Jessica,

You always have to wonder how a site like Talkshoe.com can afford to do what it does for free. After all, there are some folks who feel that if a service is providing something for free, its credibility as a serious business tool comes into question. So, I confronted the president of Talkshoe.com, Dave Nelsen, and asked him about that. I was surprised to learn several things:

1) Their telecommunications equipment is the same as what NASA uses. It costs around $10 million dollars.

2) Although I am allowed to call into Talkshoe for free (I use Vonage), Talkshoe is making money from my free call. Who's paying Talkshoe for my free call? The telco that is connecting it. The more I use Talkshoe, the more money Talkshoe makes and that money does not come out of my pocket.

3) Talkshoe makes money off all the Google ads on talk show host pages.

4) Talkshoe will be adding to their revenue stream with audio ads eventually.

But, is Talkshoe.com credible as a serious business tool? Well, former pro football star Lynn Swann is running for the Governor of Pennsylvania. He uses Talkshoe.com to spread news of his town hall meeting throughout the state.

If NASA uses the same telecommunications equipment as Talkshoe, it must be state-of-the-art. If a former football star is using it to succeed in his run for Governor, he certainly must take Talkshoe's capabilties seriously. Consequently, it would not surprise me if the service would prove useful to the rest of us.

I invite you to click on the link in my signature and check out some of the previously recorded shows on my host page. There is no need to register or sign up for anything. Just press the "Listen" button. What could be easier?

If you prefer to download a file, you can do that as well. And, if that is not enough, you can subscribe to the show and receive updates via RSS feed. But, even that is not all. The shows are automatically sent to the iTunes Music Store Podcast's Directory for additional exposure and archiving. Talkshoe will even allow you to download your own program, edit it with introductory music, etc. and upload it back to the site. You can actually make some money by hosting. (It likely will not be enough to make you want to quit your day job, but every little bit helps.) Make no mistake, Talkshoe is not just a viable service. It is technologicali innovation that can enhance your life in many ways. Even commercial radio talk show hosts are using the service. Why? Because they want to expand the reach of their shows...and do it for FREE!

Check out Talkshoe and see what you think. If you find a better deal out there, let me know. Right now, I am eager to combine the resources of Talkshoe.com with those of Squidoo.com. I like the idea of being able to talk with an online audience and show them what I am talking about at the same time. And, since most computers these days are good at multi-tasking, that should not present a problem.

Lamar Morgan
CDMM
Visit our talk show - Power Networking
http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=1833

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