Are you an artist who likes giving downloads away for free but would like something (besides money) in return from your fans? What if you could exchange a social interaction which helps market your music such as a tweet on Twitter or share on Facebook for the download? This idea of “social currency” is not new, but we’ve made it very easy to do with a new open-source app call SoundCloud-Social-Download.

The app automagically rolls together interactions from four of the biggest social networks (tweet on Twitter, share on Facebook, update on MySpace, & Digg… on Digg) and throws in Email capture for good measure to make the ultimate “social for download” campaign. Once a user completes one of the required interactions, they are served up a secure download straight from your SoundCloud account.

Here’s a short screencast about how the app works:

And here’s some examples of the app in the wild:

• alainjohannes.heroku.com
• playingmyheart.heroku.com
• love-amongst-ruin.heroku.com
• armageddoncomealive.com

The code is available (and completely free to use, change, etc) on the SoundCloud github. From there you’ll also find step-by-step documentation, walking you through setup, configuration, customization, and deployment. Let us know what you think and please drop us a line if you use the app. If you’re having technical issues, please submit your problem here.

Stay tuned for more open-source apps coming soon…

Did someone say Check in for Download?

P.S. If you’re a developer who is comfortable deploying these open-source apps, we’ve got a ton of SoundCloud artists who could use the help and wouldn’t mind paying for it. Let me know @LeeMartin

 

 

 

A new Twitter setting called “Tweet Media” has rolled out to Twitter’s users, strongly suggesting that the company will soon embed videos and photos into the stream.

Tweet Media, which the Mashable team and others have been able to access under Twitter’s account settings, asks you whether or not you want to show photos and videos from everyone. It also comes with the following description of the setting:

“By default, you’ll only see images and videos shared by people you’re following, and reveal those by people you’re not. Check this box to see media from everyone on Twitter.”

It seems clear now that Twitter is about to add multimedia in the Twitter.com stream, which could radically change the entire Twitter experience. It doesn’t seem like the feature is active currently though, even if you activate Tweet Media in your settings.

We’ve reached out to Twitter for comment.

Slightly Stoopid and Cypress Hill are hitting the road together across the US this summer on the Legalize It 2010 Tour.  To spread the word, we want you to “pass the joint” to your friends – when you do, you get the exclusive Cypress track “Rise Like Smoke” and “Running With a Gun” (Live) from Slightly Stoopid! 

To pass the joint simply visit passthejoint2010.com, click on the Facebook or Twitter button to re-post a short message, then click on the download icon to begin download.  

 

Despite the bungled launch and short hiatus, Twitter Places is back in action. The feature has huge implications for the geo-location space and the location-sharing movement.

Places is a big improvement on Twitter’s () previous geo-location offering, which was never widely adopted or embraced by the majority of users. Whereas before users had to adjust their settings and agree to posting every single tweet with their geo-coordinates, now Twitterers are presented with an elegant way to attach a place to their tweet, one tweet at a time.

Right now Places is a Twitter web and mobile experience only, but soon developers will integrate the Places API into their applications and services. Only then will we see Twitter Places reach its full potential. If Twitter can fix the issues crippling the service, then Places has the power to turn location-sharing into a mainstream behavior and significantly boost interest in applications like Foursquare () — not to mention the monetization potential of location-based ads.

Interesting. I agree though and don't think that Foursquare is going anywhere. A friend of mine who works over at The Viper Room (@BerkoRules) said that those little badges cost $15K/ MONTH to maintain, that they have 3 months backlog, and that they aren't accepting any new badge applications at the moment. They were looking into them I believe for the Sunset Strip Music Festival.

(Reuters) - Brands that use microblogging sites like Twitter to provide real-time responses to the public are winning a higher degree of trust from consumers, according to a study by a leading public relations firm.

 

Some 75 percent of people surveyed said they view companies that microblog -- sending short, frequent messages on sites like Twitter or status updates on social networks like Facebook -- as more deserving of their trust than those that do not, according to a survey by Fleishman-Hillard, conducted with market research firm Harris Interactive.

Slightly Stoopid's Legalize It 2010 summer tour kicked off this past weekend in Jacksonville, OR with Steel Pulse and The Expendables. As some of you Stoopidheads may remember from last year's Blazed & Confused Tour, Slightly Stoopid had a Chameleon Glass custom pipe giveaway for each tour stop. The day before each show we would announce the location(s) of these stashed pipes and the first fan(s) to arrive at the secret destination with the password received the goods. Well, it's back for the Legalize It tour and we've begun announcing the locations of these promo pipe packs.

 

The first fans at each location to show up and say the password "LEGALIZE IT!!!" will win 1 of the promo packs:

 

Location #1: Puff's Smoke Shop (1 pipe left)

1908 Ashland St, Ashland, OR 97520

 

Location #2: Still Smokin' (2 pipes left)

5261 University Way, Seattle, WA 98105

 

Location #3: Puffin Glass Studios

12023 E Sprague Ave Spokane, WA 99207

 

Location #4: Piece of Mind

123 West Main St, Missoula, MT 59802

Slightly Stoopid's Legalize It 2010 summer tour is kicking off tonight in Jacksonville, OR with Steel Pulse and The Expendables. As some of you Stoopidheads may remember from last year's Blazed & Confused Tour, Slightly Stoopid had a Chameleon Glass custom pipe giveaway for each tour stop. The day before each show we would announce the location(s) of these stashed pipes and the first fan(s) to arrive at the secret destination with the password received the goods. Well, it's back and today we are announcing the locations of four (4) hidden pipes.

 

The first fans at each location to show up and say the password "LEGALIZE IT!!!" will win 1 of the promo packs:

 

Location #1: Puff's Smoke Shop

1908 Ashland St, Ashland, OR 97520

 

Location #2: Still Smokin'

5261 University Way, Seattle, WA 98105

More of my super powers in action :)