Today is the start of the charity action "Music for Life". The Belgian radio station Studio Brussel teams up with the Red Cross to collect money for a cause. This year, the theme is "The world needs water". It draws attention to the fact that in third world countries people die due to a shortage of drinkable water.
The concept of the action is that 3 famous radio DJ's are locked up in a glass house during 6 days. From this location, they make non-stop radio. If you donate money for the cause you can "buy" the next record they play. There is entertainment at the physical location of the glass house and also throughout the country there are related events. The fundraising is also done through a large number of eBay auctions where you can e.g. place a bid to have the national news broadcasted from the locatio of your living room.
The Studio Brussel radio station is primarily targetting a young audience, so one could expect that they face heavy competition from the internet. The opposite is true: by being present on the internet with a.o. their own Myspace page, they make a link into the youth community. The success of this radio station shows that traditional broadcast media can survive in an internet world, as long as they keep the connection with their audience.
Music for life is a big success. People love broadcast, as long as they feel involved. You can physically go down to leuven, talk into the mike at the "glass house" and have your say on the radio. The medium radio is much more suitable for spontanity and user interaction then the over-directed and advertising dominated TV channels.
People love to be part of a bigger group. Broadcasting can give them that feeling. If only more broadcasters would understand that web 2.0 is really about community building, they would not be so afraid. Our partner Concentra Media understood that very well and is taking up the role of community moderator with their initiative Hasselt Lokaal. It's nice to have shareholders who understand your business!
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