[Dixielandjazz] The value of modern social media to a group such as this

[john l]

I almost never post anything in this group but this long thread intrigues me so I'm going to throw in my two pennies.

Many of you are aware that I do a radio show of this music every week (beHAVior Night--That Famous Funny Old Record Show  and have done so for seven years now. When I started the only outlet I could find for the program (at a price I could afford) was on a SHORT WAVE radio station (WBCQ The Planet). That station is also available simultaneously on the internet at www.wbcq,com. Since the show is un-sponsored and self-sustaining I had to find the cheapest way to bring it all together. And Facebook and the old MySpace have been a part of the program since episode 1 (we now are up to episode 291). 


I have found my audience to be split. Half are strictly Short Wave radio listeners. And they listen regularly. I get feedback on reception and mistakes the station makes playing the show through them. (Some have even sent money to help me stay on the air). They are almost always elderly, retired and nostalgic about the music.


The other part of my audience is all internet. They have found my program from my Facebook page, from meeting me personally and getting a business card, or from other people who have found the show and like it. These people are mostly under 50. They listen irregularly (the idea of listening to something at a certain time does not work for them). They listen because they have never heard this music before and they LOVE it. They comment on Facebook regularly. 


ANY audience is better than none and I value and respect both segments of mine. I do everything I can to make sure I don't alienate any of them. 


There are ways one could mirror this list on Facebook. There are other systems (such as Yahoo groups) that are free to set up and e-mail based. There's Twitter which works strictly on your mobile device. You have to embrace the modern social media eventually.  And you have to grow the group. IF you don't it will fade away. And that would be a shame.


John Landry
(aka Sir Jack Scratchy, Host)
beHAVior Night--That Famous Funny Old Record Show
Fridays 5:00pm to 6:00pm on WBCQ the Planet 7490 SW
temporarily on Real Jazz 1410--Hyde Park, MA
www.wbcq.com