The www.gigdoggy.com beta launch

Hello music lovers and gigdoggy dwellers!

First off I apologize for not having been very active on the gigdoggy front lately as time was of the essence with the launch of gigdoggy.com’s gig platform we’ve been working on.

We announced it ever so discretely these past few weeks that I’m guessing most of you don’t even know what I’m talking about – well to cut to the chase, www.gigdoggy.com is finally in beta stage and should help bands manage and centralize their gig logistics in a social and collaborative environment. Sorry for this hefty buzz-worded catch phrase but it describes the Gigdoggy platform quite well.

Before going into the details of the site let me just add that www.gigdoggy.com is in invite-only beta for now. We don’t want to rush things in order to get the right amount of feedback from the right amount of users. Added to that is the fact that we wish to grow organically to be able to scale the website smoothly. That being said all bands are welcome to request an invite – and any invited bands can send invites to any other bands of their choice.

So, how does the gigdoggy platform work?

Bands have always collaborated for the purpose of helping each other out. Whether it be to expand their fan-base, get access to a specific venue, lend a hand on a tour or a gig, or simply put on a great multi-band show, sharing gigs or collaborating on events is a must for gigging artists. That’s why the core idea is to share and collaborate around gigs:

This is a view of some shared gigs in the system (all dummy test gigs)

Gig profiles constitute the central hub through which bands will communicate their gigging needs and manage their activities:

In the logistics tab of a gig's profile bands can discuss the gigging details on the left. All messages are regrouped in the activity tab

Every time you or another band enters information, asks a question or posts a comment on a gig,  the bands following this gig receive a notification, much like Twitter handles its twits. You can see the conversation on ‘Accommodation’ in the pic above refreshed in the ‘Activity’ tab’s screen-shot bellow (in the orange frame):

So in this 'Activity' tab you'll encounter all the conversations concerning your gig

Like Twitter, bands can ‘follow’ any users they want, and doing so adds that user to the band’s ‘Network’. Building your network basically helps you create contacts and follow-up on bands that constitute potential partners, or gig swappers, for future gigs.

Bands can view tour maps of other bands of their network to see where they are headed and eventually organize a gig during a tour.

Bands can import their MySpace gigs and share them in the gigdoggy system

You can also communicate with your network and follow-up on non-gig related requests or messages through the ‘Updates’ page:

A band's 'Update' Page

I think I’ve reviewed enough of our platform’s features for now. On the top right hand of the blog you’ll see a clickable banner that will take you to the site.

Greg is sharing the first gig on gigdoggy in Montreal! So to get an idea of how the system works you can check out his gig profile.

I would just like to mention that although we have put a lot of thought into this, we are completely open to any type of feedback we can get and will respond to each question, each demand, each suggestion users will send our way.

Our vision is still a work in progress. The only thing we ask of bands and artists who sign-up is to not hold back on their input, ideas, thoughts and concepts.

At the bottom of all pages you’ll encounter a feedback text box like the one you see bellow.

Use and abuse this text box as you see fit!

We thank you all for your support up to this day.

Mruff !

PS: concerning the blog – finally took care of that awful green font color and replaced with a soothing blue (admit you’re soothed. admit it!). Our doggy also has undergone a little make-over. We caught him oranged-pawed walking through through the blog. He was nervous with his new ‘GigBloggy’ denomination but has now accepted it and is currently waggin’ his tail and all.

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