BlogTalkRadio is revolutionizing how bloggers interact with their readers and—if enough newsrooms pick up on it—multimedia journalism. 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. Not so anymore.



BlogTalkRadio, which is currently in beta, allows 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.

Fox Sports has already hopped on the BlogTalkRadio bandwagon as have tens of thousands of other broadcasters. The service allows unlimited listeners and up to five simultaneous callers. Radio shows are also saved in mp3 and podcast format.

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