Digital Toolbox
Broadcastr
| Project URL | |
|---|---|
| Logo |  |
| Site screenshot |  |
| Cost and Development Philosophy | Free, proprietary |
| Local Installation or Hosted Solution | Hosted |
| Description | “Broadcastr is an app for iPhone and Android that creates intimate and immersive experiences by unlocking pictures and audio relevant to where you are. It turns your smartphone into a multimedia guide to the world, and everyone can contribute.” (source) |
| Use on SpokenWeb Project | To date, we have not used Broadcastr on the SpokenWeb project.
The geolocation aspect of Broadcastr is something we would like to build into the SpokenWeb, so that users could, for example, browse poetry recordings via their place of recording or some other geographic criteria (e.g. the poet’s birth place). The mobile recording feature could also be useful for open archives (i.e. to which new recordings were being added) and for rapid distribution of both audio and corresponding images from live events. |
| Evaluation | Broadcastr is a mobile-only app that allows you to record on the fly or to enjoy recordings that others have made and that you can browse by location and category. They make it possible to record audio in any form (music, interviews, podcasts, poetry, ambient noise, etc.) using a mobile device and to distribute it publicly through a variety of different options (on their site, on a social networking site like Facebook or Twitter, or via email).
The design of the mobile app is adequate. It is still in beta, however, and I did experience it crashing occasionally on the iPhone. As for poetry, it seems that it would be particularly useful for recording and distributing poetry on the fly or at live events.
So far I prefer Audioboo as it seems to have a better design, allows you to keep content private, and also provides access to an application programming interface (API). Finally, since Broadcastr is a mobile-only app it’s not an option for any serious archive who is looking for a cloud based service to host their existing content for easy distribution. |
| Projects | Since Broadcastr does not provide access to their API it is not currently possible to build any projects that leverage the application. |
| Future Directions | Broadcastr is currently in beta testing and it will be interesting to see how it develops, especially compared to other similar services such as Audioboo. |
| References | http://broadcastr.com/ |