Earlier this week, I had the privilege of participating in the English talk radio show, “Today,” with host Chris Gelken and his crew over at China Radio International (CRI). The topic: social media.
DJs in BJ (left to right): Xu Qinduo, me, Ashley Eldridge and Chris Gelken
Also on the show, the far-smarter-and-better-informed-than-me Dan Brody, CEO of 360quan.com, and Eric Porres, CMO of Lotame.com.
You can listen to the whole show here (hour 1), and it’s a good primer on the major issues surrounding social media, with the conversation delving into tough issues like privacy and also analyzing how companies, governments and NGOs are making the most of social media. Here’s a quick excerpt from me when asked the question, what is social media?:
We have to keep this definition very broad, because while Twitter, YouTube and Facebook get all the face time, they are just specific applications of this broader concept. And what’s to come in the future may far overshadow the applications we have today. In a way, this radio show is social media, because we have people calling in. That’s what it’s defined as: not just being broadcast, but receiving feedback — and that’s influencing the content. So we have things like Facebook and YouTube that are much different than the first generation of Web sites, because on these Web sites we can interact with the content but we can also interact with the other people who are on the Web site at the same time as us.
I hadn’t realized how much I missed good talk radio since moving to Beijing. But lucky for people like me, Chris and co. have come up with a great talk show that covers a whole range of topics … and is in English. Check out how you can tune in from the links below (they broadcast all over the world).
Links:
- Listen to the whole “Social Media” show by clicking here (hour 1).
- Visit the “Today” show site and archive: http://english.cri.cn/08webcast/today.htm
- Listen to “Today” live on the Internet: www.AM880.net
- About Chris Gelken: www.gelken.com
