This blog is not perfect

This is a blog. Blogs are for writing. I like to write. There are many things I want to write about. So why, then, do I not write more often?

The possible answers to this question are many. Sometimes I don't feel like writing. Sometimes the things I want to write about are too personal for this blog. Sometimes maybe I just think something is too personal, when the reality is that I should share it. Then there's time--I don't have much of it free, and expressing myself quickly via my tumblelog or Twitter frequently steals my attention from the more time-consuming task of writing a full blog post, though those venues don't provide the same satisfying feeling of having created something enduring (aside from relationships on Twitter, but that's a different blog post).

Those are all explanations that play some part in my blog delinquency. However, I think the biggest factor, much of the time, is fear. Fear that my topic of choice won't be interesting. Fear that I won't cover a topic thoroughly. Fear that I'll write too much. Fear that no one will read what I write. Fear that too many will read what I write. Fear of what others will think of what I've written, or of me. Fear that I won't be able to devote the time, attention, or concern to a given topic to make the post everything that I want it to be, and everything that everyone else wants it to be. Ultimately, it's a fear of not being perfect.

It's this fear of failure, this drive for perfection that seems to be a recurring hindrance in my life. Even at this moment, despite the previous paragraphs typed quickly in a few moments of inspiration, I'm starting to hesitate as I think of all the areas on which I could touch while writing about this subject, and all the fears I've already listed are surfacing. Don't get me wrong—striving for perfection can be an excellent approach to just about anything, but only when it is applied in balance with other considerations.

There is much more to say on the topic of fear as it relates to our daily lives, our choices, and our futures. Rather than spend time and energy that I don't have at the moment trying to touch on as many facets as I can think of, I will instead let this post serve as the introduction to a series of shorter articles to be written in coming days, if I don't chicken out.

Ferrets!

Just a small taste of the hilarity that is my brother and sister-in-law's ferrets. The video could probably use same zany animals-being-funny music, but I don't have time to find any.

Last.fm—freeing the music

The Internet radio site Last.fm announced last week that songs and albums may now be played on demand for free. Until now, most songs could only be played in their entirety when they were part of a randomized playlist. According to the Last.fm blog:

Something we’ve wanted for years—for people who visit Last.fm to be able to play any track for free—is now possible. With the support of the folks behind EMI, Sony BMG, Universal and Warner—and the artists they work with—plus thousands of independent artists and labels, we’ve made the biggest legal collection of music available to play online for free, the way we believe it should be.

That they have the support of these large music labels is amazing. The fact that Last.fm is owned by CBS probably helps, but even still, this is indicative of changing winds in the music industry, and the entertainment industries in general. It's nice to see these companies starting to take steps into the modern age—even a few months ago it seemed that they never would.

Another exciting aspect of Last.fm's expanding service is that they will be paying artists directly for songs that are played—including independent artists.

We already have licenses with the various royalty collection societies, but now unsigned artists can put their music on Last.fm and be paid directly for every song played. This helps to level the playing-field—now you can make music, upload it to Last.fm and earn money for each play. If you make music, you can sign up to participate for free.

For now, full-length tracks are only available in the US, UK, and Germany, though they are working on expansion. According to Last.fm, during this initial beta period you can only play songs for free up to three times before being told about an upcoming subscription service that will allow unlimited plays.

A tech-supportish note: for now, you can only play full songs in the browser, as opposed to playing them through the Last.fm software. If you currently have the site configured to play samples in the software, you'll have to change that setting in order to play full songs in the browser.

For more details, check out the full post in the Last.fm blog.