• by Diane Mermigas , March 11, 2008

Imagine hearing voices for every written blog on the Internet.

Eric Tulin, CEO of ConvoCast, says he has a voice-enabled radio engagement tool that could revolutionize Web text blogging--even though the technology has been around for years but not widely applied. The 50s-something entrepreneur, who has been helping to create and market online social networks for years, says his simple utility application to bring voice to text blogging is as easy to use as a widget. It represents a controlled and managed Web transitioning option that can be used by radio, TV and newspaper entities, Tulin said.

The audio blog framework allows for real-time management of comments, instantaneous placement of conversation-related advertising, and creation of audience communities around topics. Media entities can do detailed analysis of comments to better understand audience concerns and sentiments around their branded news stories, features and talk-shows, all of which can be archived. Because participating consumers register their contact information and permission ahead of time, media companies can follow up with audience members and selectively incorporate comments in promotions. "An opinionated audience is no longer at the mercy of the comment cue," Tulin said.

ConvoCast also is among the thousands of third-party developers creating new applications for Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and other social networks that are seeking ways to monetize their consumers and communities. Tulin said he expects to have his audio blogging application on Facebook and other popular social networks within months.

Tulin says the audio blogging applications are packaged in what is essentially a widget that can be applied and customized to a media company's existing site free of charge, with an agreement to share related ad revenues in a 70/30 split. Tulin says he can bring managed audio blogging functionality to any site and have it up and running within 30 minutes. Companies that are building blogging features from scratch may take slightly longer. It could open a potential new ad revenue stream for traditional media, utilizing existing resources and requiring virtually no new investments.

Radio broadcasters Entercom and Emmis, Tribune Co. and public radio KCRW are expected to participate in Tulin's audio blogging service when it launches later this month. The goal is to help traditional media players strengthen audience engagement utilizing interactive capabilities. Spontaneous audience comments can be used in branded content and products.

"We are trying to bridge the gap between traditional media and the need for people to express their opinion. It is a way for media companies, who have been ambivalent about doing more on the Internet, to engage their audience more fully around their brands," Tulin says.

ConvoCast has been testing its audio blog application on Massachusetts sports radio talk WEEI 850 AM and call-in shows like "Planet Mikey," where he enthusiastically walks interested parties through the audio bogging features. Listeners can record their comments by telephone using a pre-registered pin code, or by using a combination of text and audio blogging online. Other planned tests include Emmis' hip-hop poetry radio stations in New York and Los Angeles, public radio's KCRW in Los Angeles, various Entercom news and sports talk stations and Tribune's Los Angeles Times, which may use audio blogging technology to create hyper-local citizen journalist participation, Tulin said.

Clearly, social networking sites represent a place for fast, widespread application. What could be more intriguing than thousands of text-blogging Facebook and MySpace friends talking in real-time conversation?

A think tank of USC tech students and graduates has helped ConvoCast develop the audio-blogging application. So far, the audio-blog venture has cost several hundred thousand dollars, and has been financed by angel investors. The real-time audio and text blogs Tulin and his company have created incorporate Facebook techniques, identifying names and photos that correspond to online profiles, friends and affinity groups. The real-time and archived audio and text comments comprise a unique brand of user-generated content that could renew interest in good old-fashioned talk.

Tulin, himself a lively conversationalist, says talk has gotten lost in the hoopla over streaming online video. He recaps his discussions some five years ago with Mark Zuckerberg, when Facebook was a mere Ivy League school experiment. At the time, he says he tried unsuccessfully to become a private investor in Facebook, just before it received backing from major Silicon Valley VCs.

However, Facebook's brand of authentic, organic social networking--worth an estimated $15 billion--is what Tulin has been dabbling in. His efforts have included the less flashy essembly.com, a now-dormant social network for political dialogue, mostly among college students. Tulin says he was involved in developing early job-related, dating and generic online ad-supported social networks for radio stations.

"Radio shares so many attributes with online social networks and blogging. We're all about voice expression, which is a common denominator form of expression. It should be easier to launch than video, without all the fuss."