In an age where communication tools allow us to link to each other around the globe in real time I now wonder if our man is just too old and too out of touch to keep up. Whatever his motivations in failing or not embracing technology i.e. too broke, too impatient, too frustrated [with us!] or just 'not getting it' is he now in real danger of being left way behind. We can harp on about website projects but that should be the bare minimum of a musician / fan rapport.
I'm sorry but all this 'man of mystery' and gobbleyggok Prince speak is so outdated and out of touch that he is in danger of being left way behind and frankly forgotten about. For him the 'connection'IMHO is in a live arena but the truth is that it could be so much better & professional and ulimately create a more warm atmosphere between him and us.
So are you happy with your level of connection i.e. regular CDs', tours + related nonsense like that pathetic teaser as in Ebony or would you like a lot, lot more i.e. facebook / twitter updates etc.

Interesting ... What has you to think he is not embracing technology? P may have an iPad all we know but he's such a private person we would never know unless you worked for him or was a part of his inner circle of friends.

Prince is the forerunner of his own world. We have to fit in it more then him fitting into "our world". He's just a gifted musical genius, nothing more nothing less.

Yes i am happy with my level of 'connection'.
You mention 'the pathetic teaser' as in Ebony magazine.
So do you think that a teaser on facebook or twitter would be any less 'pathetic'?
Seems to me that there will always be people who are willing to complain about everything he does/does not do.
If he were to personally hand deliver an upcomming album flyer to every fan in the f***ing world.....some of you would complain about THAT too.
[Edited 5/11/10 9:14am]
[Edited 5/11/10 9:24am]

Prince is still jet-setting around the globe from MPLS to San Fran back to NY. In summer he'll be in Denmark France and Belgium over a few days. He flies over to Paris for a fashion show and then gets together 2 concerts, private club shows in literally a week. If you ask me, Prince is moving faster than any ONE of his fans.

Prince is almost 52. He and many of us grew up without computers/blackberries & every other gadget we have now. In those days people talked and experienced and were more "there" than today's youth who are too busy "twittering what I'm doing" instead of just doing/being it. I don't blame the youth, they have grown up with these things, electronic music was their vibe not soul singing with a live band.

I like Twitter and FB and some other networking sites. They are useful and fun at times. But people overuse them, like forums, and they end up becoming low grade tabloid pages with useless information. It might be real time and fast but is it qualitative? I think America, (in particular, because they gave rise to the Technological revolution,) has been hypnotised into believing QUANTITY is QUALITY. And not only in relation to technology.

Do I personally need to know what some celebrity is doing every Friday night? Does this information, even if from a celebrity enrich my life? I think not. Random project updates might be nice as far as a Prince twitter account goes, but I often un-follow twats who twitter too much. By the way, heard the joke that Youtube, Twitter and Facebook will merge? It will be called "you twit face."

Prince and now apparently Obama too understands that the world has become so obsessed with information, that it is stifling basic human morals and creativity. People live in a virtual world where they think what they do has no effect on others. If Prince wants to remain creative he should have limited participation. His fans aren't going anywhere.

You say real time is so fast & so connecting? On the metro daily, people are busy with every gadget. Just recently I stepped on in rush hour, standing close by to a yuppie, engrossed like many others with his blackberry. A heavily pregnant women then stopped onto the carriage and do you know what? Not one "young fast real time human" stood up for her because they were so busy with what they were doing on their gadgets they didn't even see! Is that kind of embracing technology "in touch" with the real world and helping us move "fast?" If you ask me it's slowing a lot of us down. Making us addicts, distracting us from the real world.

I came back to Prince just last year. In that short time I have come to discover, that the internet is over-loaded with Prince stuff. So "in danger of being left behind" I don't think so. Elderly Prince fans should be busy with their careers, children and lives instead of needing to be so hooked up with Prince that's it a heavy integral part of their life. Keeping up to date is fine. For the younger fans, he's an older artist who has stepped away from the commercial pop scene and you will not be seeing him like you'll see Gaga and the rest. That's life.

I'm happy with the connection, though I do wish Prince had MORE nice fans.

I don't want to "connect" to Prince.

What ever happened to boundaries...and a sense of mystery?

Genesia said:

I agree.

^ Yeah, he doesn't have to be accessible 24 hrs a day on various sites to be 'relevant'. We enjoy his music but that doesn't give us the right to own him. I feel connected to his music which is enough for me.
[Edited 5/11/10 14:41pm]

mycherrymoon said:

i would! i bet his tweets would be great like "In Rehearsal, eye'm hungry eye want a whopper LOL shh"

He belongs but he's the one who is the problem, not anyone else.

Christopher said:

Bohemian67 said:

Who you calling Elderly?!!?

Elle85n09 said:

agreed

Fan/artist connectivity is a two-way street, with the artist bearing a great deal of responsibility to make sure that admirers feel appreciated and a part of 'something'. It doesn't cost anything to be kind. An email or a youtube (God forbid) expressing genuine appreciation for fans would go a long way.

Prince is not interested in connecting with fans it seems, so many folks have moved on.

I turned 40 last year, and I remember distinctly making the decision not to invest time or interest in anyone or anything lacking quality or integrity. I'd been a Prince fan my entire life, following his career very closely. I noticed over the years a seeming lack of overall quality in the way P. handled his business and his fans. He doesn't appear to conduct himself as an artist of integrity or maturity, so I simply am not interested at that superfan level anymore.

Why do I post on the org if my fanship has waned? Well, you really can't erase purple, it just fades to lilac.

skoolteecher said:

Poignant, true, and spoken like a true lilac hippie.

funkyhead said:

Well, all I know is that whenever the man and his group does a concert it gets sold out within minutes, no matter what price the ticket is. Seriously, can you think of any other rock or pop artist today who can determine his/her own ticket price? People are ready to pay three-figure sums (euros/dollars) to see him live.

His music and showmanship on stage is unique and that seperates him from most of the other acts. So, that in mind I think he will not be forgotten any time soon.

In regards to happiness with his connection to his fanbase, I think it's alright. Sometimes I wonder why his ventures can't be a bit more professional but I believe there has to be a reason why, for example, Lotusflow3r.com wasn't such a big success. His mail order thing around 1998 was terrific and their customer service worked beautifully. After they quit that, it was never the same. I was never interested in joining Lotusflow3r.com.

Of course it would be wonderful if he could be more in touch with his fans. Remember in 1994 when all he talked about was "being interactive in the future"? But I can understand why he likes to be private. Who wouldn't?

As an artist gets older, it's only natural that the hype around them calms down a bit. But you can bet on the fact that if they have a strong back catalogue and are known as a hot live act, they will sell tickets even if they don't have a record coming out. Just look at Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Chuck Berry and George Clinton who are still playing shows that are packed every night. Prince is a living legend and is playing in a different league than all the Twitters and other social networks. Now, of course we don't know if he has a profile in some social network somewhere, presumably not since that's not really his style in my opinion.

You mention about "mystery man" status which has become old. That was a long time ago, he's been cool and just a normal guy in the interviews and shows he's done on TV in recent years. But many music reporters still use the old cliches in their articles. Hell, they still even refer to him as "the guy with Purple Rain" or "Artist again known as Prince" or "the dude who wrote Slave on his face for some crazy shit" etc etc!

If anyone is out of touch with "fast moving world" it has to be certain music reporters, way before Prince.

funkyhead said:

Spoken like a true neophyte who hasnt been on the planet long enough to know

funkyhead said:

I really would not be interested in Prince tweeting and updating a facebook page, that stuff is fluff, like "What's your favorite colour?" questionnaires in pop music magazines.

funkyhead said:

I see it the same way you do. Especially the Ebony teaser. In fact I think he's actually done that before in the early 90's and it was boring then. A lot of entertainers that came out before social networking don't believe they can be helped by it much. But Prince is the type of artist, with such a rich arsenal of imagery and music, that could have the most exciting Facebook and Twitter accounts out there. That would improve his relationship to the fanbase and assuming he stayed away from New Translation Generation digs at people, garner some positive press for him as well. Y'all know that CNN is frickin lazy and they cover celebrity tweets like it's breaking news, right?

Brofie said:

Ah fams throwing out personal attacks to people who have an opinion that differs from theirs! It's good to be back.

There's nothing like taking a holiday to help you realise what a shithole you live in, is there?

erik319 said:

LOL, and i thought he was one of the more reasoned ones on here.

it's not really about what tools you use i.e. face book, youtube etc it's far more about simple , regular and honest commuication with your fan / customer base. Isn't it also about basic manners and mutual respect?. Point is is that the mysterious bullshit is very old and very tired, a little mystery is cool BUT in this day and age it also does no harm to show a bit of humanity / accessability - not with the general masses on talk shows but directly with his fan base.

skywalker said:

That's what I'm talking about ...

skywalker said:

can't argue with that. Reminds me of the ONA pre show rehearsals and aftershows I'vee been to over the years. Yes, your damn right that really is the ultimate connection it's more what happens in between those great moments though.