Habbox Live [DJ Feedback!!!!] (Take time to read!)

[JoshPayne]

Hi guys,

So if you don't know I am an aspiring DJ on Habbox currently, along with a graphic designer, I've noticed the radio can be a bit dead at times and people aren't really listening like they use to.

I would like to know what you guys would like to hear on the radio along with if you prefer talking or if music is what you want. What would be your preference?
Criticism is fine if it's constructive.
THANKS :D

[-Nick]

It might help if you didn't loop songs and then cut them off with a fade once you realised. Also why let the radio go offline on half term when Habbox should be aspiring to get people to listen.

[Samantha]

It might help if you didn't loop songs and then cut them off with a fade once you realised. Also why let the radio go offline on half term when Habbox should be aspiring to get people to listen.

You need to remember we're all volunteering at Habbox, and as Habbo is mainly aimed at teenagers a lot of them will have other stuff to do in half term (and have exams around this time to revise for) and can't always be online. Some DJs don't necessarily want the radio to go offline, but there comes a point where they can't stay on any longer.

I generally just tune in randomly and stay tuned in if there are catchy songs on or those I know.

[Rachel]

We do our best to keep the listeners entertained and to get ourselves well known as a DJ. Too much talking on air gets boring specially if it is always the same thing over and over. Having different kind of chat topics on air is good and not to long either. Asking random questions to the listeners or ask the listeners to send you questions to answer on air if it is appropriate ofc.

I do agree those who fades songs or cut off songs early kinda gets me.....specially when you request a song and all of sudden it is cut off before the end or they talk during the song. These things are things I hate. Other than that it seems alright :).

[Kyle]

Well joshpayne what makes YOU want to tune in to the radio?

I only ever tune in if people I know are also tuned in (or djing) so we can discuss what's going on.

[Empired]

Well joshpayne what makes YOU want to tune in to the radio?

I only ever tune in if people I know are also tuned in (or djing) so we can discuss what's going on.
Same as this. I would never tune in just for the sake of listening to habboxlive because it's boring when you don't know the DJ and you're the only one you know that's tuned in.

Sent from phone

[Danny]

IMO DJ's should strive to get to know the Habbox community. I always tried to speak with listeners whilst on air and eventually I got people who liked listening to the songs I played (80's/90's/00's) because it's something different to what most play. Try and find something that you enjoy and the listeners enjoy.

[Jazz]

It might help if you didn't loop songs and then cut them off with a fade once you realised. Also why let the radio go offline on half term when Habbox should be aspiring to get people to listen.

As much as we're trying to keep the radio online, this time of year theres usually a lack of activity due to exams, coursework and other stuff. In comparison to the past few years we're about 30 DJ's down, the department used to range from 40-50 DJs and we currently have 16 DJs, 5 Head+ and 3 Guests so our main focus is trying to get more DJ's in for the summer time.

-------

Me and Kimmy are currently putting effort into hiring and keeping staff and also working on a new weekly show system, DJ involvement and events. Overall it's about sorting out the mess that the department has been left in, which is turning out to be quite a hard task for the pair of us, but it can be done and good steps are being made! The difference won't be seen overnight and a lot of it will be behind the scenes to show that we really do appreciate what our DJ's do and hopefully make them happier to DJ more and progress themselves and the department further.

If anyone has any suggestions, please so come and chat to me or Kimmy directly (my skype is hxlwoodsy and i'll leave kimmy to post her own if she wants as it wouldn't be fair to give her skype name out without asking) and we can have a discussion about it. I'd love to put into play some of the suggestions you guys put forward. Also this year we're bringing back some big events, such as 24hr Giveaway & The Vault and hopefully working with other departments to come up with some fun ideas

[lRhyss]

Change the name from DJs to Presenters

then watch the listeners rise

listener rise not promised

[Kimmy]

Things I've noticed that get people tuned into the radio massively is community interaction. When you get to the event and work in tandem with the host to lure people in, it really can up the listeners.

When there's no event, some DJs don't like to put the extra effort in to work harder. Doing things like a conga line, on air competitions and holding room parties (like the balls we sometimes host) get people tuned in for the sheer entertainment factor.

Like Charlie pointed out, it's boring when you don't know the DJ. A lot of the time when joining (and sometimes for staff who've been around for a while) DJs don't want to get themselves involved with the community (you'd think we're scary) and hide themselves away under rocks. I'm constantly trying to encourage DJs to get on client, get to the help desk/the events, advertise, entertain as it's really beyond me how some can host without that extra interaction. I think I can speak for both myself and others that people don't like tuning in to the unknown and that it's at least a little more entertaining if the DJ you're listening to is there.

In regards to the, as always, insightful comments from -Nick, just because the radio isn't online 24/7 does not mean that Jazzy and I (and hell, even some of the DJs) aren't aspiring to get people to listen. People have real life, GCSEs to concentrate on; and although the aspirations to become an excelling fansite radio are always there, the focus on far more important things like exams will always prevail, particularly at this time of year.

In whole, to get people to tune in more based on my own experience and that of others we need:

More interaction between DJs and the community - Perhaps Jazzy and I will think about establishing a firm rule about on-client activity.
Recognizable events hosted by HxL
Effort made to host shows with minimal streaming

I'll probably add to this list as it goes on, but my Skype name is stentato as I saw Jazz talking about before.

[JoshPayne]

Well joshpayne what makes YOU want to tune in to the radio?

I only ever tune in if people I know are also tuned in (or djing) so we can discuss what's going on.

Me personally, I listen when I have time, I love to have music on while I work or am doing something as well as wanting to get to know the community of DJ's at Habbox so I can find what I like an share an interest with them while I play or work.
Everyone has their preferences hence why I am interested in what people would like :)

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Same as this. I would never tune in just for the sake of listening to habboxlive because it's boring when you don't know the DJ and you're the only one you know that's tuned in.

Sent from phone

In saying that, how would you know what the DJ's are like if you do not branch out into listening to others to see what they're like?
would it help if DJ's that you enjoyed maybe recommend one a week or some sort of similar system?

[Martin]

Im on my phone so can't see if this has been suggested already, but would an auto DJ feature be useful for when the radio does go offline? Surely having music playing at least would be better than nothing and would make people think the radio is a more reliable source of music?

Obviously then the auto dj would disconect when an actual dj is able to take over (which hopefully would be most of the time) [emoji14]

[Empired]

In saying that, how would you know what the DJ's are like if you do not branch out into listening to others to see what they're like?
would it help if DJ's that you enjoyed maybe recommend one a week or some sort of similar system?
Because when I used to listen to HabboxLive for the sake of it in the past, I was often disappointed by DJs I hadn't heard of. So now I've just learned to avoid them.

If a DJ takes time to talk to me in HxHD (which is where I normally am) and asks me personally to tune in then I always will whether I know them or not, or I'll tell them I will in a couple of minutes when I've finished doing something. I like a personal touch so copy and pasting mass messages via invite/in the room every few minutes (e.g TUNE IN FOR DJ INCAPABLE ON HABBOXLIVE.COM NOW) actually deters me from tuning in.

[e5]

You need to remember we're all volunteering at Habbox, and as Habbo is mainly aimed at teenagers a lot of them will have other stuff to do in half term (and have exams around this time to revise for) and can't always be online. Some DJs don't necessarily want the radio to go offline, but there comes a point where they can't stay on any longer.

I generally just tune in randomly and stay tuned in if there are catchy songs on or those I know.
I very rarely tune in, or go on habbox.com or habboxlive(never been on that) but it's never been offline at whatever time i've gone on it at, so thats a good sign.

I think more in-client comps, parties... More professional too.

[JoshPayne]

Because when I used to listen to HabboxLive for the sake of it in the past, I was often disappointed by DJs I hadn't heard of. So now I've just learned to avoid them.

If a DJ takes time to talk to me in HxHD (which is where I normally am) and asks me personally to tune in then I always will whether I know them or not, or I'll tell them I will in a couple of minutes when I've finished doing something. I like a personal touch so copy and pasting mass messages via invite/in the room every few minutes (e.g TUNE IN FOR DJ INCAPABLE ON HABBOXLIVE.COM NOW) actually deters me from tuning in.

Good to know, this is the sort of info I'm looking for. So having that interaction with DJs makes you more interested and more likely. Thanks for the input :)

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Im on my phone so can't see if this has been suggested already, but would an auto DJ feature be useful for when the radio does go offline? Surely having music playing at least would be better than nothing and would make people think the radio is a more reliable source of music?

Obviously then the auto dj would disconect when an actual dj is able to take over (which hopefully would be most of the time) [emoji14]


I really like this idea and it definitely something I will look at putting forward because I think you have a good point. Something like that could be useful

[Inseriousity.]

Welcome to the department (and Habbox) Josh. It's good to see enthusiasm. Kimmy (and everyone else that mentioned it is right), it's all about interacting with the community. It's actually true for a lot of departments. The more you're involved and well known around the place, the more success you're going to have whether it's listeners, entries, number of people attending events.

[Phil]

Im on my phone so can't see if this has been suggested already, but would an auto DJ feature be useful for when the radio does go offline? Surely having music playing at least would be better than nothing and would make people think the radio is a more reliable source of music?

Obviously then the auto dj would disconect when an actual dj is able to take over (which hopefully would be most of the time) [emoji14]

I actually don't think that this would be a good idea. For the few months I was in the HxL chat, DJ's would be like "Oh the radio is offline, I'll go on" and that's what made me go on too. DJ's often have a hard time getting someone to take over and I think if the radio had an auto DJ people would be like "Oh it doesn't matter if it goes offline because music will play anyway". Only a minority of the HxL team are proactive. If they were all as proactive as like Lauren, Alysha, Lina etc., this might work.

Btw really nice to see a thread like this coming from a new member of staff, keep it up :)

[Martin]

I actually don't think that this would be a good idea. For the few months I was in the HxL chat, DJ's would be like "Oh the radio is offline, I'll go on" and that's what made me go on too. DJ's often have a hard time getting someone to take over and I think if the radio had an auto DJ people would be like "Oh it doesn't matter if it goes offline because music will play anyway". Only a minority of the HxL team are proactive. If they were all as proactive as like Lauren, Alysha, Lina etc., this might work.

Btw really nice to see a thread like this coming from a new member of staff, keep it up :)


I think there's so many slots being streamed these days by the same people that it would be hard to tell the difference! :P

I do see your point though, it just seems unfortunate that it seems to be offline a lot more recently, and it's not going to encourage people to stick around and use habbox as a reliable music source whilst playing Habbo if they go to use it and there's no output.

I think if there WAS an auto DJ, it would have to be treated as if the radio WAS offline when it's on, but basically an offline with music! and DJ's should still have that sense of wanting to disengage the auto DJ and get back on air etc.

If only a minority of the current team are pro-active then that's a real shame and kind of highlights what is wrong with Habbox at the moment and the lack of motivation and dedication in order to want to push it forwards and get the community built up again. Unfortunately a few select people can try their upmost hardest but without the majority chipping in it will all be wasted effort really in the long run. :( It really is a ticking time bomb and I think consistency and providing services that members can trust and rely upon in order to try encourage them to stick around is a must right now.

I guess the only other option would be to try to encourage more proactive staff, since the volume of staff seems to be there at times, but the willingness to go on seems to have drifted a bit, but that's not really easy at all to do.


Years ago I would have been completely against an Auto DJ feature, but unless some fixes are put in place fast I really think it's best just to keep it going rather than to let it die in silence! :P Just so long as staff are aware that it's basically the same as letting it go offline and to be mature about it and 'proactive' in getting it back on track asap.

[JoshPayne]

I think there's so many slots being streamed these days by the same people that it would be hard to tell the difference! :P

I do see your point though, it just seems unfortunate that it seems to be offline a lot more recently, and it's not going to encourage people to stick around and use habbox as a reliable music source whilst playing Habbo if they go to use it and there's no output.

I think if there WAS an auto DJ, it would have to be treated as if the radio WAS offline when it's on, but basically an offline with music! and DJ's should still have that sense of wanting to disengage the auto DJ and get back on air etc.

If only a minority of the current team are pro-active then that's a real shame and kind of highlights what is wrong with Habbox at the moment and the lack of motivation and dedication in order to want to push it forwards and get the community built up again. Unfortunately a few select people can try their upmost hardest but without the majority chipping in it will all be wasted effort really in the long run. :( It really is a ticking time bomb and I think consistency and providing services that members can trust and rely upon in order to try encourage them to stick around is a must right now.

I guess the only other option would be to try to encourage more proactive staff, since the volume of staff seems to be there at times, but the willingness to go on seems to have drifted a bit, but that's not really easy at all to do.


Years ago I would have been completely against an Auto DJ feature, but unless some fixes are put in place fast I really think it's best just to keep it going rather than to let it die in silence! :P Just so long as staff are aware that it's basically the same as letting it go offline and to be mature about it and 'proactive' in getting it back on track asap.

It's nice to see a debate like this going on and I think it shows just how un-imtouched the DJs currently are with the habbox community, it's definitely something I would like to change. The fact of the matter is currently there isn't enough DJs and when that is resolved it will make the radio a lot easier to manage

[Martin]

It's nice to see a debate like this going on and I think it shows just how un-imtouched the DJs currently are with the habbox community, it's definitely something I would like to change. The fact of the matter is currently there isn't enough DJs and when that is resolved it will make the radio a lot easier to manage


I think whilst it appears like you've got a lot of staff on the staff list, very few of these are active!

I've just gone down the Habboxlive staff list and checked the "last activity" on the forum of the staff and it appears that a large proportion of DJ's hardly even use the forum and haven't logged in for ages!


One member of Habboxlive staff hasn't been active since the 1st of APRIL (almost 2 months ago), so not sure why they haven't been removed as I'm sure there is supposed to be a rule in place for this.

A couple of them haven't been online since the 1st of May, which again is like a month ago, so unless they have very good reasons I would guess they've just lost interest/can't be arsed any more.


Even those who have been on recently haven't logged in for a few days, and again would seem that they just simply aren't as integrated with the community anymore as you say. Interacting with the community, getting to know their fanbase, hanging out in events and generally being an active part of Habbox are all essential, and it seems that a large proportion of the Habboxlive staff team right now just really aren't part of the community and aren't interested in helping it to succeed anymore.

Yesterday had 10 out of 24 slots filled I think, so that's 14 hours of silence being streamed over the radio, where potential new members could go, think we're just another non-active fansite and give up before they've even taken a proper look! :(

[Inseriousity.]

I agree with Phil on this one, I think an auto-DJ would actually increase the amount of auto-DJing on the radio rather than increasing the amount of actual DJing.

[Martin]

I agree with Phil on this one, I think an auto-DJ would actually increase the amount of auto-DJing on the radio rather than increasing the amount of actual DJing.


Is there really a difference between those who just go on for hours and stream and auto-dj though? I see auto-dj as the radio being "offline" but at least with music playing so that if people want to use habbox as a source of music whilst playing Habbo they still can, rather than not knowing when the next time they will be able to will be because they just get conditioned into believing it will always be offline when they want to use it.

What do you suggest to increase the actual amount of DJing? Since right now the radio has been offline all morning and was pretty much offline most of the day yesterday too. As I mentioned above, half the current team seem to be really inactive and I would be surprised if most of them were meeting minimums etc.

I think before v7 is released it really needs to be discussed between management and "action plans" put into place, as people are going to be interested in visiting the new site and will be greeted by eerie silence!

[JoshPayne]

I think whilst it appears like you've got a lot of staff on the staff list, very few of these are active!

I've just gone down the Habboxlive staff list and checked the "last activity" on the forum of the staff and it appears that a large proportion of DJ's hardly even use the forum and haven't logged in for ages!


One member of Habboxlive staff hasn't been active since the 1st of APRIL (almost 2 months ago), so not sure why they haven't been removed as I'm sure there is supposed to be a rule in place for this.

A couple of them haven't been online since the 1st of May, which again is like a month ago, so unless they have very good reasons I would guess they've just lost interest/can't be arsed any more.


Even those who have been on recently haven't logged in for a few days, and again would seem that they just simply aren't as integrated with the community anymore as you say. Interacting with the community, getting to know their fanbase, hanging out in events and generally being an active part of Habbox are all essential, and it seems that a large proportion of the Habboxlive staff team right now just really aren't part of the community and aren't interested in helping it to succeed anymore.

Yesterday had 10 out of 24 slots filled I think, so that's 14 hours of silence being streamed over the radio, where potential new members could go, think we're just another non-active fansite and give up before they've even taken a proper look! :(

What you are saying I completely agree with, currently I know there are a number of DJ's who are busy with things like Exams and some are away with other things but it does sound like some people are being very inactive, I can't speak for anyone as I don't know what is going on behind the scenes higher up in the ranks but I am sure things are being done, and be reassured there are others working on HabboxLive to try and breathe some life into it!

[Inseriousity.]

Personally, I always saw HxL as a treasure trove of potential. It still is the most likely place to see younger members (both staff and listeners) and more can be done to get them onto the forum and actively participating. If your research has shown that management are clinging onto their high numbers of inactive staff without letting them go then I think there's a much deeper issue of recruitment that is causing concern for most departments (including competitions) and should be the concern of general management, who do not seem to be doing much or even planning anything to improve the situation.

Bigger picture, improving the numbers in the community would increase the number of available staff which would give management room to get rid of the DJs who are coasting through. Everything else is just window dressing really.

[JoshPayne]

Personally, I always saw HxL as a treasure trove of potential. It still is the most likely place to see younger members (both staff and listeners) and more can be done to get them onto the forum and actively participating. If your research has shown that management are clinging onto their high numbers of inactive staff without letting them go then I think there's a much deeper issue of recruitment that is causing concern for most departments (including competitions) and should be the concern of general management, who do not seem to be doing much or even planning anything to improve the situation.

Bigger picture, improving the numbers in the community would increase the number of available staff which would give management room to get rid of the DJs who are coasting through. Everything else is just window dressing really.

I can see and hear what you're saying and maybe this is something for General management to look into later on, At the moment I would just be interested to see some activity in the community and then worry about the logistics of it after when there is something to build on.
IMO the foundations is the priority, the staff I feel, is more than capable!