iPod users sharing music at night clubs

A growing number of establishments across the U.S. are allowing customers to play their own music--often on Apple's iPod digital music player--to share their tracks in clubs and bars with other patrons. Brian Toro, manager of Bar Louie in Chicago said "everybody wants to be a DJ, people enjoy having a little control in their lives." Toro brings his own music into Bar Louie to play punk and rock songs for customers, while allowing others to play almost anything provided the music is upbeat, according to a report from the DailyNews. Some professional DJs are waiting for technology that will allow them to perform the mixing and scratching they do with vinyl albums on a single portable player, something they already do using laptops and special software or larger media consoles. Susan Barnes, associate director of the Lab for Social Computing at Rochester Institute of Technology in New York sees technology encouraging people to socialize, contrary to many beliefs that the modern "iPod generation" hides in their headphones. "All this stuff is set up for people to meet other people, not isolate," Barnes said.

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