Once your music collection sat on a CD rack in the corner of a room. But since the invention of the the MP3, collections have become measured in gigabytes not wall space. As we bring more devices into our lives, the issue of where to store an ever-growing music collection - and how to synchronize it tracks across those devices - becomes increasingly complex.

A new startup - Didiom - aimed to tackle part of that problem with a unique place-shifting technology that allows you to stream an entire collection to your mobile phone, wherever you may be.Yet even with an award-winning technology, and an inked deal with CD Baby to bring over 2 million DRM free tracks to the Didiom store, the new startup was still faced with the problem of raising awareness amongst early-adopters.

“It was important for us to use social media to expand Didiom’s online presence beyond our website, and interact with beta users, music fans, social networkers, bloggers and podcasters.”says Didiom CEO, Ran Assaf.

Being a self-funded startup requires efficiency with both time & money, and so - when it came to creating buzz and generating new user signups, Didiom turned to The Advance Guard.

“The Advance Guard truly understands social media, with great entrepreneurial spirit and passion about early-stage startups and emerging technologies. We were definitely kindred spirits.” says Assaf.

The team took a professionally-produced overview video, and combined it with a Social Media Press Release to serve as the basis for an outreach. This unique form of fact sheet - created especially for the blogging and podcasting community - allows busy webmasters to quickly craft a blog story, with multimedia embeds, contact details, and all the relevant facts.

Once the release was crafted, the possible target for an outreach was assessed. Sometimes casting a wide net is the best solution, but for this first push a finely tuned scope of influence was chosen - technology sites, mobile software blogs and niche blogs that concentrated on both music and blackberry solutions were determined. Personalized e-mails were sent to each individual, introducing Didiom with a link to the SMPR, video and including a custom-designed offer for free tracks from the Didiom online music store.

The story instantly began to gain traction. In a world saturated with iPhone news, writers were excited to try something new on a different platform. What began as a bubble in the smaller blogs eventually led to coverage in the mainstream press, and on top technology blog, Gizmodo. During the four weeks of outreach, sign ups rose 670% and continued to rise as the long tail of blog posts introduced new people to the amazing place-shifting capabilities.

“The Advance Guard developed and implemented a great outreach program for us and helped us capture the attention of our target audience creatively and cost-effectively. Up until recently, Didiom has been a hidden gem, but thanks to The Advance Guard we are no longer hidden.” says Assaf.

With a New Year and continued focus on growing, Didiom and The Advance Guard are now planning the next wave of influence. Didiom not only allows placeshifting, but also has a unique marketplace that allows you to define what you pay for your music. Place-shifting has changed the way you listen to your music and now it is time to for everyone to realize why it will also change how you buy your music. Stay tuned.