The closing session for this years Radio at the Edge conference was a fascinating chat between the 66 year old veteran DJ Tony Blackburn and new 5 Live afternoon presenter; Richard Bacon about their mutual love for all things tech. What was infectious was how they both clearly feed off the opportunities that social sites were giving them in helping them present radio shows and the ease with which they’ve integrated this into what they do. Even if you’ve been a presenter for over 40 years.

It was almost impossible to transcribe both so I’ve focused on Richard’s side of the conversation.

For more: Adam Bowie has written up a detailed report of Radio at the Edge 09 including this session and Tony’s comments. Mark Rock captured a whole bunch of Audioboos pre, during and post the chat. I’m told that the actual audio will soon be available at the Radio at the Edge site. This is my quick typing so apologies for any errors.

• Why is he the most followed Twitter user in the UK ? “Its a clerical error. I ended up on the Twitter suggested users lists next to Ashton Kucher and Oprah Winfrey. So I have lots of followers in the USA, South Korea, and Japan.”
• Helps with programme ideas “Twitter is really good for trending and you can see what people are excited about.When Republicans attacked the NHS . I saw very quickly that people were excised about it. I saw the hashtag and thought “lets do a phone in about that…” before the papers did. And it was the same with Jan Moir.So its more than just the conversations and tweets…it actually affects the editorial on the show. I see it like the DVD extras of a programme.”
• Reach or Impact “I will go on Twitter and say what the topics in the show are ten minutes before I go on air. Now you don’t get new listeners but you do end up reminding users you are there. Thats the trade off. You can see why some people get twitter wrong . You shouldn’t just use twitter to sell things. You need to let people into your life, tell them personal things.you tell them about your self and then…occasionally you can say “i’m on the radio, or i have a book out”.
• Do Twitter followers belong to you or the radio station ? “I think they belong to you. Because normally a twitterfeed is quite personal . When i started on the station in January i plugged it a lot on 5 Live. They come through the radio station but then they started come from other sources. Followers beget more followers.Five live are welcome to the followers from South Korea.” (ie: the worldwide followers he gained when he was a suggested user to follow on Twitter)
• What type of presenter works on Twitter ? “There are two types of presenters.Those that do like talking [about themselves] and some who never quite like talking about themselves. There are radio stations who force their presenters to go on Twitter and you can tell when that happens. Some people are made to write blogs and you can tell that. There’s a danger there, if that happens, because that makes the presenter seem insincere.”
• Facebook and the Secret Half Hour “I have an extraordinary relationship with those guys. [on Facebook]. I constantly get stuff from them that i then use in the programme and in that section of the show. I feel like i almost know the audience. Social media kind of brings you closer to the people you are talking to. In the last couple of years i feel my relationship has changed. as part of the instant feedback thing. I now feel closer to them.”
• Incorporating users ideas. “SMS. Texts feel a bit more impersonal. [than Twitter, Facebook] Basically i get the listeners to write the show because they are funnier than you. The advantage to me is i think it makes the audience it bit more loyal. You feel a bit closer to them they feel closer to you. its quite easy to lose listeners. if you use these things properly the audience becomes more sticky. You can make people care”
• Visualising Radio. “What they did cleverly [for Simon Mayo] was not try and make it look like a tv show and it worked well for big guests. But for those programmes with just a presenter speaking its “not a great visual experience.”
• Audioboo “The sound quality is better than you would expect it to be. If i was a witness to a breaking news event I can now record a report and share it with a station. Thats exciting.”
• Presenter power “A grey area has opened up. Sometimes i’ll RT an article that i find interesting without passing comment.The janmoir article i was quite fascinated about. A couple of days later I hosted a radio discussion [about it].Had I [by posting tweets] became compromised about a discussion i might be hosting ?

• russell davies: transistor
  "You want the sound less centre-stage…slightly recessive in the attention in the way you'd listen to radio"
  (tags: audio radio russelldavies)

• Senior BBC Executive faces Tory anger over 'left of centre' thinking comments | Mail Online
  "Mr Stephenson made his remarks in a blog for a left-wing newspaper. " Well actually it was an interview in something called The Guardian.
  (tags: dailymail drama guardian bbc paper)

• My thought for the day: God has left the BBC building | Rod Liddle – Times Online
  Rod Liddle as calm as ever. "Every morning from Monday to Saturday at 0745, the good people of Britain are treated to three minutes of whining and vapid pseudo-religious drivel called Thought for the Day. I say “good” people to exclude the indolent, who are still in bed, the thick, who are watching flopsy bunnies on television, and the terrible, desiccated ranks of the undead, who are tuned into Radio 2. "
  (tags: thoughtfortheday radio4 thetimes bbc rodliddle)
• cloudedthinking – Guardian Soulmates
  "Probably a radio 4 listener, although, I appreciate that's not very likely!" 28 year old bemoans problem of finding similar, presumably at his age, on Guardian dating site.
  (tags: radio4 bbcradio yoof dating)
• Dogger, Shannon and dear old thing prove charm of old-style broadcasting | Will Buckley | Sport | The Observer
  "The Shipping Forecast has become the Proustian madeleine of sports broadcasting. There were many memorable SFs during the 2005 Ashes and there was another last Sunday when, with England stoically defending their few remaining wickets, we were off to hear about the weather expected at Dogger and Shannon and German Bight, and dear old Fastnet." Buckley explains the problems of the Shipping Forecast intervening in crucial bits of Test Matches. Of course i listen to TMS on 5 Live Sports Extra. Except on dogwalks.
  (tags: tms radio4lw 5livesportsextra bbc bbcradio cricket ashes)
• BBC to throw open its archive of film and radio treasures | Media | The Observer
  "Frankly, the BBC has an obligation to share what we have got." Alan Yentob announces new partnerships with the BFI, British Library and the Tate.
  (tags: bbc yentob bfi tate archives)

• BBC – Fergus On Flu: Time for concern, not panic
  "So given several potential death tolls for the UK from H1N1 swine flu, you can be sure that the headline writers will go for the biggest."
  Fergus Walsh, the BBC's medical correspondent, has been writing a detailed blog devoted to H1N1/Swine Flu. Here's a post deconstructing the latest "death toll" figures doing the media rounds.
  (tags: bbcblogs bbcnews panic swineflu h1n1 datajournalism)

• Times Online's new, improved reader comment system
  "The new comments tool will supersede our previous system, and unfortunately this means that all old comments will disappear from the site."
  (tags: timesonline comments pluck thetimes)
• Fearne’s on the move at Radio 1 | Official Fearne Cotton
  "We caught up with Fearne exclusively to get her reaction to the news" Official Fearne Cotton website gets to speak to Fearne Cotton EXCLUSIVE.
  (tags: radio1 jowhiley bbc radio)
• BBC NEWS | Politics | Beach reading for Tory bookworms
  First amazed that "When the Lights went out; The Seventies" by Andy Beckett doesn't make it. but this write up of a Tory back benchers annual pre-recess book list piece on Radio 4's the World at One is crying out for links links links
  (tags: books bbcnews links worldatone radio4)
• BBC – BBC Internet Blog: Visualising Material World: the ins and outs
  "On the 3rd of July broadcast, we made the terrible discovery that the text on the Visualisation Console couldn't reproduce apostrophes. Within seconds, many of the audience took advantage of the "message the studio" button on the console. Being the Radio 4 audience, they were all very polite, but their scorn was plain to read and rightly so." Great detailed tech explanation from Richard Courtice about putting this part of the BBC's radio visualisation trial into operation.
  (tags: vistrial radio4 materialworld bbc radio visualisation)
• BBC – Today – Apollo 11 lunar launch remembered
  Tom Fielden, Today's lovely science correspondent, starts a series of Apollo related pieces. Contains interview with 94 year old Reg Turnbull. *the* voice of 60s/70s BBC Space reports.
  (tags: today apollo lunar tomfielden bbc radio4)
• Radio 4 Commissioning Process « Michelle Lipton
  "Until you’ve been through the radio commissioning process from start to finish it can be difficult to understand exactly what’s involved. Having now emerged from the latest round clutching a small handful of precious commissions, I promised I would write up what I’ve learned from the experience " 10 step guide for pitching scripted drama/comedy to Radio 4 (and probably 2 and 3 too).
  (tags: bbc pitches commissioning radio4 comedy)
• The Ashes – adambowie.com
  "It was nail-biting stuff, but I wasn't watching on Sky as my father doesn't subscribe to it. Instead we found ourselves staring at a scorecard on BBC Interactive while listening to Test Match Special."
  (tags: tms ashes skydigital adambowie redbutton cricket)
• toss140.net – comment on the commentators
  "toss140.net is a crowdsourced summary of newspaper columnists, so you can be on top of the pundits, and decide if you want to read them" . v.lovely indeed. mmm. Presumably this would work also with er, radio or telly or iPlayer or "records reviews" or …
  (tags: twitter columnists toss140 aggregation newspapers journalism)

• Radio head | Zoe Williams | Culture | The Guardian
  "Reading books aloud on Radio 4 is not a totally needless experience" Zoe Williams has written her last radio column for the Guardian. I hope they are not axing the column completely but next time could they give it to someone who, perhaps likes radio slightly more. Poor old Zoe. It always sounded like some dreadful chore.
  (tags: radio zoewilliams radio4 radiohead)
• Beekeeping Diary – Telegraph
  What is it with the media and beekeeping diaries. Telegraph's hive and Beekeeping advice and notes joins Radio 4's Farming Today beekeeping blog.
  (tags: telegraph bees radio4 beekeeping farming)
• Humanity Connected « Derivadow.com
  "They didn’t do it because they were told to, they didn’t do it because there was any immediate benefit. They did it because they thought that by doing it would enable cool things to happen. The last couple of years suggests that we are on the cusp of a similar revolution as people start to publish linked data which will in turn result in a new digital revolution." Tom's eloquent/linked data focused (of course) write up of the Digital Revolution/Webat20 TV prog launch that I went to the other day.
  (tags: linkeddata berners-lee webat20 digitalrevolution bbc derivadow)
• How teenagers consume media, apparently – Roo Reynolds
  "I think it’s time to get some perspective about a piece of writing that is purely anecdotal" Roo's blogpostcountering the Morgan Stan research note with plenty of alternative research sources, quotes, and er, facts to counter the prevailing view of the the London based teen's piece doing the rounds.
  (tags: rooreynolds twitter media teenagers)
• BBC – Radio 4 Blog: Roger Bolton's teeth
  "It is a tough programme to do. Roger Bolton has teeth and bares them – but people like me are given enough time to explain ourselves as best we can. I hope that is well enough. I am biased but I think the BBC editors etc. who come on do take the whole thing seriously." Mark Damazer on why Feedback stays in the Radio schedules
  (tags: radio4blog radio4 bbc rogerbolton feedback damazer)
• BBC – 5 live Breakfast Blog: Who is cricket's Twitter king?
  David Bumble Lloyd – "Its a bit irreverent. i like to bring a bit of music in. I'm a massive Fall fan, and Inspiral Carpets, Joy Division. New Order. that sort of thing" Bumble and Aggers talk cricket twitter, cakes. Aggers did it because of @stephenfry. David Lloyd was asked to to it by his er, boss.
  (tags: cricket twitter ashes 5live breakfast)
• Word Magazine | Comment on radio use of twitter by "Adman"
  "I was very confused when I heard Simon Mayo asking listeners to a Radio 2 show to send in track requests via his Twitter feed. Why? You can phone, text and email Radio 2. Why use Twitter
  for that? Anyone explain it?!"
  (tags: twitter bbc radio radio2 simonmayo thewordmagazine)

• Plinth Watch (PlinthWatch) on Twitter
  "Watching the fourth plinth in Trafalgar square (especially during summer 2009). News, RTs and perspectives, curated by the team at guardian.co.uk" Nicely done curated Twitter account from Guardian ppl.
  (tags: plinth oneandother guardian twitter art gormley)
• BBC should have launched children's radio station, says Caroline Thomson | Media | guardian.co.uk
  "I used to listen to Go4It quite a lot as it followed The Archers on a Sunday evening and you just thought 'what children are listening to the radio after The Archers?' and they weren't. That did not work.:" So did I but my kids were watching the Simpsons in the living room.
  (tags: go4it radio4 media guardian.co.uk radio)

My mum died on Friday after a long illness.  I’m not sure what i’m thinking now but what it keeps coming back to is how hard she worked. All the time. By the time she rested in life and was now cruelly too ill to walk her dogs and look after her beloved garden, she was so exhausted she just took comfort in watching bad tv and her joy at hearing about her grandchildren.

She was born in Brighton in the middle of the war and the eldest of four daughters (like my wife oddly) . She literally did have those austerity childhoods where kids had Mars Bars and a doll for Christmas. She spent much of her teenage life looking after them; cleaning, walking them to school. When I proudly told her that in my new house a few years back I’d ripped out the electrics to have an open fire in the living room, she looked appalled and recalled having to brush out the grate daily every winter back in her uncentrally heated house. Why go back to that ?

In the sixties she met my Dad, on a blind date, moved in with him and in 1966 had twin boys. My Dad was a shop steward at the time and didn’t come home until late and I only know now, having 3 boys myself, what bringing up twins must have been like. Yet throughout the 70s and early 80s and now joined by my sister a few years down the line I just remember a secure, safe and happy childhood of being thoroughly looked after. If friends came round. A knock on the door and a tray of biscuits would arrive. If I sneaked into Brighton on the bus to play down the arcades I’d come back to a miraculousy tidy bedroom and just the one cry “Are you hungry?”. On Saturday nights in front of the Generation Game and Starsky and Hutch I was allowed a big bag of Spring Onion Marks and Spencers crisps, a cream cake and with barely any resistance the ok to stay up late to watch Match of the Day. Spool through 15 years and now in her fifties and my mum regularly came round and hoovered my disgusting bedsit, heated up one of her cooked dinners in the microwave and then washed up the plate before she left.

Of course i only realise now that this incredible support and indulgence of her (lazy ?) son didn’t come by magic. My Dad worked long hours keeping his engineering business going and from time to time in the 80s my mum spent many hours as waitress at tented corporate dos and all of the above means two things. Unconditional love and exhaustion. I really didn’t understand this at the time. I’m a married Dad now,  and i can’t say i work that hard at being one.

Anyway I was only the second  person from either side of the family to go to university and thats because she and my Dad (who is similarly the most generous man you’re ever likely to meet) provided the safe, supportive, and encouraging home that made all that possible and desirable.  Over many years she forgave me for playing loud Smiths records over and over again through the ceiling, didn’t miss a beat when i told her I “was taking a year out” and was only genuinely angry with me once. Getting my ears pierced. She was right. She even helped me out even when in those last few years it was painful just to get out of her chair. She often came round to babysit and was still tidying up my kitchen when my eyes were turned.

This morning I took my eldest son to “big school” for his first try out day. As i said goodbye to him, my first thought was to ring my mum first to tell her all about it. His nervousness, how he looked and what he was feeling because she’d be so eager to hear about it and offer advice. And then I remembered.

I’ll really miss her.

• Phillip Holt's World of NLP, Hypnosis, PhotoReading, Mind Maps & Memory: Special Half Hour, Radio 5 Live
  "Being on the show, I was awarded the Special Half Hour badge, and I said I would wear it with pride at a training course I am now giving here in Milan, Italy, the NLP Master Practitioner." .
  (tags: 5live facebook richardbacon specialhalfhour)