Home
sign up| features / column |
 content by: editor |
 webslinky: cultural locators
This week, we know what you like. Although Google and other search engines are invaluable in your pursuit of information amongst the flotsam and jetsam, these applications often lack the judgment required for successful searching. At least when you’re hunting for something a little more esoteric. An alternative to the search engine comes in the form of a selection of programs that build up a database of influences and interests, so that when you type in a cultural name the “machine” can recommend other things you might like. Intriguing huh?Live Plasma is a wonderful Shockwave program where you tap in a film, actor, director, band or musician and up comes a load of influences on or by that artist. Tap in Bill Hicks for example and you can see a selection of folk both influenced by and an influence on the late comedian. The nearer the person to the centre of the map the larger the influence. Bored with your record collection? Then Gnoosic is a simple little thing that will suggest other stuff you might like by simply typing in three of your favourite songs/artists into the search engine. When you’ve got that detail up - apparently I would really enjoy the music of Fennesz - you can decide whether the choice is interesting or not. Click the map button and a plethora of similarly obscure bands come up that you can explore at your leisure, thus relieving you of your hard earned cash. There’s also a version for discovering new authors, Gnooks, which works on an identical premise. Last FM is a user-friendly programme that will list up to 100 groups that have some kind of link to your favourite act. The frightening thing about this alarmingly accurate little beast is that you realise that a lot of what you regard as your own tastes is just part of a larger pre-mapped out demographic that your computer is well aware of. Kartoo.com is an interesting little twist on the search engine in that it maps out your results instead of dryly listing them in the traditional manner. Click over one of the sites and a little précis comes up in a box allowing you to see the relevance of the recommended page. Other neat finding tools are also available at Kartoo.net. Lastly, Ishkur is great fun for electronic music fans because it brings sound into the equation, so you can hear interrelated genres of dance music that might pique your interest. The house music section is mind-boggling.
Richard Hector-Jones
 conversations
Read members' comments.
|
 |
related info
 useful linkswww.gnoosic.com www.gnooks.com www.last.fm www.kartoo.com www.kartoo.net www.ishkur.com/music
note: The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
see also
 webslinky #056i-cinema  webslinky #055science made fun  webslinky #054space  webslinky #053zombies  webslinky #052espionage  webslinkyarchive books  books and comics archive Author interviews and reviews from 2002 to 2008. art  art archive Watch artist interviews and see images from British exhibitions. |
send to a friend