Friday 10 July 2009

Shutting Down Our Web Radio Station

Is closing down one web radio station and then starting a new fresh version a day later just like moving to a new house? I ponder this while organizing the complete closing of the web radio station we have had running since KryKey Personal Web Radio began it's Beta testing in February. The number of listeners grown from a handful of friends to an ever increasing number as the weeks went on. We kept the Playlist relatively short between 2 and 2 1/2 hours. We changed it often. We made sure it was broadcasting 24/7 or as much as the limitations of the current system could handle. Our statistics has shown that over a 3 month period we were broadcasting 99.99% of the time.

KryKey Personal Web Radio as a complete system has been upgraded. After them letting me see the new 2.0 version, I would say it was more like a redesign & rebuild from the beginning. If as I have seen in the new Studio that suggestions by web radio station owners, listeners and others have been taken into account in this new version. KV2 as the project is designated still has the idea as the previous version did, which is anyone can create a 'personal radio station' (PRS) and with that can broadcast content which ranges from music to the DJ talking live in the broadcast. Anyone can listen as long as they have a browser and supports Flash. Thats where the simularities end. The new version does that and then goes even better. It can do more and still be simple to learn and easy to use. The new version is very socially intergrated with Facebook App, a My Space App, Twitter and Blog integration on the web radio station page, text chatting between DJ's and listeners, and the sharing on content between web radio stations like Playlists and Podcasts.

I got to try the new Studio for as long as I wanted and it is so much better in its layout, function and form. The best feature is the complete integration of drag 'n' drop everywhere. Want to add a song? click the tab to the right and the 'Sound Library' panel slides out and there are the songs in your music library, but also songs that have been shared by other web radio stations. Then select a song and 'drag' it onto the play & schedule area (KryKey call this the PSA), and if you dont want it where you added just move it. I could go on and on about each new feature or just on how they have improved the concept as a whole.

We see within the next couple of weeks the old version will be shut off. When that happens, ours and other web radio stations will no longer function. In fact they will no longer exist. All the current web radio stations, and that is over 500 I am told, aren't in a building, they dont have a place where employees go to, no large amount of equipment - all a web radio station is now is a web enabled device connected to the web. The person or DJ can be anywhere on the planet. So very soon our web radio station that we have grown will be off the air.

Now KryKey Personal Web Radio isn't closing and as I mentioned before has a new version. They decided that they wouldn't transfer all the web radio stations in full to the new version. They decided everyone will have to start a web radio station from new. A new beginning for everyone.

I think what they have done is a great idea. It breathes an extra amount of excitement and anticipation into the new version. Screen shots have been seen from initial design to now functioning panels. Some have used the new version in its test phase like I did and have written about KV2. Also who can't resist the rumours over the past few months of 'full capacity', not scalable', 'bad coding', 'database not sufficient', 'closing down', 'on life support', 'under capitalized', and they were mostly the good ones I heard. KryKey has got that buzz going again and even thougth I said last time they were on a winner, I still say that the course has been set and they will with KV2 be on that winners podium.

We hope to see you on our NEW (but old) web radio station after the change. Which one? We are in the Top 6 and can you guess which one?

written by: T
date: 10th July 2009
copyright (c) 2009

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