Saturday, September 7, 2013

This Is My Jam

With the current array of social media options there are, it can be difficult accept a new one. Oftentimes, however, new social media outlets become grandiose, huge, massively entertaining parts of lives. (Like, I d'know, Twitter...) If you would lend your ear for a few moments, I would like to present a new contender that has quickly found a place in my life. 

This Is My Jam.

Let's talk a little bit about it, so you have a feel before you go clicking links. This Is My Jam is a music sharing site that allows users to share their current "jam;" you know, that song that's stuck in your head and you've been humming for the past few hours. A jam stays active for up to seven days (or until you change it). During that time, people can listen to, like, and "rejam" your jam. At the end of that seven days, if you haven't set a new one already, your jam expires and you will be prompted to select a new jam. 

Once a jam expires or is changed, it is listed at the bottom of your profile (or jam) page with the rest of your past jams. From there people will be able to view every jam you've previously posted, including the source link to the music. (This Is My Jam uses source websites like YouTube and Hype Machine for their music.) That way if, say, you really like one of your friend's jams, you can listen to it even after they change it. 

Eternal jams allow you to (in a way) get around the expiration date: if you have an eternal jam, when your current song's seven days run up you're eternal jam will be put in its place until you return to update your profile with a new song. Picking an eternal jam is easy; simply select one of your previous jams in the drop-down bar at the bottom of the page. There it will stay (advertised as your eternal jam) until it is needed again. 

There are also some really fun playlist options. You can play all the jams from people you follow; a custom playlist tailored by your friends can be entertaining. There's an option to play all the jams you've liked; so you know what you're getting into, and familiarity is always nice. And finally there's a playlist that's created from suggested people for you; This Is My Jam suggests people for you to follow based on musical similarities and mutual followers, and you can listen to all their stuff in one go. 

All in all, this site is an amazing way to share music with your friends and find new tunes to rock to. With an ever-changing playlist and any number of genres, This Is My Jam is one of my favorite social media discoveries (right behind Twitter, of course). I've been hanging there for a while, and if you want you can pop by here to check out my jams. I encourage you to check this place out, and maybe even try it for yourself. You can link it with Twitter or Facebook, even make a separate account just for TIMJ. Whatever you do, I hope to see you there and hear some of your jams.