This is a piece I wrote for the Western Riverina Arts' blog about my experiences with online collaboration:
Online collaborations have taught me a lot and provided many opportunities to develop and promote my music.
When I moved to Wagga Wagga it was a rather lonely time and I started evenings on the forum of the UK-based Ninja Tune record label's website. There I found like-minded music lovers and also remix competitions.
Remixing was a great education in electronic music, as I could hear how different producers approached the same source material.
In recent years I've been involved in a couple of 'remix chains' that originated on the Ninja Tune forum, where each track remixed the previous in a 'Chinese whispers'-style approach.
For a regional musician with limited interest in playing at a pub, online collaboration has been a satisfying outlet.
Another a group I've been involved with is the Disquiet Junto. The US-based blogger Marc Weidenbaum sets weekly projects, which vary greatly but provide interesting challenges. There's a lot learn from the activity but even more to be gained reading the reflections provided by other participants.
Whatever your medium, there are probably other artists online who are willing to share. Look around, introduce yourself to people whose work you like and see what you can learn.
There's a lot of inspiration to be found but even more to be gained through collaboration.