Adventures in Audio Blogging

So, I decided this week to try doing audio versions of my blog.  I’ve done one.  You can listen in here: http://thesmallbusinessmuse.com/have-a-little-faith-in-yourself/2010/07/06

More are coming soon!

I’ve been having fun playing with two of the options, CinchCast and AudioBoo, and thought I’d share some info about each.

CinchCast.com

• No set time limit
• Cool widget features to share your Cinches
• Created by BlogTalkRadio
• Create from your computer, by phone, or their iPhone App
• Share on Facebook, Twitter, CinchCast or embed on your site
• Gives you an RSS feed that can be subscribed to through iTunes

My two cents: CinchCast was easy to use and embed on my blog. I really like that it allows me to see how many times a recording has been played.

Here’s what it looks like embedded on Facebook:

And on my blog:

AudioBoo.fm

• 5 minute time limit
• Record from the web or upload a file
• Can sign in with a Twitter ID and automatically post your Boo to Twitter
• Can link your account to Facebook, Posterous, Tumblr and Friendfeed, too
• Can publish to iTunes as a podcast (http://forum.audioboo.fm/faqs/publishing-boos/creating-an-itunes-podcast)

My two cents:  It was super easy to record an AudioBoo with their pop up window recorder (this came in handy since I wanted to record a blog post I’d need to read while recording, I didn’t have to flip windows or open a new one). The recorder displays how much time you’ve used so you can keep an eye on the 5 minute mark.  Also very easy to post the AudioBoo to Facebook and it has a nice player there. Looks like this:

And here’s what it looks like on my blog:

Both got good sound quality when I recorded on my PC.  I use a Plantronics headset (like this one)  for audio.  I didn’t try the apps or phone recording.  If you’re going to record from your iPhone/Android/etc or by telephone I’d suggest testing those out on each option to see what type of audio quality you get and whether you like one app better than the other.

So, what am I going to do?  For now I’m going to give CinchCast a shot.  The listen count available on CinchCast is important to me.  I want to be able to see whether the audio versions are getting played so I know whether it’s a good investment of time (time quiet enough to record is tough with three usually-happy kids in the background).  I doubt I’ll go over 5 minutes but it’s nice to know I could if I wanted to.

If you do audio on your blog or offer a podcast, please do share your two cents below as I’d love to hear more about what works best for you and why (and I’m sure my readers would, too!).  Also, please include a link to your blog or podcast for us so we can come listen in!  :)