With all that’s happening for Microsoft, this is the most anticipated MVP Summit, yet.

February 20, 2012 Leave a comment

I’ve been going to MVP Summits since 2009 (I was made an MVP in October of 2008). Every year, we are presented with some of the roadmap planned for the upcoming year. With Zune, specifically we were privy to great things happening with Zune Social, Zune hardware and software. Of course, now, there isn’t much about Zune to speak of. The product team has been split up and Zune is dissolving into a music+video service for Xbox 360, Windows Phone and Windows PCs.

Taking a look at this year, with Windows 8 and the planned convergence of most of Microsoft’s products and services, I can only imagine what will be discussed in the upcoming MVP Summit. Naturally, everything will be spoken under NDA as this keeps the trust between us MVPs and the product teams at Microsoft.

As a Zune MVP, I’m very curious about the entertainment strategy. Microsoft has made several attempts to really have media mean something with things like PlaysforSure and URGE. Zune was one of the bigger product forays and even made some headway to become the current media service. Yet, I think there’s more to the story that’s being told. By the time 2012 is done not only will the entertainment strategy be robust, but we could be on the cusp of truly being able to have our content everywhere we go. Elements of this is already there, just a few more switches that things could really kick into gear.

Each Summit has brought with it a reason to be excited. This particular Summit could be one of the most exciting given what Microsoft plans to do *this* year. Skydrive seems to finally become what we wanted it to be. Windows Phone will make a smartphone into the single needed device wherever we are. Xbox 360 has become what the Windows Media Center PC couldn’t be. Windows 8 will bring together all of the great services under one roof with a UI that’s great to use no matter what your input style. And let’s not forget the potential with Kinect for Windows.

Yes, this Summit is going to be awesome. I have this feeling that it’s going to be quite difficult to not squee from the raftors about the information presented.

Maybe Twitter should block MVPs from tweeting between the hours of 6pm and 3am, lol.

Filed under Microsoft MVP

Let me give some bro talk to Chris Brown

February 15, 2012 Leave a comment

My man…you’re screwing up.

I don’t mean like boo-boo screwing up, I mean you’re basically wearing a shirt that says “I haven’t changed jack about myself!”

Understand what got you here in the first place. You beat up Rihanna, in what seems like a very emotional outburst. She was battered and bruised but she kept on stepping. You claimed to have learned from that unfortunate episode and you claim that you’ll change.

So why, then, do you always look like you’re 2 words away from choking out the internet? Seriously, you always look like you’re ready to go Latrell Spreewell on the internets (if it had an upper body). These idiotic twitter-bursts and then deleting, the walking off TV shows, and all this. How are we supposed to believe that you’re changing when nothing about you seems to have changed.

It becomes a lot easier for more people to see why you did what you did to Rihanna and a lot easier for people to keep un-accepting you or forgiving you. Plus, dude beating on a woman for any reason makes you an automatic a-hole. Climbing out of THAT hole is a bitch. Um, by that I mean climbing out of the hole you dug yourself…not climbing out of an a-hole…that’s just straight nasty.

How do you turn this around? I don’t know. I’m not Dr. Phil. What you can start doing is not going on these dumbass tirades and then calling in fixers to clean shizz up for you. And by the way, why do you emphasize more dancing in your performances than you do music? You’re at the Grammys not an audition for Cirque Du Soleil!

Dude. Bro. Chris. I hate to break this to you, but you’re becoming the Ike Turner of this generation.

Come on, son.

Filed under Music

It’s amazing what happens when you actually have vocal ability

February 13, 2012 Leave a comment


This weekend, Adele took home 6 Grammy Awards and I couldn’t be happier. Ever since I heard her album, “21″, I was impressed with her vocal ability and her way of bringing soul and emotion into her music. Hearing her in live performance solidified that she truly has a vocal gift. Congrats, Adele. You deserve the accolades.

Filed under Music

Yes, I have no problem retweeting things that iTunes says.

February 8, 2012 Leave a comment

Long Story Short: I always thought that Zune should’ve done more, with its social media voice, to highlight music events and up-and-coming performers. Pretty soon, “Zune” might not even get a chance to do that.

Periodically you’ll see me re-tweet something that is said by iTunes or AmazonMP3 or a host of other music services. I know that you see me, as a Zune MVP, and wonder why that is: Why aren’t I just letting that stuff blow by and just shouting out every possible thing Zune says?

I love Zune, but I always thought that the Twitter account could’ve done more, in terms of discussing current music events and performers. Why didn’t it tweet out interesting news articles about music? Why not point people to an up-and-coming band’s website? Why not engage with more musicians who have twitter accounts and actually tweet from them?

On the other hand, you have iTunes who talks about the Grammys (even though I’m not fond of having 8000 award shows, The Grammys are still relevant and popular), coffeehouse-type performances and what not. In other words, iTunes looks like they’re really engaged in what’s going on in the world of music. Whereas Zune just sounds like it’s more focused on what’s happening with the front page of the Marketplace and making puns about music. It’s nice to a degree, but engagement on social media is key.

Now, I know. There’s corporate standards involved. I know that Zune, as a twitter account, can’t go haphazardly talking with everyone and responding to everything. I also know that there can be a fine balance between happily promoting what you’re doing on your service and what’s going on with music at-large.

Yet, we’re now at a point where Zune, as a brand, is going away. It will be replaced by a music service that will live under the Xbox umbrella. At that particular point, what happens to these Zune social media accounts? Do they get transformed? Discontinued? Merged? Blended? Sliced? Diced? What?

I, personally, would still love to see some official Microsoft account continue to talk about music and media: To point out the free TV episodes available and the hot new music about to be released. I would love to see an Inside Xbox show that discussed upcoming albums and ‘albums you may have missed.” Hell, I would love to see the Green Room podcast brought back as a Microsoft web show that interviewed up-and-coming artists.

All of these things are great for community engagement, bringing awareness to whatever brand gets attached to them. And I would love to see something that’s along the lines of what a Billboard or iTunes Music does.

Zune, I always thought, has done interesting things and has interesting things to say.

I just wish they would say them.

Filed under Music, Reflections, Social Media, Zune Ecosystem

My thoughts on the 2012 SuperBowl Halftime Show.

February 6, 2012 2 Comments

Put Madonna’s show against past halftime shows and it’s not that bad. Put the show up against the fact that it’s 2012 and you understand why music is becoming quite comical. Music has become no better than Hollywood. This reliance on retreading old ideas, old characters, and old music is frankly, old.

Now, I actually enjoyed Madonna’s show. I love her music, even today. And I understand the whole ‘music is timeless’ aspect, but being timeless doesn’t equate to going to that well all the time. I think the show was well crafted and featured some awesome visuals, but how much of Madonna’s music is relevant in 2012? Sure, she included some artists who are finding success today, but that begs the question why they weren’t the halftime show, themselves? Ok, LMFAO was just an element and I’m glad of that. Cee Lo apparently forgot to turn his autotune on. Nicki Minaj was having so much fun I’m surprised she didn’t just push Madonna out of the way and conclude the show herself.

And hell, I was kinda half expecting Lil Mama to run in after the show was done and pose on the 50 yard line. Yeah, I still think that moment was funny.

But it makes me wonder why we aren’t relying more on current artists to do these halftime shows? As the years progress we should be celebrating the music of that current generation. So by this pattern, the 2015 halftime show will be a reunion of Nu Shooz, Bananarama and Animotion.

Ok, that I could actually live with.

But why aren’t we using artists of today more? I would’ve loved a swing retrospect that used today’s artists like Adele and Bruno Mars. If you’re gonna reunite a group, bring in Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and play clips from the movie “Swingers.”

It just continues to show that today’s music scene continues to be more about autotune and sex appeal than actual talent. No slight against Madonna, but I shouldn’t have to be reminded of my age when watching the show. This would be like the NFL announcing that the starting quarterbacks will be Joe Montana and Troy Aikman. You know, for old time’s sake.

Using Madonna tonight was not a re-introduction of her to a new audience. It was a re-affirmation that we need a bigger infusion of actual talented people in today’s music.

Mark my words, people: 2013 Halftime Show Performer… The Bangles!

Filed under Randomness

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