Twitter + Talking = Twalkin
It seems there is no end to Twitter integration applications. As such,?Twalkin should come as little surprise. Twalkin allows users to schedule and moderate ?Twalks? or Twitter integrated teleconferencing. Complete with an iPhone application and an Android version soon to come, Twalkin has several practical uses.
1.Host a private Twalk: This allows you to have chats with only a select few users. It’s a neat feature, but I can’t see what advantages it might have over a typical conference call.
2.Host a public Twalk: This is the real social networking aspect of the app. This feature presents potential for voice forums or large scale crowd-sourcing. Since users are identified by there twitter user names it is possible for a moderator to follow tweets and unmute contributors as they tweet intriguing ideas.
3.Broadcast Twalk: Broadcast is perhaps the most interesting aspect of Twalkin. With broadcast it is possible to only allow a select few speakers while the rest of the public audience can join in listen-only mode. This feature is almost like a live telecast. Companies could use it for announcements that don’t warrant a press conference, but still need a human voice.
Leo Laporte and Amber MacArthur on?Net @ Night successfully tested the technology as a call-in solution for live podcasting. Obviously the technology has practical applications and great potential. As is the case with most social based software it is largely dependent on user adoption. Twalkin has done it’s part to ensure acceptance. The web application’s user interface is friendly, and the iPhone app is absolutely intuitive.
One day our phone book, email contacts and social network “friends” are going to be one in the same. That is one of many convergences that only lack timing and technology to be a reality. What is left to be seen is if Twalkin is a step in that direction or just a fun piece of technology that crosses over from social networking to telephony.
What is Twalkin? from Twalkin on Vimeo.
