The Future of Audio Programming in NationStates
A Mixlr Supplement of Skeptic or Believer: EuroAnniversary
NationStates has always been home to some type of audio programming, whether it be by people who run broadcasts, talk-shows, or play simple music. Europeia is another one of those regions who use audio programming to further its communications strategy, as well as a foreign medium, as seen with the interviews already completed with the likes of Xoriet, former TEP Delegate, and Tim Stark, Pharoah and Delegate of Osiris. Whilst Europeia has succeeded at it, does this mean audio programming will spread across NationStates, bigger and better than ever?
President Sopo Answers the Question of the Future of Audio Programming (47 Seconds, Youtube)
History of NationStates Audio
Gateway Radio
Gateway Radio is looked upon as one of the beginning audios in NationStates history, and was created by Biyah in 2004. Gateway Radio was run on IRC, and was much different than what we would consider radio today; it consisted of an IRC channel where people would sahre music in a “radio-like” fashion. Looking past this, Gateway Radio can still be looked upon as something that began a bigger audio era in NationStates.
The Malicious Broadcast
Jumping to October of 2012, the Brotherhood of Malice began their own broadcasts using audio technology. Their “shows/broadcasts” were titled “The Malicious Broadcast” and became a semi-popular show. The last show was posted on March of 2014.
The Rejected Radio
The Rejected Realms also launched the Rejected Radio in August of 2013, which started out as purely music, and continued as a “music” station.
Radio was also used on much larger platforms over the years, a prime example being during the 2013 World Fair where it was used for interviews and music.
Audio news and music stations can be found throughout the history of NationStates, but the consistency and focus of them could be what didn’t allow most of them to last as long.
Current Usage
Audio is semi-used in today’s NationStates world, with most people certainly favoring the likes of the written format over the audio one. However, over the past year more and more regions are beginning to develop audio communication, such as Europeia and The Communist Bloc.
Europeia
Prior to Mixlr, we saw a number of “radio’s” open up, however, the common assessment for them is that they weren’t very successful. In Anumia’s term, he recorded his speeches on an audio platform while having it in text form. Was this the “beginning” of successful audio in Europeia?
In Europeia, Mixlr began to flourish during President Malashaan’s term in the fall of 2014, where we saw the upheaval of audio communication. At the Winter Ball, it was used as a foreign communication outlet when Europeia interviewed Josh Sebastian. Mixlr also hosted games such as ‘Skeptic or Believer' and 'What's the Catch', creating a varied platform of foreign communication and cultural advancement.
This trend continued throughout the Mousebumples administration where interviews with Tsunamy and Penguin were set up on Mixlr. In addition, even more recently, we had a presidential debate run on this platform.
Europeia is leading the charge in the formation of more interactive radio rather than the prior static strategy, and could be driving NationStates towards an audio future.
The Communist Bloc
Much is still not known about The Communist Bloc’s radio plan, however, there is one that will be put forth. In a message from their President, Zenny Fominov, in their NS Forum embassy, it was noted that:
The Future of Audio
Much of the future of audio is still up in the air. When looking at the rather inconsistent background of audio communication one must wonder the effectiveness of such a strategy. One must truly wonder if people just prefer written work that much to where they despise audio communication. However, when taking a look back at older audio communication strategies in NationStates, the problem can be pinpointed on two things.
Content
The content must be interesting, and attractive to foreigners. Yes, you can have a domestic radio, but to influence the wider game you must have content interesting to it. For example, The Rejected Radio was largely music, which isn’t very attractive to foreign audiences. When taking a look at other more successful radio show’s, you find interesting content. An example of this is The Malicious Broadcast, where the hosts discussed current gameplay events in NationStates, and, at times, interviewed foreigners.
Chief Justice hyanygo Discusses Audio Content (Twenty Seconds, Youtube)
So is this the strategy needed? Does content have to be partially geared towards a foreign audience in order to ensure more interest in the station?
The facts say yes, it does. This can also be backed up with a recent trend seen at the EuroAnniversary event, with mixlr interviews of large foreign figures such as Tim Stark and Xoriet. These interviews has broken viewing records at these events. What does this say?
This shows that this type of content, content geared towards foreign audiences, attracts a wider amount of people. Going forth, in order to have a more popular and noticeable audio communication outlet, more content must be geared towards foreign audiences.
A Clear Purpose
Most of the time, these audio outlets don’t have a clear purpose; a clear what and why. People must realize that a large portion of players would rather read articles than listen to two people chatter for an hour. Why should they come to this audio platform and listen?
What is the purpose of this platform? Going back to the Rejected Radio, the purpose of that radio, from the start, was unclear and it shifted from focusing on music, to RL news, to NS news, and back again. While diversity is good, too much diversity can cause boredom in listeners of these programs.
What?
What is this audio program intended to do? Is it going to be used for foreign communication and discussion of gameplay? Is it going to be used for casual music? Is it going to be used for cultural advancement? Is it going to have a harmonious blend of all three? What do you want out of this? These are the what questions that need to be answered.
Why?
Why should people listen to this radio rather than read an article? Why is audio better than text? These are common why questions that must be answered to give audio a clear purpose.
Chief Justice hyanygo discusses the "Why" and the "What" (35 Seconds, Youtube)
So where does the future lay?
Audio platforms have a bright future in NationStates, as seen with the interest in a handful amount of foreign listeners and the expansion of them into other regions such a The Communist Bloc. However, looking back at the past these audio strategies need interesting content towards a foreign crowd and a clear purpose in order for them to flourish, rather than fade out. While some people will always prefer reading texts audio does have a place, and if a clear what and why is set up than audio will thrive.
Written by Writinglegend
