iPods conquering the bar scene

When it comes to the local bar scene, hipsters are bringing not only their dates and friends, but also their iPods

USA Today looks at bars around the country that are turning off their jukeboxes and DJs and letting patrons plug in their iPods to the house sound system and share their favorite tunes with the crowd – “even if it’s country,” notes one Chicago bar owners.

And, despite claims to the contrary that iPods are encouraging isolation and fracturing society, one “social computing” expert says the trend is causing people to do just the opposite.

“All this stuff is set up for people to meet other people – not isolate,” says Susan Barnes, associate director of the Lab for Social Computing at Rochester Institute of Technology.

Via USA Today