Every year I create a Very Indie Xmas mixtape of holiday songs that are a bit more unique than what is played on commercial radio and in shopping malls. This year I’m sharing these holiday mixes from the past few years, and this year’s mix is available as a playlist on Spotify; you could consider this my gift to you this year.

And if you’re looking for a last-minute gift feel free to check out my Wish List page, filled with gift ideas for the geek in your life. Better yet you can learn more about my favorite charities during this season of giving.

• Application – Instagram. Instagram has become my preferred way to share photos on Twitter, Facebook, and to make posts on my photo blog Speaking in Megapixels. It’s fun and easy using it to turn cameraphone pics into memorable photos. I find myself increasingly posting Instagram in place of Twitpic to share instant memories over the internet.
• Blog – Geekosystem. Imagine a blog that brings together the best links from Reddit + Tech blogs + general geeky ideas in a single source.
• Colleague – Jake Brus. I worked with Jake as a student at American University, and was impressed by his knowledge of branding and creative writing style. A midwesterner educated in DC, Jake is a pragmatic problem solver and great collaborator of projects in the classroom. And since graduating he’s started writing a blog about Place Branding which is recommended reading for anyone who wants to learn about the subject.
• Music – Harry Nilsson. Probably the best pop musician in the 1960s-70s since forgotten, whose soaring harmonies I can’t help but sing along to myself.  He’s the consummate musicians-musician, and his exploits have since made him the subject of the documentary “Who is Harry Nilsson (and why is everybody talking about him)?”  After watching the film, it’s easy to understand why.
• Social Network – Empire Avenue. The stock exchange game lets you buy and sell stocks of individuals on social networks, increasing their values based on social media activity. While it’s not meant to act as an social currency like competing influence ratings metrics (Klout comes to mind), it makes for addictive gameplay that effectively functions as a social network in its own right, complete with personal profiles and public comments.
• Television – The Office. This season we wished farewell to Michael Scott, wrapping up years of plot lines into satisfying conclusion. Nostalgia for the “World’s Best Boss” was hi, and even Ricky Gervais couldn’t resist making a cameo for the character he made famous. No one knows who will play the next boss at Dunder Mufflin, but I’ll be watching along with everyone else.
• Word Game: Words with Friends. Yes it’s just Scrabble, but by opening up to my network of friends through my iPhone changes they way we can play. Just look up “matthurst” if you want to play a game with me!

Extra credit after the jump:

• Comic: XKCD. Like thousands of other geeks, I’ve been a reader for years. Lately XKCD has become better known for another reason; creating infographics that help visualize complex subjects like the impact of radiation following the disaster in Japan.  In other words, reading XKCD won’t only help you be a better geek, but also a little smarter as a person.
• Location: Brooklyn, NY. Constantly the subject of hipster jokes and perhaps overhyped, but always underestimated.  It’s residents are often it’s own biggest critics, but Brooklyn is in the midst of a renaisance of culture and redevelopment years in the making.  Also, I’m proud to call Brooklyn my home.
• Charity: City Harvest.  City harvest brings fresh food and ecological education to school kids in the urban environment of New York City.  I participated in their Skip Lunch Fight Hunger drive this May 11th, in which $10 will help buy lunch to 43 school kids during the summer months (when school in out).
• Website: Grooveshark.  A great music service doesn’t need to be a cloud music locker or subscription service, only to let you listen and share songs with friends.  Grooveshark makes both extradonarily easily, and may yet help you discover new tracks at the same time.

I started 2011 fresh by listing the things I could live without from 2010, but have found many more worthwhile ideas to share over the last month.

Application – IntoNow. I’ve been trying a half-dozen TV check-in apps, to share the shows I’m watching with friends and to chat with other viewers, but they’re all are kind of the same. This app stands out by becoming the Shazaam for TV and Movies, recording an audio-fingerprint which instantly recognizes the show I’m watching with a single push of the button (even if it’s a live broadcast!). So it fits into the lean-back experience of TV viewing, almost like you’re not using an app at all.

Blog – The Atlantic. As a long-time reader of the magazine, I’m surprised I hadn’t been reading their blogs earlier, especially since their editors seem to have fully embraced the medium. My favorites include Alexis Madrigal for literary tech analysis (rather than reporting/punditry) and a handful of contributors behind their Culture blog.

Colleague – Alhan Keser. I worked with Alhan at Blue Fountain Media, and he impressed me immediately not only for his understaning of SEO and social media (what he hired me for), but for his insight into a consumer’s behavior as they use the web. He effortlessly combines thoughtful web design with online marketing tactics, to create successful websites that build business for his clients. It’s a rare talent in the business to wear both hats. Fortunately Alhan is more than a talented co-worker, but he’s also a nice guy that I’m glad to count among friends.

Film – Black Swan. This film benefits from the visual magic, strong symbolism, and cathartic plotlines we’ve come to expect in Darren Aronofsky’s films. As a recovering film student who has written about the director before, I can assure long-time fans like myself would not be disapointed by this early favorite for the Academy Awards.

Event – Social Media Week. As social media starts to become synonymous with the rest of the internet, this year’s series takes place in cities across the world. At last year’s Social Media Week I was nominated for an award (albiet minus social media), and this year i’ll keep learning and connecting with other like minded professionals in New York City.

Music – Arcade Fire. The band that I’ve loved since I was still coming of age continues to grow up with me, releasing an album many others also consider the best of the last year. They’re also one of the last great rock music bands that make use the lost art of the album, and in these winter months they’ve re-entered my rotation.

Social Network – Hashable. At networking events during Social Media Week, we’re all looking for a replacement to the traditional business card. While there are lots of apps to trade contact information, Hashable is a first of its kind network that meets the actual goal of building networks through the exchange of information. Connecting with your Twitter account is just the first step of using this network to connect with other people.

TV show – King of the Hill. I’ll tell you what… this show is a brilliant sitcom of post-Reagan suburban America. My friend Gabe Bullard as a better summary of why this series makes us laugh, which is also why I’ve run a marathon through 8 or 9 seasons over the past couple months.

Fortunately I already have one data set to pull from: for the last 5 years I’ve been tracking my listening habits through Last.fm, a social network that tracks playback by music lovers so that we can compare music tastes. By keeping track of the songs I play through my computer (and more recently on my iPod), the network generates peer recommendations and Top 10 lists.

Visualizing data my top artists in Last.fm during 2010

• I joined Last.fm 2171 days ago (February 13, 2005), and have 54 friends on the network.
• So far I’ve listened to over 28110 tracks, by 3055 different artists (about an average of 96 songs a week).
• Beck is my most listened to artist, with at least 1369 plays (almost 5% of my listening), which is more than the rest of my top 5 artists combined
• My listening habits are more eclectic compared to other listeners, scoring in the 75th percentile for diverse styles of music
• A full Visualization of 5 years of music I’ve listened to, like the one pictured above, is available in PDF form (it’s a big dowload)

In my own experience music is most enjoyable shared experience, so I’ve been particularly interested in how music is shared. So much of music discovery takes place through our peer networks, whether it’s sharing the songs online, dancing with friends, or listening together to a new music over the stereo. For examples, here are some additional measurements of how I am using social media to share music online:

• On Last.fm I’ve have 50 musical neighbors, who provide my recommended listening. I’m also a member of 11 groups on the network, 2 of which I’m the group’s admin.
• I’ve shared 483 songs on Blip.fm with 58 listeners, earning “props” from about 1 in 5 of the tracks on my station.
• I listen to 38 Pandora stations, with dozens of my friends to compare music tastes with.  I benefit from the crowdsorced music recomendations of friends and strangers alike who rate and review songs along with me.
• I keep an updated Tumblog mp3 blog of sorts at http://skewgee.tumblr.com
• I share my playlists with whoever will listen, and select a handful of mixtapes on 8tracks, which have earned me new fans and listeners.

One of my mixtapes, seen in this iTunes playlist

I cut my teeth in online marketing promoting my own music, using sites like MP3.com to share my music with new fans. Along the way, I learned how to build a band’s website, promote music in niche communities, and even sold a few records in addition to the free mp3s we let fans download. At one point we even had the ubiquitous Myspace band page, sharing our music through social-networks way back in 2005. Being able to track plays, downloads, and even our songs’ rank compared to other bands online helped keep us motivated to continue our work. In the process we earned an introduction to online marketing, which I can continue to measure through playback today:

• My first band, Biotrix, has been played 311 times by 78 different fans on Last.fm, even though we haven’t released recordings since 2005.
• My solo recordings, under the name Skewgee, continue to be played by an admittedly smaller audience

Today bands have more options than ever sharing their recorded creations, and better tools to measure engagement that helps them build fans rather than only offering downloads. These networks not only provide tools to measure their effectiveness, but also to gather feedback from the crowd in a decidedly different forum than performing on-stage.

I hope to share some of my music recordings through some of these new channels in the near future, which I’ll be sure to link to on this website. Until then, feel free to compare music tastes with me through music-centered social media, which you can connect with on the Playlist page of this site.

Blog: Lifehacker.  Whenever I’m in search of inventive solutions to everyday problems, (including some I didn’t think were problems), this blog is my default resource.  Apartment hunting? Check. Turn an old PC into a NES arcade? Ditto. Going paperless in the home and office? Indeed.  Lifehacker makes the impossible seem practical with it’s a DIY aesthetic.

Colleague: Renan Borelli.  As a colleague at NMS, Renan was an exemplary addition to every team: innovative, analytical, and fiercely ambitious. As a mentor of my own he demonstrated climbing the ladder through his own example, and shares my passion for social media.  I’m also happy to call this colleague a friend of mine.

Comic: Toothpaste for Dinner.  I LOL’d.

Location: Louisville, Kentucky.  This river city is is more than a one horse town; it’s a metropolis of burgeoning home-grown food, culture, and is the home to many of my esteemed colleagues.  On my recent visit I rode in a VW Karmann, tasted inventive brews, listened to a coffeehouse concert, and attended the Kentucky State Fair.  I would visit again.

Meme: Auto-Tune anything.  This should be old news, but in spite of Jay-Z’s wishes this vocal gimmick refuses to go away.  It has been the subject of much debate between me and my colleagues lately.  And now with the “I am T-Pain” iPod app, this fad is irrevocably bound to this time in history (or at least news coverage of it).

Politics: Health Care Reform.  Regardless of what you think the best solution would be, the status quo in is unsustainable.  Those who believe in shutting-down necessary changes, through the undemocratic tactics of an angry mob, only serve to protect those who profit the most from the injustice of a health care system which leaves us more sick and poor. We need to reform our health care system, now or never.

Social Network: LinkedIn. So your boss wants to become your friend on Facebook? Well you could play with your settings, or you could redirect them to your LinkedIn network. Let’s keep our professional relationships in a professional setting, where you can fully take advantage of professional networking in ways that Facebook just isn’t designed to facilitate.

Extra Credit:And because this month’s list is a day (or two) late, I thought I’d add some Extra Credit where it’s due.

Application: Dropbox. Cloud computing for photos, music, and document files. You can share them with friends, or just store them as a backup. With an application you install, it works just like another drive on your computer. You get 2 gigabytes for free, ’nuff said.

Theory: Priming. They say life is a game of expectations, and generally this is true. Our minds aren’t able to master everything, so we usually defer to the most recent 3-5 attributes we recall to make sense of a situation. It’s attribute based like Framing, but the differences could fill a blog post of it’s own. Simply put, this is why last minute campaign attack ads work: if we know next to nothing about the candidate or the issues, these ads give us the most recent (or only available) criteria to judge them.

Video: Breathe In, Breathe Out. Such a powerful idea, explained poetically through the beauty of nature. Please watch.

Blog: Things Marketing People Love.  If you ever work in or with a marketing agency, this will make you LOL.  You have heard these words bandied about as if they were sacrosanct, although on their face they mean very little.  Since we’ve already learned about white people and journalists, why not marketing?  And make your own submissions via Twitter.

Colleague: Gabe Bullard.  Back when we were working on Highway 61 (revised), there was no one who’s insights into online communications I trusted more. That hasn’t changed, so if you’d like to share these ideas, he’s still on the internet.

Meme: #hcmyth . With so much disinformation being active spread about Health Care reform, why not make fun with ridiculous myth-making of your own?  My colleague Beth Carpenter helped start and promote this hashtag on Twitter, which set off any number of LOL funny myths about health care.  My favorite? “RT @tobytobitobe : Under ObamaCare, all Starbucks beverages will be pre-ordered “skinny, nonfat, hold the whip.” It’s for the best. #HCMyth“

Music: Blip.FM . As you might have guessed reading my post about music and opinion leaders, I am enamored in the peer recommendation system of Blip.  Or maybe I just enjoy playing DJ, even if it’s just to my Twitter followers.

Social Network: 3121. This is an idea who’s time has come; the social network for Capitol Hill staffers. While you need a House, Senate, or Committee email address to sign up (still in beta), it’s easy to see the promise of a networked directory (3121 is the extension of the Capitol switchboard) that connects people and ideas in such a focused audience. Congrats to the National Journal and New Media Strategies, and god luck on launch.

Theory: Balance of Power. In politics, this describes a group of strategically allied parties that come together to create parity in systematic power.  In the world of hip-hop, there are Great Powers (Jay-Z, Kanye West, 50 cent) and middle powers (The Game, T-pain, everyone on Def Jux). This theory actually works well when it’s explained at length, so please

Video: Mister Rogers defending PBS to the US Senate. Your favorite neighbor was always there for the children, inspiring many generations of kids to know they are special and loved.
One time I was asked “what’s cool and new in your ‘hood?”, to which I replied:

Being polite, friendly, and helpful. Lately I’ve been helping my new neighbors move in, or even just talking with them about things I would ordinarily care less about. Since we’re together we might as well stay. Sometimes they don’t even steal my packages.
But as usual, the cool things in my ‘hood are IMAGINATION and MAKE BELEIVE. It helps out a lot when you live on the wrong side of the trolley tracks. Won’t you be my neighbor?

Please support your local public media.

Extra Credit: Twittering too much.  On top of the Twitter backlash and outright recycled cliches (thanks AP), those of us actually in the know (ie using Twitter) now have the capacity to call out abuse of the statusosphere. And while I am guilty as anyone else of using microblogs in micro-minded oversharing, Twitter remains an opt-in system where “unfollowing” is just as effective as “block”. Ultimately there is no one right way to use social media just as there is no single valid cultural expression, but the overshare of information just serves to diminish your own ideas.  You can call out abusive tweets on TweetingTooHard or simply LOL as Tweetspeare calls me out on it.

In the past the music industry has relied on taste makers such as DJs, critics, and marketers to help introduce new music to would be record buyers (or downloaders).  However over the last decade Opinion Leaders, those most influential individuals in your social network, have played the most important role; think of these people as your friend who is usually the first to introduce you to a band that you go on to love.

Online these opinion leaders have started popular music blogs, their influence measured by their expertise within genres and their appeal within their blogging audience.  Offline these taste-makers usually have the largest music collection among your friends, and they make frequent recommendations that are just for you.  Opinion leaders are the arbiters of new music in a marketplace no longer limited by the label-centered distribution, serving agenda setting roles with their personalized recommendations that mirrors the shift from mass-media driven popular music (radio, Rolling Stone, MTV) to online distribution meant for niche fans and private listening (iPods and YouTube).

As our experience with music increasingly takes place in social media, the relationship between opinion leaders and their social networks shifts significantly.  While I’m still taking recommendations from my friends, chances are you’ve tried using a peer-recommendation website of your own, such as Last.fm or Pandora.  The former, Last.fm is a service I’ve been using for over 4 years (then known as Audioscrobbler), has tracked over 20000 songs played on my computer and iPod.  In return for music listening data CBS (who owns this social network) can use, I get personalized recommendations from my friends and musical “neighbors” along with occasional suggestions from Last.fm .  This hybrid of the opinion leader model with the narrowcast of media distribution is actually quite seamless, if not organic at the consumer level.

On the other hand is the model of Pandora, the popular free* streaming music service which uses analytics and social ranking to make its music recommendations.  Pandora remains extremely popular service**, although I should admit that I am relatively new to the experience of tuning into user created “stations”, in which individuals do not control playlists but can configure them through a thumbs up/down rating system.  Many consumers rave of the recommendations this analytic system can provide, and I must admit I have been turned on to some music that was outside my sphere of influence otherwise.  However Pandora doesn’t always provide the high quality recommendations one might expect from an opinion leader; although the site offers the ability to skip songs you don’t like, it must limit the number skipped tunes before it forces one to listen through the entire song.

Opinion leaders play the most significant role in sharing music outside these two social networks, where music sharing is changing as quickly as the rest of social media.  Leading the charge are sites like Blip.fm and 8tracks that allow these Opinion Leaders become would be DJs for their friends, publishing playlists and sharing individual tracks with friends on Twitter and other social networks. Meanwhile Myspace remains a significant place for new bands to break their music to a wide audience, albiet Opinion Leaders sharing music through their own profile page cater to a much smaller social network than earlier.

This list of music sharing services  is hardly definitive, since music tastes are as diverse as the communities of fans who listen to them.  Although it’s hard to predict exactly how people will listen to music or using what online services, it is clear that Opinion Leaders will continue to play their significant role in influencing their network of friends.

Comic: Superhouse. A new webcomic, illustrated by the Chris Maue.  Required reading if you like to LOL.

Meme: Michael Jackson. Did anyone even remember how much they enjoyed the King of Pop as an entertainer anymore? Within minutes of his death millions of people reacted in shock, and later celebration of this musical icon. In the wake of the news, websites like CNN, Twitter, and even Google received spikes in traffic that nearly took down their servers.

Music: Beck’s Record Club project.  Every week Beck releases a cover version of a song through each sequential track from a record album. First up he’s recording The Velvet Underground & Nico. These cover songs are accompanied by original music videos they make themselves. Beck has always been and will probably remain the most significant musical influence in my life.

Politics: Iran Election. Maybe you remember hearing about this before a bunch of celebrities died? For a little while it looked like real democratic reform was about to take place at the will of it’s people.  People around the world rallied to their support, and Twitter became really important.  This last month has been heartbreaking.

Social Network: TIE – Reddit & Kirtsy.  Social Bookmarks are the agenda setting mediums for the 21st century.  Whereas Reddit serves an audience more engaged with newsmedia, with measurable influence in this community.  Kirtsy offers many of the same great shared links, but without the misogyny that prevails on Digg (among others).

Theory: Image Repair Discourse.  Benoit provides a model through which reputations can be repaired through appropriate responses to each crisis.  Depending on the nature of the crisis, there are several strategies through denial, evading responsibility, reducing offensiveness, mortification, and taking corrective action.  These are strategic approaches to communicating with the public about your impact during a crisis.

Video: DTV Transition.  On June 12th, broadcast television signals were   switched from analog to all digital signals.  Believe it or not, millions of people did not know about or how to make the switch to DTV.  After all my work helping to spread the word online last year, I was happy to tune in for the last night of analog TV.

Art: Artomatic. No curators, no judges, just open-source art. Unlike most art shows, this series is democratic ordeal more like a craft fair, stretched out for weeks on end of open submissions with fine art. Now in its 10th year, Artomatic uses over 9 floors of space in an unfinished office building which compromises the showroom and performance art venue for this show, which runs through the 5th of July in DC.

Commercial: Dirt Cheap. Those from Saint Louis know what’s up, but for the uninitiated this is a local advertisement for a chain of liquor and tobacco stores.  The ads have been running for at least the past 20 years, usually featuring the famous Dirt Cheap chicken suit and the trademark “Cheap cheap! Fun fun!” Sometimes the ads that stick in your mind the most can be the ones that seem the cheesiest.

Meme: Downfall. It’s not a new meme, but it has become one of the more enduring. (Here’s a Primer if you don’t know what I’m talking about). Like any good meme, Downfall continues to surprise me with the creativity applied to decidedly Shakespearean tragedy within real life.

Music: Pandora. As a 4+ year loyalist to Last.fm it pains me to admit that I have been using Pandora lately. Without the benefit of the 19000 songs counted on the rival service, Pandora has done surprising work referring me to good music I would like. But mostly because I can use it in my browser at work.

Theme Party: Superhero. Grabbed a flier from a dude wearing a superman t-shirt in Williamsburg last Saturday. Besides a couple hundred people crammed into a warehouse with DJs, fire breathers, and a man on stilts, the main highlight were the great costumes by those who joined us. I played their Accountant, complete with a balance sheet and calculator. Perhaps not since Studio 54 has New York seen these costumed heroes.

Theory: Belief Formation. A belief is different from opinion, so a belief cannot be easily changed once it is set, unlike an attitude through communication. You need to be proactive in order to prevent an opinion about your reputation, responding to each negative criticism with at least 3 positive rebuts, from solidifying into a belief. Especially because we are more likely to believe the person pointing out our faults than the individual defending themselves, so it’s important to manage these risky discussions.

Word Game: Crossword Puzzles. Since I started work I’ve had the chance to play crosswords on my commute. Riding public transportation has put a free daily newspaper in my hands every morning, so I’m playing this game for the first time in years. So far enjoy the rock music references in The Onion’s crossword best, but I’m still trying the every day’s paper until I finally finish my first puzzle.

Blog: Dork Yearbook.  This is why Tumblr is great;  Like Mortified, only geekier.  I could probably submit my own pics here, except I didn’t have a computer until I was 9 years old.  Just because a good blog doesn’t fit into a professional website’s blogroll doesn’t mean it need remain my guilty pleasure.

Meme: #sillyhats .  It started out innocently enough when @laurenreid photoshopped a whimsical hat on top of @gbullard‘s profile pic.  At some point, we’re not sure when, it became a meme of sorts.  You’re more than welcome to join in of course, with the right hashtag.

Music: Cover songs.  All my favorite musicians are making cover songs (or having their songs covered). Nothing new there, except there seems to be a dearth lately, or at least I finally have taken an interest.  This started well before Beck/Sonic Youth’s split-single covering each other’s songs.  Why re-invent the wheel when you can acknowledge your influences directly.

Social Network: FourSquare. Before I moved to DC I couldn’t really use Dodgeball, now resurrected as FourSqaure.  So I was skeptical about the usefulness of the network, versus my beloved Brightkite. Something about the gaming aspect, earning badges like Mayor of local establishments, makes this incredibly addictive.  Try the iPhone app, connect with Twitter, and see you around town!

Theory: Social Marketing. Contrary to the online connotations of it’s name, social marketing does not describe social media marketing.  Applying marketing techniques to positively change behaviors that benefit the public good has impressed me with it’s results. And it’s not Plato’s Noble Lie.

Video: Let Me Twitter That. As if my obsession with all things Twitter weren’t enough, this Andy Milonakis video has become something like a theme song. The video itself is ironic, original, and full of in-jokes that Twitterati will recognize immediately.

Word Game: Scrabble. I never thought I’d give this Hasbro classic a try after the Scrabulous fallout. But now that I can play with friends on Facebook, and make plays on my iPhone, this game is hard to put away.