RockMe.?
Sections Included In This Post:
-What is RockMe.?
-What is Me.dium?
-How do I participate in RockMe.?
-How do I locate the Event URL and "Official Event Chat?"
-How do I use Me.dium?
What is RockMe.?
RockMe., hosted by Rose Hill Drive, is a five-day online music festival taking place September 18 – 22. RockMe. brings together five kick-ass rock bands, including Rose Hill Drive, The Fiery Furnaces, Jeffrey Lewis, Gosling, and The Willowz, to meet and interact with their fans in a unique online social setting. In essence, RockMe. will be the first-ever Online Mosh Pit! RockMe. features live streaming music, Powered by Ustream.tv, live tours and discussions with fans led by the artists and several guest hosts, and first looks at unique "World-Premier" content. To participate in RockMe., you'll need to download Me.dium (please see the section below titled, "What is Me.dium?).
What is Me.dium?
Me.dium is a free Web browser add-on that enables users to surf the Web with their friends, discover new music and other sites, while connecting with other users who share similar interests. Me.dium is an entirely new form of online community – but one that's not tied to any specific social network... Wherever those people are on the interweb, and whatever they are doing right now, I can see them and they can see me. We're as one - music lovers live and connected.
Check out the Me.dium widget below. This is the Me.dium map. With Me.dium you can surf the web with your pals - you're able to see where your friends are and what sites their checking out, while chatting with them in real time.
How do I participate in RockMe.?
As I hinted at before, you'll need to download Me.dium to participate in RockMe. In a nutshell, Me.dium is an add-on for your web browser that allows you to see the hidden world of people and activity behind the internet. Basically, Me.dium allows you to surf the web with your buddies while chatting with them in real time. For more info on what Me.dium is, please see the section above titled, "What is Me.dium?"
To participate in RockMe., check the daily schedule for a list of activities and event times. During the week of RockMe. (September 18-22), you will be able to select each event to receive more information. When you select an event, you will be redirected to my daily RockMe. blog that will detail the day's events.
For each event there are 2 components: the event URL, and the "Official Event Chat" located in the Me.dium sidebar. Each event will start at a predetermined URL at the assigned time. To participate in the event, you will need to go to the event URL at the assigned time. You will also need to join the "Official Event Chat," which can be found in the Me.dium Sidebar.
How do I find the Event URL and "Official Event Chat?"
The event URL will be posted in my daily blog (http://dudeofmusic.vox.com) on the day of the event during RockMe.
The "Official Event Chat" for each event can be found on the main
message board in the Me.dium sidebar. The main message board in the
Me.dium sidebar is located on the left hand side of the sidebar,
beneath the "map" of the internet. To locate the "Official Event
Chat," select the main message board tab located on the left hand side
of the Me.dium sidebar. Go to the Event URL, and the "Official Event
Chat" will appear on your main message board. To enter the "Official
Event Chat," select "Reply..." Welcome to the "Official Event
Chat."
If you encounter any issues in locating the "Official Event Chat," then
send me a message on Me.dium. My Me.dium
user name is dudeofmusic.
How do I use Me.dium?
There are a couple of main components to Me.dium:
- Privacy Controls
- Your Map
- The Main Shoutout Board
- Private Conversations
- Your Friends Tab
- Making Friends
- How to surf with everyone else.
Your privacy controls are located at the top right corner of your sidebar. If you look at the top right corner of your sidebar, you'll see a little orange dude with your username right next to it. Scroll over your username and you're privacy controls will drop down.
You have three privacy settings. The first is "Visible to All" - this means that your icon and username will be visible to all Me.dium users, both friends and other users. The next setting is "Visible to Friends" - if you select this setting then you'll only be visible to your friends. The last setting is "Visible to No One" - with this setting you're icon will be blue on other Me.dium users' maps and your name will not be displayed.
Your Map:
Your map displays websites that are similar to the sites that you're looking at. This is based on the URL's relevance to you site, along with several other factors including: where your friends are online, where other Me.dium users are, what sites you generally visit in relation to which sites other Me.dium users visit, and a bunch of other stuff. Basically your map helps you discover cool stuff to check out on Me.dium. As you surf to different sites, your map will constantly update itself to display the most relevant sites.
There are several components to your map. The first are the other Me.dium users who appear in your map. These users will be one of two different colors, blue or yellow. Yellow dudes are your friends, blue dudes are people you haven't met yet. There are two different types of blue dudes: blue dudes that display their usernames, and blue dudes that don't. Blue dudes that display their usernames have their privacy setting set to "Visible to All." These are usually really friendly people, so start a chat with them and make a new friend.
To start a chat with another user from your map, scroll over the site icon (the little icon on your map that represents that particular URL). An info box will expand detailing the full site URL, as well as which users are checking out that site. The number of users checking out the site will be broken down by Friends (yellow dudes) and Random Peeps (blue dudes). If the user has their privacy controls set to "Visible to All," then you'll be able to check out their Me.dium picture and put a face to a name. Like what you see? To talk to that user just select the "chat" tab to the right of their username. You have just started a private chat with this Me.dium user.
The Main Shoutout Board:
We've just discussed one way to start a private chat with other Me.dium users. Now let's check out the main shoutout board on your Me.dium sidebar. The main shoutout board is located below your map, on the left hand side of your Me.dium sidebar. Your main shoutout board will change to to coincide with your web surfing. As you check out different sites, the shoutout board will bring up chats that are relevant to the sites that you're looking at.
On the main shoutout board there are three different messages that will appear. The first is Me.dium News - this details new Me.dium updates, contests, and blog postings. Your Me.dium News will always be located at the top of your main shoutout board.
The second type of chat is an OFFICIAL CHAT. Official Chats will be linked to an event taking place within in Me.dium. These are key to participating in RockMe. To participate in events during RockMe., you have to enter into the OFFICIAL EVENT CHATS. To find the Official Event Chat for a certain event, go the event URL (detailed in my blog, or the RockMe. schedule). Once you're at the event URL, the OFFICIAL CHAT (that is linked to that event) will appear on your main shoutout board in your Me.dium sidebar. To enter in to an Official Chat select the "open" tab located at the right corner of the message box.
The third type of messages on your main shoutout board are chats started by other Me.dium users. As Me.dium is a tool for surfing the net with your buddies, often times you'll want to share what you find with other Me.dium users. To share a site that you've found with the Me.dium world, go to the URL you wish to share, and type a message into the text box located at the bottom of your Me.dium sidebar. You don't have to include the URL of the site you want to share. Just type your message from the site you want to share and post the message. The URL will automatically be stamped into the message and anyone can get to the site by selecting the site name, or URL. You can respond to any message posted on the main shoutout board by selecting "Open."
Private Chats:
We've discussed how to join public chats on the main shoutout board. You can also have a private chat with other Me.dium users. To do this scroll over their Me.dium username and select chat. This will work in any situation - from your friends tab, to your map, to starting a private chat with a user within a public chat. A separate window will pop-up and that's your private chat. You can also invite other friends into your chat. Just select the "Add to Chat" tab and a list of your friends will appear that you can scroll through. Select the friends you want to chat with and they will be listed as "entering" into the chat.
Your Friends Tab:
This is located on the right hand side of your Me.dium sidebar. You can access it two different ways. The first is from the main shoutout board or a private chat. To do this, scroll over the icons on the right side of your sidebar. These are icons represent the various sites that your friends are checking out. Each icon corresponds to a site that your buddy is at. If you scroll over one of the icons, your friends profile will appear, detailing who they are, and what site they're at. From this view you can do several things: you can go to the site that they are checking out by selecting the icon; you can start a private chat with them by selecting "Chat"; you can view their profile by selecting "Read About Me."
The second method for accessing your friends tab is by selecting the tab (rather than hovering over the tab with your mouse as in the previous method). When you select your friends tab, a list of your friends appears. You can scroll through this list: the friends at the top are your friends who are currently online and active. The next tier of friends are friends who are online but idle. And the third tier of friends are friends who are offline.
Making Friends:
You can add other Me.dium users by selecting the "add" tab on your friends list. Once you've selecting the "add" tab, enter in the username of the Me.dium user that you want to be friends with. A friend invite will be sent to that Me.dium user.
You can also make friends while in both public and private chats. To do this, just scroll over the username of the Me.dium user you want to add as a friend. When you do this in a chat you will have the option of adding the user as a friend. To do this select "add as friend."
How To Surf With Everyone Else:
Using all of the features described in detail above will make you a master of the Me.dium world. You will be able to surf with ease. Your browsing will never be the same. Again, to share a site with someone while in either a public or private chat, just type something like "Check this out" from the URL you wish to share. And your done. People can check out the site you've shared by selecting the URL link that was automatically posted in your chat.
Please be considerate to other Me.dium users. Please don't spam them, and please try to use appropriate language so you don't offend other users.
This post is a work in progress, so please pardon my dust. Please check back for updates.
See you on Me.dium,
The Dude
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