Making personal connections with Web tools

At ArtsJournal, Greg Sandow has been writing about social networking and classical music, which I hit on recently when I wrote about why and how classical stations should use Twitter.

Sandow wrote:

The Philharmonic and the Met could do what the Times and the Post do, and have many Twitter streams, some from the institution, and some from people involved with it. Maybe this violates some sense these institutions have of their proper dignity, but I promise them — if they really do want to engage younger people, at some point they’ll have to do what I suggest. The world is moving that way, and classical music can’t afford to be left behind.

(My emphasis above, and the full post here.)

Greg makes an especially good point about individuals within institutions using Twitter. That recommendation applies just as well to radio stations as to other classical institutions. Stations’ on-air personalities connect directly with listeners, sharing the musical experience with them. And because radio is so portable, the intimate quality of this connection has often been noted. We invite radio hosts into our homes, our bedrooms, our kitchens, our cars, even our showers — can the same be said of any other media personalities?

As radio stations and networks move into the world of Web 2.0, that personal connection needs to be tended to. Which is why blogs, Twitter feeds and the like are a step in the right direction — but to really get it right, let hosts have their own blogs, or contribute to a group blog where their identities can remain distinct. Encourage them to answer blog comments personally. And let them use Twitter independently of the station’s departments and own brand.

Give listeners multiple ways to connect to the station and reinforce what they find most valuable.