By Buhle Mbhele
Lead strategist, Anice Hassim talks about how radio’s digital promise is rooted in its human past. She touched on the history of radio technology, its sense of community, feedback and digital radio as topics up for discussion.
Hassim explains that real time revolution consists of a majority of people who share the same context and conversation; hence the most important element in radio being real time. Trekking back to 150 years back to the present, radio is still thriving because of its sense of community.
On the history of radio technology, she went through a timeline of how from way back in the 1800’s radio telegraphs had its own coding up to transmissions in the 2000’s when radio switched from analogue to digital; this includes streaming and podcasting.
A change in distribution in the 2000’s brought about today’s engagement being more real-time and conversational. The feedback loop she said was from the use of post cards to nowadays it being highly utilized on social networks showing much improvement on the relationship radio has built, which has made everything easier.
Hassim further adds that radio’s disadvantage does not give its audience a sense of being at home or being connected.
In conclusion Hassim encouraged the audience to change their mindset, to start a digital group or something that will solve the challenge of shifting from a state of passivity to one which is more native.
Edited by Bridget Lepere