Audioboo: Tech Tuesday
Audioboo is often called an audio version of twitter, which in many ways it is. It was initially an app for the iPhone, but now you can phone in from any phone. The idea is very simple. You press the record button and talk into the phone like normal and when you’ve finished press the stop button. Send and the audio file is on the Audioboo site as an MP3. As an example here’s my first attempt.
There’s a bit more to it than that. You can pause and resume recordings, but you can also add a lot more to them too. For instance if you visit the page where I’m at Caerleon’s latrines, not only do you get the recording but also a photo of the place and a map link so you can see where I am. The same recording also shows a problem for anyone recording outdoors – wind noise. Despite that Audioboo has potential for use on archaeological and historical projects.
Unfortunately there’s a few limitations which mean I won’t be podcasting my work live for a while yet. The biggest restriction is the need for 3G reception.
3G is essential because you can only record one boo at a time. You can’t start the next until you cleared the first, which is a problem if you want to comment on a second photo. The geotagging is also a bit flawed as it works on where you upload from, not where you record. This is why the forum and basilica of Caerwent is located in the services on the M5. If you can’t upload your thoughts on a hitherto undiscovered stone circle while standing on a lonely moor then Audioboo is not going to help. That’s a shame because otherwise Audioboo would neatly tag everything together and earn a place on Carl Lipo’s list of archaeological iPhone applications.
As far as an audio twitter goes, it’s not there yet. Comments are still by text rather than audio, which gives it less functionality than Seesmic. On the other hand you can pull together your own custom podcast by subscribing in one go to all the people you follow.
As it stands, if it could record up to 20 files and tag the recording site rather than the upload site then this is an app I would consider paying for. At the moment it’s free. However, if you’re urban based, or better still have wifi, then simply for tying notes, photos and locations together it’s a handy tool. If you want to promote the amazingly simple publication side of it as well, (here’s a link to subscribe to me in iTunes) then it’s definitely worth a look.
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