Written by Steve Holstein, InterPrep Publisher & Editor

Dropbox is an invaluable tool ... for InterPrep, in my role as a Radio
Pro, and in my personal life. One of the many things that makes
Dropbox special is the way it works with other services. Here's one
way I'm using Dropbox -- along with the website ifttt.com -- to save a
couple of minutes each day.

An advertiser is paying top-dollar for a live commercial read during
my morning show. Because they don't always hear their ad they have
requested a daily aircheck. So I record each day's live read as it
happens then save it in MP3 format to a subfolder in my studio PC's
Dropbox. Here comes the time saving part.

After saving the file to Dropbox I do nothing else -- nothing at all.
I get back to the show. The magic happens at ifttt.com, where I've set
up a task to check the Dropbox subfolder every 15 minutes for a new
file. Once ifttt.com finds one it knows to email it to my sales rep
automatically.

And that's it.

ifttt.com works magic with a number of services, including Twitter,
Gmail, Facebook and Evernote. With some trial-and-error ifttt.com can
help you, too.

Atlanta's "The Bert Show" posted the following on their blog. How many
of your callers make these 'mistakes'?

Producer Joanna’s got some 'constructive' criticism for callers…yes,
we know you’re rolling your eyes, but listen – J’s a pro, and if you
want your call picked up, you should listen up – her advice is golden!

1. Don’t call on speaker or blue tooth. We can’t hear you well…at all.
Seriously. Sure, dial hands-free, (be safe).

2. You have 20 seconds to impress her with your comment. If you
can’t, she has to move on. Have your opening line ready to go. All
the lines are ringing, and she’s not trying to be rude, but she has to
move to the next call.

3. Speak up, and don’t drag on. We all stopped listening five minutes ago.

4. Please don’t call when your radio is blasting. Turn your radio down
– if you can’t hear her, she can’t hear you. We’re also on a 15 second
delay, so you’re not going to hear yourself anyway. You’ll hear it all
on the phone! Oh, and put those windows up!

5. If you call and Joanna says “we’ve moved on from the topic,” don’t
get mad at her! It’s not her choice to move on from the topic – she’s
just the messenger! That’s the beauty of our Twitter and Facebook
accounts – we read it, and can get to it the next day! And don’t tell
her you don’t have the internet!

6. Don’t be monotone – be animated and enthusiastic! Bring some
passion and/or zest.

7. If we’re doing a segment that requires phone calls, don’t call and
say “I don’t want to be on the air.” Again, Facebook, Twitter – let it
rip.

8. If you’re at a drive-thru, either wait or don’t go through it.
You’re on the air, and Joanna doesn’t take orders for grande soy
lattes!

9. When you come on the air, just go right into your comment. You
don’t have to say “I want to comment on what so and so was saying…”
It’s ok, we’re on that segment, and we know that’s what you’re here
for!"

If you use the note-taking app Evernote (www.Evernote.com) you should
consider using it as a show prep backup. Every Evernote account --
even the free version -- comes with an address that allows you to
email notes directly to your account. So after you've gone through
your nightly InterPrep feed and tweaked it to your liking, then added
in your own personal prep, send it all off to your Evernote account in
an email. That way if you arrive at the station and find the
Internet's down you'll still have the prep on your smartphone or 3G
tablet.

I've downloaded dozens of radio station smartphone apps and most have
the same problems: They're ugly, complicated and try to do to much.
Check out the Bloomberg Radio app. This single screenshot gives you a
very good idea of all your radio station app needs -- and it's not
much.

1. When the app loads the station begins streaming. You'll want to
allow the listener to turn this option off under 'Menu'. (Most won't
since the reason they're using your app is to hear your station.)

2. App users love to flip through pages, album covers, features,
photos, etc. Your station app should present options the way the
Bloomberg app does -- with flicks of the finger.

3. You only need 3-4 panels tops. Panel 1 is the stream. Panel 2
delivers on-demand audio (original content and best of). Panel 3 might
be local concerts. Resist the urge to add much more to your app.
Listeners won't be using your app for "the latest music news" and
"profiles on your favorite DJs." Sorry, they just won't. A panel with
a link to your station's Twitter and Facebook pages would be a good
idea.

Editor Steve: I came across a website and app called shoutOmatic. With an iPhone or iPod Touch you could cut a 'live' promo for your radio station Facebook page or Twitter followers. I tested it on the InterPrep Facebook page.

I came across a website and app called ShoutOmatic. With an iPhone or iPod Touch you could cut a 'live' promo for your radio station Facebook page or Twitter followers. I tested it on the InterPrep Facebook page.

I still hear music like this in some radio commercials.

From Yahoo News:

With killer tornadoes in half a dozen states in the last month, information about the effective force of each tornado has been thrown around, but few people use the terms properly and fewer still know what they mean.

The Fujita scale was first proposed in 1971 and suggested a rating system for tornadoes and hurricanes based on the wind strength and damage done by the tornado. Since the evaluation of damage cannot begin while the tornado is on the ground, it is improper to discuss a tornado as an F-anything in the midst of the storm.

According to the NWS, the EF scale functions from 0 to 5 and while in theory an F-6 tornado could have been possible under the original Fujita scale, the enhanced scale considers an EF-5 representative of total destruction. Since nothing goes beyond total destruction, a tornado greater than an EF-5 cannot exist.

Based on the EF scale, an EF-0 event represents winds of less than about 75 mph and would damage roofs and tree limbs. An EF-5 tornado would have winds in excess of 261 mph and include total or near total destruction of all types of construction.

Read the full story.