What happens when audio-blogging (or podcasting) meets Voice over IP? Well, some Asterisk geniuses I know decided to answer that question. (And Phone Boy decided to test those geniuses’ theory.)
Coalescent Systems the creators of the excellent Asterisk Management Portal, a web GUI system for the already legendary Asterisk open source PBX, have introduced a whole new service geared around two of my favorite subjects–VoIP and Podcasting.
The service is called Gabcast. It’s a social broadcasting platform. What does THAT mean, you ask? Well check this out, from the Gabcast FAQ:
Gabcast is an exciting new service that allows people to voice their opinions, stories, etc. for the rest of the world to hear! Once you create an account online, you dial into your Gabcast account from any phone in the world, record an episode, and people all over the globe can listen to your ramblings. Going travelling? It’s a great way to keep friends and family in touch!
So, Gabcast is essentially podcasting-gone-voice blogging, marketed (at least so far) in a manner similar to Blogger or Typepad. But what I find really exciting about Gabcast is just how EASY its creators have made it to create the voice blogs. You can record via your choice of VoIP providers and softphones, or use a traditional telephone to “call in” your voice blogs.