Thursday Tips

[sluggobear]

Since
kingfuraday  has his "Friday Fav's," I figure I have to one-up him!

So, dear readers, welcome to the first installment of "Thursday Tips." Each week I'll try to think of something you might find useful. Until I can't think of any more.

Today's topic: how to share music when posting on LJ.  You want your friends to be able to preview a song, but you don't want to require them to purchase it.

There are several ways to do this. Let's review three options.

(The steps I include are kinda rough, so you may need to adjust accordingly!)

Free Napster. Yes, it really is free, and this is my favorite option.  You (or your friends) can listen to an entire track, up to three times, legally. It's not high quality (unless you pay for a monthly subscription.) But it will let you share your favorite music easily. Your friends don't need any special software.  But Napster will sometimes ask them to register for a free account.  To link to music in your LJ entry:

1. Go to free.napster.com.
2. In the search box, enter the artist. (Or, use the drop-down box to select a search by album or track name.)
3. Napster will offer you search results. Choose the one that matches what you're looking for. Click the Play button to preview the song.
4. Click the Share button to get a link for your LJ post.
5. Select the "HTML" option (this is your best bet for posting online; the other option is handy for IM's and e-mail.)
6. A snippet of HTML code will appear, and will be highlighted for you. Right-mouse-click the code and select "Copy."
7. Create your LJ post. Select LiveJournal's HTML mode. Move your cursor where you want to add the link. Right-mouse-click and select "Paste." Voila!
   
   The Napster link will look something like this:
   
   Mexican Wine

iTunes. You can give your friends a free, high-quality, 30-second sample of any track available on iTunes.  Your friends will need to have iTunes installed on their system to work.  To do this:

1. Open iTunes on your system.
2. Search for the song you want.
3. Right-mouse-click the listing for the song, and select "Copy iTunes Store URL" (or similar.)
   
4. Create your LJ post.
5. Type the name of the song, then highlight it with your mouse.
6. Use LiveJournal's hyperlink icon to make a link.  Right-mouse-click and select "Paste." Woot!
   
   The iTunes link will look something like this:
   The Boy is Mine

Project Playlist.  I just found this from my sister,
cooling1018.  Sometimes, songs are just posted on the Internet.  You can scavenge for them using this handy website.  To use it:

1. Go to website www.projectplaylist.com.
2. Search for the song you want.
3. If results are found, press the Play button to preview.
4. Highlight the full link (in green) with your mouse, then right-mouse-click and select "Copy."
   
5. Create your LJ post.
6. Type the name of the song, then highlight it with your mouse.
7. Use the hyperlink icon to make a link.  Right-mouse-click and select "Paste." Squee!
   
   The link will look something like this:
   Kyle's Mom is a Bitch

There are certainly other ways to accomplish this, but these are my favorites.