It’s been just over two weeks since AudioBoo launched in the Apple App Store and ever since I’ve been trying to find a moment to pen some thoughts on how it’s being used and progress to date. Now, with the rest of the team in Scotland, I’ve finally found a minute or two to blog rather than keep my nose to the contract-a-thon.
How it’s doing
As an early 4iP project there’s no doubt that AudioBoo has been an incredible success. Thanks to appearances on the front page of the App Store AudioBoo averaging about 1,200 downloads a day and it’s now available on over 7,000 devices. Awareness has undoubtedly been raised by coverage from The Guardian, BBC and most importantly other bloggers like TechCrunch, Neville Hobson, Journalism.co.uk and Podcasting News. Some of my favorite quotes have been:
“AudioBoo may herald a new audio revolution online” Rory Cellan-Jones on dot.life
“Here’s the coolest iPhone application I’ve found so far this year – Audioboo...I’ve been playing with Audioboo for the past few days and, frankly, I’m addicted” - Neville Hobson
“Knocking about the AudioBoo.fm site, you can learn about White Day in Japan, listen to a German practising his guitar chords or any number of ‘boos’ that are the AudioBoo equivalent of “Testing, 1, 2, 3…” - and even those are surprisingly addictive” - Basheera Khan, TechCrunch UK
“..after using it recently in London and in a street in Paris (with public Wi-Fi) I’m impressed. It even produced a map to show where I was in Paris” - Victor Keegan in the Guardian.
“AudioBoo has me excited. It fills a gap, it’s a missing link” - by Documentally on Our Man Inside
How it’s being used
But the press coverage is only half the story. For me the most exciting thing is seeing how AudioBoo is being used. When 4iP invested in AudioBoo it hoped to support a fledgling UK start-up build a tool to empower users to better create audio journalism or first person narratives. I hoped it might see the creation and sharing of first person audio commentary by location and tag.
So imagine my excitement when I saw how The Guardian’s Matthew Weaver used AudioBoo to capture audio at the G20 protests in London. Matthew posted audio interviews with Pete Murry from the Green Party, Jenny Ricks, from Action Aid and Brendan Barber, general secretary of the TUC amongst others. Truly shows just how flexible and forward thinking the Guardian’s news team are nowadays.
As well as national news stories it’s good to see how users reporting on hyperlocal stories and issues that wouldn’t necessarily be reported. Boo user Veterus reported on a major fire in Gosport with geo-located images, photos and audio.
While a concerned resident from SE1 reported on Southwark’s licensing committee.
But Audioboo’s an open platform and users can use the tool however they wish. Some of my favourite, perhaps less serious boos over the last couple have weeks have been:
The BBC’s Rory Cellan Jones at a secret rugby game!
and the Boo Bot’s giggling baby!
How it’s developing
I know all good web products are in perpetual beta but the boys at BestBefore really practise what they preach. Over the last two weeks they’ve redesigned the website, developed plug-ins for WordPress, integrated with Twitter and inserted geo-location data into the Atom and RSS feeds. While I was hanging out in their office yesterday they released commenting too!
They know the site and app are far from perfect but better to release early and often taking into account users’ needs than build in a bubble.
Mark Rock on Wed, April 01, 2009 at 12:06 said:
Thanks for that Dan.
One of the breaking usages is the coverage of the G20 protests today. We have people on the ground and (hopefully) journalists from Channel4 News, The Guardian and independent blogs putting audioboo through its paces. You can see a live view of geo-located boos at the latest blog - http://bit.ly/2QZHYk.
James Stewart on Wed, April 15, 2009 at 6:03 said:
Great app. We developed the same thing last year, but without an aim to commercialise it. Good to see someone has had a go. We actually found the voice interface put people off, but that was from regular mobile phones - the iPhone makes a much better job of it, although not so democratically!
Patrick Campbell on Thu, May 21, 2009 at 12:02 said:
We produce the UK’s top football phone-in, 606, for BBC Radio 5Live. Just started using AudioBoo to provide another avenue of interactivity for football fans with iPhones. We are already seeing an increase in the number of Boos received and 606itsyourboo followers. We also use AB to highlight some of the programmes ‘best bits’; calls, v.short features etc. Great app and also brilliant to be able to link audience and programme audio to Twitter.
Used Video Equipment on Wed, May 27, 2009 at 6:14 said:
hi,
nice application.
thanks a lot for sharing the information.
Mark Cason on Sat, May 30, 2009 at 12:00 said:
In this mi-vox audio book, the bestselling author Michael Heatley tells Ricky’s story from his childhood at Reading in Berkshire UK, to international stardom, picking up an Emmy, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA along the way.
perfect golf swing on Sat, July 11, 2009 at 8:46 said:
We’ve been lucky at audioboo in that we very quickly attracted a core user base who really cared about the platform. They have tweeted, emailed or used our support forum to tell us what they want, what their problem might be or suggested new features. That’s been key to our progress so far.
Social Media Optimization company in india on Fri, July 31, 2009 at 5:54 said:
Audioboo’s an open platform and users can use the tool however they wish.
Server Game on Tue, August 04, 2009 at 6:04 said:
So basically, audioBoo can be used for anything regarding audio such as recording, playback, streaming and what not. That’s one cool application!
Senuke on Thu, August 06, 2009 at 9:30 said:
You rock folks. But the press coverage is only half the story. For me the most exciting thing is seeing how AudioBoo is being used. When 4iP invested in AudioBoo it hoped to support a fledgling UK start-up build a tool to empower users to better create audio journalism or first person narratives. I hoped it might see the creation and sharing of first person audio commentary by location and tag.
Houston Courier Service on Sat, August 08, 2009 at 9:43 said:
When 4iP invested in AudioBoo it hoped to support a fledgling UK start-up build a tool to empower users to better create audio journalism or first person narratives.
erbs palsy on Mon, August 10, 2009 at 9:00 said:
AudioBoo is a really great application and is very useful to every profession. If you think that only musicians can benefit from this then you’re really wrong. Journalists or reporters can also benefit from this with its easy to use recording and playback.
senuke review on Wed, August 19, 2009 at 2:48 said:
For me the most exciting thing is seeing how AudioBoo is being used. When 4iP invested in AudioBoo it hoped to support a fledgling UK start-up build a tool to empower users to better create audio journalism or first person narratives.
SENuke on Thu, August 20, 2009 at 7:03 said:
We’ve been lucky at audioboo in that we very quickly attracted a core user base who really cared about the platform. agree with you dude
psoriasis treatment on Fri, August 21, 2009 at 5:02 said:
For me the most exciting thing is seeing how AudioBoo is being used. When 4iP invested in AudioBoo it hoped to support a fledgling UK start-up build a tool to empower users to better create audio journalism.
Orthotic lab on Fri, August 21, 2009 at 10:40 said:
This is really cool..
And I’ve heard that this is an open platform.. really great.
Canon on Mon, August 24, 2009 at 10:46 said:
Great application. Good to see someone has had a go. We actually found the voice interface put people off, but that was from regular mobiles
Western Digital on Wed, August 26, 2009 at 1:00 said:
AudioBoo is a great application and is very useful to every profession. If you think that only musicians can benefit from this then you’re wrong.
videolar izle on Thu, August 27, 2009 at 9:52 said:
great application , thanks for sharing
sikiş videolar on Thu, August 27, 2009 at 10:45 said:
its good application , thanks man.
Lingerie on Thu, September 03, 2009 at 5:16 said:
Great application. is it free?
sikis izle on Mon, September 07, 2009 at 4:45 said:
great…. how can i find it? is it free? can u answer this questions? thanx
automated forex software on Wed, September 09, 2009 at 12:54 said:
Nice presentation on AudioBoo…
Great Work
cash for survey on Wed, September 09, 2009 at 12:56 said:
I just Love to use AudioBoo Software..
I think that it is good for every one..
Thanks for such a nice post..
Forex Auto Money on Mon, September 21, 2009 at 10:30 said:
You really make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this topic to be really something which I think I would never understand. It seems too complicated and very broad for me. I am looking forward for your next post, I will try to get the hang of it!
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No Load Mutual Funds on Tue, November 17, 2009 at 8:39 said:
I’ve never heard of Audio Boo before, but it looks like there are endless possibilities to its use if you just think outside the box a little bit.
criminal defense attorney on Tue, November 24, 2009 at 6:22 said:
Audio Boo is a very innovative and creative idea. There are so many possibilities with it. Just whose brain-child is it?
Jamorama on Fri, December 04, 2009 at 9:06 said:
Sounds interesting. Thanks for sharing the info about this app. Is it free?
Fix RROD on Sat, December 05, 2009 at 7:17 said:
I would also like to ask, is this software for free or not?
Electonics Parts Store on Wed, December 09, 2009 at 5:48 said:
Yah, I also want to know if it is free, or if it’s for sale, may I know where I can order one?
Kamruzzaman on Sat, December 12, 2009 at 11:38 said:
Free application are always enjoyable for all. So, it is great for me.
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Mark Ewans on Sat, December 12, 2009 at 9:09 said:
I was thinking of looking up some of them newspaper websites, but am glad I came here instead. Although glad is not quite the right word… let me just say I needed this after the incessant chatter in the media, and am grateful to you for articulating something many of us are feeling - even from distant shores.
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Facebook Layouts on Fri, December 18, 2009 at 3:52 said:
We are already seeing an increase in the number of Boos received and 606itsyourboo followers. We also use AB to highlight some of the programs best bits;calls, v.short features etc.
Huggable hanger on Thu, January 14, 2010 at 10:00 said:
I’ve never heard of Audio Boo before, but it looks like there are endless possibilities to its use if you just think outside the box a little bit.
Fix rrod on Fri, January 22, 2010 at 7:27 said:
I love this app it’s like audio blogging.
bipin on Mon, January 25, 2010 at 3:05 said:
This is an amazing idea. We are a small mobile startup in India who are thinking along similar lines.
oyun on Wed, January 27, 2010 at 4:40 said:
Thanks brother was very nice of page
Yan on Thu, February 04, 2010 at 10:56 said:
The application looks pretty useful, thanks. Wondering is it free?
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Dazzling on Tue, February 23, 2010 at 12:32 said:
This is just another reason why I like your website. I like your style of writing you tell your stories without out sending us to 5 other sites to complete the story.
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Harley Davidson Bedding on Thu, March 11, 2010 at 11:45 said:
Well worth the read.I found it very informative as I have been searching for news about the AudioBoo launch lately . Thanks for posting
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