Cowboys in Cyberspace

Say it and share it on the Web… There is a saying in the world of internet business that ‘Content is King’ and it refers to the notion that the most important thing about a website is that which can be found inside its pages. After all, would you spend much time or bother to revisit a site that had only a small amount of interesting material? Recently though, with the advent of the so-called ‘Web 2.0’, an argument has developed that “community” is as important, if not more so, than content. This follows the latest trends of sharing the experience of the web with like-minded users via social-networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook and YouTube, to name a few most popular examples. Even if you don’t produce content yourself, you can comment on the things you see and recommend them (or not) to your friends.

 Amber Lawrence with Beccy Cole, Dianna Corcoran,

Kirsty Lee Akers and Gina Jeffreys

The talented AMBER LAWRENCE is a great example of an artist who is using the internet to great advantage for fun and also for the promotion of her music. Her official website contains all the prerequisite ingredients for fans and media alike (News, Bio, Photos, Album samples, Gig Guide) all nicely laid out and easy to navigate. Follow the links to her MySpace page and the fun continues when Amber dabbles in the art of blogging. No regular ‘Dear Diary’ entries for her though; After a couple of homemade videos, including one that documents her trip to Tamworth as a double Golden Guitar nominee, Amber has begun a series of video episodes entitled Bloggin’ Along. Even though an Oscar nomination might not be around the corner just yet, the videos have a charm and immediacy that fans will love. Meet Amber’s mum (doesn’t she look glam while doing the washing), go backstage at the Central Coast CM Festival with Chic Frontier, and for whodunit fans, solve the mystery of the cupcakes. 

History will no doubt confirm PAUL KELLY as the most significant Australian singer/songwriter of his generation and a wry and insightful commentator on the localised human condition to boot. We have looked at his site before, including the wonderful research index, full of articles by, and about Paul Kelly, but now there is an incredibly generous new section to report. Each month, PAUL KELLY offers free downloads – ‘A to Z’ – so that you can collect 100 live solo versions of some of his greatest tunes! The recordings are from the last few years, when he performed a series of unique shows under the banner ‘A to Z’, whereby he sang 100 songs from his catalogue in alphabetical order over 4 nights. The month of April will offer songs beginning with ‘D’ so don’t delay and get on the bandwagon now!  

Until next time, happy surfing!