalista89's music tags, which are great too. Some are helpful, some are just for fun, so enjoy!

Right Side (RSS Feeding Frenzy!)

The rights side of my Pageflake is all RSS feeds, ten to be exact. You may recognize some of them from my blog roll, but a few are new. Here is a rundown of all the blogs on my list, some are big, some are small, but all have something special to offer. First is a local blog, USC's student radio station, KSCR's Bandwidth. This blog is run by the student volunteers at the station and consists of record/concert reviews, industry news, artist info, local Los Angeles events (culture and music), and a few other tidbits. This blog is well written and well cared for by its music-loving/obsessed bloggers.

Next is the Los Angeles Times Music Blog-Pop & Hiss, this blog is very similar to Bandwidth, but it is more official (or less as some would say), since it comes from such an accredited source (The Los Angeles Times). I chose this blog because L.A. has very vibrant and diverse music scene, and a periodical such as the Los Angeles Times has to stay on top of such an ever-changing scene in order to continue to have such a great culture and arts section.

One of my absolute favorite (most referenced) blogs comes next, the controversial Pitchforkmedia! The staff at Pitchfork get a lot of heat for their sometimes snobby/pretentious reviews and occasional errors, but they are a great resource for constantly updated music news and album reviews. They also added a great video channel to their site, pitchfork.tv that includes music videos, documentaries, exclusive performances, and interviews, which can be very helpful. Just beware, your favorite band's new CD maybe next to fall prey to a ruthless Pitchfork reviewer...

Following Pitchfork, I have Buzzbands.la and Soundcheck (the music blog from the OC Register). Both Blogs are very similar, and Soundcheck was actually recommended by Buzzbands.la, which I read often to keep up to date on concert news. But Buzzbands.la focuses more on upcoming concerts and mp3's, while Soundcheck focuses on concert reviews/news. Both are excellent sources of info on L.A. bands and venues.

Next, is Sketchytown, and since I already wrote an entire post on Sketchytown and it's author, I will not bore you with any more descriptions, but if you need a refresher, here's a link to my old post.

Next is L.A. Record, it's not only a super cool publication about what's cool or up and coming in music, but also a blog! That's right you can read it online too via blog! L.A. Record has some really great artist interviews and concert photos too!

The next two RSS feeds are Stereogum and Filter magazine's blog. Filter is one of my favorite magazines and it not only discusses music, but pop culture and food (my other love!) too! Stereogum is very similar to Filter, although it is not a magazine, just a blog. Like Pitchfork, Stereogum has a great video component to the site, as well as mp3's and streams.

Last, but not least, is a blog I put on the list, more for fun, than for its resources, La Blogotheque, a French blog (don't worry you can translate it on google) with music news and AMAZING videos called Takeaway Shows. Takeaway Shows are sort of viral videos of music performances by indie artists in unusual settings. Here is my favorite. It's a fun site you could spend hours on if you have nothing to do, and who knows, maybe you will find some hard-hitting industry news. These viral videos are becoming the new way for artists to see and be seen....

I hope you enjoy Pageflake, and that this "tour" gave you a better idea of what it is and all of the cool things it can do. I put barely any links in this post because I really want you to go to my Pageflake and check out the sources there.