My Travels on the Net

I’m embarrassed to admit it but sometimes I can be a real Luddite. A few months ago a client started a weekly podcast I needed to listen to in order to help her market it. Listening to her podcast was no simple matter. I had to crank up the volume, lean in to the speakers and focus all my energy on deciphering the whisper in the distance. When I thought about it, I realized that I’d purchased my computer speakers in 1999. In computer years, that’s so old you’d need carbon dating to figure out their true age.

So last weekend I finally splurged and got new speakers. For $30, I got two speakers and subwoofer that make my surround sound stereo speakers sound like two tin cans and a string. I couldn’t believe the difference. It was like my monitor went from black and white to 3D color. All of a sudden, I’m willingly spending more time at my desk.

The first thing I did with my new world of audio was try out the music website Pandora. Pandora instantly became my new favorite website. You create "stations" by telling it what bands, composers or songs you like. Pandora then searches its database and plays music akin to your selection. You can then give it feedback, telling it what songs you like and which ones you don’t. It then further customizes play list. You can also listen to stations created by other users to find more music. Oh yeah, did I mention it’s free?

Check it out!