Internet Radio: Going Beyond Blogs as Another Mass Medium Gets Micro

Oct 9
20:16

2005

George McKenzie

George McKenzie

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How would you like to become the star of your own radio show? You can preach, promote, or even play music. Thanks to the Internet, it's now possible for almost anyone to produce and host their own "radio program." You can even make money doing it, without ever leaving home.

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The buzz is all about blogs this year,Internet Radio: Going Beyond Blogs as Another Mass Medium Gets Micro Articles with thousands beingcreated every day. Websurfers have realized that anyone witha bit of information, an opinion or an idea can attract anaudience--sometimes a very large audience.

But now blogs may not be the only mass medium that's going"micro."

Here comes Internet Radio...

"It's hard to believe," says Randy Gilbert, host of "TheInside Success Secrets Radio Show"--an Internet radiobroadcast which has been "airing" for several years. "Nowanyone with a computer, an internet connection and amicrophone can create an Internet radio program. And tt'snot nearly as hard as most people think. You really don'thave to be some kind of techno-geek to do it."

A number of established media giants, like EntrepreneurMagazine, already "broadcast" business-related programmingover the net. But it's the opportunity for "the little guy"to start producing programs that intrigues Gilbert.

Will Internet Radio Replace Blogs?Blogs have "leveled the playing field" in the world of printmedia. Some blogs have more daily readers than many medium-sized metro newspapers.

Single individuals, sitting at home in front of theircomputer in their pajamas, can compete with media giants inthe battle for the minds and hearts of hundreds of thousandsof websurfers.

Bloggers may have even had an impact on the lastpresidential election.

Bloggers were the first to zero in on suspicious informationin CBS' now-infamous story about President Bush's militaryrecord. The inaccuracies in the story, and the embarrassmentthat followed, may have hastened the departure of Dan Ratherfrom the evening anchor chair.

"Lots of radio and TV news programs now regularly reportwhat's being written in political blogs," according to ChipTarver, an Internet expert whose business-to-businesspublicity blog regularly appears at the top of many searchengine rankings. "Some cable network news shows even haveregular daily segments where they talk about what bloggersare saying."

Some experts have speculated if a similar phenomenon couldhappen soon with Internet Radio: a traditional mass mediumwhich is becoming a "micro medium" as more and more peopleare producing up their own Internet radio programs. ButGilbert doesn't think so.

"Internet radio will probably never become as popular or as'grassroots' as blogging has become," he says. "And you maynot have Internet radio stars who will compete with over-the-air personalities like Rush Limbaugh or Bill O'Reilly.But radio is a very conversational and intimate medium. Youcan not only show people what you know, but you can alsogive them a glimpse of who you are in a way that's hard toduplicate in a print interview. If you have something worthsaying, radio is a great vehicle for saying it."

"Best of all," he continues, "there's practically no expenseinvolved. You can do it for pennies."

And Internet Radio Can Make Money Too

Gilbert adds that online "micro-broadcasters" are findingways to add to the bottom line, like over-the-air stations."You can be extremely profitable with as few as fivethousand listeners," he says.Gilbert also teaches a course for anyone who wants to learn to make money by creating their own Internet Radio Show.More information is available by clicking on http://www.publicity-pro.com/internetradiosecrets

For additional information about how to use internet radioto market yourself or your business, visithttp://www.publicity-pro.com/internetradio