You can’t escape your past

As you are all aware I am a big fan of Britain’s Got Talent but the one thing I can’t stand is when I see an act that I love who has a sob story and is portrayed as an amateur to only be exposed in the newspapers a few days for telling lies or misleading the public. Britain’s Got Talent is the only show to have suffered from this as it has happened in shows like X-Factor but at the moment it seems like a weekly occurrence on Britain’s Got Talent.

I understand the producers of the show have to make entertaining TV so the programme is edited together in a way to make us smile, laugh and cry but I don’t think the British public enjoy being mislead. To me I would much prefer the act to be honest and then give a great performance as there is no getting away from talent but doing it this way it tarnishes the performance. Now I can’t say if it is the reduction company or the act themselves are the ones misleading the public but you thought the producers would have learnt by now with all the previous scandals.

So far we have had an aspiring saxophonist who turned out to be an artist who was once signed to a record label and a singer who claimed never to have performed in front of a big crowd who has now turned out to have sung in a London theatre before and we are only three or four episodes in.

If you or I can find this stuff out on the internet and the press can you would think that the producers would research all the acts before they broadcast the show as it is filmed months in advance. It also begs the question on whether acts who have already achieved success should be allowed to audition or not?

With your own personal career development you need to be careful about what stuff gets posted about you on the internet as in the 21st century it is very hard to escape your past and something which you did ten years ago could be used against you today. In today’s world more and more employers are googling applicants names before they interview them. Our image is no longer just about how we carry ourselves in our day to day life, it is now also based on what pages come up when you google your name. Nowadays peoples first contact with you will come through searching your name so make sure you are giving off the right image. With people blogging and commenting on all of lives trivials points and with millions upon millions of photos ending up on Facebook from social events just keep this in your mind as it is very hard to escape your past.


Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"
”Shaking up the Youth of Today”

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

Google Street View

This week one subject which hasn’t been able to keep out of the headlines is Google Street View’s UK launch. After a successful launch in other countries like America now thanks to Google you can virtually wonder around some of the biggest cities in the UK. However in the UK its launch has been marred by criticism over the perceived invasion of privacy which this is causing many people to call for it to be shut down.

Now I’m not going to talk about the wrongs or the rights of Google’s latest idea but merely comment on the power of the Internet. Ten or so years ago Google was merely a web based search engine that was starting to build its fan base by providing better and quicker searches than its rivals but through one very basic and simple concept Google has now grown to one of the biggest companies on the net.

In a time of economic crisis it is great to see web companies and web based ideas really gaining attention and still making money. If Google believe in the old phrase that any publicity is good publicity then they will be rubbing their hands together but if nothing else the media backlash shows just how powerful they have become. I also find it interesting to see new company start ups on the net that offer new ideas and new concepts and how they can get the masses interacting with it.

To me the greatest thing about the Internet is that it offers anybody the chance to share a new idea with the world, to make a successful business and to make a name for themselves. I am sure we haven’t got the most out of the internet yet and can’t wait to see more people really pushing the boundaries of what you can achieve using the internet.

Who knows what the next internet craze will be, but if the next ten years are exciting as the last ten then the internet is going to be an exciting place to be.

What do you think about Google Street View? Have you found a good website lately or do you run your own online business? If so we would love to find out about them and you can share your views by going to our topic of the week:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=688

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"
”Shaking up the Youth of Today”

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

Facebook Fatigue

The last two years has seen an explosion of social networking activity on the Internet. With websites like MySpace, Bebo and Facebook attracting millions of users who log on each day to check their profiles, upload photos and talk with their friends.

Over recent weeks Facebook has reported in a downturn in activity on their website and it is lead to people claiming “Facebook Fatigue.” With so much hype about Facebook and so much to do on their websites with millions of applications that you can download or get invited to take part in people are now starting to get bored of their product or are starting to use it in a less active way.

I think social networking has its good points and its bad points. I think social networking websites are great for developing confidence and networking skills as well as sharing information and getting back in touch with old friends. However instead of using social networking as a tool and part of your life people over the last couple of years have let social networking become their life with a high percentage of their daily interaction with other people happening through social networking and not real life. Some users have not been able to go five minutes without checking their profile to see who has commented or left them a message it has become like an addiction and a way for people to waste time.

The biggest concern I have with social networking is the security implications of using them. if used sensibly and run sensibly these sites can be safe places but with so much information being posted and made freely available to the general public it is now becoming too easy for people who you wouldn’t want getting your information getting hold of it. Also on the security side it is now all to easy to set up an account in which the user can pretend to be someone they are not in order to engage in criminal activity.

I think social networking can help make your social life more efficient but this is if only used correctly and as a tool. I think that social networking needs to be made a lot safer before I would encourage children to use it as at the moment there are too many dangers. Regardless of how many good points there are if there is one small danger to young people I would not recommend it.

Social Networking is now big business with Facebook, Bebo and MySpace all making millions of pounds each year so there are always going to be new companies trying to break the market so like Facebook has grown over the last year I’m sure next year there could be a new major player.

As well as the companies that provide social networking not getting complacent companies that market through social networking or have social networking pages also have to guard against compliancy. Social networking pages are a great publicity tool but you have to make sure you are getting the most out of your page and providing a service that your viewers want. Also social networking is great for young bands as they can now have their own page for free which can easily be updated and that they can drive viewers to which is another way it can be used for good reasons.

So overall I say yes there is a place for social networking but don’t let it rule your life. Customize the experience to suit your needs.

To share your thoughts on social networking come and check out our topic of the week on our forums by going to:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=375

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

Downloading Music on the Internet

This week British Record Label EMI have announced they are to cut 2,000 jobs worldwide to cut costs in the face of falling CD sales and the problems encountered with the new digital music era. In light of this news I am going to give you my take on the current state of the worldwide music scene and what I think needs to be and can be done to help young people in the music industry.

I think that the music scene was always going to see casualties and a lot of money expended by companies in the transition between CD being the leading format to Digital Downloads taking the helm. This will only be a short term financial problem as when Digital Downloads, MP3’s and MP3 players are as common in the home as CD Players and CD’s have been over the last decade then the Record Labels will have the chance to reap higher profits through smaller distribution and production costs.

The brilliance of the new digital age is that it has levelled the playing field for smaller record labels and up and coming artists that can’t afford to do a full CD release. Now smaller artists can be made available to download and purchase on the same websites that the bigger more recognised artists are on whereas they may never have been able to get themselves on the same high street shop shelves as the big artists.

The main problem with making music available to download on the Internet is that millions of people each day are finding ways to illegally download and trade music for free. This is taking money away from the record labels which causes them to invest less money in promoting their new or fringe artists who need that investment. Record labels will always spend money promoting their big artists and this won’t change regardless of the state of illegal downloads but it will affect the young up and coming artists.

Now I think there needs to be a place online which is regulated by the music bodies where artists and companies can post their music to be available to be downloaded for free. I think if artists released some of their music for free they would encourage more people to pay to download their more popular songs. Also it should be a place for unsigned artists to post their music for free if they wish. By having popular artists giving away the occasional track for free it would encourage more people to the site who would then see a host of free downloads for unsigned artists.

When I go to the websites and MySpace pages of up and coming artists I see a lot of them trying to sell their music on CD or legal download. I don’t blame them for wanting to make some profit after all there investment but I personally would give all my tracks for free download if I was an up and coming artist. If you ask people to pay for your tracks not many people will hear your music but if you make them available for free you will expand your fan base and improve your chances of getting signed and making big money down the road instead of making a few pounds here and there but never making it big.

Going back to Record Labels I think they need to capitalise on this new digital age. The age we live in has made it easier for young talented singer and musicians to record, produce and distribute their work so it is much easier for the record labels to scout new talent but they don’t seem to be investing time to do this.

One question I get asked a lot is how do I get signed by a record Label? To this there is no one answer as it seems that the record bales employ a million and one different ways to notice talent. I think record Labels need to be clearer on their websites and publications on how they discover new talent. I think instead of deliberately not informing people on how to get signed they should set up an address and a policies and procedures guide on how to submit demos to them and encourage people to send them in.

Remember if you are illegally downloading music on the internet you aren’t hurting the established artists the most it’s the up and coming artists you are hurting.

Do you download music on the internet? What are your thoughts on downloads over CD’s? And what are your thoughts on illegal downloading we here at Talented Young People want to know and you can share your opinion by joining in our topic of the week by going to:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=316

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

Talented Young People is one year old!

This week marks the first birthday of Talented Young People. We started with a bang last year on fireworks night and haven’t looked back since. With no government, grant or corporate funding Talented Young people has grown like wildfire thanks to the support of you guys our viewers and our users.

We started off only attracting one hundred people a week to the site but now thanks to support from organisations like the BBC we now receive 2,000 unique viewers a week and in one year have helped close to 50,000 young people get that step closer to their dream.

In a world where the internet has been used for so many unlawful or just unpleasant acts like spreading viruses, spamming your inbox or committing identity fraud I think it is important that we get more websites online that want to help people. At the end of the day you aren’t going to stop people from using the Internet we are never going to win that battle but if we can create more websites that are there to help people we are going to make going on the Internet a safer and more helpful experience. The Internet needs to be used as a tool to educate, motivate and inspire young people.

A vast majority of young people now use the Internet and big corporate companies know this so they are using the Internet to target this important audience. This is another reason why it is so important that there are websites on the Internet, which aren’t driven by corporate greed, and that put young people first and whose sole purpose is to help young people.

The one thing that any website or online entity that is designed to help young people has to remember is that although many young people use and have access to the internet there is a large population of young people that don’t have the internet at home and it is often these that need help and need to be reached the most. Just because the Internet is popular with young people it doesn’t mean always that it is the only way or the right way to help young people.

The one thing though with the Internet that amazes me is the amount of people that have visited www.talentedyoungpeople.com who have been helped, inspired or motivated by what they have read. With any website the amount of people hat get in touch with the people who run the website is a very small percentage of the total number of people who visit the site this is why sometimes you never know how many people you have truly helped. I just think that it’s great that at any time of the day and in any part of the globe somebody could be logging on to the website and without me ever knowing could be using the information and the motivational words to achieve their dreams. Whenever I get up in the morning I could have already helped 100 people whilst I was asleep which I think is an amazing thing and the true power of the Internet. Some people are afraid to wont ask people for help and this is why I think the internet is such a great tool as it provides a degree of anonymity for the user to seek help and advice without having to go and ask someone or for those that live in rural areas where it may be a long drive to find an expert to speak to.

I have big hopes for Talented Young People in the next year which have been helped by the change in command at the top with new Prime Minister Gordon Brown. In many of his speeches he has talked about wanting to create a country with young people who have aspirations and that are encouraged to follow their dreams and find their talents. He has also talked about bringing back the old school mottos which I think is a good thing and one day I would love to see our motto “envisage it, believe it, achieve it!” used in schools across the country. It is good to have a prime minister who has the same visions as we do as an organisation. Never has there been a more important or better time for the Talented Young People organisation to exist in.

So here’s to a brilliant first year at www.talentedyoungpeople.com and I for one can’t wait to see some of the exciting things we have planned for the new year.

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

Fame Junkies

Recently I was sat at my local train station and I saw a billboard advert for a book by Ben Elton titled ‘Chart Throb’. The book I believe is a comical / satirical look at reality TV shows like Pop Idol and X-Factor with a fictionalised story based on the people who enter, are involved in or watch these programmes. I am yet to read a copy but after doing some research I have found out that this book has been out for some time but has recently been released in to paperback.

I may one day pick up a copy as it sounds like an interesting book but it wasn’t the story that got me interested in this billboard it was the tag line at the bottom of the billboard which caught my eye which read ‘Fame Junkies’. This got me thinking and the more I thought about it the more I agreed with it. We are now living in a society where it seems that everyone is a fame junkie and wants their five minutes of fame.

People now no longer care about being talented or being good at something they just care about being famous. Programmes like X-Factor, Pop Idol etc give these people the chance to be on TV as it seems that the worse you are at singing the more chance you have of actually getting on TV and in to millions of home across the country.

This attitude and culture over the last few years has now crossed over to the Internet as the internet continues to grow. People can now make videos & MySpace profiles and have millions of people viewing their pages. Unfortunately it’s not always the talented people showing their talents that get millions of views normally the ones that get viewed are the ones that depict people doing things which require no talent.

I’m all for people using websites like Youtube and MySpace to showcase their talents and actively promote it as it is a great way of getting your work to the masses but I just hate it when people who are ‘Fame Junkies’ get more exposure than people with real talents.

This world needs an attitude and a culture change we need to stop being a world of ‘Fame Junkies’ and be a world of ‘Talent Junkies’ who are always striving to be more talented and wanting to show off their talents. As it is only real talent that can guarantee you long-term fame if this is something you chase.

I think this very apt and needs to be said in the wake of the Big Brother final as now these ‘Fame Junkies’ who starred in inverted commas on this show now try and cash in on their fame but I can tell you now that they will be lucky if we remember their names in six months let alone a year.

The only way we are going to change the world and become a better, stronger youth generation is by all taking an active role in becoming ‘Talent Junkies’ as if you control your talent you control your life and the opportunities available to you. If you are a ‘Fame Junkie’ you can’t guarantee that you will find fame as you are relying on other people to give you an opportunity and your fame is in the hands of the public but if you are a ‘Talent Junkie’ you can control your future. We need to start getting addicted to talent and not fame, we need to have the desire to be more talented not more famous.

Let us know your thoughts on this matter by getting involved in our topic of the week on the forum:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=165

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com/