©Indietude.com 2010
Giving Hope To Haiti
After seeing the devastating aftermath of the 7.0  
earthquake that leveled Port-au-Prince, Haiti I was
stunned. Like many, I opened  my wallet in an effort to
help these incredibly brave souls who are trying to
survive this disaster. It is gratifying to see the world
come together to alleviate human suffering.  It is also
worth noting that China (with all its mountains of money)
gave only one million dollars. Wow, China gave as much
a Angelina Joli! Think about that when purchasing cheap
crap from China.

I applaud the efforts of everyone who has donated,
especially the Hope for Haiti Now.org fund (hosted  by
George Clooney) who, with their very moving two hour
telethon have collected 61 million dollars across the
globe and the donations continue to grow. But even
with that good news, it is a drop in the bucket toward
the effort to sustain and rebuild Haiti in the coming
months and years. More money will be required.  I urge
everyone to get involved, if only to periodically open
your wallets and donate a couple of bucks to save a life
and make a difference in our world. I also hope the indie
community answers the call too. Links to the various
charities are listed below.

To Buy the Hope for Haiti telethon download
CD at itunes

Organizations actively involved in Haiti Rescue
& Rebuilding Efforts:

http://clintonbushhaitifund.org/

https://www.hopeforhaitinow.org/Default.asp

http://doctorswithoutborders.org/

http://www.salvationarmyusa.
org/usn/www_usn_2.nsf

http://www.redcross.org/

http://www.opusa.org/

https://www.imcworldwide.org/Page.aspx?
pid=183

http://www.oxfamamerica.org/


Also, Please consider donating to the canine
hero’s of the Haiti Search and Rescue mission:

http://www.searchdogfoundation.
org/98/html/index.html
I must admit, I felt that the popularity of most social
networks site were a tad bit overrated. When
Indietude first joined myspace I was only slightly
impressed, but very frustrated with the slowness    
of the system and their silly profile rules. It seemed
like every time I tried to log in, their system was
down. I feel the same way about Facebook, but  
now I see more positives than negatives in using
these sites to connect with people interested in
indie music. Social net-work sites offer indie artists
a real opportunity to connect  with their potential
audience about gigs, CD releases etc. and
provides a useful method to build your fan base.  
So here's my two cents on four primary social
networks, including the need for artist web sites:


  • Facebook - Facebook is riding high right
    now and overall it is staying above the fray,
    but like myspace  it suffers from its own
    growth. I still get frustrated with the error /
    system down messages, but overall they   
    are a good place to check in and see what
    friends, family, artists, politicians etc. are up
    to. If Facebook can continue to improve their
    format and processing time they will continue
    to be an excellent place for indie artists to
    connect with their fans.

  • Myspace - Myspace has had its problems
    but they have revamped their site format  
    and I see positive improvements overall.
    They have been very user friendly for indie
    artists from the git-go. I hope that people
    don't give up on this site and make an effort
    to use it more frequently. Try to log in and
    check myspace at least once daily.

  • Youtube - This is a goldmine for artists who
    have performance / music video's they want
    to share with their fans. It is also a great way
    to keep a tour video blog or just funny band
    stuff. You can be as creative as you feel. If
    you create a buzz here, it could easily
    translate into more bodies showing up at
    your gigs.

  • Twitter - Twitter is the perfect medium for
    people suffering from ADHD. A limited
    amount of characters to express your
    deepest thoughts, or share your wealth of
    wisdom with others. To me, it borders on
    pointless chatter. Perfect for politicians and
    Ashton Kutcher  but not very functional for
    most users. However, Indie artist could find   
    it to be a useful tool to remind friends and
    fans where their next gig is and invite them  
    to attend.

  • Artist Web Site - This is still a good
    investment for any indie artist. If you have a
    web site keep it going and if you don't, think
    about creating one. It is still the first place
    anyone will look for you, or your band on the
    web. It's real simple to build a website using    
    a site application offered by whatever search
    engine you use (i.e. GoDaddy, Yahoo, etc.)
    The monthly publishing fee varies per search
    engine. It is still  worth your money. If you still
    can't afford one, at  least create your page in
    myspace.
Using Social Networks
To Connect to Your Future