Years ago the radio was the must have communication device of it’s day. Families would gather round to listen to the latest news about what was going. It was an essential comunication medium that would inform or educate users.  The question one has to ask now is, is radio, or radio communication dead?

To answer this, one needs to be clear as to how we as engaged consumers now consume our content. Communication years ago was fixed one way directional, whereas now it’s mobile, two-way, muti-way conversational. The way in which we now consume our content has changed as has the modes of communication. Is radio, or radio communication dead?  Yes and no. I think radio as we knew it is dead, however it is also very much alive and kicking if we are to believe that podcasts and online radio is the new communication tool. Sites like pandora.com or last.fm & spotify are now part of our everyday diet of top lists, music playlists, song selections. And it’s not just small startup companies who were and are looking into radio. Large companies like Google tried it.  however when Google entered the radio advertising business a few years ago now, they had grand ambitions, however, those ambitions soon faded to dust.

The company had planned to revolutionize the way radio ads were bought and sold. In 2006, Eric E. Schmidt, the chief executive, said he foresaw a day when Google would have more than 1,000 employees serving a thriving radio advertising business. Unfortunately that never happened and Googles radio dreams where turned off.  So if radio is now online, on demand, what are the figures like?

Well the latest BBC radio statistics show that the Average weekly unique users for june was 3,529,403 with the Monthly live listening hours being 23,472,729. Is this good? Well, it’s not bad. Should brands still look to radio as an additional touch point. It depends, if radio can still give people what they want, when they want it, then the answer is yes. Do I still listen to the radio? Err Hellooo. Radio is soo last season.  But yes, becuase I’m getting older and like to listen to it.

I came across a new service today that I am really loving.  It’s called Mixcloud.  In thier words “Mixcloud is a London based startup, with a home in the warehouse pictured in West West London. We’re friends old and new (many of whom met at Cambridge University) connected by our love for radio, problem solving and building exciting new projects.

It was through this intersection of interests that we realised there’s an obvious problem on the Internet that we need to fix – that of connecting radio shows, DJ mixes and Podcasts to listeners.  We think all these forms of content offer a very similar listening experience – a “Cloudcast” – that is curated by a human enthusiast or expert.

That’s the important bit – we’ve always discovered great new things through people we respect, so we want to help guide listeners to those people more easily.  We also believe in simplicity. We love clean design, enjoyable user experience, intuitive navigation and clear information architecture.”

Having had a play around with the site, I will definitely be using them again. I suggest you check them out and find out for yourselves whether they  really will be the youtube of radio.  You can check them out here: www.mixcloud.com