With this bad economic time in both our world and the land of Animal Crossing, I am giving away 250,000 bells! No questions ask! So if you have Animal Crossing City Folk, go get my friend code by clicking here and then message me your Animal Crossing CF friend code. Within 24 hours, I will add you to friend list. If you are already in my friend list or you have mine, you’re able to go right to my town 24/7. Please refer to the ACCF manual for details of how to connect. Once you arrive, follow the trail of coins, one will lead you to the right way, the other will not. In that pile of money lays a rare item (it appears to be an apple but it is not). The one friend who can find it first is the winner. I wish you luck on your quest!
Tonight is the night we’ve been waiting for, a six month wait to be exact, the new look of the WRAJ Internet Radio website is going up. The new look will replace a template, known to us as the “Tower,” we’ve been using it for our web presence since 2003. The 2003 template, which first appeared on November 21, 2003, have been noted in the internet radio community as one of the best templates ever designed for internet radio.
“We have decided to change our website to update our look and feel to catch up with the times,” Anthony Zaragoza said. “We hope that the new look will improve our internet interactivity as we continue to grow, as well as our mobile platform, WRAJ Mobile.”
Tonight shall be it’s last night as our new template, “Innovation,” rolls in the wee hours of Wednesday morning. The template, which we have been working on since August 2008, was first appeared on Vidgle on October 28. WRAJ Internet Radio’s template took the longest so that it can be compatible with our current CMS (content management system), which includes our staff portal, messageboard, our new music guide we are implementing, photo gallery, and many more applications. And once again, just like the 2003 template, it was designed in-house with no third party developer. The new template preview is below, click the picture to enlarge.
We hope you enjoy the new look and feel of WRAJ Internet Radio!
Most of you probably don’t even know that last Friday, January 2, was the sixth anniversary since WRAJ signed on the air (over the internet I mean).Though six years has changed for us, we are now operating differently then we were back six years ago. Today, we now operate a podcast portal with talk and independent music, a video podcast, and our next project is a blog with updated news content. WRAJ Internet Radio is considered to be one of the luckiest, small internet radio stations there are. Webcasters my age who started at the same time as myself failed within their second or third year. WRAJ Internet Radio also has proven that the important function of an internet radio station is its website, which many webcasters didn’t believe in not long ago. Some webcasters would even say that WRAJ Internet Radio helped shaped the way how the internet radio community is today, having not only a successful online radio station but a successful website to bring in a new audience. WRAJRadio.com has proven that as it has more than ten thousand users each month, over a thousand tune-ins in one day, and over 500 podcast listeners.
This month is time for a change though, especially to our thousands of users using our website each month. This month will be the time that we will be changing our website, something that we haven’t done in over 5 years. The current website template was designed back in November 2003, making the template last through two generation of website designs on most other media platform websites. The thumbnail above is the new look of the site, which is similar to Vidgle’s new template. Though the template is still under work, it is expected to be launched on January 13.
I would like to is wish all of my friends, family, and everyone else I know a happy holidays greeting! 2008 is a year that was pretty successful! With the help of my friends and family, I was able to establish a second website, a video podcast called “Vidgle,” which now attracts over 500 video views each month. I was also to launch a second major portion of WRAJ Internet Radio, the WRAJ Internet Radio Podcast; which some of my friends helped me out as well. Both of the projects’ hard work made us have more fun in our everyday talks!
Although this past year has been stressful, I would like to thank my friends and family that helped me navigate through the tough times I had this year. I won’t get into details about my troubled times but once again, thanks everyone who have helped me out through the problems I have been having.
Here are some personal messages to some of my friends
To Jimmy: Thanks for always being there! To bad we didn’t go to Florida this season!
To Sarah: I would give you your gift but we haven’t seen each other! We need to see each other more often! Thanks though for the Animal Crossing stand, I’m now using it as a DVD rack.
To Jen: Your not a friend (more than a family member) but thanks for helping me out with everything.
To Mike: Happy Hanukkah! You really made the lettering a bit easier for me this entire year! Thanks again for helping me out the entire year.
To Andy: Thanks for creating and helping out establish several shows for the podcast platform of wrajradio.com, which the site is still the top 20 most visited internet radio station website.
To Fred: I know we haven’t hung out the last few months but thanks so much for helping out with the Vidgle projects this past year. The good news is that Vidgle will stay aboard, sign for season 2 of Con Goer, and reorganizing the basement to setup a new studio and network grid.
To Niki: I haven’t forgotten you! I enjoy talking to someone like you at 3 in the morning because of us drinking coffee non-stop! Well we all know why, its all because “I stay alone in my basement at night.” Our establishment of Vidgle was successful, thanks for being there as we started the site. We need to hangout more often during the break, the spring semester, and beyond!
To Danny: I’m glad that I helped out with the “At My School” project! I’ll see you at the mall!
To Mary: Mary! I miss you! Every time I go to your Starbucks you’re not there! We need to hangout in 2009!
To Louis: Three words… best reporter ever! Not to insult the other members, but you are the best reporter for Con Goer since you started at Comic Con! I can’t wait as we start with season 2 in February!
To Jon: Thanks for helping out with Vidgle! You’ve made the coverage fun to cover as well as keeping it interesting! Also thanks for having Thanksgiving at your house, it was one of my favorite Thanksgiving gatherings ever, I only wished that I could of came (I guessed I should of brought the dog!)
To Merideth: This is not an anti-PC message but this is to say thanks for the work you’ve helped me with when we are at the cons! And also the dinner you made for everyone on Thanksgiving, it was one of my favorite Thanksgiving dinners.
To Chris: We need to play tennis when I’m in Florida! Also, I’m giving you a chance to be a reporter at Otakon! You better do well!
To Brian E.: WE NEED TO HANG OUT! STOP HIDING AT STONY BROOK! Just joking, but still, we need to hangout and play games!
To Nicole: NICOLE! Thanks for helping me out with Vidgle this year, You are a great friend to me and I would like thank you for helping me out though with my troubles!
To Kim: Kim… you are my newest friend! I would like to thank you with the coverage you did at Otakon and Totally Normal Event! And also, thanks for helping me out this past year.
Not to insult anyone, I didn’t list everybody because I could of have a book by now!
Also, listen to a Nerd Night Holiday by clicking here, hosted by Andy and myself.
Happy Holidays to all,
(I know this is a bad picture but I needed a Nerd Night Christmas picture in here somewhere!)
Check out the first Nerd Night podcast episode on the WRAJ Internet Radio Podcast! Andy and I discussed many things, such as Cablevision, Fox, Twilight, and more stuff. So give us your ears for 2 hours and listen to this podcast episode if you are a nerd or someone that needs to past the time. To listen… click here or subscribe to our podcast with iTunes, Zune, or RSS (click one or drag the RSS link to your podcast catcher software).
We are going to be having callers next week with people that we know. If you would like to be on the next edition, which will be recorded Friday night, please let us know!
Jeff Rossen, who came to WNBC and NBC News from WABC-TV, did a similar report that I criticized from a year ago. Remember that new WABC website and Rossen gave it out a tour of it. Well, he has done it again! This time for WNBC’s new website NBCNewYork.com. The only thing missing was the running around the newsroom, however most of it is the same. I know that the stations try to impress users of their new website but sometimes I think is just really unnecessary but I think they want to show off the website to their viewers. In the 1 minute 30 second segment on the 6 o’clock and 7 o’clock news, the music was there, and the dynamic effects that could be used as a promo! Maybe Rossen read my post and decided to joke around with what I said. Google Image Search his name and my site comes up second.
With this new website, it was about time that NBC decided to leave IBS online platform. I’ve been rumoring that they would leave the platform since April and it was true. This was because of NBC’s efforts to expand its local media online. The new site look and feel looks great and the layout is really user family. The previous of the site was to cluttered and there were so many javascripts on the page that caused the site to slowdown on most computers. And this is just the beginning of a new era at WNBC as they transform into a phase of local television that none have seen before. The new 24 hour news channel with local news will be replacing the Weather Plus channel sometime in December when Weather Plus goes off the air.
The new trailer was not meant to come out in the past few days but there is a new version of the Half Blood Prince trailer all over YouTube! Early this year, the movie was pushed into 2009 because parts of the film will be rendered in 3D. Trailer is below. (You may need to click here if you are reading off of Facebook)
WNBC’s helicopter Chopper 4 was over Shea Stadium this morning and I was pretty shocked that already they are taking apart Shea Stadium. Their last game was only on Sunday against the Cubs.
As I said in the past, Shea and Yankee stadium will need to be dismantle, not imploded, to be accordance with New York State laws.
The photographer of Chopper 4, Dan Rice, showed the stadium that seats on the top levels of the stadium is already gone and the bleachers in the back of the park is already gone as well. You can watch the video on wnbc.com.
My last game at Shea was back in August, when I went with Jim and Mike. And as always, we sat right behind home-plate since a friend of my family sponsors the seats for the last fifteen years.
I will miss going to Shea Stadium and its sad to see it go.
Picture on top, courtesy of WNBC on October 2. Picture on right, courtesy of WRAJRadio.com, Ant Jim, and Mike at the Subway Games 2006 against the Yankees.
At WRAJ Internet Radio, ideas are being tossed around all over the place of our new template. The template that I showed you a few months ago, below, is no longer going to be the running candidate of the new design of wrajradio.com. The new template that’s in the works is going to be used for other Jenthony Media websites, such as Vidgle and the new NewMusic101 website that is planning to launch mid-2009.
WRAJ Internet Radio has never had a template change in over four years; however the template coding began nearly six years ago and wasn’t used till late 2003. The first template used on WRAJ Internet Radio, below, was designed for a small internet radio station. But what happened in that year made us realize that we were getting many users onto the site. So in August 2003, we have decided of what will be the current design of wrajradio.com.
And it was that template that was created in fall 2003 that made WRAJ Internet Radio more popular. And that template is the current template we used today. At several radio conferences I’ve attended in the past, I got into disscussions with other internet radio station operators about the website, not the station. Someone even said to me, “if you are in internet radio, you gotta know WRAJ.” The site’s homepage in 2005 is below.
I wouldn’t say WRAJ got popular by the website, but the website is well known in the internet radio community. Some, even listeners, would consider WRAJ to have the best internet radio station website. The website has elements of a traditional broadcast website, with DJ biographies, show pages, and a music guide. Although after hacking attempts in the previous music guide code, a new music guide portal is planning to launch by the end of the year.
WRAJ Internet Radio’s template was displayed on several other internet radio station websites, such as Beatles-A-Rama!!!, below. However, it was not a complete success to those stations to have a modified template.
So the question is what we have in store for the new website. Well, what we will have is a fixed region (meaning the page will not stretch across the entire screen), and a horizontal navigation bar with pull down menus.
We are currently working on a November deadline so that the template will go up in mid-January. It’s amazing that we are working on another template five years after we designed our current template. I guess we are not used of changes around here. I think I should of put the beginning of the yellow rainbow line somewhere it makes sense instead of in the middle of no where.
If you enjoy listening to Shoutcast stations, including WRAJ Internet Radio and WFTU-AM, AOL has released a new look of the Shoutcast website. I have tried the beta copy before being released to the public last week and I thought that its great that AOL is finally taking big jumps for Shoutcast’s directory.
Not only there is a new website, but there also tons of new features; including a new toolbar to listen to Shoutcast stations, a Facebook application, embeddable widgetsand, and support for devices. Shoutcast already supports on iTunes, Windows Media Player, Real Player, various set-top boxes such as cable and internet, and the Sony Playstation Portable (PSP) and Sony Mylo.
The search is expanded as well on the website which allows users to search stations that played artists they search. For example, if we search John Mayer, it will list stations that recently just played or is playing that artist.
WRAJ Internet Radio and WFTU-AM does have a Windows Media stream but unfortuanetly Microsoft does not maintain a directory such as this for their streaming software like Shoutcast.
Jeff Rossen, who came to WNBC and NBC News from WABC-TV, did a similar report that I criticized from a year ago. Remember that new WABC website and Rossen gave it out a tour of it. Well, he 
WNBC’s helicopter Chopper 4 was over Shea Stadium this morning and I was pretty shocked that already they are taking apart Shea Stadium. Their last game was only on Sunday against the Cubs.
My last game at Shea was back in August, when I went with Jim and Mike. And as always, we sat right behind home-plate since a friend of my family sponsors the seats for the last fifteen years.
Not only there is a new website, but there also tons of new features; including a new toolbar to listen to Shoutcast stations, 