The Radio [#ds106](http://ds106.us) phenomenon has totally changed how I think of social presence in a course experience. There is something magic (and yet not magic) about a bunch of people coming together to play and collaborate in various forms, just for shits and giggles. It's awesome in so many ways.
It's also a little like living in science fiction.
Grant Potter [set up a radio station](http://web.unbc.ca/~gpotter/?p=655) for the DS106 course. Which has been amazing. And then he shared the live broadcasting info, so [people can tap into the server and broadcast live audio](http://web.unbc.ca/~gpotter/?p=680) from wherever they are.
Everything in the radio station technology stack is several years old - with the exception of mobile apps for live broadcasting. But that mobile ability - to broadcast live from anywhere - is a real game changer.
I was on the train this morning, and there was a guy playing a guitar. I thought "hey, I should share this with #ds106" and fired up the [Papaya app](http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/papaya-broadcaster/id366266882?mt=8) on my iPhone. With one click, I was streaming the guy live to whoever was listening to Radio #ds106.
Sure, the guy's playing was a little rough. And his guitar was painfully out of tune. But he was giving it a shot. And I was streaming his music, live, from a moving train, to anyone tuned into Radio #ds106.
That is pretty mindblowing stuff.
How does the ability to instantly broadcast live audio to a group of people impact what we do? How does this instant synchronous connection effect the sense of social presence? And how does having to make the decision of streaming vs. recording effect the experience of sharing?