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By JimShady on
Vocalo.org is a bold new concept in community media: a complex social media website and an associated broadcast radio station in Chicago, IL.
Vocalo.org is a place for people to compose and share stories -- including images, audio, and video -- with their fellow users. User-generated content is broadcast on the radio station as well as made available on the website for licensed remixing. Vocalo users span the globe, while the broadcast radio station (89.5 FM) and local focus keep the project true to its roots.
Vocalo.org also engages the community with free "Media Creation Workshops" in Chicago-area communities.
The Vocalo.org website was created by the Chicago Technology Cooperative (CTC) on behalf of Chicago Public Radio, using a heavily customized version of Drupal 6. The current version of the site began development in November 2007 and was launched on May 15th, 2008.
Major features:
- Integration with the broadcast system at the radio station for syncing on-air playlists and schedules with the website and allowing hosts to easily broadcast user-generated audio on the air.
- A cross-browser, AJAX-enabled media library allowing users to seamlessly upload images, audio clips, video files, and media from 3rd party sites like YouTube into an online WYSIWYG editor with a drag-and-drop interface.
- Telephone podcasting which allows users to call a hotline and record audio content directly onto the site using only their telephone.
- A full palette of online community features including social networking, private and instant messaging, and folksonomy.
You can learn more about the Vocalo.org site features and architecture in the Drupal case study.
