Content Discovery – Technology vs. Personal Recommendation Shows

[digg http://digg.com/music/find_the_music_and_films_with_Personal_Recommendations/blog]I love new things. Really. I find the adventure of being introduced to a new film, artist, or musician quite amazing.

But there is so much of them out there – video artists, video producers, Indie musicians – how can I find what I like?

This problem is not only mine – it is a key issue in the industry as a whole. One way of solving it is by technology- companies are trying to develop the best recommendation engine ever, in a hope to identify what I like. I’ve also touched this topic in my Podcamp discussions about Internet TV.

I’ve found that personal recommendation shows are working much better for me than any of the solutions out there today. And no, I am not talking about sharing my favorite film list with my contacts.

There are several shows where artists introduce other artists based on their purely subjective taste. That’s the best part in my opinion. As these shows are not trying to introduce good artists, but only what they see as good, they add a personal dimension that creates an emotional attachment, even if they didn’t mean to. Instead of a faceless search engine, I have a real person, that I can interact with, who introduces me to new artists.

Here are 3 great examples (and my favorite personal recommendation shows):

SMtv – I’ve met Samantha Murphy at the Facebook Vloggers group. She was the first one offering her help, which I’ve immediately appreciated. Samantha has a great podacst, where she recommends Indie artists, and interviews them about their music and life. I was lucky to find the amazing band 8MM, that has exactly the right sound for me (unfortunately, they don’t allow to download their music from emusic outside of the US). Though called SMtv, Samantha is doing an audio only show.

Mike O’Hara’s Fishbowl Acoustic – I’ve met Mike at Podcamp Europe, and was impressed by his ideas. He shared, again on Facebook, a short video clip of Sound Sanctuary, with his introduction. The personal angle made the difference for me. I know Mike, he is on my buddy list in Facebook, and shared his video with me. The fact that he took the time to record his own view on this band also made a difference.

Romeo Theater – I came across John Romeo’s show while using TVTonic. John is doing a great job at finding short form films and introducing them to his viewers. I found some interesting stuff there too – this one I like the most.

It is yet to be seen if these shows will attract enough viewers and listeners to become an economically valid operation on its own, but I am certain that they provide great value today to artists and listeners alike.

What do YOU think? do you know additional shows like that? did you drop by the ones I’ve mentioned? Please share your experience.

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  • No doubt the key for Internet TV's killer-app will be content discovery. I don't think anyone's really hit the nail on the head yet. Will it be technology? Editorial? A mix of the two?



    We watch a ton of "ReVlogs" while looking for new channels to add to the TVTonic guides. We even keep a category in our directory for these types of shows.



    Be sure to check out Steve Garfield's Vlog Soup:

    http://stevegarfield.blogs.com/vlogsoup/



    And CleverMedia's Podcast Salad:

    http://podcastsalad.com/podcastsalad.html



    But for my personal tastes, I always trust recommendations for previously "trusted" sources. Mostly other blogs.
  • Chris Bryan
    I like both of your suggestions and would add The Clip Show. I think Jim Kirks does a good job finding and reviewing vlogs out there:



    http://theclipshow.com/
  • Andrea, the TVTonic rep of this blog :) - thanks for your pointers.

    Chris - thanks, I am happy you like these shows, they are very good in my opinion.
  • Thanks for the props on my show SMtv, Kfir!



    We're excied to be in production for the TV show aspect of things. The Samantha Murphy show will incorporate elements of SMtv while adding new segments that will cater to your other non-musical needs.



    We're in discussion with various distribution channels, but you will always be able to find the show at SMtvMusic.com . We're planning a September release.
  • Hi Kfir



    Thanks for the kind comments, glad you're enjoying my fumbling attempts at video podcasting!



    I've passed your comments on to the Sound Sanctuary guys too, they'll be very happy to hear they've got a new fan.



    Right, now I'm off to check out 8MM & TVTonic!



    See ya



    Mike
  • Samantha- Looking forward to see your new show - don't forget to use a video network that will allow me to embed your shows in my blog!

    Mike - my pleasure mate, and let me know your ideas about new ways to promote Indie music.
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