The countdown to the countdown, making the most of our virtual party
There’s still time to vote in Mushroom FM’s holiday countdown and to receive an invitation to our Christmas party. But time is running out rapidly with votes closing at the end of Friday 17 December Eastern North American time.
Being able to tune in to hear how the 10 songs you voted for ranked in the countdown, or indeed whether they made it to the countdown at all since we have around 250 songs people have voted for at this point, is a lot of fun. But we add even more to the fun by turning the countdown in to another of Mushroom FM’s famous social media events.
We were doing virtual parties long before the pandemic, and it's something we do well. When you vote, our system automatically assigns you to one of four virtual tables at our Christmas party, named after the first four reindeer in “’Twas the Night Before Christmas”. They are Dasher, Dancer, Prancer and Vixen.
While the initial assignments are random, this is one setting those of us working on the countdown do have the tools and authority to override. When we can clearly tell that two people are related, we’ll do all we can to seat them at the same table. Our annual countdown event attracts a wide audience, many of whom aren’t Mushroom FM regulars. However Mushroom FM’s core listener base is very loyal, meaning we tend to remember details they’ve told the fun guys over the years. We’ll do our best to seat people together, even if they don’t have the same last name, if we know they’re a couple or related in some way. It’s one of the cool things about Mushroom FM. We’re big enough to pull something like the countdown off, still very much small enough to care about those details.
We publish the seating plan a little ahead of the countdown, usually midnight on the day of the countdown. This way, you can see who you’re sitting with and perhaps begin to get to know your table mates on Twitter. It’s totally optional, but you have the opportunity to provide your Twitter name at the time you vote. It’s a cool way to help your table mates reach out and say “hi”.
Key to participating fully in the party is tracking our Mushroom FM hashtag on Twitter. You do this by making use of your Twitter client’s search function. Make sure you’re searching for tweets and not people, and in the search box, type #MushroomFM. Save the search if that’s an option in your Twitter client, then you can return easily to tracking the hashtag whenever you want. We promote our hashtag year-round as a great way to keep in touch with other Mushroom FM listeners, but at events like our Christmas party, it’s especially useful so you can enjoy the fun chitchat of the party.
What would a Christmas party be without plenty of delicious, usually forbidden food? Ah, now that’s where you come in. Be sure to stock up ahead of our 10 hours of festive fun.
If all this sounds really inventive and cool, it is. Be a part of it by voting and inviting all your friends and family to vote too. http://MushroomFM.com/countdown2021
If you have a song you really want to be high on the chart, you can only vote once, but you can encourage family members, friends, and even enemies (it is Christmas and a time of peace on earth after all) to vote. So, be sure to let your voice be heard and to spread the word. See you on Sunday.