Jacob Voncannon

Empty Space. 

That is what I feel this page has been for so long. About two years ago I set out to let my opinions flow on the web, only to discourage myself from writing. I started to think that my opinion was just like everyone else’s. Well, that just ain’t true. Jacob has a very unique flavor. (kind of like one of those food trucks that combine things that aren’t suposed to work) 

This blog will not have a theme, reason, or particular purposes, except to allow me to just write my thoughts. With that said, I’ll probably be posting a lot about cultural problems, tech, marketing, and social media.

Right now I realize that I don’t even have a banner to go on top of this tumblr, so I will leave it be until I get a good WordPress site going.  (hopefully soon).  

2011 is the year that the TV gets connected to the internet. Well, for the mainstream that is.

Many consumers that are early adapters have had their computers connected to their TVs for a long time and have had the use of the internet on the big screen for quite some time. 2009-2010 saw the blue-ray player and new TVs get basic functionality internet functionality come to the living room. Now we are seeing the big players of Apple, Google, and smaller players like ROKU, and Boxee create a full internet experience by creating ways for consumers to access all the rich media the internet has to offer.

Though, what I have found is that the product that takes the cake isn’t any of the companies or devices I have listed above. Surprised? So was I.   

After trying all of the devices above, I was not pleased with the amount of content that the different devices had to offer. Everyone seemed to be missing something.

Boxee had a lot of apps, but it seemed as if the apps worked poorly and wasn’t nearly as responsive as great interface it has.  
ROKU has limited local content accessibility. The Apple TV is in a since, just like every other Apple device. You can only use it with other apple products. Google TV cannot negotiate content deals the likes of NBC, ABC, ect so as of right now, their content is blocked. Connecting your computer to the internet creates a bulky experience.

So who is the winner? The Xbox 360. Wasn’t expecting that? Neither was I.

There are a lot of secrets to the Xbox 360 that most people who are not owners would not know. Beyond the basics of using Windows media center, the games that you can play on it, and the Xbox Live service, the guys over at Microsoft have done a great job of adding other features and building a snappy UI with little lag. New features listed below:

1. Microsoft just made a deal with Disney to get live and on demand ESPN content on the Xbox 360 for Xbox Live Subscribers

2. Access to music services like Last.FM

3. Ability to use the Zune Marketplace to rent newly released DVDs

4. Access to companies like Netflix, Vevo, Pandora, and soon Hulu. 

5. Ability to watch movies and videos with other people through xbox live. 

These are a few of the newest features available. With the elimination of a remote with Kinect and the rumor of a tv subscription service coming soon. Your next buy for a media center might just need to be an Xbox 360. No service is perfect, but it seems that Microsoft is positioning itself to try and become the leader in the category. 

Thoughts? Comments?    

I decided to take a photography class at school this past year and, it has really helped me to hone some of my skills with a camera. I put a small portfolio of my work up online today and you can view it here. A class like this helped me to relax while I was taking rigorous classes like Corporate Finance and Operations Management. Let me know if you like my work, or if you want any photos done.

http://jrvoncannon.pullfolio.com/

“We preach God’s transformative power through the Word and the gospel; shouldn’t the music be just as powerful?”

This is a Great blog post from The Gospel Coalition about a church called The Line, where they put an emphasis on art as a primary part of their church, and spreading the gospel.  

……………………………………………………………………………….

It’s Sunday morning. Jon Guerra is leading worship at The Line, as he does every Sunday. But he is not a music pastor. At The Line, an Acts 29 church plant in Lincoln Park, they do things differently; Guerra is their artist-in-residence.

The Line was planted in 2009, and the artist-in-residence program began shortly thereafter. It was a product of two uniquely gifted people—Jon Guerra and Aaron Youngren, The Line’s lead pastor—coming together under a unified determination to tear down the walls between church art and city art so that music can freely flow between the venues.

Read the rest of the post here.

This is a great video from Mark Zuckerberg talking about the future of Facebook. Gives great insight into a person and his company that is more than a hollywood movie. This helps to see who Mark really is, and what he thinks about the future of social.   

I have a theory about car stereos, well at least mine. 

I have a three tiered system right now in my music consumption life: 

1. Rhapsody

2. Itunes

3. Car Stereo

It could drastically change when I get an internet connection in my car, but until that point I reserve 6 spaces in my car for music I’m really into. Here’s the top 6 that have been listening to over the summer. I put links to check out their music under each album cover. Enjoy!  

#6 Future Of Forestry - Travel III EP

http://www.myspace.com/futureofforestry

#5 Florence And The Machine - Lungs

http://www.myspace.com/florenceandthemachine

#4 NEEDTOBREATHE - The Outsiders

http://www.myspace.com/needtobreathe

#3 House of Heroes - Suburba

http://www.myspace.com/houseofheroes

Two Door Cinema Club - Come Back Home

http://www.myspace.com/twodoorcinemaclub

Paper Tongues - Paper Tongues 

http://www.myspace.com/papertongues

August is here, and in Waco it is a scorcher! Right now I am gearing up for my final year of undergrad college. Phew! its going to be a big one! 

I originally meant to start this blog when I was in Nashville this summer, chronicling some of my experiences there. Well…it didn’t happen… SO I will be using now while I’m at school this year.

This year I am playing a big part in Baylor’s M&E Program as the GM of Uproar Music and Entertainment Group, where I will be managing 20-30 college students in a small business we run out of our program. You’ll be hearing more about that in posts later. In the meantime check out our website One of the big events were promoting through Uproar right now is Wac’d Out!: Waco’s Back to School Music Bash. The bands SPEAKand Bright Light Social Hour will be headling. Check it out! 

I’ll be updating this a few times a week with info on whats going on in Music Tech, Uproar, and new music!

-Jacob 

James Blake - CMYK 

If you enjoy electronica with some good experimental indie beats and sampling, you’ll dig James Blake  

At 12PM Central Time Steve Jobs will get on stage at the biggest Apple fanboy event, WWDC. 

We are all expecting him to get up and introduce the newest iPhone and make announcements dealing with the new OS for the older phones, but the million dollar question is what else will he announce?  

With Apple’s acquisition of music streaming service, Lala, and its eventual shutdown on May 30th, I would like to think that he will either announce an all-you-can eat streaming model, or iTunes in the cloud. I lean more towards the iTunes in the cloud because they don’t want to cannibalize their al a carte song business model.

With players like Rhapsody, MOG, and most recently Rdio entering the streaming mobile market, Apple would be foolish not to capitalize on some type of cloud computing model. Within six months it looks like european streaming giant, Spotify might have a US launch, and if done properly would be a huge problem for Apple if they don’t have a music cloud offering by then. 

This will be a trend that will continue to grow: More people not buying ownership to songs, but buying unlimited access to an enormous catalog of music. 

You can watch live coverage at 12PM from engadget here:

http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/07/steve-jobs-live-from-wwdc-2010/    

As a young person I am developing my personal brand online. Are you? With Social Networking becoming more relevant and integrated into our lives every day, we have to be conscious of the content that we post and other post about us. You want to have an online strategy on how to actively create an image that aligns yourself with character traits, interests, and career goals you are pursuing.   

A lot of talk has been going on in the past few weeks over privacy settings at Facebook and other major social networking platforms, and it is important that you pay close attention to what you allow the general public see of your life. Over the next week I will do a three series post on how to clean up your image, actively promote your brand, and create great opportunities for yourself online.

To get you started, here is a study from Pew Internet & American Life Project about internet privacy: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100527/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_online_reputation