What will become of radio in the 21st century? Will it become obsolete eventually? This may not have occurred to you just yet. But if you are the innovator type, it may have been on your mind for more than a decade.

With the explosion of the internet and all of the other advanced technologies that have changed the way we communicate, this is the perfect time to be alive! Everything we want is practically at our fingertips, like never before.

Not only have the internet and modern technology of the new millennium impacted how we communicate, but they have also revolutionized entertainment.

Did you forget to record your favorite show on your DVR? That??™s ok; just watch it online or ???on demand?????”any time you like!

Hear your favorite song on the radio? Why go to the ???brick and mortar??? record store when you can just download it from an online retailer of mp3 music? Oh yeah??”and who needs CDs? Just plug your mp3 player into your car stereo and you can listen to hundreds of CDs worth of music??”all from an object the size of a box of mints!

Stuck on the side of the road due to car trouble? Use your cell phone. Did you leave your grocery list at home? Call home, again with your mobile telephone, and ask someone to read it to you!

Are you hungry, but out of cash and no time to stop at the ATM? That??™s ok! Even fast food restaurants and some vending machines take credit and debit cards now!

Need to write a letter or send out a work order? Forget stamps and envelopes: just email it!

We take all of these advancements for granted (as every generation has taken for granted each era??™s technological breakthroughs).

And now, the social networking revolution, online music sites, and online video sites are quickly changing the way we see celebrities. No longer is there an elite group of ???special people??? who are able to share their talents with others. Due to the proliferation of the internet all over the world, we can now connect to and enjoy the talents of people from across the globe!

Thus, the future of radio??”terrestrial radio (meaning FM/AM radio)??”is starting to look a little bleak. Standard radio and television (along with print) used to be our primary sources of entertainment. The internet is replacing everything!

There are now thousands upon thousands of internet radio stations broadcasting for free from around the world??”most of them commercial free, too! Even terrestrial stations are simulcasting online!

Furthermore, internet radio is now available throughout your home on internet radios, and once Wi-Max or ???internet everywhere??? is available, you will be able to listen to internet radio in full quality on the go (you can already do so using a mobile device but at limited quality).

For now (and in the immediate future), we are stuck listening to the very displeasingly limited playlists of our local radio stations (which are corporate-owned and thus rife with corporate-formulated, payola-driven artists).

But that reality is not here to stay. The people have spoken! We want something more! And with the internet on our side, we can make our world anything we want. That is why this is the perfect time to be alive!