Audio Postcards for Fun and Profit

Lots of web-based video applications at the DEMO 2007 show here in Palm Springs, CA, but one of the more intriguing products I've seen is a site called Yodio.com which lets users create audio postcards with still images for fun, and if they're done well, for profit too.

Here's how it works: after a quick sign in to the free site, your goal is to create a short audio story to describe your image. You create the audio file by calling a phone number, no microphone needed. It's recorded and kept on the site for your personal use. You then can use this file, or an MP3 file you've created and uploaded, to add voice to your image. Grab a photo off your hard drive, insert the audio, and email it to your friends or family. Alternatively, you can also imbed the HTML of your work into a blog or website, as I?ve done below (click the little icon)in this example of a single image VodioCard.

OK, this is a nice way to share an image and your description of it with your friends. But that's not really the major purpose of the site, though I suspect many will use it just for that. The true purpose is to create multi-image YodioCards, with audio, that will be interesting enough to others that they'll be willing to pay for the privilege of seeing them. Who would do this? Well, suppose you're planning a trip. These days, many of us depend on hotel user reviews to make a reservation decision. It might be kind of handy to hear, and see, what someone has to say about the hotel, or the nearby national park or the other attractions in the area. You might even be willing to pay a little for that kind of user review.

That's the theory anyway. Whether folks will bite and buy is another question. But that's always the question with DEMO products. After all, this show is billed as a "technology showcase" not a "sure-fire winners" showcase.

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