The new del.icio.us design has been launched and it’s an amazing improvement. The same cannot be said of Facebook, whose new design looks as though it was farmed out to a high school computer class. True, the new tabbing system solves some layout problems, but it’s even more confused now than it was before. While Myspace might look like complete ass, at least they’re consistent.

While I am a steadfast Safari user, while on the topic of social apps I should also mention Flock, which is perhaps the world’s premier browser for integrating social applications. If you haven’t taken it for a spin, I highly suggest downloading it and giving it a whirl.

I thought it best to go through the various social networking applications that I use and clarify the status of each. As many of you know, I am a huge proponent of many social networking applications, especially as they apply to the creation of cohesive online communities. That said; having given some thought to my personal application of them to do with this website and fan participation, here’s a quick rundown on my thoughts regarding each.

Flickr

In my opinion flickr remains the best social networking application out there. True, its primary function is photographic, but unlike other applications it has caused me absolutely zero headaches, which would be why my page has remained unchanged for so long.

In truth, flickr is no different than Facebook. True, it lacks most of Facebook’s annoying interactive features, but at its base it is still an application that allows for the creation of a community and the ability to employ an internal messaging system. It’s design and usability is also beyond reproach.

If you have a flickr page, I have never had a problem adding others as friends. Just ensure that you check out my profile page first.

Facebook

I’ll not deny that I think Facebook neat. It is, in truth, simply a much better and well thought out version of Mysapce in many ways. But despite those positives that it offers, it also has a great deal of negatives.

The first is the recent decision to have users go online to see which of their friends is online. Thus, if you have thousands of friends, the vast majority of which you don’t actually know, you’re commonly bombarded by chat messages when you do go online. This places me in a very awkward position, as I feel it rude not to respond. At the same time, I simply cannot conduct chat conversations every time I am online with dozens of people simultaneously. Therefore, I commonly have to ignore people that are messaging me and that can cast me in a negative light to some.

Second, and this has become quite a serious problem, I have been fielding friend requests from people that have created fake accounts that then message me asking questions regarding my personal life. There have been a few problems with regards to online groups as well, so I wanted to make a statement about them.

Lastly, because I have employed Facebook as a fan oriented social networking application, I have never been able to use it to simply stay in touch with friends and family – which is what most people use it for. Thus, given the problems that I’ve had with it in the past, I’ve decided to use my Facebook page for personal reasons only. Again, I would kindly ask those that will be removed as friends in the days ahead to please take no offense. As many of you are aware, fans still have access to membership here at the website and on my flickr page, which I think is more than ample. You can also join my del.icio.us network as well.

I realize that my Facebook page was a great place to view photos from shows and video. In the weeks ahead we’ll add a link on the website to the flickr group that was created some time ago. If you have a flickr account you’re more than welcome to post photos and video to it.

Myspace

For some bizarre reason completely unknown to me, Myspace is somehow still alive. I have absolutely no idea why given its horrid functionality and absolutely abhorrent layout. Obviously the application’s most popular feature remains its audio features, which is probably the reason why it has survived this long, and is the only reason why I still have a page. In the future we’ll continue to update the audio content, but truth be told we pay little attention to the page’s other content.

del.icio.us

Of all the social networking applications that I use, deli.icio.us is, without question, my favorite. Obviously there are a whole host of similar applications out there, such as Digg and Technorati, but I have always preferred del.icio.us to all of them. I routinely update my bookmarks; so if you’re interested in joining my network, please feel free to do so.

This evening I decided to check out my Myspace page for the first time in a while and must apologize to the 36 pages of people that have been waiting for friend requests to be approved. In the future one of us will do our best to check it regularly.

That said, they really have to do something about it, because it’s horrendously designed and the functionality reminds me of Live Journal when it was first launched. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fantastic for getting music out there and connecting with people, but given the technology now available, and how much they make off of it, you’d think they could institute some serious changes.

Do yourself a favour - sign up for a Virb account.

This morning I came across a comment left on my Facebook page from a local independent artist in Vancouver named Tamara Nile (Myspace page). I decided to follow some links and came across some of her work and found myself putting the following song on repeat for a while. Check it out or download it.
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The first single from Hospital Music, ‘Born Losers’, is now available for streaming here on the website, on the MySpace ‘Hospital Facilities‘ page, and on Virb.

You can hear it here by going to the main page and clicking the link to it in the header, or through the Community page under the Media Player.

As you can see from the updated menu at the top of the page, there are a few new sections of the website and a new outbound link.

The site’s new pages include:

One that is solely dedicated to Hospital Music, and will feature news about its release and so forth.

The second is a page that is specifically dedicated to those entries we feel have been among the best and those that comprise a ‘series’. If you would like to nominate an entry for inclusion on this page, feel free to email us.

The new outbound link is to the newly created Myspace page, Hospital Facilities, created solely to promote Hospital Music. On it we will eventually feature material from the record, touring information, and so forth. For the time being it will feature Can’t Get Shot In The Back If You Don’t Run and will be updated with the first single as soon as it’s released.