Archive for September, 2009
Free HipHop Music Day: Ghost Face “The Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City”
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009
Free HipHop Music Day:Brother Ali “US”
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
“How Much for 1 Rib?” How to Get Free Movies and Games Online
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009If you’re looking for the latest movies or the best games for free, then the internet would be a very good place to start. Most of the time, multiple copies of a movie or a game are found online when stores are out-of-stock. Be warned though, visiting free websites sometimes come with a price – a virus or copyright infringement case- that’s why some users prefer paid services instead. However, if you’re still keen on trying out free music and movies, know that there are legit offers online that give you just that.
You should first check out your favorite search engine if you crave for movies. Sometimes, basic searches like “free movies online” or “watch online movies for free” give relevant results. If you can’t find anything that works, try heading on to Youtube.com. Youtube carries lots of movies uploaded by users and you might just find the title you’re looking for.
Watch Movies Links is also a good site to check-out. Right now, they have more or less 12,000 movies to choose from. You could easily search their website for your movie of choice or browse randomly among thousands of titles according to the year of release. They also have forums and reviews so you know which is worth checking out. What’s more, they provide multiple sources of videos so you’re sure there’s always a source available.
Then there’s Hulu. The good thing about Hulu is that they host their own videos in high quality format aside from the fact they carry lots of titles with them. However, hulu is only available for users in the United States.
And if you games are what you’re looking for, head to Shockwave.com. Shockwave carries basic flash games that are fully playable, enjoyable, and are definitely for free! And then there’s Popcap. Popcap offers free flash browser-based versions of their downloadable games. That way, you could try out which games are cool before you even buy them.
But while commercial titles like Resident Evil and Halo aren’t exactly easy to find, some users do upload copies of these games, and many others, to file sharing websites. If these are the games that you’re looking for, try searching rapidshare.com and rapidshare.de, megaupload, or 4shared.com.
Remember that nothing beats buying games or movies from authorized shops and video centers. That way, you support the production of more games and movies. It also prevents you from any problems in the near future like copyright infringement cases or viruses in your personal computers.
Remember the rule: if you like it, buy it!
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Peace Shawn
Internet Thugging:Five Common Cyber Crimes And How To Prevent Them
Monday, September 28th, 2009As much as the internet has served to be one of the quickest avenues for content-sharing and lightning speed news delivery, it has also become one of the “be-wary” places because of internet crimes.
Cyber crimes are crimes committed online that range from small malicious pranks to heavy cases like hacking bank accounts and stealing information. Our anti-virus and firewall soft-wares do not stand a chance against these attacks if we don’t know how they occur and how to combat them.
Identity theft. One thing everyone should take note of are websites that seemingly try to steal away your information. Famous sites that some cyber criminals try to trick other people into logging into include Ebay, Paypal, and even mail websites like Yahoo and Gmail.
Most of the time, criminals would try to duplicate login forms of these websites and trick unknowing users into entering their login information. Once a user does so, they gain access to your emails, contact list, and even finances. Lesser examples are emails that seem to be from legit companies but would only refer you to fraud sites.
To avoid this, always check the address bar if you’re on the correct website and ignore emails like subscription forms, invites, etc, that you didn’t request yourself.
Cyber Stalking. Most of the victims of these are young children or pre-teens who are allowed access to the internet. Cyber criminals use the internet to dig personal information about their targets and use that to harass, intimidate or otherwise, threaten the victim. In lesser degrees, cyber stalking include spreading untruths online and impersonating real people in chat rooms.
Should this be happening to you, and you are below the legal age, consult your parents or guardian immediately.
SPAM. Spam commonly refer to unsolicited mail that arrives in a user’s inbox. Mostly commercial in content, these emails often ask the user to try-out a product or a service or invest in an upcoming business proposal. SPAM is considered to be illegal in certain countries. More advanced versions of SPAM include emails that have worms in it, that unknowing to the user, creates a backdoor in the computer for hackers to access.
If you ever receive an email from someone you don’t know, check the Subject for relevance. Should the email or any of its attachment look suspicious, have your anti-virus program scan the email for possible malicious content.
Cybersex. Cybersex is also a dominant form of cyber crime. This is because cybersex encourages prostitution, child pornography and even trafficking. Many countries from around the globe employ ways to entrap and punish those who undergo cybersex- regardless of whether the partner is a minor or not.
Pyramid scams. There are programs online that promise to give you 5% ROI if you invest in their program. While they may seem to return profit, they are often considered “nightly programs” because they disappear overnight the moment your investment increases. Some are even unlucky to have not received a dime in return.
While the rate of return they promise seem to be appealing, it would be wiser to do extra research on the company first before letting go of the money. In fact, it would be better to try out real-life investment companies with business offices you can head to should there be any problems.
Protection begins by reading more about “what happens” online. Crime Research and Ehow have articles that discuss ways and means of helping you combat cyber crimes as well as ideas as to not become victims. That way, we can ensure a safe and rewarding experience while surfing online.
If you enjoy this post please follow me on Face Book and Twitter
Peace Shawn
Digitized Beauty of the Week: Krystal
Friday, September 25th, 2009
Be your own Hype Williams: 5 Tips for Making your Own HipHop Video for $100 or less
Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009Recording your very first video for online release seems to be very hard and costly, mostly if you’re an independent artist or group. Unlike performers who are ‘managed’ by top companies with nearly unlimited production budget, independent artists have to deal with the reality of limited funds.
However, a limited budget should not prevent you from going online with your latest video. In fact, listed below are five tips to help you still shoot your online hiphop video without spending much!
First tip: Conceptualize. The very basic of creating an online video involves planning from different angles – one of which is the video itself. Before you begin your shoot, you must have a general idea as to how it would look like – the different angles to be used, the shots you need, and the location the shooting would take place. Ask yourself “What do I want to make out of the video?” and “How do I imagine it to look like?”. Brainstorming with a friend or the whole group would help you get creative in exploring things you never imagined before. Plus, you all get to have a say about what’s to keep and what’s to just throw-away.
Second Tip: Plan the Technical Stuff. Once you’ve already figured out how you want your video to look, it’s better to check out how to make it possible. This is where the technical stuff comes in. Cameras, recording devices, and even extra stuff like ladders and lights that are needed have to be planned in advance. “How many cameras do I need?” and “What kind of audio recording device should I use?” must be given a thought. It is also a must to know where the shoot will take place and how many people are needed to man behind the scenes, aside from the performers.
Third Tip: Scout and Review. The best way to battle a limited budget is to ask around. After you’ve planned out every single aspect of your production, you’d end up with a list of the things you have to do or stuff you need. Instead of heading off to buy them, this is the perfect time to go asking around about where to get stuff at a cheap price. Sometimes, it would be more ideal to just rent stuff instead. Do product reviews and research first before spending. But most importantly, use your connections! If you could find a friend to lend you a microphone or two, that would be a great life-saver.
Fourth Tip: Practice. Before you head out to shoot, make sure that you’ve done enough practice to perfect your moves. One reason is because the more mistakes you create while shooting also means a longer shooting period and higher costs. Second, you’re video would be released online to millions of users who would want to watch your video and with all the videos already existing online, you have to give your users something new and fresh to make them want for more.
Fifth Tip: Have fun! The biggest mistake an artist would commit is to ‘not’ have fun. When you enjoy what you’re doing, people see that in the videos that you make and they too, in return, enjoy watching your performances. Group effort in this part pays off in the long run because the energy that you create on screen keeps people hooked to your group! Don’t be afraid to try out new styles, new moves or even a totally new concept. If you think it would really look great on-screen, mix and match ideas and figure out a way to make things work!
Remember that the actual secret in shooting a low cost hiphop video doesn’t really rely on purchasing cheap materials. Rather, it’s more of how you could actually maximize your resources to spend less.
If you enjoy this post please follow me on Face Book and Twitter
Peace Shawn
Free Hip Hop Music Day:Man On The Moon The End Of Day “Kid Cudi”
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009
Man On The Moon: The End Of Day
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Peace Shawn
Free HipHop Music Day:Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2 by Raekwon
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009
Putting Yourself on Blast! Try Press Releases!
Monday, September 21st, 2009Press releases are one of the most important tools in marketing a performing artist or even a group in the music business. This is because press releases are low-cost, if not free, advertising means of promoting one’s group to the media, that’s why independent performs look greatly to distributing press releases as the first step in marketing.
Press releases are also good because they help you keep in touch with people – the latest news about your group, new songs, or album releases are all made known to the public. Hence, people are always up to date with what they have to look out for from you.
How to Write Press Release
Making a press release is as easy as it could ever be. The basics of it include defining what the main message is that you want your readers to get. You have to tell them what, who, why and where.
You could start with an 8 ½ x 11 sheet of paper of your letterhead. Many encourage the use of double spacing in your document, as well as a 1 inch minimum margin on all the sides. The font to be used must be very readable. In fact, it would be best if your press releases are created using simple word processing programs and printed through at least an inkjet printer.
Your press release should begin with “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE” or “FOR RELEASE, SEPTEMBER 16, 2009) to be followed by “For more information, contact” and then your contact details.
Remember that your contact information is one of the most important parts of your press releases because editors who would like to cover or publish your story may contact you from there. That’s why you should provide contact numbers or email addresses that could be contacted all-day long. After all, you don’t want them to think you’re unprofessional by having a number available only at night!
The next thing you have to write is the headline – which should be written in ALL CAPS. The headline is another vital part of the press release.
Even before your readers read the body of your press release, the headline would automatically give them an idea about what the press release is all about and if it’s even worth a read at first glance. This is where creativity enters the picture. You might want to carefully think of catchy headlines that would automatically get your reader’s attention. Check out other headlines and see for yourself; What headlines keeps me interested? Which headlines are a bore? Which catches my attention? Don’t go for boring headlines just for the sake of one. Surely the headline, “SAVING THE ENVIRONMENT: ONE SONG AT A TIME” is a lot more interesting that “BAND PLAYS AT LOCAL CHARITY CONCERT”.
Once you’ve written your headline, the next part is to write your body. The body contains all the details of the story, everything you want your audience to know. It should be written in the third person, you should use “He“, “She“, or “They“ instead of I and the over-all theme should be like that of a news story. A press release should be brief and yet complete; the maximum length at 2 pages long.
Special attention should be at the first paragraph. In real life, the people you expect to read your press releases are busy people who won’t really bother much to read the whole press release. If you don’t get them hooked in the first paragraph, then they won’t read the rest. Make sure that all details are complete: names, places, and even dates must never be abbreviated to avoid confusion.
Avoid using flowery words and adjectives, it’s a news story you’re trying to get across, after all. Personal statements and quotations from the people involved are also highly encouraged to add more interest.
Before you end your press release, summarize the content and add an “About Us” information. This would give extra details about who you are and what you do. Additional contact information at the end would also be a good idea.
To end your press release, add the symbols “###” after the last lines of text. This would tell your audience that they have received the whole of your message.
Check out this free online Press release service http://www.free-press-release.com/
If you enjoy this post please follow me on Face Book and Twitter
Peace Shawn
