There is a wonderful social network called BlogTalkRadio. Basically, you can record your own radio talkshow with just a phone and a computer. The service records your talk show through the phone with a number of guests/listeners (max 5) and that show is then automatically published on BlogTalk Radio. Yet, you can also publish the talkshow on your own blog/site.
Heather Picken, Personal Power Coach For Women, discovered this great free service and she was so nice to tell me about it. Heather was very happy with the result, she told me: We have done 3 shows over there and have gotten well over 1000 downloads of the calls and over 100 callers on the show!!!
You basically do your show, and it automatically saves it as an mp3
Heather is not easily excited about things, and she hates complicated stuff,so you can count on it: here you have a free audio service that at the same time is a radio channel and a social network and it is dead-easy to operate. Here is an excerpt of what BlogtalkRadio has to say about its own service:
BlogTalkRadio is the social radio network that allows users to connect quickly and directly with their audience. Using an ordinary telephone and computer hosts can create free, live, call-in talk shows with unlimited participants that are automatically archived and made available as podcasts. No software download is required. Listeners can subscribe to shows via RSS into iTunes and other feed readers. Our network has produced tens of thousands of episodes since it launched in August of 2006.
You can actually compare this with setting up your own video channel on youtube with the difference that the emphasis is on audio and it has of course a couple of other interesting features that you would not find on video channels, like the points you find in bold below:
- Free Internet radio talk show: No software download. Free.
- Shared Revenue Program. Optional Revenue Sharing program for participating hosts
- Live Chat: Lets hosts chat with listeners during and after live show
- Multiple participants: Receive up to 5 simultaneous guests/listeners on your show
- Promotional Tools: Copy and paste flash player and buttons to any blog or web site
- Show Archive: Saved automatically and available as MP3, RSS subscription or iTunes
- Reminders: Customized alerts by email or phone of upcoming shows
- Friends and Favorites; Collect listeners and add your favorite shows
- Customizable Profile: Add video, a blog, links to other sites or other widgets
There are advanced options for business users as well. I suggest you read this page for an overview of all possible features. I would definitely want you to have a look at this service if you are serious about podcasting. It is a very popular site, so there is a large audience just waiting for your own talkshow. In short, if talking is your thing, have a look at BlogtalkRadio!
For advanced users:
I wonder if it is possible to record a talk show upfront and then upload the proecessed audio file to BlogTalkRadio. That way, you would have 2 advantages:
- You can avoid the pinched nose sound from phone conversations.
- You get around the limit of 5 guests/listeners. If possible, you could record talk shows with up to 25 Skype users around the globe through the use of PrettyMay (Skype recording software).
This would render the convenience of the service as an easy click-and-go action useless, but for advanced users it would be really worthwhile since the quality would increase dramatically. Personally, I dislike the quality of phone recordings. I find them tiresome to listen to, So I rather prefer the upload method if that is possible. What are your thoughts on this?
Blogtalkradio has come a long way since its relaunch, but its not without several downsides, many of which its users have voiced (not the least of which is sound quality).
Miracle Tutorials readers are welcome to try out Croice, a new service that lets anyone host live broadcasts through their own website or blog using a simple widget we provide at http://croice.com/.
-Vadim