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When I was 15, I started trying to listen to Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds for the first time. I kept on trying every six months for another two years. When I was 17 it finally kicked in and I bought everything he recorded. The main issue was how to get my hands on those records in Israel, and even worse,in Jerusalem. Indie music was hard to get, and that what made it so Indie-cool, not a lot of people heard about it, even less bought it, and you felt special being able to get and enjoy such unique music. At that period in time, I got connected only, but only, to people who liked the same music I did, and that was even harder to find than good Indie music.

What would I do if I had new media tools back then, was it still be so special to like Indie music? Or is it something so accessible, that it is really become main stream? Is the music itself the sole responsible for becoming a passion for music lover or is it the combination of accessibility AND quality?
Would I had many more friends who like the music I like by finding them on social networks and interest groups? Or the main indie-cool factor was being the outsider with small number of friends who shared not only the passion for the same music but also the challenge in finding people like them and the excitement to actually find one?

The next link is the ability of the new media to bring to real life the great, interesting, funny, knowledge of the groups and networks. Will indie music group start to produce music festivals? Will they invite the group members to an very informal after work drinks and music in several bars in the major cities? bringing the wealth of the web to life seems like the next natural development of indie culture.

That is also the reason that we decided to bring to life the Refresh07 and conduct the 1st conference by November 21st in Tel Aviv Cinemateque, for people who work and create in new media. You are invited to come and listen to visionaries and thought leaders of the field.

He Let's Love In

Asaf Lev is the Business Development Director of international premier research firm IDC in Israel. Asaf established the conference activity of IDC Israel including Refresh07 - the new media conference. Asaf's passions are music, yoga and his dog. He can be reached at alev@idc.com

Technorati Tags: IDC, Refresh07, Asaf Lev, Social Media, Social Networks, Indie