Currently, the only way to have your own radio show is to a) be a part of an existing radio station b) podcast c) set up an antenna and some tin foil. Blog Talk Radio is changing the radio game and is revolutionizing how bloggers interact with their readers.

Blog Talk Radio lets anyone with a telephone and an internet connection to set up their own streaming online talk radio show. The best part is listeners can call a dedicated number to talk with the on-air personality live. A lot of newspapers have set up online chats between sources and readers, but this allows readers to actually hear the person as they talk. Media outlets who podcast can now make them interactive using the service.

Registration takes only a few minutes and hosts are given a number to call to start their own show. Listeners can either call a US telephone number to tune in or listen from the embedded audio player on the site. During the show, up to five others can participate as guests or call-in responders. Once the show is finished, it is archived online and automatically made available as a podcast and RSS feed.

Media companies, bloggers and other businesses can join the ranks of The Huffington Post and The Star-Ledger and set up branded channels with shows hosted by in-house personalities. Check out an example of a Blog Talk Radio show in the embedded player below.

The advent of interactive radio sites such as Pandora and radio-meets-social-networking sites like last.fm have created online communities that are several steps above traditional radio. Yes is pushing online radio one step further by mapping what songs are playing on radio stations across the country. Yes users can also select a specific radio station, for example KFGY in Santa Rosa, and see what song is currently playing as well as watch a YouTube video of the song. To top it all off, the site’s visitors can also rank each song, view other stations that are playing that artist (ex: Beyonce) and purchase the song from either iTunes and Amazon.

That is a lot of features packed into one incredible website but any radio station can incorporate these features, if you are not doing so already. Start by letting listeners be the music/program director. After all, they know better than you do what songs they want to hear. Try partnering with online music vendors to generate advertising to support your online presence. Or if you want to go for broke, incorporate all of Yes’ features to make your site more dynamic and attract a loyal following. After all, uniting a community is what radio is all about.