I little more than one year ago we launched BlogTalkRadio. We had come up with this novel idea of enabling anyone to host their own call in on-line radio show.
This idea was hatched after creating a blog for my father who had recently become ill with non hodgkins lymphoma. Bob (my partner) and I believed that by using a simple phone and internet connection to produce their shows, bloggers (in fact anyone) could for the first time host live shows which are then archived as a podcast.
Over the past year, the BlogTalkRadio network has aired more than 23,000 broadcasts by more than 8,500 publishers. So now we move from a concept to a living, breathing network of citizen broadcasters.
Today we are launching a completely revamped site design. Our initial site attempted to explain what we do at BTR and make it easy for hosts to sign up and do shows. We really didn’t have the listeners in mind when we launched. First, we needed to deliver on the technology and then we had to bring in some hosts. The shows and hosts in turn would bring in listeners. While we succeeded in attracting thousands of hosts and created tens of thousands of conversations, our initial site lacked many things including a true community feel.
Before listing the many enhancements included in the new site, I want to personally thank ALL of our employees for doing a terrific job in preparing for this launch. Our development team headed by Ron Blackin, our marketing effort led by Lisa Padilla, our testing effort led by Amy Domestico and John Sweet worked around the clock to deliver this site design.
The features that I have listed below only represent a start of what the users of our service can come to expect. We have built a solid base and we will continue to listen to your comments, suggestions and criticisms.
New features include:
Live Chat
Improved Search Tools
Save Favorites
Rate Shows
Listener Profiles
New Buttons
New Media Player
Friends List
Comments
Private Messages
Profile Page Video or HTML
Advertising Programs
Blog, talk or chat on the
Alan Levy
CEO and co-founder