Metro
THE
O ne s m a ll Si teP• • •
Our
redesigned
JN Web site
is launched.
Keri Guten
Cohen
Story
Development
Editor
ew of us have never visited a Web
site. In 2006, using the Internet is
about as common as owning a cell
phone. While no statistics exist on how many
Jews use the Internet nor the number of
Jewish Web sites, we know we can find
almost anything we ever wanted to know
about Jews or Judaism on the Web. From
Torah portions to Jewish genealogy, from
kosher chicken soup to Jewish celebrities,
from Jewish vegan homeschoolers to aliens
from outer space landing in Israel, you can
find it on the Internet.
And you know a good site when you see
one. You even make a point of saving the
address as a Favorite so it's easy to find again.
Well, it's time to bookmark JNonline.us as
a Favorite. Our redesigned Jewish News Web
site is easy to navigate and brings you news
you've come to count on each week — news,
editorials, columnists, lifecycles and more —
plus new features you'll only find online:
• Web Extras: stories exclusive to the Web
site or that appear first on the Web site; also
used for breaking local, national or interna-
tional news.
• Ynet News: streaming, up-to-date
national, international and Israeli Jewish
news.
• JBlog: Our exclusive bloggers give you
•
their perspectives on life, relationships, trav-
el, job hunting and more. You can sign up to
create your own blog, too, or you can respond
to our bloggers:
Jeff Klein is an attorney living in
Waterford. In his free time, he teaches swing
dancing, travels, attends concerts, plays
sports and is a member of the Farmington
Community Band. He lives by the slogan, "do
more in less time:' that has yielded a unique
perspective on the world.
Stephen Maiseloff, 23, of West Bloomfield
is a graduate of Hillel Day School, West
Bloomfield High School and Michigan State
University. He's spending the year working
and traveling, with stops in Los Angeles,
Maui, San Francisco and Chicago. His blog is
dedicated to self-growth, personal observa-
tion and lifelong friendship.
Arnie Goldman, 49, of Farmington Hills
is married and has three children. He recent-
ly published a book, Outlive Me: Thirty Years
of Poems and Writings, dedicated to his
brother, Kenny Goldman, who died in 1982.
His blog will be about the past and present
— personal stories with Jewish and universal
themes.
• Newsletter: Sign up and you'll be notified
by e-mail that your favorite types of stories,
including breaking news, have been posted
online.
• The Scene: Young Adults: Local young
adult groups, such as the Young Adult
Division of the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit and Imagine of Temple
Israel, maintain their own pages with photo-
graphs, stories and a calendar of their events.
•Search/Advanced Search/Archived
Articles: These tools have been enhanced to
make your searches easy to accomplish.
Stories before October 2005 can be found by
clicking Archived Articles.
• Recipe Exchange: Need a recipe, want to
share a recipe with other visitors? This is the
place for you.
The redesigned Web site also allows us to
make you part of special events, as we did
with Federation's Family Miracle Mission
through photo galleries, blogs and stories.
Our next project will be to hold a mock
Israeli government election where your vote
counts.
Other new features let you manage your IN
subscription, compose classified ads and
submit news and lifecycle information — all
online.
We're excited about -the possibilities for
JNonline.us . Please check out the site, give us
some feedback — and don't forget to set that
bookmark. ❑
Getting Discovered 2.0
Jordan Maroko needs a band and a recording contract, so he turns to the Web.
Harry Kirsbaum
Staff Writer
ordan Maroko makes no
bones about it. He might
be a 19-year-old advertis-
ing major at Michigan State
University, but he considers him-
self a musician who might only
use advertising as a fallback posi-
tion.
Maroko is a singer-songwriter
with a lot to say, and he's using the
Internet to gets his music out.
He has already played in small
clubs in Ferndale and East Lans-
ing, and uses his web page on
MySpace.com —
www.myspace.com/jcmahrock —
to promote his music.
"I post my music in hopes of
people liking it, downloading it,
telling their friends about it, corn-
j
26
February 23 2006
ing out to concerts, then hopefully
somehow getting discoverer said
Maroko, who is musically influ-
ericed by the Dave Matthews
Band, Coldplay, Bob- Marley, Bush,
the Beatles, and Earth, Wind, and
Fire. "I want to make music my
career. At this point, I am looking
for a band and, more importantly,
performing as much as I can!'
His performances have been
good for practice, but not for
exposure, he said.
"There were fans at shows
who heard my music solely
because of MySpace," he said. "I
hope one day soon someone
hears my music through the
grapevine and says, `This kid
deserves a shot, because I have
a lot to tell the world."
So far, almost 1,000 people
have looked at his Web page, and
J14
his music has been downloaded
almost 2,000 times.
According to MySpace.com,
more than 1 million artists and
bands already promote themselves
on the Web site.
In November 2005, MySpace
joined forces with Los Angeles-
based Interscope Geffen A&M
Jordan Maroko performs at
Xhedos Cafe in Ferndale.
Records, a subsidiary of Universal
Music Group, to create a new label,
MySpace Records, as away to tap
into the Web site's online music
network discover to sign and mar-
ket emerging artists.
"MySpace is redefining today's
culture and transforming the
music business with its innovative
way of connecting musicians to
their fans',' said Chris DeWolfe,
CEO of MySpace. "Our new label is
another example of how MySpace
has truly become a lifestyle brand
that transcends the online experi-
ence and impacts its users' offline
lives in meaningful ways."
"Interscope is a label that exists
on the cutting edge and our label
partnership with MySpace will
help shape the landscape for the
next generation of the music busi-
ness," said Courtney Holt, head of
new media and strategic market-
ing at Interscope.
Maroko realizes the stiff odds of
being discovered through
MySpace.
"It's harder for a record label to
come across you if you're just
starting a Web site or if it's just
kind of a singer-songwriter thing
because there's really no connec-
tion for them to come across your
profile,' he said. "So that's why
every opportunity I get I'm trying
to enter into lyrical or musical
content contests.
"I have a press kit package
under review for the Motor City
Music Conference taking place in
Detroit in a couple of months, and
I'm just playing any chance I get.
I'm just hoping something comes
along, and I'm trying to find a
band." ❑