Com 125 Assignment #8: Web Application Review

The web application that I decided to review is an internet radio station called Pandora. Found on the web at pandora.com, this site creates radio stations for it's users based on music preferences that the user provides.

And it's FREE.

I hadn't used my older account in a few years, so I created a new one when faced with this assignment. To sign up, one must provide an email address (which will be used as a user name), a password of their choice, and information such as age, gender, and zip code. I went into the FAQ section, which turns out to be quite extensive, to find out why I needed to provide those last three items. It turns out, I must be older than 13 to register for this service, hence the inquiry about my birth year. In addition, Pandora asks about your gender so they can provide advertising on your personal page that will be aimed more towards your chosen sex. They ask for you zip code because this service is only available to residents within the United States. After the registration process, one is able to delve into the endless music the Pandora provides.

To begin you type in the name of an artist or band that you like to create a station based off of them. For an example, I typed in the Beatles as my station. The first song comes up, Let it Be, and plays through. Now here's the cool part...the next song that plays is by a related artist based on the musical style, genre, or even instruments used by the band that is noted as my station. One can make as many stations as they desire. If you like a song that comes up, you can give it a 'thumbs up' or 'thumbs down' for your station's future reference. You can also buy any of the songs that you hear. You can skip a song you do not like, but you cannot rewind a song due to the licenseing agreements. The FAQs on the site go through many of the concerns that one may have about the site. Its a wonderful tool for those who don't have iTunes or a personal music collection. Also, it can be accessed at any computer to be listened to at school or work. Although I have found that it runs a bit slower on the school computers than it does my house. It is a great tool for finding out about new artists who are similar to your current favorites. I cannot tell you how many new, awesome bands I have found out about through Pandora.

The set-up of the website is rather plain, but that in no way takes away from the functionality of the website. There are large advertisements that periodically pop up, but that really doesn't bother me too much either. When I use this site, I put on a station that I know I will enjoy, minimize the browser that Pandora is on, and basically forget about it and let the music play. The layout of the site is pretty straightforward and I don't think there is any way to be confused about how to control the music player or other features.

There isn't a tremendous amount of social interaction on the site. But, you can share your playlists or listen to someone else's. There is a profile section where you can view your bookmarked artists, favorite songs, etc.

I think this site is a great application for music lovers or even music likers. It is very convenient that Pandora can be accessed from any computer, and your playlists will be there when you sign in. Also, I find it much better than radio because there is literally no commercials, and you can pick and choose what you actually want to hear. I think it is very interesting how the creators of Pandora have made this database of information about each artist or song and have connected them to others. Known as the Music Genome Project, this system gives the listener what he or she wants to hear, and can turn them on to new music that they have not heard.

And its FREE!