Featuring listener voices in a podcast adds personality and engagement, but isn’t very common. That might be because setting up a phone number, harvesting messages, recording them, and placing them in a show is an awkward and difficult production task. The problem seems to be entering a solution phase as at least two companies are launching products this week to simplify and digitize the interactivity.
One of the solutions is a new service called PodInbox which is wholly about enabling listener engagement by voice. The service launches today, with a lifetime service offer for attendees at the Podcast Movement gathering this week in Nashville.
PodInbox fashions itself more a social service than a production tool: “PodInbox wants to destroy that old technology we call voicemail. With PodInbox, we’re creating a much more interactive way for fans to engage with their favorite podcasters. Audio messages from fans are shared publicly on PodInbox, and you can even listen and like other fan messages. It’s kinda like voicemail…with a social twist.”
But the key attribute is digital voice messages that can be reviewed and inserted in podcasts more easily than analog voice mail.
At the same time, we notice that: Podcastpage, a semi-automated creator of podcast websites, is adding a new Voice Messages feature. Below is a screenshot of how it appears to visitors (look to the right edge):
In this instance, voice messages are sent to the podcast owner’s email.
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