Critique my blog ~ Digital or Traditional Networking and Why you need it

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Digital or Traditional Networking and Why you need it

This month, my graphics company, MD Studios and Productions, had the pleasure of creating several promo videos for the upcoming stage play “Stripped”.  My group Mahogany Dust, are also the musical features for the play as well, so we have been networking, both traditionally and digitally or the last 3 weeks.  So for this blog post, I decided to really dive into the concept of traditional and digital networking. I read this article Networking: Traditional vs. Digital by dotcomweavers.com, that also gave some very interesting points on this topic.

Networking: Traditional vs. Digital

Regardless of what you do or what you aspire to become, you will have to engage in some form of networking. Whether it’s the traditional networking, meaning you attend a meet and greet and you exchange business cards or through the popular streams of social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Traditional Networking
Traditional networking has it advantages because you actually get to match a face with a name and business and you get a chance to really display your passions and your intentions on your business or business idea. In this form of networking, it helps people to remember you when you really need to contact someone to help you along your journey to being established in whatever field you decided to venture into. The disadvantages are that you spend time and some times lots of money attending networking events just to establish your contacts and you may or may not meet someone that is within your industry.

Digital Networking
Digital Networking also has it advantages because first, you are not limited by time. Using the networking tools of Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn allows you to view profiles and interest to narrow down the people you actually want to network with. These services are free, which is a win-win in any business and you can reach millions in a short period of time. You can create like-minded groups within these sites as well, to share information and inside secrets. One disadvantage is that you have to post constantly and participate within these sites in order to maintain your contacts. Another disadvantage is the lack of face-to-face interaction, which can make some feel uncomfortable when engaging in online sharing. Because these sites are free, it’s possible to network with individuals that are attempting to steal personal and private information. There are individuals that run scams and will post untrue information within their profiles for malicious intent.

Why you must Network
Traditional and digital networking has advantages and disadvantages; however, it is something you must do in order to see your business thrive. Both are necessary and having a healthy balance of the two can improve your overall agenda. Attend networking events that are specifically in your industry and join online groups that meet regularly to share ideas within the business. Whichever method you choose, stay connected to your contacts by sending emails or connection messages monthly.

http://www.dotcomweavers.com/blog/2011/03/03/networking-traditional-vs-digital/

"The Voice" is BIG Competition for "American Idol"

The Voice & American Idol
This weekend, I discovered an interesting article focusing on the stats from the new reality music series called “The Voice” versus the popular series “American Idol”. The Voice is similar to American Idol, but the show focuses more on the contestant’s voice rather than their appearance. In the beginning of the series the four judges, Cee-Lo Green, Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, and Blake Sheldon were in competition to get the best singers on their team and have the teams compete in a series of “sing offs”. The judges’ chairs were turned away from the stage while the contestants sang. If one of the judges liked the contestant’s voice, they hit a button and the chair turned around meaning that the judge wants them on their team. If more than one judge turned around then the contestant had to choose what judge they wanted to work with.

Who Won the Billboard Chart Battle?
In my opinion this was a very nice twist on the traditional music reality shows and in this article, 'American Idol' Vs. 'The Voice': Who Won the Billboard Chart Battle, the numbers prove that many others feel the same. American Idol is running it’s 10th season and the winner this year was, Scott McCreery whose first week download sales were 171,00 for the song entitled, “I Love You This Big”. The runner up was Lauren Alaina and her song “Like My Mother Does”, had 121,000 downloads in the first week. Both of them combined had a total of 292,000 downloads. The winners of “The Voice”, was Javier Colon who had 145,000 downloads in the first week for the song, “Stitch by Stitch”. The runner up was Dia Frampton and her single, “Inventing Shadows”, was downloaded 137,000 times in the first week. So the combined total of downloads was 282,000. There was only a 10,000 difference between the two and this is amazing because this is only the first season the “The Show”. The judges on, “The Voice” outsold the judges on “Idol” when it came their released singles. Christina Aguilera and Blake Sheldon outsold Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler 352,000 to 277,000 with sales increases of (100+)%.

The Voice versus American Idol on TV Views
These numbers prove that people are definitely tuning into, “The Voice” but “American Idol” still dominates the new show with 26.2 million viewers vs. 13.3 million for “The Voice”. These statistics shows a shift in the way music is being sold today and reality music shows are gaining the numbers much faster than traditional trends.


http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/tv-film/american-idol-vs-the-voice-who-won-the-1005268192.story