My mother likes to tell me she invented Apple Cinnamon Cheerios and Vick’s Liqui-Gels. I told her that I probably would never have been conceived, since she would be rich and would not have had to marry my father, so I don’t believe her.

What actually happened is that, back in ancient times when there was only regular Cheerios and Vick’s cough syrup, my mother called their 1-800 Questions or Feedback hotline and said, “Why don’t you make something besides regular Cheerios like Apple Cinnamon or something?” and, “My kids hate the taste of the syrup, could you put the syrup in like a capsule for them to swallow?”

Like most children, Apple Cinnamon Cheerios and Vick’s Liqui-Gels were born, and they thrived.

Let me give another example: there is an alternative rock radio station in Atlanta called 99x that was, at one point, around 2004, on the brink of death. They were losing listeners simply because they played the same, horrible new rock over and over again.

Gosh, you don’t know how much I loved hearing The Offspring’s “Hit That” every hour.

They opened their hotlines and asked their listeners/customers, “What can we do to be a better radio station?” Someone finally said, “Why not play 90’s rock and new rock?”

After that, their audience grew exponentially due to the diversity played, and so they survived. Soon, I kept hearing more and more Atlanta radio stations play ‘90s and new rock. Speaking of music, think about how much music artists are interacting with their listeners. “Like my facebook page! Tweet @ me! Call me directly! E-mail me!” Major label artists are posting phone numbers and e-mails on their websites to interact with their listeners. You can even hear it in the music! “Put your hands up! Everybody say ‘Yeah!’ Ladies, whip yo hair!”

What does this say about businesses and how they interact with their customers?

It proves that interacting with others and allowing feedback can help you thrive and survive.

I believe the same could be said, not just for businesses, but for humans as well. I’ve always heard that people find themselves through others and misery loves company, blah blah blah. You know. Humans interact to survive, to better themselves, to be happier – just like businesses should. I would deem this age as the humanization of businesses where interaction is the key to creating value and retaining customers.

If you’re looking for ways to survive and succeed in this world during and especially after college, think of ways to be more interactive with the people around you. Musical artists are already thinking of ways to interact with their listeners, why shouldn’t any other business do the same? This is what the Internet is for!

I’m trying to find ways to get more people involved in my music business as well. I let them remix music, I take suggestions for what I should write, I offer incentives to Like my Facebook, tweet @ me, join my mailing list, etc. So if you’re reading this paper, put yo hands in the air!

Josh Frohling is a music industry junior. He can be reached at [email protected].

In My Opinion is a weekly column open to any Loyola student. Those interested should contact [email protected]