TalkShoe adds VoIP with ShoePhone

Want to see, experience and understand a phenomenal way to extend your company, personal or other value proposition online? Then you owe it to yourself to spend a bit of time at TalkShoe and understand the implications of what they’ve just released with free and easy voice (VoIP) capability with TalkShoe called ShoePhone.

Their press release says in part, “ShoePhone is an easy to use service for unlimited group calling with anyone, anywhere, anytime. Up to 250 people can participate in a live call (which TalkShoe calls Talkcastsâ„¢), and 1,000s more can listen to the simultaneous live Internet audio stream. Users can also simultaneously text-chat, and Talkcasts can be recorded and stored on TalkShoe’s website for later listening and podcasting. Talkcasts can be done instantly, or scheduled in advance. ShoePhone is Free to use.

ShoePhone uses voice-over-IP (VoIP) technology to create calls. However, unlike other VoIP services, ShoePhone users can connect with other ShoePhone users as well as to people using standard telephones, mobile phones, other VoIP services such as Skype, and 3rd party VoIP clients such as SJphone and Gizmo. This is because ShoePhone is based on a telco-grade conferencing system unlike other server-based VoIP-only services which have limited conferencing capabilities.”

After I pinged famed Internet radio guy Doug Kaye earlier this year he forwarded my note about high quality call-in recording solutions with VoIP to Dave Nelsen, the CEO of TalkShoe. Nelsen immediately jumped in with their solutions, indicated that (what now has become ShoePhone) VoIP solutions I needed would be coming this year which I expected would be December! How’s THAT for underpromising and overdelivering.

I’ve listened and participated in shows and played with the TalkSho system myself. Though embracing an online system was something I was reluctant to do since I want complete control over the recording, the show itself (using a conferencing service) and so on, I’ve been hunting for a high quality, easy to use, free-for-my-listeners solution that gives them lots of different ways to call in and either listen to or participate in a show…and be of high quality. TalkShoe has delivered.

“Hey Borsch, are there any downsides that you’ve discovered?”

Yep. All of us expect that systems like this will work perfectly, sort of like picking up our home telephone and dialing a number on a landline. Think for a moment, however, about all the compromises we make on dropped calls, static and screaming in to our mobile phones for the delight in having our communications on our hip and purse at all times. There are a lot of moving parts and variables with TalkShoe (people’s Internet speed, whether they’re behind a firewall and are having trouble getting connected, crappy and cheap headsets that sound bad, ground-loop hum with someone’s computer and so forth).

Now that I think about it though, when I listen to callers on *any* radio show people often have static-riddled regular landline telephones that don’t sound all that great either!

TalkShoe isn’t immune to people hosting shows who don’t take the time to learn how they work. To agonize a bit over making sure their audio sounds good and is hum and static free. To actually script and run a show that is professional and easy to listen to as someone investing time to listen or participate in a live show.

TalkShoe has excellent host controls and features that make setting up and running a live show or event pretty seamless. Rather than give you a blow-by-blow of all the features, watch these short videos.

TalkShoe has now given me the last feature I desired with ShoePhone.  If you’re delivering content and would like to widen your reach, provide listeners with access to your content in a simple and robust way, try ’em out. Oh yeah, Dave Nelsen answered one of my questions in an email and they’ve got more good stuff coming this year.

To be continued…