Always wanted to host a public or private community conference call on the internet, enable live chat, and podcast the conversation afterward? Maybe not, but now you can. Like other web-based audio and video platforms, talkshoe.com has filled a need we didn’t know we had.
Launched in 2006, the site started gaining popularity last year as a new interactive podcasting tool. How does it work? As TalkShoe execs describe it, “Community calling uses the phone, cell phone or VoIP to enable group conversations between anyone, anywhere, anytime, allowing people to host and record interactive community calls on any topic.” Users on the site can see your “live call” and choose to participate either via chatroom or phone, or you can invite people you know. TalkShoe also integrates social networks, including Facebook, Meebo, and Ning.
With almost 100,000 users, the flexibility to allow participation for non-members, an iPhone app and plenty of server space for archiving audio files, TalkShoe is holding its own in the user-generated world of digital communications. And because the primary tool for participation is a telephone, computer proficiency isn’t required. The first thing I noticed was how many shows reached out seniors. One program about the U.S. educational system had 65 participants, primarily older callers. Several moms host their own self-help talkshows, and community organizations host shows on activism. Dozens of other shows are hosted by preachers from around the world, dedicated to bringing the word of God into ipods everywhere. The implications for multigenerational civic media — both locally and internationally — are huge.
Founder Dave Nelsen, an entreprenuer from the software industry, runs TalkShoe with a Pittsburgh-based team of three. They earn extra points by keeping the site open source, encouraging users to “develop applications and mash-ups based upon TalkShoe’s technology.”
To test it out, I started a weekly call-in show called MIT Media Nerds, which airs at 9 p.m. on Sunday nights. Graduate students from MIT’s Comparative Media Studies program discuss video games, fan fiction, media literacy, topics from our weekly colloquiums, and what we’re watching (or reading) online. You can participate by calling 724-444-7444 (Call ID 26622) or visiting the show page and entering the chatroom. The podcast of this conversation is also available on iTunes. Talk to us!