It was always our mission to link people who create to those who enjoy the creation.  It has been a blessing to see the web grow in the way it has thus far.  And as more companies realize the potential of the internet to disseminate information and content, we expect the technology and interest to grow to meet this demand.

Today many people are enjoying more hands-on access to their favorite artists via MySpace and YouTube.  The immediate gratification to find funny video clips, replay favorite television shows or watch specials that exist on Google video and YouTube have caused a boom in content development.  Producers are scrambling to put MySpace and YouTube campaigns together for their various projects.

YouTube and Google Video has become a pleasure for viewers, a vehicle for the arts and political views, and a free marketing centre for producers and activists.  The ability to upload video has become easier and less reliant upon the technological wiz kids of my generation.  And though we love to work for our people we are excited that they can directly relate with simple tools that give them direct connection to their interested audience.

When we first heard of MySpace, we didn’t really understand why any artists or activists would be interested in this site that seemed to be focused on individuals who wanted to be ‘friends’ with strangers.  As a former AOL member who had visited AOL chat rooms and worked in web site support, I underestimated the impact this site would have on our ability to get to know who our audience is and could be.  We had missed the Music Profile section entirely and assumed this trend was simply about young people networking.

One of our clients called to ask if we’d set up his MySpace page.  We logged in and were immediately confused about their system and how the layout system worked.  But having experience in style sheets and web technology we weren’t going to just roll over and not engage this system.  So we mapped out what they had going and started to dissect how to control the aspects of the site’s appearance and function.

We are currently developing tools that allow us to utilize MySpace in conjunction with our own websites so we aren’t too dependent on them for audio, video, and graphic content.  Already we have an mp3 player that operates directly from our websites instead of the MySpace player which provides greater reliability and less disruption of service as MySpace works out their bugs.

One major issue that has arisen is that MySpace is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s NewsCorp.  As media activists we are very concerned about media ownership and the building of monopolies.  The Murdoch empire continues to expand and we find ourselves conflicted about utilizing their services while working to keep the growth of their company in check.  The more they grow the less options we have.

For now we will enjoy the site with our like minded people and see how the future develops.  In time maybe MySpace will be independent or will moved to a ground more in line with our ethic.  We will keep you posted via OMRadio.com.

As the internet continues to grow we expect to see other sites emerge that will rival YouTube and MySpace in technology and access and we anticipate being a part of that change.  Stay tuned.

Our MySpace page:
myspace.com/omradiocom
myspace.com/omradioharmony
Our YouTube page:
youtube.com/omradiocom