Why Live Things Are Cool
Right now as I’m typing this I’m listening to Vicki Bennett’s radio show “Do or DIY with People Like Us” streaming over the Web from WFMU. She’s speaking right now, but that’s from a file. She’s updating the playlist via the internet so the text that shows up is live, but the words are from back in time. It’s the last show of the season and as usual it’s a good one. The shows are archived, but I wanted to make sure that I listened to it live. I was thinking why I liked listening to it live since she records it earlier and it streams out from a file. Then I remembered why live things are cool – it’s not the technological part, but the human part. It’s a shared experience. I know that other people are listening at the same time and I also know that Vicki is typing right now as well. Years ago I helped out with some Webcasts and even more years before I had some radio shows. It’s a strange thing to speak into a microphone knowing that strangers are listening. A fascinating, intimate, yet distant thing. Kind of like a shy exhibitionist.
So while I’ll still be able to listen to older shows, I know that the experience will be a bit different as there won’t be as much simultaneity. Thanks Vicki!
