Sunday, April 5th, 2009
Issue: 120   Editor: Mikamon


Operator? Get me the Bootcast! Chiron
Bose, Hertz, Marconi. These three names are historically remembered as people who have contributed to the invention of modern radio in the 1800’s. However, over two hundred years later in our very own online slice of the 1930’s, our very own radio outlet has been re-invented! Now, the players of this fine game can phone-in to the Bootcast, rather than just listen.

This week, our very own Bootcast was revamped, allowing the listener to phone-in and leave a message regarding whatever they feel like. Also, to put the icing on the cake, phone-ins can be done, free of charge! The architects of this update who eventually launched the feature were our very own Head DJ MagzFuckenTastic and Administrative DJing extraordinaire, Sabin.

The unveiling of this new feature was done during a much anticipated broadcast on Tuesday evening, as callers raced to get their input phoned in. The honour of being the first user to call in went to TeddyBearNinja, or DJ Ninja as our Bootcast listeners will know him by. When asked how it felt to have made a tiny bit of Bootcast history, he told us at the Buzz that “It was pretty cool to be the first person to call into the new feature for the BootCast. I honestly didn't think I'd be the first, I figured someone would get to it before I did.”.

All fun and games aside, we at the Buzz managed to get in touch with Head DJ Mags, to find out just how well received this new feature was during its maiden broadcast. When asked just how many listeners had phoned in during the first fifteen minutes of it becoming available, we were told that approximately “ten people or so had phoned in”, which is an impressive number considering the number of people who were listening at that point, and the challenge that can sometimes come when familiarising oneself with a new feature.

Within a half hour, calls were coming in from several listeners, adding some entertaining intermissions between songs. We at the Buzz asked Mags if the immediate popularity was expected and we were told that a few more calls were expected but “as people get to understand the new feature, the feature would grow” which would be a safe assumption to take based on the feature’s initial popularity.

So what does this new feature bring to the Bootcast, and the game in general? We aksed Mags this question and he currently holds the belief that “It will bring a way for the casual listener and the hard core listener to get their voice on the Bootcast.”, bringing an experience similar to a commercial radio phone-in program.

As for the future of the Bootcast, Mags told us that the next objective was to simply get more DJs in, and keep the show on the road. Could the demand for new DJing talent possibly pave the way for more new and exciting features coming over the horizon? For us at the Buzz, only time will tell!

In the mean time, why not pick up your phone, and call in?

Happy Gaming!