Social Media Trends

I’ve discovered a trend in my blog. The bands who are the most active on social media are the ones I noticed most.

Plain White T’s, Linkin Park, and 30 Seconds to Mars have been the primary subjects there. One, because I really enjoy them. Two, because they have this social media thing down. Frequent posts in multiple venues (twitter, Facebook, band websites, blogging) and high-quality content.

I wish more bands would follow their examples. Switchfoot has performed on a couple of talk shows lately, and I had no idea! Not because they didn’t post it, but because they don’t post frequently enough to have an existing social media presence. Without that regularly maintained presence, fans quickly breeze by what little information they do offer. Which is sad – I’ve had a soft spot in my heart for Switchfoot since Learning to Breathe.

On the other hand, Adam Duritz of Counting Crows is the MOST BORING TWEETER EVER. He posts all the time, but the content of his tweets are just irritating. Pointless. He doesn’t have a clear sense of his audience and therefore doesn’t offer information relevant to them. Mostly he’s tweeting for himself, sharing his own thoughts and allowing everyone else to catch a glimpse. As for me, he can keep that view of his brain. I’ll just keep listening to his music and call it good.

And I’ll even say, Linkin Park could probably kick it up a notch, too. Plain White T’s and 30 Seconds to Mars have raised the bar. PWTs have chatted live with fans regularly for a couple of months now. 30 Seconds to Mars has requested that fans get involved in the creation of their videos and albums. Media is getting more accessible and more interactive with the burgeoning of social media – let’s get on the ball, people. Ride the wave.

Plain White T's Play Acoustic

In today's awaited video chat, Plain White T's played the first 3 songs from their upcoming album, The Wonders of the Younger: "Irrational Anthem," "Boomerang," and "Welcome to Mystery." The trend will continue as the band plays two or three songs from the new album during each chat session. PWTs noted that for most of the sons, it will be the first time they've played the acoustic versions. The approximately 200 fans that gathered ate up every moment.

It was also Dave's birthday. Happy birthday, Dave!

Live Chat with Plain White T's

Plain White T's technical difficulties delayed today's live chat, but the band -- and the 150+ fans gathered online-- were undeterred.

These video chats are part of a developing movement from the band to get their fans more involved. PWTs asked us for contest ideas, for example. Tom mentioned that the band could fly a fan out for a meet-and-greet in Mystery, Alaska. It's a plug for their song Welcome to Mystery, although the song doesn't have anything to do with the town, of course.

But really, interacting with the fans is the least Plain White T's could do for a group devoted enough to sit through 30 minutes of no audio.

Instead, fans kept each other -- and the band -- entertained. One user shared jokes ("Did you hear about the fire at the circus? It was IN TENTS!") while others asked their fellow fans questions about their favorite PWTs songs. Tom, De'Mar, and Dave wrote messages on their iPhones and sheets of paper and showed them to the fans in response.

Once the audio started working, we did convince them to sing a few lines of songs from the new album, The Wonders of Youth. (It will be available 12/7/10.) The Wonders of Youth is PTWs first concept album, which Tom describes as "magical." I asked him to tell us more about the album:

"The older you get the more you lose track of that excitement and innocence of when you were young," Tom said. "It's a dose of nostalgia for you."

When asked why they'd never done a concept album before, Tom indicated that the band had a lot of time off to think. They wanted to do something that excited them, something fresh for the band and also the fans.

PWTs told us that these chats would probably happen on a once-a-week basis, although they wouldn't perform for us when it wasn't the whole band. Overall, the experience was a success. Wonderfully organic (including the interruption of a phone call, haha) and great fun for all parties.

Oh, and thanks for the shout-out, Tom. I didn't even have to ask. ;)