CrowdAbout.us: Talk Amongst Yourselves

What I have to say about CrowdAbout.us - Conversational Player

CrowdAbout.us is very professional looking and easy-to-use. It's podcasting meets an audibly gabby forum. You really should just go see it to get what I'm talking about.

I have to say, I find it fascinating. I've mentioned to more than one person that I'm seeing a (rapidly) increasing trend to make all interactions as two-way as our real life interactions. Social networking is simply the same as what we do in RL, only we can do it faster and farther-reaching with the technology at hand. With CrowdAbout, I find myself staring at a podcast or video that lets me literally talk back to it. I can even video record my response. I'm not sure I'm really ready for that ... are you?

Additionally, I'm curious to know what research (if any) the folks of CrowdAbout have cited to support the concept for the development of it? I'm wondering because I've recently read The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning (Edited by Richard E. Mayer) and suggested to the developers to consider some of the principles listed in the book to help further develop this product. (In particular, most anything in Part II).

On a gut-level, I actually like the move towards two-way participation/engagement with the video and/or podcast. If nothing else, I like the "Wow!" coolness factor of it. That's not enough, of course. Despite that, I've shared the site with my advisers, friends, and colleagues.

What are your thoughts? Comments?