Not long ago, a fellow entrepreneur laminated to me that I should do more radio and less writing. I explained to him that I didn’t feel I needed to write fewer words, because I was already using voice software. Indeed, we tried to put together a plan where we could use voice dictation software while I was doing my radio show. Then the radio show would be broadcast online, that is to say Internet radio, and then we could syndicate it to local radio stations, perhaps both near and far to play as part of their programming. All this made sense to me.
Of course, Internet radio didn’t really take off as much as it should have. Podcasting was very popular for a few years, but with the advent of social networking everyone is spending more time on social networks, even more time than they spend watching TV or surfing the Internet in other venues. Next, much of our population is going mobile, and they’re taking their apps with them. They are doing computing with tablet computers, smart phones, and mobile devices. In the new realm everyone is on the go, and perpetually connected at all times to the Internet.
Now then, perhaps in the future radio will indeed merge with mobile computing, social networking, and people will take it on the go just as they always have with AM and FM radios in their car. If you doubt that this is a potential and viable future, then I have some new information for you. You see, on January 10, 2013 there was an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal titled; “FM Radio Broadcasts to Sprint Phones,” which noted a new emerging trend, one which shouldn’t surprise us all that much really.
When you think about it this makes total sense doesn’t it? After all, the cable networks are impeding on satellite radio with their music stations, Netflix is working their way into the cable TV business, and even Apple is trying to merge across the Internet and your cable TV as are many others such as Google, and Microsoft. It makes sense that people would take their smart phones, iPads, iPhones, iPods, and merge them all together with their tablets, laptops, and any other mobile device under the sun. Why not?
For those who think that radio is dead, I beg to differ. People still want radio, and it appears that Sprint has tapped into that consumer demand, that pent-up energy, and what is missing in people’s lives, the radio stations they were so used to for so many years. Now they can have it all. And isn’t that what the current ADHD consumer wants these days? They want it now, without delay, and they want it all without excuses. Please consider all this and think on it.