After radio was invented way back in the 19th century, few likely imagined they would eventually listen to the innovation on a computer (whats that?) or from the other popular invention, the telephone. Radio has evolved from sitting in front of a large wooden box to listening to what you want, when you want, wherever you want. These are the technical innovations that are pushing the medium into the 21st century.


Online

Thanks to the internet, radio lovers are no longer confined to the stations in their area. Sites like TUN3R.com and RadioBeta let users choose from radio stations all over the world and listen to a variety of genres and styles. RadioBeta wins out for its sheer ease of use, allowing the user to control any of the selected radio stations in a player at the top of the page, as well as bookmark favorite stations.



Seattle's KEXP 90.3 FM has been ushered into the new millenium with KEXP Music Explorer, a site that aims to help listeners find out more about the music they are listening to. Like most radio stations, KEXPlorer lists the song currently playing, but also lists recently played and the most spun songs and encourages users to tag songs they like or don't like. And of course, anyone can listen to the station live from their browser.

The interns have taken over National Public Radio! Considering interns can be some of the most creative members of the newsroom, it definitely makes NPR Intern Edition a must-listen. Aside from traditional news stories, the interns have also put together photo slideshows and maintain both a blog and a Twitter account.

If you prefer your NPR on the go, use NPR Road Trip to get travel directions and find out which NPR stations you can listen to on the way. For example on a trip from Manhattan to Hackensack, New Jersey one will be in the range of 13 member stations on the way. NPR Road Trip is limited to travelers in the United States.


Mobile


With the iPhone came thousands of applications and with them the ability to listen to the radio on a mobile phone. Music radio applications like Pandora remain popular, but for those who prefer to listen to actual stations, the AOL Radio app has you covered. The free application gives users access to hundreds of music, news and talk radio stations from their handheld iPhone. News radio fans will also love Stitcher (previously covered here), which makes radio stories available on demand.

Radio fans/iPhone owners should also check out College Radio Tuner, an application that puts college radio stations from across the U.S. in the palm of your hand, and stay tuned for news of an iPhone app from satellite radio giant Sirius.

Other mobile phone users aren't out of luck. Blackberry, Palm, Nokia and Windows Mobile users can download Mundu Radio, an application for listening to the music on the go.




Twitter

Thanks to sites like Blip.fm, Twitter users have turned the microblogging service into their own personal radio station. An easy sign-up process lets anyone share their favorite tunes with their Twitter friends and followers.



Because there are so many tweeps sharing music, it was only a matter of time until Twisten.FM was created. The site tracks the music people are listening on Twitter and makes each song available for listening, all on one page.

Twadio takes the music sharing concept to an unforeseen level. Instead of sharing a song on Twitter, the @tweejay simply tweets a popular song and if you're familiar with it, the song is supposed to start playing in your head. Of course, if you forget how it goes, you can also listen to the song in the sidebar of the site. Best of all, Twadio is interactive and list the tweets of people who either love or hate the song.

Of course, Twitter can be used for more professional and educational purposes. There are ton of radio stations on Twitter and many public radio stations are listed in this handy wiki. Thanks to Twitter you no longer have to call in to tell the DJ to play your song, especially if that DJ is thousands of miles away.

For more on the future of radio, check out Radio 2020 and radiocreativeland.


Also on 10,000 Words:

• 6 Sites that are changing the way you follow the news
• Set up your own online call-in radio show in minutes
• Where to find free sound effects and royalty-free music
• 10 Essential iPhone apps for bloggers and reporters
• How to create, edit and embed audio for free

Labels: blogging, radio

Judging by the number of map-related posts at 10,000 Words, it has become increasingly clear that they are essential tool in the multimedia journalist's arsenal. Plus "cartographer" looks good on anyone's résumé.

One cannot talk about online maps that explore the Earth without first discussing Flash Earth, an online, virtual satellite that lets the user zoom in and out to any location in the world. Site visitors can also toggle between a number of different maps from sources like Google Maps, Yahoo! and Ask.com in a wonderfully fluid interface.



GeoGarage has mashed up NOAA nautical charts and a Google map to create a visual directory of the waters of most of North America. Most importantly, the map allows for toggling between the two layers for greater reference.



WeatherMole plans to put weathermen out of business with its map that plots any given location on a map and then gives the area's five-day weather forecast in a few seconds. An even more detailed two-day forecast is available in a click.

If you're waiting for some daylight surfing in Biarritz or plan on capturing the sunset in Cameroon, DaylightMap will help by illustrating where the sun is shining around the world. Google Maps Nighttime! is perhaps the site's opposite and shows the world as it appears at night. The map is actually kind of magical, with the lights shining brightest in the U.S., Europe and Southeast Asia.

Most maps were created to illustrate where we, and the others around us, live and online maps are no different. Potential home buyers and renters have made great use out of HousingMaps which plots craigslist listings on a more user-friendly interface. USA Today recently mapped home foreclosures in Denver, illustrating a national problem. Real estate site Trulia has incorporated Google Street View to give home buyers a better sense of the neighborhood surrounding their potential home. It bears mentioning that more than 40 cities are now covered in Street View. Click over to Listropolis for a complete list of links to each city.

World maps are more than just for oohs and aahs. My noxon has mapped a large number of the world's radio stations into clickable points from which users can actually listen to each station's broadcast. Gas Buddy's National Gas Temperature Map illustrates the continuing crisis of rising gas prices here in the U.S. If you're living on the East or West coast where gas prices are highest, you might want to consider a move to Wyoming. At least with the aforementioned sites, you'll be able to find it on a map.




Also on 10,000 Words:

• How the internet is changing how natural disasters are covered
• Tracking down criminals with crime maps
• 5 Interactive maps that connect communities
• 4 Sites for viewing panoramas (and 3 ways to create them)
• How to quickly track natural disasters online

Labels: maps, radio

Currently, the only way to have your own radio show is to a) be a part of an existing radio station b) podcast c) set up an antenna and some tin foil. Blog Talk Radio is changing the radio game and is revolutionizing how bloggers interact with their readers.

Blog Talk Radio lets anyone with a telephone and an internet connection to set up their own streaming online talk radio show. The best part is listeners can call a dedicated number to talk with the on-air personality live. A lot of newspapers have set up online chats between sources and readers, but this allows readers to actually hear the person as they talk. Media outlets who podcast can now make them interactive using the service.



Registration takes only a few minutes and hosts are given a number to call to start their own show. Listeners can either call a US telephone number to tune in or listen from the embedded audio player on the site. During the show, up to five others can participate as guests or call-in responders. Once the show is finished, it is archived online and automatically made available as a podcast and RSS feed.

Media companies, bloggers and other businesses can join the ranks of The Huffington Post and The Star-Ledger and set up branded channels with shows hosted by in-house personalities. Check out an example of a Blog Talk Radio show in the embedded player below.

Labels: blogging, radio

The advent of interactive radio sites such as Pandora and radio-meets-social-networking sites like last.fm have created online communities that are several steps above traditional radio. Yes is pushing online radio one step further by mapping what songs are playing on radio stations across the country. Yes users can also select a specific radio station, for example KFGY in Santa Rosa, and see what song is currently playing as well as watch a YouTube video of the song. To top it all off, the site's visitors can also rank each song, view other stations that are playing that artist (ex: Beyonce) and purchase the song from either iTunes and Amazon.

That is a lot of features packed into one incredible website but any radio station can incorporate these features, if you are not doing so already. Start by letting listeners be the music/program director. After all, they know better than you do what songs they want to hear. Try partnering with online music vendors to generate advertising to support your online presence. Or if you want to go for broke, incorporate all of Yes' features to make your site more dynamic and attract a loyal following. After all, uniting a community is what radio is all about.

Labels: maps, radio