I was recently introduced to a wonderful new social network. Turntable.fm is a network where people join together to play and listen to music. It is like a radio station where all the listeners vote on what is played and the majority rules.
When you first arrive, you are provided with a list of rooms where different types of music are being played. Rooms are usually created for specific genre's and sometimes rooms are created with a theme in mind (these are my favorite). Themed rooms often generate great discussions as unexpected music is played! There is also a search bar so you can quickly find the type of music that is right for you.
When you enter a room, there is a DJ stand and a dance floor. Up to five DJ's can be up on the stand at once and they each take turns playing one song at a time. It is a fun challenge to try to choose songs that flow well with the previous DJ's music choice.
On the dance floor, you can find all the people listening that are not DJ'ing. At the bottom of the room, there are two buttons, 'lame' and 'awesome'. Each time a new song plays, listeners can vote to rate a song, votes are shown on a meter in the middle of the room. If you choose 'awesome', your avatar dances to the music by bobbing their head and the meter moves to the left. If you choose 'lame' the meter moves to the right. If enough people 'lame' a song, it will be skipped and the next DJ plays a song. This is a great feedback system for the DJ's to see the type of music that listeners enjoy. As an added incentive, each 'awesome' that a DJ collects gives them a point. Points can be used to unlock new avatars so you can stand out in the crowd.
The feature I use the most in Turntable is the chat window. I have been introduced to a ton of new music that I love by people that I have met in chat on Turntable. I had many discussions that began with 'I love this song' which led to 'If you like them, then you would really like...' It really is a great place for a discussion about great music.
Another great feature is that you can 'like' a DJ and add friends. When you view the lobby that shows you all the rooms, rooms with friends or DJ's you like appear at the top of the list. This is a great way to listen to music with a group of friends or quickly find a DJ that you enjoy listening to.
I have found that Turntable.fm is very motivational.
It grabs your attention almost immediately by only requiring one-click to reach music. Turntable maintains listener's attention by rotating DJ's which leads to more musical variety.
The music played in Turntable is relevant to you since you select a room with a genre that interests you. If a DJ is playing songs outside of the genre, listeners are usually pretty quick to point it out and skip their song.
Turntable builds confidence through chat feedback and voting. If you are getting 'lame' votes regularly, try a different genre. Most rooms are very easygoing and give out many more 'awesome' votes than 'lame' votes.
Turntable more than anything else is satisfying. It may take a few tries, but once you find a room you like, Turntable will quickly become a favorite site to visit. I often play it in the background while I am performing daily tasks, I find that I like to listen to different genre's depending on my mood or the activity I am currently participating in.
I highly recommend that you try out turntable. If you have even a slight interest in music, it is definitely worth a visit. It is currently in Beta testing, so you need to have a Facebook friend that has an account in order to gain access. If you would like access and don't have a Facebook friend with an account, feel free to friend me.
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