AudioBlogger
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
AudioBlogger (audioblogger.com) was an audio-blogging service operated by Odeo, the podcasting company: users called a phone number, recorded up to 2 minutes of audio, and the call was converted into an MP3 and posted to their Blogger blog — a phone-to-web bridge that let anyone publish audio with no technical knowledge.
02 / AudioBlogger FAILURE REASONS
Failure reasons
AudioBlogger was shut down because it was too expensive to run — phone recording and MP3 hosting costs outweighed uptake — and Odeo decided to concentrate on its core podcast business instead. Odeo emailed users in October 2006 announcing the closure at month's end.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Service launches
AudioBlogger launches as an audio-blogging service letting bloggers post up to 2 minutes of audio from any phone; it is discussed as early as February 2003.
- Operated by Odeo
AudioBlogger runs as a service of Odeo, the podcasting company; bloggers use it as a mobile-to-web bridge.
- Service shut down
In October 2006 Odeo emails users announcing Audioblogger will close at month's end, saying it was too expensive to run and Odeo wants to concentrate on podcasts. On November 1, 2006 it stops accepting phone calls; no new audio can be posted, though existing MP3s continue to be hosted and served.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
In October 2006, Odeo emails Audioblogger users announcing the service will close at the end of the month, saying it was too expensive to run and Odeo wants to concentrate on podcasts; it suggests alternatives (Gabcast, Hipcast, Gcast).
- 02
On November 1, 2006, Audioblogger stops accepting phone calls: users can no longer post new audio; MP3s made with the service continue to be hosted and served.