Blackburn Radio is a medium-small company, as far as broadcasting outlets go. We’re dwarfed by Corus, Rogers, Bell and some others but our owner has no desire to compete on that level. Richard is happily running a regional broadcasting network but many of the people who work for him could compete in any arena. Case in point: our web and social media team and our brand new Blackburn Radio app. Get to know it because it’s going to be copied by everyone else in short order.
The free app does many things that other radio station apps do. You can switch between listening to any of our stations, find out what songs we’re playing and have played, get the weather, and the latest news, from Blackburnnews.com but it’s the instant connections that make it special. And if you have our old app the update will be automatic.
With one button you can record audio and send it directly to our newsroom or host. You can take video or a photo and send it to us instantly. We don’t have to rely on Twitter or Facebook or the phone to take information from so-called citizen reporters. It’s right there and it’s instant. It simplifies the process for playing contests. As long as their phone is with them – and when isn’t it? – an entry is a click away. It’s brilliant. I’m excited about the implications for covering traffic tie-ups and for news.
These features make our app a market leader. How long before the big guys steal it? Probably by month’s end, and today is the 30th.
To encourage people to familiarize themselves with it, anyone who sends in content via the app by August 31st will be entered into a draw for an iPad. I don’t usually get too excited about applications or smartphones or technology in general but this is a game-changer and I’m so proud that it comes from my colleagues at a company I call my work home. Blackburn is small, but it’s mighty, and this development proves it.
Wow this sounds almost too good to be true. There are a lot of gifted people out there and it sounds as though your station has a few of them! Enjoy your weekend Lisa. Sounds like perfect biking weather to me. 🙂
Weird little radio stations endure not because the economy needs them, but because consumers want them and the market delivers. There are some games chains and corporate stations just can’t play.
We’re mainstream. We just aren’t huge. And you’re right, Allan, we can react quicker than our competitors who are tied to head offices in Toronto.