Zune Social
Encyclopedia
Zune Social is the online component of Microsoft
's Zune
initiative. It is a social networking
website that displays a user's most-played artists, favorite and recently played songs, a list of the users friends, what your friends are listening to, and any comments about them. It has been compared to iLike
and Last.fm
in that it tracks and displays, or "scrobbles," songs that the user has played.
The central component of Social is the Zune Card. It is a Flash
-based widget that can be embedded on other sites and social networking pages (Myspace
, Facebook
, etc.). It showcases the user's most recently played songs, their most played artists and number of times that artist has been played, and a user-selected list of favorite songs. Clicking a song, artist, or album will bring up the respective page on the Social website. Select songs have an option to preview a 30-second clip, and users can download the song via Zune Marketplace, suggest the song to a friend, or add it as one of their favorites.
In May 2008, Microsoft added Reputation badges to users' Zune Cards, which can be earned by having listened to an album or artist a certain number of times, or by making helpful posts in the Zune forums. In addition, Zune Cards can now be synced with user's devices; subscribers to Zune Pass can in this way download all the songs on their friends' cards.
Comparisons to Microsoft's Xbox Live
Gamertag are inevitable, as the two services use the same back-end. They differ in that the Gamercard shows the user's recently played games, while the Zune Card displays recently played songs. Users sign into the service via Windows Live ID
and can link their Gamertag and Zune tag so that friends on Xbox Live will carry over to the new service.
Plays are recorded on both the device and software, and the software sends play updates by default every 15 minutes. Songs played on the device are recorded during the sync process, though the order they show up on the Zune Card is a result of the sync order (not play order). Only albums that are in AMG and Zune Marketplace are shown, and plays are kept in the database for 28 days only.
Users also earn badges for contributing useful information to the Zune.net forums and for reviews.
Album Power Listener
Artist Power Listener
Forums Contributor
Reviews Contributor
Badges are permanent and do not expire.
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
's Zune
Zune
Zune is a digital media brand owned by Microsoft which includes a line of portable media players, a digital media player software for Windows machines, a music subscription service known as a 'Zune Music Pass', music and video streaming for the Xbox 360 via the Zune Software, music, TV and movie...
initiative. It is a social networking
Social network service
A social networking service is an online service, platform, or site that focuses on building and reflecting of social networks or social relations among people, who, for example, share interests and/or activities. A social network service consists of a representation of each user , his/her social...
website that displays a user's most-played artists, favorite and recently played songs, a list of the users friends, what your friends are listening to, and any comments about them. It has been compared to iLike
ILike
iLike is an online service that allows users to download and share music. The website makes use of a sidebar that is used with Apple's iTunes or Microsoft's Windows Media Player. The program and sidebar are not required in order to use the site but allow for ease in discovering new artists....
and Last.fm
Last.fm
Last.fm is a music website, founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. It has claimed 30 million active users in March 2009. On 30 May 2007, CBS Interactive acquired Last.fm for UK£140m ....
in that it tracks and displays, or "scrobbles," songs that the user has played.
Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
-based widget that can be embedded on other sites and social networking pages (Myspace
Myspace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
, etc.). It showcases the user's most recently played songs, their most played artists and number of times that artist has been played, and a user-selected list of favorite songs. Clicking a song, artist, or album will bring up the respective page on the Social website. Select songs have an option to preview a 30-second clip, and users can download the song via Zune Marketplace, suggest the song to a friend, or add it as one of their favorites.
In May 2008, Microsoft added Reputation badges to users' Zune Cards, which can be earned by having listened to an album or artist a certain number of times, or by making helpful posts in the Zune forums. In addition, Zune Cards can now be synced with user's devices; subscribers to Zune Pass can in this way download all the songs on their friends' cards.
Comparisons to Microsoft's Xbox Live
Xbox Live
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
Gamertag are inevitable, as the two services use the same back-end. They differ in that the Gamercard shows the user's recently played games, while the Zune Card displays recently played songs. Users sign into the service via Windows Live ID
Windows Live ID
Windows Live ID is a single sign-on web service developed and provided by Microsoft that allows users to log in to many websites using one account...
and can link their Gamertag and Zune tag so that friends on Xbox Live will carry over to the new service.
Plays are recorded on both the device and software, and the software sends play updates by default every 15 minutes. Songs played on the device are recorded during the sync process, though the order they show up on the Zune Card is a result of the sync order (not play order). Only albums that are in AMG and Zune Marketplace are shown, and plays are kept in the database for 28 days only.
Zune Social Badges
If a user listens to an artist or album enough times, Zune awards that user a badge.Users also earn badges for contributing useful information to the Zune.net forums and for reviews.
Album Power Listener
- Bronze - 200 or more plays
- Silver - 1,000 or more plays
- Gold - 5,000 or more plays
Artist Power Listener
- Bronze - 200 or more plays
- Silver -1,000 or more plays
- Gold - 5,000 or more plays
Forums Contributor
- Bronze - 10 or more posts rated highly
- Silver - 25 or more posts rated highly
- Gold - 50 or more posts rated highly
Reviews Contributor
- Bronze - 10 or more reviews rated highly
- Silver - 20 or more reviews rated highly
- Gold - 50 or more reviews rated highly
Badges are permanent and do not expire.
Zune Social Sites
From the Zune's social nature, many Zune sites have emerged, creating a fast-growing Zune-centered site, forum, and blog culture. Popular sites include:- InsideTheCircle.net
- ZuneBoards.com
- ZuneInsider.com
- ZuneLuv.com
- Zune.net
- Zunerama.com
- ZuneThoughts.com
- ZuneTracks.net
- Zunited.net
- ZuneSpring.com
- ZuneScene.com
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