Boo!

We have been offered a free three month trial of Audioboo’s pro account having used the free version since January this year.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not really a fan of podcasting or, suprisingly given the way I’ve devoured books in the past, even audiobooks in my personal life.  Give me something I can look at and see as well as hear, and I’ll be much happier. But, I was keen to let the voices of real people be heard from conferences, events etc.  There are definitely some “interesting” uses of Audioboo among my Twitter followers, so I was inspired more by the immediacy of their sharing than some of the actual content.   

That link to Twitter means that we don’t have to wait for videos to be edited and uploaded to YouTube, while the 3 minute limit on boos means that people can be encouraged to really focus on what they want to say.

I’m still really fond of the first boo I ever recorded, and some of the team’s more recent ones – for example the ones we recorded with sandwich students, an apprentice, and a union rep at Ellesmere Port let the voices of real people affected by decisions – not just the politicians or the corporate voice – be heard.

I also think that there’s something about hearing the buzz in the background that brings events to life even further, hopefully making the listener thinking that they’re right there in the middle of it.   I’d be interested to hear whether other people agree on that.

We seem to get recognition for doing these boos, though that doesn’t necessarily always translate into listens. 

So, what’s going to be different about the Pro Account?  Well, there seem to be a few new additions including:

  • private boos & moderation
  • multiple contributors
  • extending recording time

The extended recording time (up to 30 minutes) obviously opens up new possibilities, but I would hate to lose the spontaneity that the 3 minute option gives us, and I can see us possibly experimenting with keeping the 3 minute option to take audio snapshots of events and announcements, and exploring more regular podcast-type options for the 30 minute option.   Given the range of policies that we cover, there’s a pretty wide choice of topics, but the trial will have to be more focussed over the summer months.

I’ve obviously spoken to Audioboo about the trial period but I’d love to hear from other organisations – not those just involved in broadcasting who are already strong users – what they feel they gain from the pro account, and hopefully pick up a few tips along the way to make sure that we fully integrate this into our channels in the most effective way.

2 comments

  1. Great article Marilyn! One thing to point out, the Pro account gives you UNLIMITED recording time rather than just up to 30 mins.

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