Audiosurf

First there was surfing. Then there was Surfing USA (Beach Boys). Then we could surf the radio, then the TV, then the Internet. Now we can Audiosurf.

Audiosurf.com is a website based around a game. To play, you upload a song you like, then Audiosurf turns the song into a playable game level.

The game is very simple. You are in a glider, going along a colorful track at a speed relative to your song. As the track twists with the music, you try to catch colored blocks and avoid grey ones. The level intensifies as the song intensifies, and it gets easier when the song gets lighter.

Audiosurf is a fun twist to games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band. What Audiosurf has over them is that it allows you to use any song you want.

Audiosurf gameplay to I Fight Dragons' The Faster The Treadmill

VidCon

John and Hank Green sure are busy – but they’re professional bloggers, so this is what they do.

This year, they are creating a brand new conference for people who are big on YouTube. It’s called VidCon. It will be held in Los Angeles in January 2010. The conference costs $40 per night and runs for three nights. Lots of the top YouTubers are already confirmed on attendance.

New Media is about new things in the world that are influenced by new technology. Five years ago, a conference based on YouTube would have sounded crazy. But now that YouTube is as huge as it is, and since it has had huge effects on some peoples’ lives, a conference about it seems like a great idea. This is what frequently happens in New Media – things change so quickly that within just a few years, an idea can sound completely stupid and then completely brilliant. A conference about YouTube is one of those things.

Julia Nunes / Ben Folds

People tend to separate the internet from the outside world. Cyberspace is seen as a bit of life that is not an actual part of life. But sometimes the internet affects the real world in huge ways.

YouTube musician Julia Nunes was a sensation in herself, but when she posted a cover to the Ben Folds song Gone, a big thing happened. The song was a big hit, and Ben Folds was so impressed by it – the cover and her music – that he invited her to go on tour with him. Ben Folds is Julia Nunes’ favorite musician.

There was no contest or competition. YouTube was the only thing in play. Julia Nunes received this awesome opportunity because YouTube made the connection possible.

Julia Nunes' videosong cover of Gone by Ben Folds.

 Julia Nunes performing Gone with Ben Folds

Project For Awesome / Good vs. Bad of the Internet

On December Seventeenth, Youtubers are taking over YouTube... for charity.

Inspired by the Vlogbrothers, December Seventeenth is the day of the Project for Awesome. On this day, millions of YouTubers, most of whom are nerdfighters or who associate with nerdfighters, post videos about charities. They all use the same symbol in their descriptions. Then everyone involved rates everyone else's videos with five stars. This accomplishes two things: it breaks YouTube's algorithms, which is fun; and it makes people aware of many good charities.

One thing that always seems to be true about everything is that there is a bad side and a good side (this concept is similar to the idea of "looking on the bright side" except that I am more cynical and creating large groupings of events and ideas). In this example, The Project for Awesome is the good side of YouTube. The bad side of YouTube is the idiocracy and vulgarity of some of its content. Every time a new internet site is made, it can either be good (and useful) or bad (and stupid). Twitter is working itself out right now. Sometimes Twitter is a stupid means of hyper-individualism. But other times, Twitter is a great resource for instant communication. Twitter can be used well if people decide to do so. Everything can either be good or bad, and that identity is always changeable.