Latest Articles

Business Briefing: Where Next for Venture Capitalists?

Despite the economic downturn venture capitalists are still looking at investment opportunities in digital media. New Media Knowledge spoke to one to get the low down on what VCs want.

more

Social Media in Practice: BBC Radio 5 Live

Web publishers and broadcasters always have to look for new and innovative ways to maintain existing audiences and win new ones. When BBC Radio 5 Live realised it was losing listeners to other sources of football-based content it launched a new service to win them back. New Media Knowledge met the people responsible.

more

Conservationists Embrace Social Media

Television is increasingly embracing new media to reach new audiences and add interesting applications. New Media Knowledge talks to the people behind a new online conservation series that aims to raise wider awareness of the plight of endangered species.

more

• The Language of the Web
• Rough Guide to: In-Game Advertising
• Alexander McCall-Smith Engages Web 2.0
• Business Brief: Video Advertising Looks to Future
• ‘Virtual Home’ for Ex-Pats in London Established
• Rough Guide to: Social Media and the Law
• Record Visits for UK Blog Sites

Related Articles

• Social Media in Practice: BBC Radio 5 Live

  Web publishers and broadcasters always have to look for new and innovative ways to maintain existing audiences and win new ones. When BBC Radio 5 Live realised it was losing listeners to other sources of football-based content it launched a new service to win them back. New Media Knowledge met the people responsible. more

• Radio Gets It Right

  A survey commission by Rajar has revealed that more than 14.5 million people in the UK listened to Internet radio between April and May. The popularity of services such as iPlayer, which also streams radio as well as TV, is helping increase the number of radio listeners overall. more

• Brief Encounter: SpinVox

  NMK's Tim Hoang interviews James Scroggs of SpinVox about the company's secrets of success and the way both the Web and the business world are likely to evolve to embrace social media. more

• Radio Silence

  Music streaming service, Pandora is set to close its UK operation next week after failing to reach a compromise with the record industry, reports Tim Hoang. more

• A Count of Ten

  The British have a reputation for patience, politely queuing for hours for the latest Playstation or the Kate Moss collection at Top Shop. But this patience does not extend to online activities, according to the results of a new survey. more

Does Radio Have a Future?

How technology is impacting radio and the need for evolution to incorporate new developments for the medium's survival was explored at a recent conference on the future of radio...

How technology is impacting radio and the need for evolution to incorporate new developments for the medium’s survival was explored at a recent conference on the future of radio…

By Instrata

[Register and post your own comments on this article below...]

“The customer is always right” – Dr Rachel Jones, founder of the people-centred innovation company Instrata, told delegates at the annual Radio Academy conference Radio at the Edge why this familiar saying is the key to ensuring the future of radio.

With traditional radio listeners being wooed away by other technologies and services, such as mp3 players, iTunes and podcasting, the future of radio could look bleak. My session presented a stark contrast between two different paths: how to evolve into a vibrant service or how staying still could lead to radio becoming the sole preserve of enthusiasts.

Which groups are abandoning the radio spectrum?

Ofcom recently undertook research into how consumers use radio, identifying a number of distinct groups of listener types. Although most are satisfied with current UK radio, there are several groups who are ambivalent.

One such group is the “mobile music specialists”: typically young and open to new, competing technologies. This group provides an insight into the future, and is set to grow. The question for radio is one of how to evolve whilst not losing its distinct identity so that it also continues to appeal to traditional “linear” listeners.

Service to fit a lifestyle

In an age of on-demand availability of information and entertainment, radio needs to respond to keep up with the changes. The answer is to develop new services that listeners want. A service that fits a lifestyle is often set for greater success than a single emphasis on increasingly complex gadgetry.

However, competing technology does have to be understood, and new technological developments in radio explored. This together with an understanding of listeners’ everyday lives is the key to radio’s evolution. A successful adaptation would create a vibrant sector catering to a range of tastes, available on different platforms, supported by multimedia and interactive services.

The session, entitled “The Customer is Always Right”, was presented by myself, Rachel Jones, alongside speakers from Ofcom and Human Capital on Thursday 24 November at the RSA. We presented the findings of the research, explored the threats facing radio and likely future scenarios for the UK radio industry, and discussed ideas about potential opportunities that this climate of rapid change might offer.

About the Author:
Dr Rachel Jones founded Instrata in 2001, a multi-disciplinary team specialising in people-centred innovation and design. Rachel has worked at the two foremost pioneers of people-centred techniques in design: Xerox EuroPARC and Sapient (formerly E-lab). She has over 20 international publications and has authored 10 patents. Instrata clients include: Microsoft, Vodafone, Yahoo, The Automation Partnership (TAP), University of Cambridge, British Design Council and The Countryside Agency. www.instrata.co.uk