I was big on Odeo when it first came out. It was the first comprehensive (well, as comprehensive as it can be) catalog of podcasts that I have seen. Then iTunes implemented podcasting and I said buh-bye to Odeo. Well, I might be going back. On Friday, I saw they had finally gone live with the one thing that made it stand apart from the other websites and podcast applications - a call in service and web program to create your own podcast!

The interface is simple. The program will automatically detect your mic. Three large buttons - press record and go! When you're finished, click save recording to publish the show to your own personal RSS feed, click yes and it's done. That simple.

But that's not the real genius to this. Let's say you're out with your friends and think, "Man, I really want to do a soundseeing tour right now." What about then? Your computer isn't always with you. Well, Odeo has that covered as well. You get a phone number to call, enter your information and "BEEEP!" you record directly to your feed. I tried this out. Works wonderfully!

This is something I haven't seen out of the podcasting community and could really change the way we send information. Maybe instead of voicemails we now subscribe to our friends RSS feeds and get updates automatically? No longer are the 40 minute shows the norm. Maybe 2 minutes quick casts are the way we tell our friends we're on a plane and will call them back? I'm not quite sure. It's something I'm extremely intrested to see how it plays out.