While writing last month’s newsletter I went looking for old archives of music from my old band lateforbingo and came across possibly the last of the internet presence we had left… our CBC Artist page. It made me realize… I don’t remember the last time I actually updated my Nicola Linde CBC Artist page. I’m happy to say I’ve updated my band profile on CBC, so now you can stream my tracks on their site.
As artists there are so many mediums for us to get our music out, it’s hard to keep track sometimes. Does anyone remember MySpace? Yeah, seems like it’s a thing of the past, but at one time it was quite the to-do! When I first started playing music as a singer-songwriter, MySpace wasn’t even a thing yet. No one had a top 8… we had friends we called on the phone and met in person for a pint or a cup of coffee. Shows were advertised by flyers we gave to our friends… (am I dating myself here?!?)
As the years went on, social media became the norm, and as an artist I’m thankful for the invention. As much as I do get sucked into the abyss of the interwebs, I have also made some amazing connections over the years through social media platforms, and made friends with people I would have had no other way of meeting online or in real life. So, let’s talk social media:
MySpace:
For me MySpace was the beginning of it all. I still have my account, though I can’t remember the last time I logged in… Okay, I lied. I just tried logging in to see if I could embed a video from a 2005 all-ages (full band) show at the Victoria Event Centre (opening for theset) and it appears all/most of my content didn’t make the transition over to the new MySpace, from “Classic” and it’s no longer online. Through computers dying and backups being lost, I no longer have the original footage of the show. I guess that video is now a thing of the past (sad!). It was the only reason why I kept my MySpace profile all these years!
Facebook:
For me, Facebook came in the few years after MySpace and this is where I could easily disappear for days… I have made so many friends through Facebook, and it’s even how I was able to (re)connect with my now-Fiancé, Dave Hannon, after a one-time meeting at a Jeff Campbell concert in Seattle, WA. This is truly one of the easiest and fastest ways to get ahold of me, via my Facebook Page.
Reverbnation:
I’m pretty sure I got into Reverbnation through Facebook, back when it was an app through my Facebook account. I lost my password for a while and the account went dormant. However, I have recently logged in and updated some of the info. I plan to keep this account active to the best of my ability.
Twitter:
Then along came Twitter. Being someone who refused to have a smartphone until 2014, Twitter was a bit of a lost cause on me, as I never understood the whole character limit thing… but I did learn early in the game that as a singer-songwriter, as soon as a new social media is unveiled, I should sign up for it and claim my name as the handle, even if it means squatting on my name for a while before actually putting the account to use. I feel like this is what I did with Twitter. I am still active on my Twitter account, but it’s never been something I’ve really delved into. Most of my tweets are reposts from Facebook, but if you shoot me a message, I will certainly check it. I may even like or re-tweet a few things from time to time.
Instagram:
My Instagram account is less of a “business” thing and more of an insight into my personal life. Most of my Instagram account is flooded with pictures of scenery, travelling, or my cat (she really is the BEST furbaby). Follow at your own risk. You may be subjected to a lot of pictures of a fluffy, adorable, senior cat.
YouTube:
Somewhere in the midst of all this, I opened a YouTube account (probably soon after Facebook). YouTube is another one of those lost-for-days mediums where clicking one link takes me down a wormhole. I love it for this reason and so many others. I am posting a new video to YouTube every month as part of my 2018 newsletter project. Feel free to share anything you see!
Speaking of my monthly video, here is a video of my song “Be Something” from my EP Release party last June at Gorgeous Coffee. This song is a bit of a commentary on how we all tend to want to put our best foot forward on social media…
Hope to catch up with you online soon!
~Nicola
