One of the most fun and interactive parts of our livestream is the chat going on by our dedicated listeners. Going all the way back to our humble live audio streams back in 2016, we have always had a core group faithfully logging in and chatting away during the podcast – first on Spreaker chat and then more recently, on Discord Youtube and Twitch. Thanks to some tech wizardry, we are able to integrate all three platforms, so that all chatters on all platforms can see and reply to each other in real time.

Pretty cool right?

Well now we are going one step better. A recent upgrade to Discord has provided a new type of voice channel – Stages. This new channel enables us to stream from the voice channel as we do now, but also enables our listeners to be designated as “the audience”. Even better, audience members can, at any stage, request to participate. This might be for a question or comment, or just to tell me Im a bloody idiot. In any event, it enables a new level of real time interaction on the stream and a chance for our livestream listeners to add some of their own colour and flavour to the cast each week. Razor Ray showed last week it isnt scary to come on the cast and with this new feature, it makes joining us for a few minutes very easy. It also means you can listen to the cast directly in Discord if you want to. Chatting in the usual text way will also still be available for those who want to do that (why not both?).

All you’ll need is a device with a Microphone (if you want to talk) and Speakers/Headset. A PC or Laptop, Tablet or Phone are all able to access Discord and access the stage channel. The channel will be open to anyone with “Stadium Ticket Holder” or above status (which is basically everyone) and until the end of May, I will allow anyone to request to speak. After that though, speaker “rights” will be prioritised to those loyal Veteran tier patrons among you as a priority. That’s not intended to be a cash grab, but I’m keen to provide as many “extras” to those who support the cast financially as I possibly can. Rookie tier patrons and non patrons will still be able to speak, you’ll just be down the pecking order if we have multiple requests to speak.

If you haven’t joined our Discord channel yet, now is a great time to do so. As well as livestream chats, there’s also gameday chats and general Crows and Footy chat channels open 24/7. Something for everyone. Click this link https://discord.gg/pu6rYPX and follow your nose and you’ll be good to go.

So loyal listeners, gather round the stage starting from this Sunday 18 April and heckle from the cheap seats! And if you’re an on demand listener or viewer, consider having a listen live from 7.30pm Adelaide time on a Sunday and joining in this new feature. The chat is always awesome, with lots of insights and funny banter and often it makes more sense than what Im talking about anyway!

Thanks for your continued support, I love bringing this to you guys every weekend. See you Sunday night!

Feenix