Thank you for joining us on our pioneering journey.
A year and four months ago there was nothing here. I can’t say that anyone, including me, knew what might happen. A lot can happen in a short space in time, especially in the digital age, including the birth of CliffCentral.com.
This week we launched the next step in our evolution as a 21st-century content hub, the CliffCentral App. It was fitting that one of our listeners discovered it first, searching the Google Play and Apple App stores. One of our early adopter fans found it before we knew it was there! Some people thought we were ahead of our time… ”too soon for South Africa”… but we have an amazing community of early adaptors who have been engaging with us since our launch in May last year, and continue to pave the way forward with us. We look forward to steadily growing that community.
On the first day of Spring we met with all our contributors and presenters – a stellar line-up of some of the most influential people in South Africa… to celebrate the launch. Looking at the people in that room, and the combined millions we could all reach instantly using our mobile phones, I glimpsed the future.
The media used to be about access, distribution and information. Thanks to technology, today it’s about conversation, relevance and relationships. Once upon a time there were only a few TV channels, a few more radio stations and a handful of newspapers. Right now, on your mobile device, you can access millions of platforms and channels. You are the one who decides what to connect with.
You are the editor.
Perhaps you’re even more than an editor – if you have an Instagram, Twitter or Facebook account, you’re actually a broadcaster. We’re witnessing the true democratisation of information, entertainment, inspiration and empowerment. This is the most exciting time to want to know things, and to want to share things.
The CliffCentral App is technology, but it represents something more. Of course we want to make it really easy for you to listen, and to get the podcasts of content you want on demand – but we also want to show you what’s possible. A platform is just a stage on which anything might play out… a boxing tournament, a music concert, stand-up comedy, a drama or real-life action. There could be crying, laughter and goosebump moments that change your life. We want to give as many kinds of content a platform as possible, and this app will put you in the front row.
Thank you for demanding more. Thank you for being willing to change old habits to get what you really want. We’ll keep innovating and we’ll keep delivering.
Uncensored, Unscripted Unradio is now Uncomplicated.
Gareth