Loaded with user-generated content covering the globe, the Broadcastr app lets iPhone users post three-minute voice recordings to an interactive world map.
Now breaking news, restaurant reviews and even museum tours can be streamed as micro-podcasts pinned to GPS locations. Broadcastr hosts can also instantly circulate content anywhere smartphone reception permits, which could be handy to report live after a natural disaster strikes.
Broadcastr, created by Scott Lindenbaum and Andy Hunter of Electric Literature, included all the key features from its social networking website in the mobile launch last week.
“When we looked at the social media space, we saw all these amazing things…we tweet, we blog…but we asked ourselves where do we go to use our voice, and there was no answer for that,” said Lindenbaum.
Beyond typical options like rating, playlist making and link sharing, the mobile app introduces a new feature called 'Geoplay.' According to a press release, it’s like taking a walk while stories about your surroundings automatically stream into your headphones “like a museum tour of the entire world.”
While the mobile app would be used more in spontaneous situations, content like radio documentaries should be uploaded to Broadcastr.com using a computer because those clips can be longer than three minutes.
With over a hundred partnerships with groups like UNICEF and Fodor’s travel guides, the Brooklyn, New York-based startup company has more than 6,000 audio entries that reach as far as Antarctica.
Like a cross between Foursquare and SoundCloud, the social media platform opened its online beta to the public on March 1st. Broadcastr plans to release an Android app later this month as well.
What's Driving This Trend
- Mobile Audio Broadcasting
- Mobile audio broadcasting apps like Broadcastr present opportunities for location-based advertising and real-time reporting of news or events.
- Geoplay
- The Geoplay feature in Broadcastr represents the creation of a new genre of audio-tourism that can be adopted by museums, tourism companies, and city governments.
- User-generated Audio
- User-generated audio content-sharing platforms like Broadcastr offer opportunities for educators, podcasters, and media companies to reach new audiences with engaging audio content.
Who This Affects Most
- Advertising
- Mobile audio broadcasting apps like Broadcastr offer opportunities for businesses to create location-based advertising campaigns and target users based on their interests and locations.
- Tourism
- The Geoplay feature in Broadcastr can be adopted by tourism companies, museums, and city governments to create immersive audio tours that enhance visitors' experiences and increase engagement.
- Education
- User-generated audio content-sharing platforms like Broadcastr can be used by educators to create engaging audio lessons or enable students to share their work and ideas with each other and the world.
