Mobile Radio Simplified. Accessible. Relevant.

In this season of heightened sensitivities and mudslinging that occurs during an election cycle, it’s easy to get caught up in the pettiness, obsessive about policy stances and embittered about the behaviors and remarks of those that are on the opposite side of the cultural divide from oneself.

A day like today provides us the opportunity to take a break from squabbling and focus on the more important things in life. We would be well served to remember the unity that emerged among Americans after the horrific events seven years ago today. When tragedy brought us to our knees, we arose, at least temporarily, as a people that shared a focus of healing, restoration, and justice. Justice for the victims and the perpetrators alike.

Let us allow ourselves to remember those things which are of lasting value and find a temporary respite from the concerns that divide and distract us. As the old adage goes, “count your blessings.”

The reactive yet offensive measures taken by the government and its citizens have resulted in the prevention of domestic attacks for seven years. The freedom we enjoy, for which we were under attack, still exists. We still have the opportunity for “the pursuit of happiness” and to chase our dreams as we see fit. For all the things we might be inclined rattle off that are wrong with our country, these outweigh them all.

Give yourself permission to smile and express gratitude where it is due for all the things that are right.

God Bless America.

The political season is in full swing. It is a season for hopes and dreams, dreams of a better future and the promise of innovation. No matter which candidate you support, it is likely you believe your favorite will deliver on the promise and their potential. The political tussle is a good example of how some of us are drawn to change, and new ideas and a different way of doing things while many are happy with the status quo, the safe way and the proven approach.

I believe the radio industry’s reaction to change is a great example of how these opposing points of view work in the real world. I’ve been involved in this industry for 20 years and the changes in the business have been dramatic. Over the last 5 years the need to move rapidly to new technology, new products, and new delivery methods has become essential and inevitable. Any external analysis of the radio industry shows a decline in audience and an increase in the number of alternatives to terrestrial radio. Industry pundits beat this drum daily, and yet the traditional broadcaster is moving slowly if at all into the realm of alternative delivery. In spite of the obvious need to change and the volume of evidence that time is of the essence many of the leaders in the industry are touting change but hanging on to the status quo. It is time to try new things or be replaced.

CelleCast is one of the truly compatible services giving terrestrial broadcasters a mobile, time shifting partner to expand listening and deepen the relationship between listener and program. Innovators like Dr Laura, Envision Radio, United Stations and Lou Dobbs, among others, are doing more than talking about the future, they’re doing something. Each has taken the first step by offering their programming via CelleCast on their listener’s terms, and on their schedule, and each will see the benefit of a more loyal and engaged audience as alternatives grow.

We’re watching the politicians and the industry executives with the same cynical eye, asking the question, “Are they serious change agents for the future, or the same old thing?” It is time to get off the sideline and take a chance on something new, something bold, and something fresh.

The Equity Kicker’s post about the trending of social networks is excellent in it’s forward thinking. I agree that the future of it is not all automatically guaranteed rosy, and that there is going to be a shakeout of this space soon… at least the generalized networks, where the community factors are an end unto themselves.

Our socnet niche is in building for a specific audience of people that love talk radio, or more specifically, thoughtful, informative discussion and debate that is relevant to their lives. Since people have a built in affinity around the media voices they listen to, there is a natural desire to gather together with others who share that affinity. Empowering this paradigm, we plan to bring a whole a new group of people into social networking, who have not bothered with it to this point.

The talk media channels are just the beginning, but are a powerful beginning, provided we can convince our emerging talk partners that the model is being built to support them, rather than derail their focus.

Vancouver, WA – January 23, 2008 – CelleCast, Inc. announced today that its newest program, Presidential Cellect 08 Town Hall Debate, is a one-stop audio source for the latest news on the campaign trail. By aggregating the most credible sources of election coverage into one program, it allows callers to hear the most recent news on demand with their cell phones.

What sets this program apart from other content sources is its interactive capabilities. Designed to be an audio forum, callers are able to Talkback to the shows, simply by pressing three to record their thoughts and opinions on the candidates and topics. Talkbacks can be sent immediately to CelleCast, and upon screening, the audio will be posted to their website for public access.

“The presidential race is dominating the news, and will be for the next 11 months,” said Andrew Deal, CelleCast’s founder and CEO. “This tool empowers the average person to sound off with their opinions about the candidates and issues. It gives a voice to anyone with a phone.”

Callers can leave a message, then log on to http://cellecast.com/cellect08 to hear their comments and those made by others – in true Town Hall style. This brings the ever-popular blog commenting culture to the mobile, on demand audio realm.

We are about to launch a new program at CelleCast.com that is focussed on creating an audio forum regarding the news of the day on the presidential primaries and beyond. It has 2-3 news roundups of the day from various public podcasts (fully attributed) and relies on UGC feedback from our users to make everyones voice be heard.

We could really use your feedback now on this as a beta user of the updated features of our talkback tool. Please visit the Presidential Cellect 08 page now and call in to the number and post a talkback. Make sure you are registered first so your profile page link will work.

We are building the final touches now to make the users public profile live to tie it all together into this. We realize that in order to have user generated content, you also have to have at least the right basics of a social networking site as well. That is no problem for us, but will be added gradually into CelleCast. Custom fields will be added over the weekend to make this profile page work nicely.

Please post your ideas here on the blog for ways to improve the user experience.

Thanks.

Kinda fun to see Mike Huckabee and Rush Limbaugh bantering about whether they can reach each other to make sure they are not at enmity. Who says Rush was dissed by Huck? How clever is it to not reply to Huck’s email?

It is amusing to me that no matter how good the geeks like us behind the scenes get at making communication easier, more open and more accessible, there is an unmentioned need in society still,a nd in politics in particular, to claim that getting in touch was just not possible.

You can’t blame the communications industry, or the media industry, or the administrative offices when the goal is to be the wounded party waiting for the phone to ring. The technology still does not exist that will actually make you answer the call. The just isn’t a market for that I am afraid.

With all the talk about how high tech the candidates are, here is the truth about the pathetic showing in keeping their podcasts up and running:

The three candidates that have “official” podcasts are all Democratic.

John Edwards
http://johnedwards.com/podcast.xml
- no dates given, but not updated since the summer

Barack Obama
http://obama.senate.gov/podcast/index.xml
- not updated since April

Hillary Clinton
http://clinton.senate.gov/news/audio/hrc.xml - updated in December — podcasts from Senate floor

The other candidates are not directly represented. Either they have a podcast being done by a supporter, as is the case with Ron Paul, or they have no presence in the podsphere apart from interviews, etc by podcasters or broadcasters who also podcast.

We are going to set up an interactive candidate round-up on CelleCast very soon, using alternate sources since the candidates themselves have little to show.

We can see it is going to take a bit of an adjustment to make participation in Talkback comments commonplace among our users, but it is worth it. We all have a natural propensity toward being informational and dry when we leave a voicemail. Our focus is to make sure the other singular entity gets the info and will get back to us. When we leave voicemails we naturally are a bit disappointed to begin with that we didn’t connect, and are settling for the second best way to communicate.

Talkbacks, on the other hand, are a new paradigm. They are a way for a single, empassioned voice to be heard by many. One voice. Many hearers. Talkbacks are a revolutionary way for the rest of us to be empowered. To feel the same way the talk show hosts feel all the time. Like what you think and say is important for many to hear.

So give it a try… just press “3″ anytime while listening. Lars Larson, Dave Graveline and many others are awaiting your input. Just take a deep breath and speak your mind.

Now you have a voice.

The driving force that keeps us going beyond the obvious benefits of profit is the idea that the new cell phone era brings both benefits and challenges that must be addressed for the betterment of all.

We are interested in not only making a tool, but making a positive difference in the national discourse.

http://www.thefeaturearchives.com/topic/Media/Walter_s_Wireless_World.html

Consider the issues brought up here and let us know what you think we need to be on track in building our product.

After what seemed to a situation where a high level auction would be needed to lure the I-man back for the right price, R&R records reports today that Don Imus is, well taking small steps:

By Mike Boyle

Mark your calendars, set your TiVos, the I-Man is making his first broadcast appearance since being fired by CBS Radio and MSNBC in April for that uncalled-for thing he said on the air about those fine young ladies from Jersey.

Now before you get too excited, you’re going to have to have access to the tiny cable outlet known as RFD-TV, which bills itself as “rural America’s most important network.”

Variety reports that the hour-long special Labor Day special, taped over a 10-day period last month, will focus on the 4,000-acre Imus Ranch in New Mexico and the program that Imus and his wife, Deirdre, run to benefit kids with cancer and other debilitating diseases.

The exact time of the Labor Day airing hasn’t been announced yet, but keep this link to the RFD-TV program schedule handy: http://www.rfdtv.com/schedule.asp?Timezone=-1.

Oh, and RFD-TV officials say there will be no discussion of you-know-what during the special. The focus is on the kids.