One Phat DJ Appreciation Society
Someone once told me “there’s no harm in a bit of shameless self-promotion“. With that in mind, I’d thought I’d set up a little experiment (although it could also be seen as an ego trip).
Facebook has become a ruthless force on the Internet. When the masses started to get sick with all the fugly MySpace pages, Facebook seemed to crop up out of nowhere offering all those social network users a lot more friendlier interface and a little more privacy (although that could be questioned after recent events with the advertising threat Beacon).
Being slightly obsessed with social networking, I registered an account last year and started to find friends and acquaintances from my travels, university and even school now (who needs Friends Reunited anymore?). I’ve even taken to making friends with some of my favourite music artists which can only lead to bigger and better things.
So anyway - back to The Experiment. I’ve created a group dedicated to One Phat DJ. When I noticed fellow podcaster DJ Cruze had a group dedicated to him, I thought it would be a great opportunity for some healthy competition. Who could get the biggest following? At the moment, he’s way out in front. It doesn’t help matters that he actually speaks in his podcast, consequently getting an opportunity to plug the group. That’s noone’s fault but my own though - a blog post from earlier in the year will clear up why.
What I want you to do is simple - join the group and spread the word. I’m not expecting all readers of this website to be interested in the podcast - you guys are exempt. However, if you are a listener to the One Phat DJ Podcast, regularly or infrequent, join the group and get involved.
I’ve tried to make sure the group isn’t another complete waste of time too. The entire podcast archive is available to listen to directly from within Facebook, there are some images for you to download and use (which I’ll be adding to very soon), the Wall is a great opportunity to leave some comments and thoughts on the podcast and you could even start a discussion (I’ve just created one to get your ideas for the Best Of 2007 mix). If you have any suggestions for the group, go ahead and let me know.
Now it’s just time to sit back and (optimistically) watch those numbers…
December 31st, 2007 at 5:16 pm
Why a group - surely a Facebook ‘page’ (in which people can become fans) is more suited to this type of activity on Facebook? Good luck with this venture though, I’m sure it will be a great success!
December 31st, 2007 at 5:39 pm
Mr Lloyd, you’re way ahead of me here. I have been considering the “page” approach before this announcement but wasn’t sure whether it would be entirely worth while.
The other issue I’d have with the fan page setup was with copyright of material. Indeed, I own copyright of the mixes but the actual material isn’t licensed to be reissued under the One Phat DJ brand and this would throw up all sorts of legal implications when posting new material. At least with the Group approach, its possible to just link to external content (which has different legalities when it comes to Facebook).
Thanks for your input though. Maybe it will be more worthwhile creating a fan page if interest is shown.
January 2nd, 2008 at 1:12 pm
I’d just like to point out that I didn’t set up my appreciation group mate! I am promoting it as I was chuffed that someone else liked my podcast so much that they would take the time to set up a page.
I don’t really like the idea that we’re competing for listeners as we can both exist in the same space.
And as for the fact that I speak over the podcast - that’s because of the licencing issues that you speak about in the comment above. I started podcasting back in 2005 as a way to promote myself as a DJ. I’ve been a mixing DJ for nearly 20 years now and talking isn’t my thing but it stops people from ripping the tracks from the podcast.
Cheers,
Marc
January 2nd, 2008 at 1:37 pm
Appreciate your feedback Marc. Sorry if it wasn’t clear enough in the post - I know you didn’t create the group which just goes to show how egotistical I actually am and how you aren’t.
I’ve got the greatest respect for your podcast as well. It was your podcast that inspired me to start my own. As I pointed out in the blog post about why I don’t talk over the mixes. You’re playing a safer game with your format and, to be honest, it shows your professionalism too.
Like you said, we are working in the same domain and this isn’t a popularity contest. I like to think we share our fanbase - I’m more intrigued by who actually listens to my podcast than anything. At the moment, it looks like the majority of the listeners don’t even visit this website. Just goes to show how popular iTunes is.
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:01 am
No probs mate. Sorry if I sounded a bit harsh!
I’m full of this winter sickness virus and for some reason decided it was a good idea to check my RSS feeds. Being sick and being rational don’t mix!
For what it’s worth, I get next to no visitors on my site even though I get over 20,000 downloads of each show via iTunes. People just want free music. Rubbish isn’t it?!
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:11 am
Those figures sounds oh-so-familiar Marc. Tens of thousands of free downloads don’t come cheap in server costs though, which is why I at least expect a quick comment or review. Are you listening bandwidth leeches??