“Benz” as we know him, has become a regular voice on Cinch.  To hear him is to know he has a voice that was made for radio, sit back and learn a bit more about the man behind the voice.

1.    We know you as Benz on Cinch and other social networks, where did you acquire that name, it’s very catchy?

It’s true what they say, the lights in here are very hot, time to get energy saving light bulbs in here. Maybe the heat won’t kill you the mercury will. Amy, I got the name from the first Mercedes Benz Hood Ornament that I stole as a child, growing up in Hoboken, NJ.  When the owner of the car caught up with me, he slapped me so hard, while holding the Benz Ornament in his hand, that it left an indentation on my left cheek. No, “Benz” was my mother’s last name.

2.    You have an amazing voice that is perfect for radio, what is your terrestrial radio experience?

Terrestrial Radio, sounds like something from outer space, or the planets far, far in our galaxy… I grew up listening  to “Radio”, in the 60′s, I mean Television was in no way, what it is today. Television, consisted of eight or nine channels at the time, and came midnight it would go “Off Air” until morning. I think my father invented the “TV Remote,” …yep…, it was called “Benz”. He would say ‘can you get up and change the channel,’ in a course of an hour, I got up at least twenty times to change channels. So, the Radio  became my best friend, when our school took a field trip to WNBC Radio in New York City. Seeing all the wires, microphones, radio personalities and the studio opened my young mind to horizons like never before. While attending Hoboken High School in the early 70′s I joined a “Radio Club,” where we used to broadcast shows over the Intercom System, man has radio changed. But, my first Radio Show was really while attending college at one of our great Military Academies. After leaving the military, I joined the “NYPD,” where you can imagine the trouble I got into, messing around with the Walkie Talkies. In 1983, while still on the “NYPD,” I landed a Radio “DJ” position at a very small Community Radio Station, WVRM in Hazlet, NJ. I think the station reached about five listeners. Around the same time I was picked up by  WBLS, in Long Branch, NJ for a short while, nice memories. I also filled in and assisted at WKTU in NYC, during the “Disco Era,” this is “Rosco.” I left radio around 1987 to do a Weekly Live Show on Cable TV, and to concentrate on my Law Enforcement career, and my music “Raza”, a Salsa Band, where I played various musical instruments. Returned to Radio around 1999, and have been affiliated with countless Radio Stations, working behind the scenes.

3.     What is it you do for a living?

Besides breathing…  I’m engaged in conducting Research and  Background Investigations, for various Journalist, Attorneys and Radio Personalities. Writing Commercial Spots, and once in a while Voice Overs, under JXR Productions Ltd. I’m also involved in other businesses, Real Estate, Women Fashions, Automotive just to name a few.

4.     When growing up did you always have a desire to be on the Radio?

You mean, like sitting on a Radio, I don’t think they make radios that big anymore… Yes, I always had and still have the passion for Radio. I find radio an avenue where one can express themselves, openly and without the fear, or discomfort that one may find on a of face to face discussion. So, when I come across shy people, I always recommend Radio as a profession.

5.     When and how did you get involved in the internet and social media?

Wow.. I purchased my first computer around 1985 a “KayPro”, still have that T-Rex Dinosaur in my attic…  I’m not sure but I think around 1991, I discovered Adults On Line … “AOL”. I got involved in the internet in 1992 while assigned to “OCB” in the NYPD. My social media experience began with eBay in 1996. I discovered eBay, while on a WEB-TV System, do they still have WebTV ?… Anyway, once I got on eBay, I said “this is great”, time to start making some real money. I started selling and meeting people from all over the world. I than formed a company “JXR Noritake Connection”, selling Fine China Dinnerware, became a “Power Seller” on eBay, and in 2002 sold the company. Along with eBay, came, AIMs, Yahoo, and so on.

6.     What social websites are you part of and how can people find you?

I belong to several websites, MySpace.com/benzjaguar, Youtube.com/benzjaguar, Facebook.com/benzjaguar, Twitter.com/benzradio and CinchCast.com/benzradio. I was getting ready to launch www.BenzRadio.com, but due to the present economy and my involvements in other ventures, it has been put on hold for now… But, not forever.

7.     What advice would you give terrestrial radio regarding the social scene on the internet and how they can use it to further their reach?

Amy… That is a very good question. I think Terrestrial Radio is fading very quickly, this is not to say that it will go into the history books any day soon, but it is fading. Most traditional radio stations today tied an Internet Radio, Streaming Radio, Web Radio or they are tied into a Radio Network of one kind or another. Your traditional radio station, is limited to the social local media, as oppose to Internet Radio. Meaning your social networking and marketing is worldwide and open twenty four hours a day non-stop via internet radio. Many traditional radio stations should be thankful that we have this thing called the internet. Let’s also get real here, even your television major news networks are tied into internet streaming. My advice to anyone interested in Radio, Communications, Journalism and TV is to keep pace with the everyday changes in internet technology. The internet in my opinion is the “Next Media Generation”, it will become a practice that future users, will take for granted. Just like we take traditional radio and television, for granted today. Also, join as many networking websites as possible, to better reach, and get your product, voice and or ideas to the eyes and ears of those you want to target. Like I always say… “Chase Your Dreams” !

8.     How are you liking Cinch so far, and what have you been using it for?

I came across CinchCast, sometime back in November 2009 while looking for a new clothing line, “Cinch Jeans & Shirts”… I bookmarked the page and once in a while I would monitor it’s use, and soon discovered it’s great future potential as a social media venture. Now, I use CinchCast, almost on a daily basis to stay current, meet others, and to stay in touch with friends and family… So far, I’ve meet some real interesting and professional individuals that have substance. I’m loving the site, and who knows what the future will bring. But, I’m a visionary and a optimistic kind of person, and I strongly see CinchCast being an important player, and playing an important role to people like myself.

9.     Also, being you are planning on getting into radio again, have you given Blogtalkradio any consideration, and have you used it at all, if so tell us about it?

A friend introduced me to “BTR” back in 2007, and in a way led me to the idea of “BenzRadio”… I have listen in on a few shows, and participated in many. The times that I have used BTR, I have found the experience both fun and rewarding, and at times a little crazy. I find the Radio format at BTR very close to what I am accustomed to. I also feel, that anyone that has an interest in broadcasting should use the services of BTR. It’s a fun road to the world of Radio Broadcasting… BTR has changed since, I first was introduced to it, and gotten so big that I need a “GPS” system to get around it. I’ve been studying the site, and viewing the Tutorial Videos and visiting the Forum with the expectation of doing a show on BTR sometime in the future… So watch out because someday your ears might be hearing,… “Remember to creep up to the ear of that special person you love the most, and whisper gently in their ear, just how much you truly, truly love them”…. Benz !

Thanks to Benz for sharing a bit of himself with us today, and has usual “happy cinching”!

Name – Justin Talmadge
Occupation – Teacher
What country do you live in - USA

How did you find Cinch? I found Cinch by chance when I was searching for ways to embed an mp3 player on my class blog (www.mrtalmadge.com). In my search I happened upon BlogTalkRadio and discovered Cinch from the BlogTalkRadio website.

What prompted you to use Cinch? I was looking for a cheap and easy way to upload audio to my class website using my phone. I had been using Gcast, but they decided to charge $100.00 to use the upload by phone service. I knew there had to be other services out there, so I began looking around online.

Are you still using it for its original intended use or has your use expanded? I only use Cinch for the upload by phone aspect. I have embedded an flash mp3 player on my class blog as well as provided an icon to the rss feed of my cinches

What have you found to be the best benefit of using Cinch? The best part is that it doesn’t cost me anything. Plus, it’s so simple. As I am driving home from school in the afternoon, I simply put on my hands free device and call the Cinch number programmed into my Blackberry. I then record what we did in class that day so students or parents can hear straight from the “horse’s mouth” what went on in class. For students and parents, I have burned the feed using Feedburner and they can subscribe by email if they want.

How do you see people using Cinch in the future in your occupation? I think this could be an easy way for teachers to communicate with their students, but also for administrators to communicate with parents. Rather than the expensive call out services that are used routinely by many districts, why not simply record to a central location and let the rss feed perform it’s magic from there. If one wanted to really get revolutionary, why not sign students up for an account and they can record their own cinches reflecting on the learning they have done in class. I as a teacher could subscribe to each of their rss feeds.

What would you like to see for Cinch in the future? I don’t know if this is possible, but it would be cool if users could select from a menu of public domain or creative commons licensed background music that could play when users click on their cinch.

Looking for an original way to engage customers and broadcast your brand voice in the social media space? Want to join the conversation in a moderated and measured way? Here are just a few of the ways the Cinch platform can be used to support a business’ social media marketing efforts.

1. Spice Up Your Brand’s Status Updates and Tweets
Set-up a Cinch profile for your Brand to add color to your status updates and tweets. Include an audio tip of the day, an interview with an exec or customer, or send out a special coupon as image attachment. Cinch is integrated with Facebook and Twitter, so we make it really easy to share.

2. Power up a Contest with Cinch
Create a customized and fully-branded community where members can submit audio, text, and photo content for a contest (creative ways to use a product or improve the community; innovative product ideas or improvements; a new jingle are just a few examples). The Cinch platform enables you to easily accept and moderate entries, collect registrations, and facilitate community comments, voting, sharing, and much more. See how Pepsi used it to facilitate their “What’s your Pitch?” competition.

3. Use a Custom Cinch Number as Simple, Consumer Call to Action or Customer Feedback Channel
Easily incorporate a Branded Cinch phone number into a campaign to enable consumers to engage from anywhere, anytime with just a phone. Feature a Cinch number on ads, point of purchase displays, and billboard to easily capture testimonials, feedback commentary, and much more. The Cinch platform allows you to easily review, publish and share audio files from your community using a simple moderation dashboard.

These are just a few way’s a company can utilize Cinch within a business, but there are lots of possibilities.  We are really excited to see all the creative ways businesses will use it.   If you want to check out our flyer on Cinch business solutions, click here.  Do you have a good idea on how a Cinch can help a business? If so, leave it in our comments section or send us a Cinch! We would love to hear it.