Uh-Oh, Uh-Oh: Here Tweets the Hammer

For a few weeks now, I’ve been looking for any excuse to mention the Stop! Hammertime! Firefox add-on. After all, he may not be burning up the charts today, but MC Hammer dominated the early 90s. While they may not admit it, anyone who was between the ages of 10 and 20 in 1990 owned a copy of Please Hammer, Don’t Hurt ‘Em. Many a fiery school-bus debate was sparked by the simple question: “Who’s the better dancer — MC Hammer or Michael Jackson?”

Lo and behold, today I learn Hammer is far more tech-savvy than I could ever have imagined, giving me more than enough reason to link to the aforementioned Firefox extension. His skills aren’t limited to dancing and sampling old Rick James tunes. He’s on Twitter. In fact, it was via a Hammer Tweet that a member of the Destructoid Gamer Community learned the baggy-panted one may have a new video game up his sleeve.

I, for one, wish him nothing but the best. It’s fun to chuckle about his long-gone fashion statements and pop-radio-friendly singles, but he seems like a stand-up guy. Plus, a part of me always respected his willingness to make fun of himself, even if it was to help pay all of those ridiculous bills.

So, here’s to Hammer, his Tweets and his top-secret project with Activision. If a Hammer game is truly in the offing, let’s hope it’s in the tradition of Guitar Hero and not this:

Indaba Music Powers Long Distance Jam Sessions

Today, there seems to be a social network for virtually every community. There’s flickr for photographers, last.fm for music buffs, and an untold number of niche networks that specialize in the most specific of subjects. (Who Stole My Monkey?, the social network for pug admirers, immediately comes to mind).

The primary goal of most all of these sites has been to connect people with common interests. As social networking evolves, however, new communities are emerging with an even bigger goal in mind: collaboration.

One such site, IndabaMusic, seeks to empower musicians, vocalists, studio engineers, producers and a plethora of other music industry types by allowing them to work together on projects — effectively crumblin’ down the walls* once presented by distance and cost. It’s billed as “part social network, part web application,” and though still in its beta phase, it’s registered musicians in more than 150 countries around the globe.

As a truly amateur guitarist, it’s not likely I’ll ever have anything to offer the Indaba community, but should I pen the next “Stairway to Heaven” in a moment of unbridled brilliance, it’s good to know Indaba is an option.

Check out Discovery Networks’ recent profile on Indaba for the scoop:

 

*Hat Tip: John Cougar Mellencamp