Download Squad

As more and more computer users are adding microphones and webcams to their PCs for making phone calls, podcasts, or embarrassing videos to post online, the way we think about web content is changing.

Cranky old man voice: Back in my day, I dialed up a BBS with a 2400-baud modem, and if I wanted to "talk" to someone, I'd post a message and wait for a response. Flash forward to 2006 and you've party-line style Skypecasts and teens leaving video responses for one another's YouTube posts.

Australian-based Chinswing is hoping to bridge the gap between the traditional user forum/message board and the modern podcaster. Instead of writing and responding to posted threads in text form, Chinswing lets you have a conversation in non-real time. You create a message headline, then record your entry on the web site (after downloading and installing the free Chinswing Studio software -- sorry, Windows only right now). Then other users can post audio responses to your message.

If you're interested in following a thread but don't have time to listen to it while at the computer, you can download it as a podcast through an RSS feed.

I have to say, the system seems to work very smoothly. It's a nice interface, and easy to use. But I'm not sure it's the best way to organize information. While the company's press release points out that the average person types 50 words per minute, but speaks 160 word per minute, we can read even faster than that. And while I listened through a couple of discussion threads, I found myself hitting the skip button repeatedly after I got tired of waiting for the speaker to make his point. If this were a text-based message board I'd be able to skip ahead easily without missing anything, but once you stop listening to someone, you've pretty much given up on the thread.

I think Chinswing is on to something here. I'm a firm believer that the human voice can carry all sorts of meaning that is hard to express in written words. How often have you tried to write something sarcastic in an email or instant message only to have it taken the wrong way? I'm just not sure that Chinswing will have a wide appeal outside of amateur podcasters. Of course, I'll probably be proven wrong when millions of teenagers grab a microphone and start leaving messages for one another.