site divided into three columns: login/comments, latest submissions, upload music with a navigation bar at top
registration is free and allows you to upload music and post on the forums
website in a struggle to support itself/pay for hosting - i almost had to do fieldnotes on other (and less universally-used) websites because 8bc was down all for a full week prior to 11/27
the forum has sections such as...
"new to 8bit?" which offers introductions as well as a thread on "how do u make 8bit music?" which is 5 pages long and was started in 2007. the thread gives instructions for downloading and installing LSDJ and a gameboy emulator for people to get started making 8bit music on their computers.
"constructive criticism" for posting tracks and getting feedback from community members. interestingly, rather than posting tracks and asking people for comments, most of the threads in this forum are people offering feedback to other users. these threads get hundreds of posts.
[organized by thread title / original poster / number of replies / number of views]
"gigs, venue, travel" which offers a sticky on how to put on a gig and is also a place where bands inquire about places to play (and then sleep) and forum members inquire about 8-bit culture across the globe (one user asked about 8-bit culture in the Philippines)
"upcoming shows" for show listings
"meet ups" to facilitate meetups
"meet ups" to facilitate meetups
[organized by thread title / original poster / number of replies / number of views]
"releases" where people post when they release songs or collections of songs
the music page features 664 pages of submissions
this is where a lot of feedback happens. user roboctopus commented on this song, saying, "This was pretty cool. I dig the lead and that stereo kick. There's almost a church organ quality to the chords. I think the guitar could be more distinct in the mix though." like roboctopus' comment, most of the user feedback is incredibly positive and encouraging. people generally abide by the mantra of not saying anything if they don't have anything nice to say, which is refreshing for the internet. it's definitely not like youtube comments.
all the songs are available for download. 8bc is not really for monetizing final products, but more for sharing works-in-progress.
the first music submission was entered in 2005.
the fourth submission on the site was by anamanaguchi, and it was a cover of "you gave your love to me softly" by weezer.
anamanaguchi's musician page is one of the most popular on the site, garnering 500 views on all but 2 of their 34 submissions.
bit shifter is also a well known musician and an incredibly active forum member.
searching the music page for "cover" returns a tremendous number of results, which unfortunately aren't sortable by views or musician. covers range from "suzanne" by leonard cohen to the power rangers theme song.
pop songs are also very popular for covers. searching the covers for "katy perry" returns 11 songs, "lady gaga" returns 8, "beatles" returns 8.
the music page features 664 pages of submissions
this is where a lot of feedback happens. user roboctopus commented on this song, saying, "This was pretty cool. I dig the lead and that stereo kick. There's almost a church organ quality to the chords. I think the guitar could be more distinct in the mix though." like roboctopus' comment, most of the user feedback is incredibly positive and encouraging. people generally abide by the mantra of not saying anything if they don't have anything nice to say, which is refreshing for the internet. it's definitely not like youtube comments.
all the songs are available for download. 8bc is not really for monetizing final products, but more for sharing works-in-progress.
the first music submission was entered in 2005.
the fourth submission on the site was by anamanaguchi, and it was a cover of "you gave your love to me softly" by weezer.
anamanaguchi's musician page is one of the most popular on the site, garnering 500 views on all but 2 of their 34 submissions.
bit shifter is also a well known musician and an incredibly active forum member.
searching the music page for "cover" returns a tremendous number of results, which unfortunately aren't sortable by views or musician. covers range from "suzanne" by leonard cohen to the power rangers theme song.
pop songs are also very popular for covers. searching the covers for "katy perry" returns 11 songs, "lady gaga" returns 8, "beatles" returns 8.
I really like you how you took a more virtual tack with your second set of field notes which may offer a good jumping off point for your final paper--to compare what you were seeing on the internet community of 8-bitters to what you saw in new york at a more formal performance... Though both communities cover the same topic are the different in any significant ways?
ReplyDeleteStill digging this project. This new section is interesting in that you've applied the same sort of approach to the internet as you have applied to live events. How accurate is the internet's perception of the actual 8bit scene? In this age, there are armchair everythings — does the 8bit community have a good sense of itself, due to its digital nature? Or is it just as disjointed as everything else?
ReplyDelete