TalkShoe

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TalkShoe

URL	http://TalkShoe.com
Commercial?	Yes
Type of site	Podcasting host
Registration	Optional
Owner	TalkShoe
Created by	Dave Nelsen
Launched	June 2006
Current status of site	Active

TalkShoe is a Web 2.0 Internet radio/podcasting site that uses a Java chat client in conjunction with a conference call bridge to allow users to host or participate in live on-line talk radio shows called "talkcasts" (a portmanteau of "talk" and "broadcast") . A talkcast can also be followed as streaming audio by nonparticipants, and can be syndicated and downloaded after the live show ends as a podcast. Talkcast hosts are paid a monthly fee based on the quantity of listeners their shows receive.

TalkShoe's name is a play on "talk show," using Ed Sullivan's pronunciation of the word "show" as "shoe." ^[1]

Contents 1 Administration 1.1 Talkcasts 1.2 Chat 1.3 Voice 1.3.1 Telephone 1.3.2 Voice over IP 1.4 Rating system 1.5 Payment 2 History 3 Criticism 4 Prominent shows 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Administration

TalkShoe was founded in June, 2006 by Dave Nelsen and a group of private investors. ^[2] It is currently privately-owned.

The TalkShoe headquarters and the dial-in access point for its conference call bridge are located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

[edit] Talkcasts

All TalkShoe hosts and callers are required to register at the TalkShoe.com site in order to participate (though hosts may also create 'guest registrations' for the use of callers who do not wish to do so). Through the registration process, a user chooses a screen name and a 10-digit unique PIN. TalkShoe suggests the registrant use his own phone number for ease of remembering, but registrants with privacy concerns may use any number they wish as long as it has not been taken. The purpose of registration is so that the chat client can display the correct screen name to represent each dialed-in user.

A talkcast is started by using TalkShoe.com's web-based interface to create and categorize the show. A talkcast may cover any subject matter the host desires, but may not include forbidden content such as pornographic material. ^[3] The talkcast is assigned an ID number that is used by participants to dial in. The host may then schedule a session of the show and optionally send email notifications to invite guests. Once a session is scheduled, the host and callers may dial in up to 15 minutes before the show is scheduled to begin. Callers may connect to a show using the TalkShoe Live! chat client, telephone, or both. People who would just like to listen but not participate may use a streaming audio link on the talkcast's homepage without needing to register.

There are two components to a talkcast experience: Chat and Voice

[edit] Chat

TalkShoe uses a Java-based chat client called TalkShoe Live!, currently available for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X platforms (though a Linux native version is promised soon). ^[4] The client requires Java 1.5.

The software allows hosts to start or stop the recording of their podcast, and to mute or unmute the text and/or voice chat ability of callers to the show. It allows callers to listen to the show in streaming audio if they have not phoned in (the stream is automatically muted when the software senses a voice connection from the same user), or to set a flag indicating they wish to be unmuted (that is, allowed to speak "on the air") if they have phoned in. It allows both host and callers to chat via text-message to each other, and to see who is currently and no longer connected to the show.

Unlike most chat/instant messenging applications, which follow a vertical scrolling paradigm, TalkShoe's text chat scrolls horizontally, placing chat bubbles in a row next to the screen name of the person who typed them. It also uses threading in which responses to a given chat message take on the same color as that chat message. This is intended to allow easy tracking of conversations by users who are not able to give the text conversation their full attention.

The text chat is usually used for out-of-band conversations among show participants, the exchange of URLs related to show content, and questions or responses to the host or guests from listeners who are muted or unable to call in. It is not necessary for listeners or guests to use the chat client in order to connect by phone as long as they have registered; however, they will be unable to use the chat client's features such as text chatting or requesting to be unmuted.

[edit] Voice

Connecting to the voice component of a show allows a TalkShoe user to listen to a show via their phone, and to speak on it if the host allows. When a caller connects, a voice menu asks for his show ID and PIN number, then connects him to the show.

TalkShoe currently supports two methods of voice connection.

[edit] Telephone

The most common method for voice connection is the telephone. TalkShoe's voice access number is 724-444-7444, an ordinary telephone number located in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania exchange. Callers may use landline or mobile phones, or one of the Voice over IP (VOIP) providers or applications such as Vonage, Skype, Gizmo Project, or Raketu that allow free or discounted calling to standard phone numbers.

[edit] Voice over IP

Callers may also connect using a Voice over IP client that supports the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), such as SJPhone, XMeeting, or Gizmo Project. The SIP URI is SIP:66.212.134.192 or SIP:123@66.212.134.192. ^[5] TalkShoe currently allows SIP connections for free; however it is planning to institute a $4.95 per month fee in the near future for non-hosts to use this feature. ^[6]

[edit] Rating system

TalkShoe features a voluntary rating system for its talkcasts; a talkcast may be rated A for All Audiences, PC for Parental Control, or EX for Explicit. Hosts are given the responsibility of rating their own shows; shows that are improperly rated may be reported to TalkShoe by its users. ^[7]

[edit] Payment

According to its website ^[8], TalkShoe pays hosts $5 per show for the first 10 shows, as well as "up to $4 per 100 plays or downloads." TalkShoe has stated the revenue stream to support these payments will be provided by inserting advertisements at the beginning and end of each broadcast, though they have not begun doing this yet, as well as telephone access fees and premium services ^[9]

[edit] History

TalkShoe was launched in June, 2006 by Dave Nelsen, a former employee of the FORE Systems telecommunication company. Nelsen intentionally kept the site's launch low-key, wishing to build site traffic slowly by word of mouth. Early talkcasts were by local Pittsburgh personalities, ^[10] including radio talkshow hosts who simulcast via TalkShoe as another method of broadcasting their show and taking call-ins.

In November, 2006, talkshow hosts Amber MacArthur and Leo Laporte decided to start hosting their Net@Nite show via TalkShoe. The large increase in traffic to TalkShoe, both in terms of callers into the Net@Nite show and new listeners/hosts who were introduced to TalkShoe and started shows of their own, has caused TalkShoe to put a number of planned features on hold in favor of increasing server capacity. On Sunday, December 3rd, the Net@Nite show with guest Kevin Rose of Digg was the busiest live show on record, with 930 total streaming or chatting participants. ^[11]

TalkShoe is currently in beta testing phase.

[edit] Criticism

Many users of TalkShoe criticize the horizontal chat system as being very different from the vertical chats they are used to, and sometimes confusing and difficult to follow--especially during busy shows when many people are chatting simultaneously. TalkShoe representatives reply that they are still considering methods of improving the chat, but the current method has proven easier to keep track of the flow of conversations than an IRC-style chat where prior statements are continually rolling off the screen and it is sometimes difficult to tell who replied to whom.

Users have also complained of the low quality of recordings, which are currently rendered at 8 kHZ, standard telephone connection quality. TalkShoe representatives have stated that they will be introducing a "high-quality" connection method, for the benefit of VoIP users, in the near-future. ^[12]

[edit] Prominent shows

Prominent TalkShoe talkcasts include

• Net@Nite - A live call-in version of Amber MacArthur and Leo Laporte's popular podcast, usually airing Sunday nights. Leo and Amber make a separate, high-quality recording of the show in their own studio and make it available on the show's website, natn.tv, the Tuesday after the show is aired.
• PVP Livecast - An irregularly-scheduled talkcast hosted by PvP webcomic author Scott Kurtz, on which he irreverantly discusses issues relating to his comic strip and pop culture.
• Old Time Rock'n'Roll - An hour-long oldies music show, airing Sunday mornings, hosted by Lee Douglas. According to TalkShoe CEO Dave Nelsen ^[13], this is their fastest-growing show that did not come with a pre-existing audience such as Net@Nite or PvP.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• TalkShoe front page