Trying Flipzu - Live Broadcasts from Phone or Browser

I was given a recommendation from Ed Ovett (Ed's Mixed Bag) to take a look at a live broadcast solution called Flipzu. I registered an account and gave it a try. Unfortunately, there's not a lot of documentation on how to use the service, so my first attempt was quite failed. I clicked the "Broadcast Now" button, entered a title and clicked the second "Broadcast Now" button to begin my first broadcast. I knew that I would go live, but I assumed that it would stop recording when I clicked stop and closed the browser tab.

Unfortunately, when I went to Twitter to check the post it was still recording. Everything I typed on my Macbook continued to be broadcast. I was using the built-in mic with the Macbook, so it picked up every stroke and mouse gesture. The app continued to record for almost five minutes (I'm glad that I wasn't in conversation with anyone in the house). Only on returning to the site did I realize that the broadcast had continued.

For record, I was using Google Chrome to visit Flipzu.

Here's my second attempt at recording/broadcasting with Flipzu. I used a very inexpensive earbud/mic combination to record this. You'll hear the explanation if you listen to the recording.

Visit here if you can't see the embedded player.

I'm still trying to determine how I might use Flipzu. Perhaps a live Audio Gumshoe episode? Perhaps I'll rebroadcast some previous episodes. Maybe it would be a nice tool to use while on my morning commute (though I don't have an iPhone or an Android phone; Flipzu supports both with an app.)

I was contacted on Twitter by Lucas Lain, a co-founder of Flipzu. He asked how he could help. I gave him a few thoughts. I think it's great that he engages enough with potential users to help them through the process of getting started. If you would like to try it, you can go directly to the web site -- or you can use their Android or iPhone apps available in the app stores. The service will let you link directly to your Twitter and Facebook accounts if you desire to do so.

UPDATE: Apparently the embed code -- which resides in an iFrame -- is not compatible with Posterous. Perhaps that can be fixed on the Posterous side sometime in the near future.

TuneWiki Is In My Neighborhood

Each day I drive by a very historic building in our neighborhood. The building at 4 W. Franklin Street in Centerville, Ohio has housed a variety of businesses dating clear back to 1872.

According the Centerville-Washington Township Historical Society

A log cabin first stood on this site in 1816. It was used as a cooperage in the 1820s and 30s making barrels for the pork packing business. The present two-story Victorian building (the Franklin Street portion) was built by Clark Pine in 1872 and incorporates at least two earlier buildings into a unified structure. The foundation and sill plates of the log cabin can be seen on the southeast corner of this building. The two-story section and porch on the west side were added in 1895. This building also served as the Centerville Post Office in the 1880s.

Source: http://www.mvcc.net/Centerville/histsoc/clark.htm

My only recollections of the structure have been recent. I moved to Centerville in 1988. I can remember a variety of shops in the building, including the Coffee Affair (my favorite), the Ashley and Hillary Boutique, a (very high priced) denim clothing store, and another clothing boutique. None of these lasted for long. One of the primary culprits appears to be a lack of available parking for a retail store. (I feel that some of the failure was the very eclectic nature of the retail goods and the extremely high prices.)

Recently, however, I've noticed a new logo on the windows of the building. As I am an active musician and fan of most things of the techno-geek variety, the logo caught my eye.

The site -- and the apps it seems -- also offers:

• Music News
• Streaming music
• Forums for music fans to discuss the songs they like/dislike
• Social connections to Facebook and Twitter
• Map charting to show what people are listening to -- with geolocation
• Music downloads

and a ton of other stuff. It looks like they are constantly developing more content and technology to cater to music fans.

The service appears to be free. The iPod app that I downloaded was free, as well. There are advertisements served both on the web site and within the app that I have been using. This integrates well and has not distracted me from enjoying the service.

So far I have been impressed with some of the features of this app. It catalogs the music that I already have on my iPod. When I start listening to this music within the app, it downloads lyrics to the song I'm listening to and shows them line-by-line in real time with the tune. Impressive! There have only been a few songs where lyrics were unavailable, but this doesn't surprise me as they are from independent artists or more eclectic offerings. There is also a limited number of artists where the service will not be able to provide lyric content. They state on the TuneWiki site:

Because TuneWiki is a legal service (unlike the majority of lyrics websites on the internet) we must comply with any wishes that the publishers and artists have about their lyrics.

This can change! We know EMI want to give us the rights to host the lyrics but they can't. Let us help them by showing as much public support as possible. Please reply to this topic. Your reply will be included in a petition with EMI to allow us to host the lyrics.
If we get enough people supporting us then we can show the EMI that our users really want the lyrics and then something can be done about it.

I'm quite impressed with the extensive offering of the site. It caters well to listeners of popular music. As a listener of more independent music -- or less mainstream artists -- I may not always find what I'm looking for here. I certainly could care less about what L@dy G*G* is doing, but there is a lot of content on the site about that one. [Artist name submitted differently by this author, as I don't want the flame wars and comment spam that results from this high profile search term.]

I guess the thing that impresses me the most, though, is that the operation is in place in a very historic building in the center of my little town. The computers, desks, and high tech logo on the windows and walls is a stark contrast to the very rustic and historic appearance that we often see in this building. It is nice to know that a business in the tech industry has found its way to my neighborhood. (I wonder if they need a media relations/promotions guy? I could walk to work!) And, of course, this doesn't appear to be a retail operation. It is an office environment for an online operation.

Give them a try on your iPod/iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Symbian device. Or just click on over to TuneWiki.com to see what they're all about.