Mobile Media Simplified. Accessible. Relevant.

Or rather CelleCast in Convergence. Radio Ink Convergence, that is. Thanks to Brida and the Radio Ink team for their thorough, accurate coverage of CelleCast’s unique spin on radio convergence. We always appreciate boosts in getting the word out about what we’re up to in making radio on demand more accessible for listeners and hosts alike. Some highlights from the article:

June 26, 2008: Music on mobile phones is much talked-about these days, especially since the iPhone began becoming the ubiquitous replacement to the ubiquitous iPod. But, along with all that music, Talk radio has a home on the phone as well, by way of CelleCast. And not just mobile phones — it works on landlines too.

CelleCast (say “sell-uh-cast”) lets people get talk programming on demand, over any phone, for free. Founder and CEO Andrew Deal tells Convergence Weekly, “We work with a system that creates maximum accessibility. We want people to be able to get to the content without having to be in a special plan, a special phone — we’re basically a walled-garden-buster to allow radio on demand to be as successful as radio.”

CelleCast’s programming lineup includes United Stations Radio Networks’ Lou Dobbs, Take on the Day’s Dr. Laura Schlessinger, Clear Channel Talk KFI-AM/Los Angeles afternoon hosts John & Ken, and syndicated tech show Into Tomorrow With Dave Graveline.The shows are available segment by segment on the day of broadcast, with a delay of about 20 minutes. There’s also a menu of podcasts and short features.

Tuesday, July 1st marks the big day in which California and Washington drivers will be required by law to use hands free devices while operating a cell phone and driving. We’ve been ramping up for this day, and we’re circling back to remind our readers to be prepared. There a number of ways in which you can become law abiding in this regard.

• Speaker Phone
• Use a bluetooth wireless device.
• Use a “wired” headset. (The kind that plugs into your headset.)
• Install a “car kit” (most expensive)
• Abstinence (don’t use your cell phone while driving)

You can find a variety of affordable options to safely equip you for driving under the new laws, such as this bargain-priced car kit.

As it pertains to radio listening, it could well attrition as those who’ve thus far chosen radio over using cell phone in car, for safety reasons, will now have good reason to jump on the hands free train. Further, listening to cellecasts and other cellphone-based audio media will suddenly be a lot more practical and feasible than ever before. Fourth Speaker has advocated hands free listening all along. This new law just puts necessity in our corner in addition to convenience, which has been there all along.

As for me, I’ll be heading to the Sprint store this week to replace my Bluetooth headset that remains MIA.

(Vancouver, WA – May 8, 2008) - Andrew Deal, founder and CEO of CelleCast Inc. announced today the launch of its social media tools built to enhance the burgeoning user community. CelleCast Listener Central brings the popularity of sites such as MySpace and Facebook to a 490 million phones and the mobile, audio-on-demand environment. The CelleCast Listener Central page features a variety of social media tools including talkbacks, polls, playlists, top shows and user statistics and they’re available to anyone with a phone.

Powered by a robust user profile tool, CelleCast Listener Central displays the most popular shows and topics of the day, and lets users listen to Talkback comments to shows made by others, as well as their own. It provides a pulse for what’s popular on CelleCast, and gives people a chance to express themselves openly in light of their favorite programs and their opinions on various cultural issues.

“The caller download hotlink maxis ringtones | download free ringtones nokia | download free sprint ringtones | cell cingular free phone ringtones | ringtones for alltel cell phone | free sprint cell phone ringtones | tv ringtones | cell free phone ringtones wallpaper | listen mosquito ringtones | ringtones for cingular phone | digi caller ringtones | free verizon wireless ringtones | download free ringtones yahoo | free phone ringtones | cingular free phone ringtones | tv theme ringtones | free phone ringtones verizon wireless | crazy frog ringtones | cell free get phone ringtones | download free real ringtones for tmobile | impact of social media services on today’s culture is undeniable,” commented Deal. “With the CelleCast community, our approach centers around not only connecting users with similar ideologies, but allowing them to share media with those in their real social network – people in their phone address book. Other sites allow you to create networks stuffed with people you’ve never met. Our service enables sharing audio media with your existing contacts, and finding others who have similar tastes. And there are no obstacles to be a part of the action. All it takes is a phone.”

The difference between CelleCast and sites such as Facebook and MySpace is the telephony-based channel, with the user’s phone number rather than email as a hub. Talkback interactions made to programs on CelleCast are displayed on the user’s profile, and some make it to the community page itself where ideas and ideologies are shared freely.

Our thanks go out to Danno Wolkoff at Envision Radio Networks for the recent plug he gave CelleCast as a guest on Blogtalkradio’s RadioSyndicationTalk. We discovered the interview and were pleased at Danno’s expounding upon the benefits of placing Envision content on demand to any phone. While we find the advantages for content providers to be self-evident, it is always appreciated when others note them, with or without a microphone.

So, thank you Danno. And thank you for allowing us to cellecast Envision’s many great content offerings.

Check out the full interview here.

We’re set to soft launch the social media side of CelleCast on Friday, April 18th. We could use your help in generating buzz. This is what we’d like for you to do, for the chance to win a pair of free movie tickets!

Go to http://cellecast.com. If you haven’t already registered, please do so and create a profile.

1. Make your profile complete, giving the CelleCast community a good taste of who you are with poll questions, an updated playlist and a photo. Please be sure to make it public.
2. Call the number 360-335-6000. Hit #, 1 for general program seek. Listen to a minimum of 5 shows for a minute or so each. Leave a talkback for one of the shows. Your talkback should be relevant to the show and topic, so it can be published on the program’s home page.
3. Give us some feedback! Complete the special poll questions starting with the word “SURVEY” (required), and post any comments about the experience, whether philosophical or technical, complimentary or critical(optional). Just post your comments here on the blog.

To qualify for the movie ticket drawing, each step above must be complete. Qualified entries will be in the running for a pair of Regal Cinema passes. 20 pairs are available. Winners will be notified via telephone or email on or around Friday, May 2nd.

When we announce the launch of our social media community to the world in early May, our goal is to have you in our system as an early adopter of the bridge we’re building between talk radio lovers and the social media world.

To be entered in the movie ticket drawing without going through the steps above, you may send a send us a postcard with your full name, mailing address, email and daytime phone number. Address your correspondence to: CelleCast Movie Ticket Drawing - 4209 NE 66th Ave - Vancouver, WA 98661

A big thanks to our friends at The After Party podcast, who wrote a nice entry about us in their blog yesterday. You can check it out here.

I could stand on rooftops all day long and shout about how easy it is to access shows via CelleCast. Sometimes it seems all I’d get are stares from onlookers, a sore throat, and limited success in convincing people that yes, you can get great radio shows and podcasts (like The After Party) simply by dialing a phone number.

Sometimes it’s best to let others do the talking for you. From The After Party post:

Of course, the name CelleCast implies cell phones, the service is also available to any telephone … cell or landline.

If there’s a dial tone, then you can hear a CelleCast.

All you have to do is dial and listen … IT’S AS SIMPLE AS THAT!

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

By the way, if it sounds interesting to be a fly on the wall and hear the conversations of two comedians and their two entertaining podcasting partners, check out The After Party on CelleCast. It is available any time by calling 206-315-4833.

Disney chief Bob Iger expects that the company will bring in about $1 billion in digital revenue this year, up 33% from 2007, reports MediaPost. One billion dollars, though representing only about three percent of Disney’s overall revenue, is still a big chunk of change.

So how do they do it?

First, they recognize a need for it. Iger embraces new platforms as opportunities to spread Disney content: “You have to look at technology as a friend, not foe,” he says. Recognizing trends is key in deciding a digital strategy. For Iger, he recognizes that kids’ internet usage is becoming equal to television. From MediaPost: “Broadband-enabled computers” are becoming primary for kids. “It’s just as important to them as the TV set,” he said.

Regardless of the distribution models undertaken, whether it be online, mobile or other, knowing how your audience consumes media is essential. Disney has a handle on this and is taking action to ensure that advertising and revenue generation is directed to the right channels for future growth. Which makes the second step - taking action.

The most innovative content brands not only recognize trends, but set them. How are consumers taking in your content today? What are some interactive, on-demand methods to deliver it to them in ways they might not have even thought of yet? And can you make money from them? You’ll never know until you try.

Ten years ago, mobile advertising was in its infancy, something that most cellular users had not encountered. In 2008, an eMarketer study finds that 58 million US mobile subscribers have seen a mobile advertisement on their phones in the past 30 days. That accounts for 23% of U.S. mobile subscribers.

While far from market saturation, it does represent a substantial increase, one that will continue in its upward trend.

But just how lucrative is the mobile advertising market? Ask 10 people and you’ll get 10 different answers. MocoNews this week summed it up by showing that mobile advertising forecasts range anywhere from $11 billion to $250 billion in the next several years.

Compared to the $871 million spent on mobile ads worldwide in 2006 (according to Informa Telecoms & Media), even the most modest projection represents an 1100% increase.

But will mobile users tolerate ads served over their most personal media device? eMarketer goes on to say that for some, the answer is yes.

In addition, 32% of mobile data users said they were open to receiving mobile advertising if it lowers their overall bill and 13% were open to mobile ads if it improved the media and content currently available.

This stat overlooks the more subtle and natural form of mobile advertising, the audio ad. When served in the midst of audio and radio content that consumers deliberately seek out, those numbers may increase. After all, the audio ad overcomes barriers inherent in data based ads, because it is accessible to every phone. It is universally accessible, just like the audio content that is attached to it with cellecasting.

The next few years will see enormous increases in mobile ads. We predict a big portion of that will be in ubiquitous, short, interactive audio ads placed amidst premium talk radio content that is more and more moving to on-demand mobile delivery.

“Cellcast.” That’s how many refer to us. Other common synonyms are mobilecasting and phonecasting, among others. While these convey the idea, they are a little off target. CelleCast (pronounced cell-uh-cast) rolls off the tongue so much more smoothly. It’s not only a reflection of who we are, but the cell phone radio methodology we are pioneering. Just like “podcast” has now become a noun to describe listening to a program on the computer (or mp3 player), “cellecast” is becoming the accepted term for consuming radio and audio media via one’s cell phone.

Some of today’s top talk radio personalities are pioneering the way for this new delivery system to become mainstream. Many more will soon be joining the lineup. Look for your favorite radio shows to be available on any phone, any time, anywhere in the coming months. And if you have a particular program you’d like to see on demand, let us know. We’re happy to help bring it to reality.

Now that The Dr. Laura Program is coming to CelleCast, many of her listeners that happen to be 9-to-5ers will no doubt seize upon this opportunity to listen during the morning and evening commute, when they have time but she’s not broadcasting.

To make such an opportunity worthwhile and safe, the Fourth Speaker gang has been researching products that provide easy, affordable hands free solutions for listening anywhere. One of the most accessible we’ve found is the Southwing SF505 Bluetooth Hands free device. It can be used at home, work or in the car. It slips into a pocket without being bulky or clips onto a car visor as well. There’s no installation required; just pair it with your phone and go!

There are quite a few other products out there that also make life easier for the cellecast listener on the go. Quality, multi-setting use, affordability and ease of use are the standards we judge product reviews against. If you know of other great products that will improve the ability to listen to cellecasts hands free anywhere, feel free to leave a comment with more information.