BlogTalkRadio CEO Alan Levy and FlyLady Marla Cilley resume their Now is the Time radio show tonight at 8:00 p.m. EST.

Alan and Marla will be catching up for the summer and want to hear your summer plans too. Stop by and say hello, take part in the chat or just listen in.

Alan and Marla are like comfort food but for radio and they're always up for company.

As announced in today’s New York Times, we closed a $4.6m Series A financing round lead by Scott Sipprelle and The Kraft Group.

We launched BlogTalkRadio almost two years ago as an idea that we thought had some legs. As has been well-documented in the past, our theory was quite simple: Would bloggers, or in fact anyone, be interested in creating audio content using a phone? Would it be possible to create a new distribution platform and medium, where anyone with a phone and something to say could establish and build an audience? If this is such a good idea, why is no one else doing it? We had many more questions than answers.

Fast forward from the fall of 2006 and we have broadcast close to 100,000 shows. We have had Academy Award winners, Presidential candidates, best-selling authors and many other notables. We have thousands of active hosts talking about the things that interest them and their audience. Our content is listened to more than 3 million times a month and as new content is created and added to the long tail, the number of listeners continues to grow rapidly.

We work with major companies to create private radio stations which can reside on our site or off. So while our brand is building and the network is growing, we offer an opportunity for any company to create conversations around their products, beliefs and ideas.

We are so excited about the strategic investor group we have assembled. Each of our investors not only believes that this platform is truly unique and powerful, but can introduce us to so many potential commercial partners.

We simply couldn’t be more excited about how this company is evolving and now we have the capital in place to accomplish many things. We are planning major enhancements to our user interface and user experience. We will invest in content and distribution as well as further developing our ad sales platform. We are also looking at developing many new products including a highly differentiated video platform, audio to text transcription applications and much more.

Alan

The Personal Democracy Forum

I received some Skypes today from Alan Levy, BlogTalkRadio's CEO and host of the Alan Levy Show. Alan is enjoying himself in New York City today, where he's attending the Personal Democracy Forum.

So what is the Personal Democracy Forum? From the website:

Technology and the Internet are changing politics -- now more than ever. Over the last five years, Personal Democracy Forum (PdF) has become the seminal gathering place for the growing community of people who understand the effects underway, and want to make sure they stay on top of what's coming next.

This year PdF will be bigger and better than before--we're expanding to two full days at a spectacular new venue overlooking Central Park, at Frederick P. Rose Hall, the home of Jazz at Lincoln Center.

---

AgendaThe 2008 election has shown that the Internet has become the central battlefield for campaigns, from the presidential race on down. So, on the first day of PdF 2008, we're going to focus on how technology is changing the electoral process. But we all know that no matter who is elected, big changes are also coming in how government uses technology to serve or connect with the public. That's why we're adding a whole second day to the PdF agenda, devoted to how technology is changing governance and civic action.

Sounds like a good idea to me. The Internet has totally changed the way we look at and talk about politics.

The sessions look like they provided a gold mine of information. Check out what was on tap:

• A New Media System or Old Wine in a New Bottle? Speakers - Arianna Huffington and Chuck DeFeo
• When Worlds Collide: Social Media, Mainstream Media and Politics - Speaker -Matthew Hurst
• The Power of Information to Transform Government - Speakers Jonathan Adelstein, Steven Clift, Sheila Cambell

And plenty more...

The Personal Democracy Forum was co-founded by Micah Sifrey a freelance writer, author and Senior Analyst with Public Campaign, a non-profit, non partisan organization based in Washington DC.

Internet for Everyone

While at the PdF, Alan was impressed to learn about Internet for Everyone, an organization a "a national initiative of public interest, civic and industry groups that are working to see that the Internet continues to drive U.S. economic growth and prosperity."

From the website:

We believe every American must be connected to a fast, affordable, and open Internet to serve as an active citizen in a 21st century democracy and to prosper in today’s economy. High-speed Internet is no longer a luxury; it’s a lifeline for all Americans. Our broad alliance is working together to see that our nation's leaders adopt a national plan to bring open, high-speed Internet connections into every home, at a price all of us can afford.

How true. How many kids can't do proper research using the Internet because of a slow dialup connection? How many people miss out on wonderful business or personal opportunities because they can't afford access? Visit Internet for Everyone for more details and to show your support. You might especially be interested in the Why Internet Matters page which talks about restoring America's broadband leadership. We approve.

Sure, you've checked out my show on Heading Right Radio.  But it's more than streaming radio.  BlogTalkRadio had more than 3,000,000 listeners in April, network wide.   BTR's Founder & CEO Alan Levy appeared on the Fox Business Channel earlier today.  Check it out.

On Monday, May 19th: Alan Levy interviews Marcus Luttrell, Navy SEAL and author of Lone Survivor. Plus, my interviews with Pete Hegseth from Vets for Freedom, and Akram Elias - Grand Master of the DC Free Masons. Woohoo.

On Tuesday, May 20th: Pat Dollard and Media Lizzy take a critical look at Barack Obama, War, & his new show - JihadiKillerHour on Sunday evenings here at BTR. Fmr. Gov. Jim Gilmore returns to discuss his US Senate Race in Virginia - and his take on the POTUS versus Wanna-Be Obama "appeasement" battle.

On Wednesday, May 21st - Media Lizzy will be back in the saddle!

Today at 8pm ET, Luttrell joins Now is the Time on BlogTalkRadio for an exclusive interview. Hear from the man himself as he details his story of courage, honor, and patriotism with FlyLady Marla Cilley and BlogTalkRadio CEO Alan Levy. This inspirational story The Washington Post says “showcases both American heroism and Afghani humanity,” will move and shake your beliefs about modern warfare and those who make the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Even if you’ve read the book, you’ve not heard it from the mouth of the Lone Survivor.

Following the interview, the hosts will take your calls about this amazing man and his story. Join the conversation today.

BlogTalkRadio (www.blogtalkradio.com), the first citizen broadcasting network, and AOL News (news.aol.com), have created a daily online talk radio show focusing on AOL News’ Hot Seat question of the day. The show, called AOL Hot Seat Question of the Day, will be available to listeners on BlogTalkRadio, (www.blogtalkradio.com/AOL-Hot-Seat), and AOL’s Political Machine blog, (news.aol.com/political-machine). BlogTalkRadio’s Media Lizzy will host the daily program along with a Political Machine Hot Seat blogger of the day. Listeners can call in and join the conversation.

Hot Seat is AOL News’ syndicated political widget featuring daily political poll questions from some of the biggest political bloggers across the political spectrum, including The Huffington Post, Time's Mark Halperin, Slate's John Dickerson, Politico, Crooks & Liars, Power Line, The Atlantic's Andrew Sullivan and Hot Air's Ed Morrissey. The questions address current political issues and events as a way to stimulate a dialogue between voters, pundits and politicians.

“The Hot Seat polls bring together various opinions from syndicated content across the Internet and provides an outlet for the public to discuss breaking political news,” said Coates Bateman, Executive Producer, AOL’s Political Machine. “By adding the BlogTalk Radio component, we are providing users with additional insight into the Hot Seat blog posts."

“As politics is the most popular content category on BlogTalkRadio, we are happy to partner with AOL News and its outstanding Political Machine blog," said Alan Levy, CEO and co-founder of BlogTalkRadio. "John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama’s campaign have all utilized BlogTalkRadio to communicate their messages to the masses and interact with voters on a one-on-one basis. This agreement with AOL News furthers BlogTalkRadio’s commitment to inform the public about this year’s presidential race and encourage listeners to lend their voice and share their opinions on the election and future of the United States.”

In addition to AOL Hot Seat Question of the Day, Elizabeth “Media Lizzy” Blackney also hosts BlogTalkRadio programs Heading Right Radio and The Media Lizzy Show. She is a political communications strategist, author of Sex, Lies & Politricks, and the founding publisher of TMK Books.

About AOL
AOL is a global Web services company that operates some of the most popular Web destinations, offers a comprehensive suite of free software and services, runs one of the largest Internet access businesses in the U.S., and provides a full set of advertising solutions. A majority-owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc., AOL LLC and its subsidiaries have operations in the U.S., Europe, Canada and Asia. Learn more at AOL.com.

Alan, who wrote a post earlier this year about Martin, will be attending the four day event with some of the web's greatest minds. From Martin's blog post:

Last year we celebrated our first Menorca TechTalk, a gathering of Tech Entrepreneurs at my farm in Menorca. It was fun, relaxing, a great learning experience for all of those who participated and for those who attended the TechTalk itself...The gathering starts on Thursday morning and ends Sunday evening.

Some of those attending include Om Malik (Giga Omni Media), Andrew Mclaughlin (Google), Loic Le Meur (Seesmic), Jennifer Schenker (BusinessWeek), John Markoff (The New York Times), Joi Ito (Creative Commons, Six Apart Japan, Investor) and many more.

You can read the entire list of tech gurus on Martin's original post.

Joe Marchese is reinventing advertising through his company SocialVibe.com, by recognizing the power of the people within social media and converting media dollars into charitable donations. He'll go into detail on The Alan Levy show today at 4pm ET.

SocialVibe recognizes that individuals hold the key to generating attention and wielding influence in social media. It’s a powerful new way for brands to interact with people and changing the way brands participate in social media. Find out more today.

Those words come from Gregg Greenberg of TheStreet.com, who interview CEO Alan Levy and posted his interview on TheStreet.com TV (click image to play video).

TheStreet.com is a free, award winning web site of TheStreet.com, Inc., a leading financial media company whose network of Web sites serves as the premier online destination for all areas where money and life intersect. Thestreet.com distinguishes itself from other financial Web sites with its journalistic excellence and unbiased coverage of the financial markets, economic and industry trends, and investment and financial planning.

Andrew Morton is one of the world's best-known biographers and a leading authority on modern celebrity. He'll be discussing his latest book, "Tom Cruise, an Unauthorized Biography" on The Alan Levy Show today at 4pm ET.

USAToday wrote: "After best-selling biographies of Princess Diana (secretly authorized by Diana), Monica Lewinsky (officially authorized) and Madonna (unauthorized), why did Andrew Morton take on Tom Cruise, the most litigious of Hollywood stars? 'He's the quintessential global celebrity,' Morton says"

Find out more today!

In his column Media Notes, Kurtz explains how "With BlogTalkRadio, the Commentary Universe Expands."

The article talks about the story behind our Citizen Broadcast Network, how some "unlikely stars have been born," and BlogTalkRadio's emergence as a tool for more empowering and interactive experiences online.

CEO Alan Levy says:

Its great that BlogTalkRadio is recognized by the number one media critic in the country, Howard Kurtz, as "a populist force in cyberspace." This validates BlogTalkRadio as a powerful online medium that is a true Citizen Broadcast Network. As I said in the article, my Dad would be proud.

We have grown so much since August of 2006. Starting from the ground up, an empty network with no hosts, to our current impressive lineup of content, Kurtz observes that in addition to bloggers, "some better-known people are also gravitating toward the outlet."

We want to take this opportunity to thank the many hosts and listeners who have brought their enthusiasm, energy, and discussions to our community.

Read the Washington Post article here.

Those words belong to Sree Sreenivasan, who puts Alan Levy in the hot seat to discuss BlogTalkRadio today at 4:30pm ET.

Sree is Dean of Student Affairs & professor at Columbia Journalism School; tech reporter for WNBC-TV; co-founder of South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA), which also has a show on BlogTalkRadio and author of SreeTips.com and the New to Sree blog.

Yesterday's Portfolio's piece on BlogTalkRadio has also changed a few perspectives about me.

Martin Varsavsky is a fellow entrepreneur and founder of numerous companies. I was an accountant in NYC twenty years ago when Martin asked me to join him to be CFO at Viatel. He gave me an opportunity to change the direction of my career.

Today Martin wrote a post about BlogTalkRadio and his changing views:

...my view of Alan Levy changed when I saw how he could successfully blend old style telephony with an exciting new format and the result is BlogTalkRadio. This week I was going to write an elaborate article in order to explain how is it that BlogTalkRadio democratizes the talk radio format using the internet and telephones and makes it available for all but I found out that Conde Nast Portfolio saved me from doing the research. Here's a great article summarizing BlogTalkRadio.

Martin himself is a visionary entrepreneur who has founded many companies. His current project is FON, whose mission is to make WiFi universal and free by creating a unified global community of members who share WiFi. It's already the world’s largest WiFi community.

I've always said I'm not your typical web 2.0 CEO. I'm not in the age range and I didn't grow up with the Internet. Again, I'm changing perspectives on what people expect from a web 2.0 company. But I have a vision where everyone can join the conversation and have a voice that can be heard worldwide. And this citizen broadcasting network, BlogTalkRadio, is that vision that's changing perspectives across the business, radio and Internet worlds.

Martin saw something in me that I perhaps not seen in myself. His confidence in me twenty years ago will always be appreciated.

Alan Levy
CEO
www.blogtalkradio.com

Trigger Gumm joins The Alan Levy Show Saturday at 11am ET. He'll join Alan the morning before they air MTV's Evel Knievel Tribute and Trigger aims to set a new world record for a tandem motorcycle jump. Trigger will be LIVE on BlogTalkRadio before he heads to MTV studios to broadcast live during the Tribute.

Mat Hoffman’s Evel Knievel Tribute airs during the MTV Jackass 24hr Takeover. The tribute will feature Trigger Gumm, Travis Pastrana, Midget (BIG) Mike, The Nitro Circus Crew, Johnny Knoxville, and Triggers Army.

Trigger's latest world record jump was on July 23, 2006 at the Buffalo Run Casino in Miami, Oklahoma where he jumped a Roland Sands built Service Honda 450 for 274 feet, going vertical at 80 feet.

Trigger broke the record in Australia in May 2005 when he launched his Service Honda 500 cc motorcycle 277.5 feet, that's over 90 yards in the air! He also has the record for height in jumping, going vertical at 80 feet high.

At 3pm ET today, Joseph Jaffe will join the conversation with Alan Levy about Jaffe's new book Join the Conversation.

Jaffe’s popular blog and podcast “Jaffe Juice”, provides commentary on all things new marketing. His podcast was voted a Readers’ Choice Award as “Best Marketing Podcast” by MarketingSherpa.

His new book, Join the conversation: How to engage marketing-weary consumers with the power of community, dialogue and partnership, continues to push the envelope and shift perspectives on the way marketers think about marketing. It is an appropriate follow up to his first book, Life After The 30-Second Spot: Energize Your Brand With A Bold Mix Of Alternatives To Traditional Advertising, which provided a much needed industry eye-opening. Join the Conversation, and its complementary blog, outline the birth and rise of “conversational marketing” – a vision of literally what comes next and how marketers can become part of the conversation, instead of constantly disrupting it.

Join the conversation live today at 3pm ET on The Alan Levy Show.

Join Chris Pirillo, blogger, vlogger, author, and founder of Lockergnome as he sits down with Alan today at 3pm ET on The Alan Levy Show.

Chris is a self-proclaimed Geek, Internet Entrepreneur, Hardware Addict, Software Junkie, Book Author, Once TV Show Host, Technology Enthusiast, Shameless Self-Promoter, Tech Conference Coordinator, Early Adopter, Idea Evangelist, Tech Support Blogger, Bootstrapper, Media Personality, Technology Consultant, and Thicker Quicker Picker Upper.

You wouldn't dare miss a show with a guy like that, would you? The Alan Levy Show is hosted by BlogTalkRadio CEO and co-founder Alan Levy. Call in to join the discussion at (347) 677-0649.

Photo by michakaufman

A press release issued this week announced the launch of the new show that will air every Friday night LIVE from Mickey Mantle's, a historic establishment on Central Park South in New York City. The show debuts February 1, at 6pm Eastern Time. The two-hour live broadcasts will feature guests from the world of New York sports.

Commenting on the news, Alan Levy, CEO, BlogTalkRadio said:

"BlogTalkRadio is proud to be able to provide a platform that allows citizen broadcasters like Gotham Sports to produce high-quality shows from anywhere in the world. 'Live from Mickey Mantle's' is a demonstration of what BlogTalkRadio can do in the hands of enthusiastic business people."

The broadcast, to be hosted by Mark Healey and Mike Silva, is the latest addition to the Gotham Sports Media Network of shows, joining Gotham Baseball Live, Talking Baseball Live with Paul Greco and Lenny Melnick, Gotham Hoops Live, Baseball Talk with Carl "The Cabbie" & Dugout Joe and Gotham Nation.

The Scobleizer will join The Alan Levy Show to discuss Scoble’s new role as Managing Director of the new video network FastCompany.TV from Mansueto Digital today at 3pm ET.

Scoble's daily video series, ScobleTV, will be featured on the newly launched FastCompany.TV. Scoble is highly regarded for his coverage of emerging technology trends from both start ups and established tech companies, especially in the Web 2.0 and social media space. He covered BlogTalkRadio's new site launch in September 2007.

Join the conversation via text or phone on The Alan Levy Show and get the inside scoop on ScobleTV, Scobleizer.com and FastCompany.TV.

[photo by Thomas Hawk via Flickr]

Is BlogTalkRadio a new medium? I say undoubtedly yes!! In fact, not only has BlogTalkRadio proven to be an effective new medium smack center in the world of blogging, podcasting, broadcasting and social media, I would argue that BlogTalkRadio is the fastest growing creator of original content anywhere; on the web or off. I know that’s a pretty bold statement for a website only 16 months old and barely noticed by the blogger “intelligentsia” in Silicon Valley and elsewhere, except Robert Scoble, who has been a friend.

Please consider the following:

1. Since inception we have produced over 46,000 broadcasts all of which are maintained in our program guides and available for consumption. We produced 6,600 shows in December 2007 and yesterday January 10^th, 315 shows were broadcast live.
2. In December 2007, 2 million shows were listened to either live or on demand. Our content is available on our site, on our hosts blogs, all over myspace and Facebook, and throughout the web. We have also begun to syndicate our content to Reciva, podcast directories like Podcast.com and many others. We expect to syndicate much of our content to terrestrial radio stations throughout the country in 2008.
3. The content that comes into the network continues to amaze me. Just before the new year Brad Pitt, Arianna Huffington and Mike Huckabee appeared on BlogTalkRadio. This week alone, Yoko Ono, Jon Voight, Steve Forbes just to name a few. Please keep in mind that we do not have a booking department. All of the notable guests that have graced this network have been introduced by our thousands of active citizen broadcasters. Here is a list of notable guests who have appeared on BlogTalkRadio.
4. We are approaching 200,000 daily RSS feeds a day hitting our site, pulling blog posts and audio files. This number has quadrupled since we launched our redesigned site at the end of September.
5. There is no easier platform or technology on the web which can be used to create audio content where the publisher can use any type of phone, which is broadcast live, can accommodate unlimited listeners and archivable.
6. As noted in a recent article in publishers weekly, we are creating “stations” and other private label solutions for major companies such as publishers, on-line communities, media companies, etc.

Last night as I was surfing the web, I came across a post by Heather Hobson at Trendhunter Magazine, which was entitled “Rebirth of Radio.” I enjoy seeing blog posts that recognize the power of and help spread the word about this truly special medium.

Finally, I want to thank our thousands of hosts and millions of listeners for helping to build BlogTalkRadio into what it is today. In 2006 we pieced together three words and created BlogTalkRadio. In 2007, BlogTalkRadio became a viable medium. Any guesses what 2008 will bring? Please let me know your thoughts.

Alan

I listened to an interview with her and BTR creator Alan Levy a bit ago and was amazed how lovingly this lady and her crew help overwhelmed and over stretched women manage their homes.

Fly Lady has the largest Yahoo group with over 450,000 members. Wow! that's a lot of Fly Babies.

If getting organized, creating routines, getting rid of clutter, better managing your home is part of your 2008 goals, then you must check out this website. www.flylady.net

With shows like Clean Sweep and other organizing shows out there, Marla is currently developing her own TV show.....how exciting.

By the way FLY stands for "Finally Loving Yourself". :)

BlogTalkRadio and Reciva Limited, the global leader in Internet radio technology, have struck a partnership to bring BlogTalkRadio's programming to users of Reciva-powered Internet Radios and networked devices. Products from more than 30 Consumer Electronics brands stand to gain access to Blogtalkradio’s unique service.

Reciva-powered radios allow users easy and convenient access to thousands of live radio stations from across the world without the need for a PC. Finding content is as easy as turning the dial on your old transistor set. Except that now, turning the dial doesn’t mean tuning into specific radio frequencies: instead, web addresses for specific online radio stations or archived radio programs are being accessed. The radio call sign or program name is shown on a little display, just like on an AM/FM radio.

The partnership with bring BlogTalkRadio's 44,000 shows across more than 60 content categories to Reciva listeners.

Alan Levy, CEO and co-founder of BlogTalkRadio commented:

"This partnership allows BlogTalkRadio to transcend the online space, enabling listeners to enjoy our growing slate of quality citizen broadcast programming, without being tethered to a computer - further establishing BlogTalkRadio as the radio network of the 21st Century. With our increased reach to Reciva listeners, BlogTalkRadio’s content will be even more attractive to strategic partners and advertisers."

Andrew Rhomberg, director of business development and strategy at Reciva said:

"This partnership with BlogTalkRadio is exciting for us, and exciting for our customers. Their service is unique in that users can participate not only as interactive listeners, but also as hosts and show moderators. We aim to offer the most comprehensive platform of audio services, both live and on-demand, to our partners and users and the addition of BlogTalkRadio is a major step towards this goal."

If you'll be at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, you'll be able to enjoy a sneak preview before the service goes live on Reciva powered Internet radios in a few weeks.

Read the entire release on BlogTalkRadio's Press Page > >

Read the entire release on Business Wire > >

Now Is The Time is the weekly broadcast from Alan and Marla, two people who know how to get things done. And they're making a difference, too. Consider the following testimonial sent to FlyLady, akin to what she receives on a regular basis.

This one is of particular interest, because not only has this women decided to pay it forward and help other people, she is using BlogTalkRadio to do it - from Australia. BlogTalkRadio helps people jumpstart their lives while jumping geography.

Dear FlyLady and crew, I took your advice to do it now, I am no expert, just an ordinary person ­ but I am just jumping in where I am! I have launched my own BlogTalkRadio program called Naturelady. Just as you hope to help just one person, I too hope to get people to make small changes to make the world a happier, healthier and more environmentally sustainable place. I just did my first program and I think it was O.K. I have a long way to go but I hope that one day I will have a small loyal audience. I have modeled my Yahoo group on yours, that is keeping all my web content free so as many people who wish to partake of the info can. FlyLady you have given me the wings to soar. HUGZ and love forever, Your FlyBaby, Naturelady

Now is the time. What are you doing to seize the moment?

This special 6:30pm ET edition of The BlogTalkRadio Insider will talk about "How To Make Money Hosting A Show" with special focus on the new Revenue Sharing Program. They'll go deep into the program and take your calls to answer all of your questions.

To find out more in the meantime and to opt-in, please visit the Revenue Sharing page on BlogTalkRadio.

Currently tracking 112.8 million blogs and over 250 million pieces of tagged social media, Technorati is the recognized authority on what's happening on the World Live Web, right now. The Live Web is the dynamic and always-updating portion of the Web. We search, surface, and organize blogs and the other forms of independent, user-generated content (photos, videos, voting, etc.) increasingly referred to as “citizen media.”

As a host on BlogTalkRadio, you are a citizen broadcaster and should be aware of how your blog can extend the reach of your show. Technorati can help people find your blog and show.

Richard Jalichandra, President and CEO of Technorati, is a special guest today on The Alan Levy Show at 4pm ET. Hear more about Technorati then.