Journalist tools: Audioboo

A social media website which allows you to share audio recorded from your phone or computer seems to be the next step in handy journalism tools.

This morning I have already clicked two links which took me to Audioboo: the first an extract from Radio 4’s Today programme; the second a short piece from Rory  Cellan-Jones at a new mobile phone launch. The BBC is obviously keen, but in just those two clips we can see the diversity of this new social media tool.

Journalism is increasingly immediate, as on demand services become more prevalent audiences want content now, or even earlier if possible. Audioboo seems to provide a way to this content which Twitter doesn’t allow in 140 characters and Facebook has never managed.

Audioboo allows you to record content or upload pre-recorded material, attach a picture and location tag and share it across social media platforms. The site also allows you to search recent, popular or nearby ‘boos’ and create a network of people whose boos you wish to follow.

How rapidly this will grow and its longevity in a time of social media fatigue is questionable, but for now journalism has found a new toy and it comes with its own group of silly verbs.