Fort Collins Youth Broadcasting

But it has been a very, very long time since we’ve posted a blog entry, and it needs to be done, because a LOT has happened.

Let’s start with the biggest news:

KLIK has moved! Our new address is 2200 Airway Ave, Fort Collins, CO.  We’re in the middle of an up and coming music hub in Airpark Village (who’s web site we will be re-designing soon in exchange for free rent, so go us!), which means we’re starting to develop tons of connections into the music industry.  While we miss Old Town and want to someday move back there (sorry to admit it, Airpark, but that’s our long-term plan), our current financial situation sort of mandates it, and we’re reaping tons of benefits by being surrounded by people with deep connections into the music industry.  And…get this…we’re the quietest ones in the building! 🙂

Moving on.  Our mailing address will likely be changing soon, too.  It’ll probably be in our best long-term interests to just get our hands on a PO box and call it good.  However, if you are a business that’d be willing to donate mail receiving to us, please drop us a line.

KLIK is going to Los Angeles! A group of about 3 to 5 people will be headed to Los Angeles this August to attend the Do Something Bootcamp.  I (Jake) once attended a Bootcamp in New York City (the date happened to coincide with me visiting the east coast to tour colleges), and it was awesome.  We’re a very different organization than the other groups that generally attend (most groups are wanting to end hunger, stop bullying, stop child sex trade [Minga], etc.), so we generally have a very different takeaway than what most groups get out of the workshops.  However, we want to help other attendees possibly get some more exposure for their cause on our stream, and hopefully we can get some exposure in other parts of the country as a result.  It’s a win-win!

DJ from home?  Maybe soon. Freshmen and sophomores have always been the most difficult students to recruit and keep as volunteers, especially as DJ’s.  This is generally blamed on the fact that younger students don’t have reliable transportation to and from the studio.  As a result, we’re considering using some leftover Bohemian Foundation money to purchase equipment which youngsters could setup at their homes and broadcast weekly from.  The audio quality will certainly be different, but hopefully we’ll be able to fill our schedule a bit more easily with a broader range of students.  Once they get old enough to drive, they could “graduate” to working shows at the studio.  All the plans are still very rough, but it’s something we’re seriously considering.

WAIT.  Where’d that cash come from? Because we discovered a cloud-based communications system called Twilio, we decided against purchasing an expensive piece of software called PhoneBox.  Instead, we’re working on writing our own in-the-cloud phone system which DJ’s can easily use from in the studio, and would allow people to volunteer from home and on-the-go using their cell phones and text messaging.  Until we get that squared away, we’re using Skype in combination with a product called CallIn Studio.  CallIn is also based around Twilio, and is an excellent solution for podcasters and Internet radio stations to screen phone calls and host conference calls live on-the-air easily and professionally. (That’s a sincere endorsement, we didn’t get paid a dime for it :D)

Shuttle service to the studio?  Also a possibility! Recruiting freshman and sophomores has been on our brains recently, so this is also a possibility we’re exploring.  Older volunteers, parents, possibly even CSU students with cars could drive younger students to and from the studio if their parents can’t provide transportation.

Say hello to Gilbert! Gilbert is the new station pet.  We’ve had two betta fish over the course of our existence that have both lived unusually long lives (must be all that radiation coming from our studio stuff), but Gilbert is very low maintenance and will hopefully be no exception to our track record of keeping fish alive. 🙂

More news to come possibly as early as tomorrow, folks!  Stay tuned.  (No pun ever intended)