Among the new features are:
• A simplified user interface for recording, publishing, and replying
• Greater control over publishing to Facebook and Twitter
• Photos taken during a Cinch are now automatically saved to users’ photo rolls
• “My Content” now shows a user’s stream rather than their albums, with an option to view albums
• iOS4 support

The new app is now available in Apple’s App Store. Robert Scoble, leading technology blogger, even gave the new version of the app five stars and said of Cinch, “It is the best way to record audio and share it with friends and audiences.”

Download or update the Cinch iPhone today. Be sure to let us know what you think!

I’ve been thinking (a lot) about how great social networks are for companies and Cinch (Cinchcast.com) is no exception.

The new era business is multifaceted, more than it has ever been, largely due to a shift in consumer mindset and businesses acclimating and reacting to a new demand from customers requiring direct contact, direct engagement and direct discussion.

Cinch is surprisingly good at facilitating this level of direct contact. You can:

- Personalize and humanize
- Invite participation and discussion
- React to feedback in your own words
- Embed and extend the message
- Diversify your communication
- Act in near real-time

So, as a business, nonprofit, or individual you have a great new tool with Cinch for establishing your own multidimensional communication and discussion platform. Here’s how to put these points into action.

Personalize and humanize

I think this is probably the most important aspect of Cinch. The power of the spoken word allows you to communicate tone, attitude, personality, and excitement. From a branding standpoint, there are few things more powerful than your own voice. Cinch has a web interface, mobile app, and a direct phone number you can call to record a Cinch which makes it extremely easy to post in the way that is most comfortable to you. I often post via my mobile phone while driving or at meetings. Anytime you have a message worth hearing, why not Cinch it so it can be shared and discussed?

I think Robert Scoble is a great example especially in posts like this one talking about his Autistic son http://www.cinchcast.com/scobleizer/87685

Invite participation and discussion

Within Cinch: Many of your friends and followers on cinch will maintain their account settings so they will get a notification email alert every time you post a new cinch. This helps spur discussion. Your cinch will also show up on the homepage of cinch on their live feed time line remain there until enough new posts have been created to push your off the page.

Outside of Cinch: Once you make a Cinch, you can push it to your Twitter account or Facebook account and extend the conversation on those social networks. So even if your listeners do not reply on your cinch page, you can get feedback on Twitter and Facebook where they already have activity. You can continue to encourage participation by linking to it and talking about it within these social networks and encouraging them to leave an audio response to your cinch.
I do this most often with my question of the day Cinch’s and typically get text and audio feedback with Cinch as well as feedback on Twitter and Facebook which makes for a lively discussion. Plus it helps me to know what others are experiencing.

React to feedback in your own words

As you receive feedback on your Cinch, you can keep the discussion going by replying with a text reply or an audio reply. I find the audio replies to be most effective because it gets closer to a shared dialogue. Another element to this is to make a Cinch in reply to something else and refer to it in your Cinch. The personal reaction allows you to have that personal touch that can’t be repeated in a blog post or tweet.

Take a look at anything Amy Domestico does. Just about all of her posts have feedback and she often gives her own feedback to the feedback. I’ve learned a lot about Amy in this way. Your organization can benefit the same way.

Embed and extend the message

At times, your Cinch may cover the spirit of your idea, but you want to further explain your thoughts or perhaps cite sources or extend the dialogue even further. Cinch is perfect for this because you can embed it in a Facebook post or a blog post and further flesh out your thoughts and calls to action. I’ve been impressed with how easy this is within Cinch to get embed code or the direct link to your Cinch. I recently did this on a blog post talking about the importance of making your contact information available online http://marcana.com/2010/09/03/your-social-circle-sucks/

Diversify your communication

If you are already accustom to blogging, sending out press releases, using Twitter, Facebook, YouTube etc, this is an excellent way to add a new component to your communications. I see the future of business requiring us to have print, audio and video by default and with tools like Cinch, you can do it without fuss, seem very personal, and maintain relevance with your message in the medium needed.

Act in near real-time

This is probably what I appreciate most about Cinch. The reason I say “near real-time” is because Cinch is a recording platform, not a streaming platform which means you have to record it first then its posted. Otherwise, your on-site interview via mobile app or laptop can go live almost immediately. So, if you want to cease the moment with an interview, question and answer session, live testimonial from a satisfied customer, or a brain-dump of an experience you just had, Cinch can do that in near real-time. And of course, once you’ve done this, you can then benefit from the previously mentioned sharing and participation features provided in Cinch.

While any Cinch post would fit, my most recent “in the moment” Cinch was after a training session where I was able to sit and chat with the Marketing Director of one of the most successful Convention and Visitors Bureaus in Texas http://www.cinchcast.com/mccjustin/94361
So, if you are looking for ways to have highly personalized, direct contact with your audience I think it’s easy to see how Cinch works for business and individuals alike.

Still need more great ideas on Cinch for New Era Business?

In an earlier blog post from Amy, http://blog.cinchcast.com/2010/09/02/cinch-tips-for-business-with-justin-mccullough/ she summarized a cinch conversation that was inspired by a few of my ideas for business uses for Cinch.

So, how are you using Cinch? Drop a line here and by all means, please connect with me on cinch http://www.cinchcast.com/mccjustin/

They have teamed up with the Federal Emergency Management’s Ready Campaign to encourage Americans to take an active role in personal and community disaster preparedness.

The nationwide campaign points out simple steps we can take to get ready in the event of a disaster, and the LAFD is helping spread the word via Cinch. They are regularly posting tips that they have recorded using Cinch  to their blog.

Here are some of tips:

In a Disaster: Your Best Way Out

In a Disaster: Make a Connection

Continue to follow their daily tips and stay safe!

I learn new things every day with the cinches that come through the stream. I was posed a few questions the other day by a Cinch-Caster that goes by the twitter handle @MikeFraietta.  Mike asked me about Cinch, my involvement, and what I thought were some basic and more advanced  uses of Cinch. 

After answering those questions today, in a cinch of course, a rousing conversation began with Justin McCullough aka @mccjustin on twitter, about how Cinch can be used by businesses.  When all was said and done I challenged Justin to give me a few ways he thought businesses could use Cinch. 

Here is his response:

I want to thank Justin for those great answers and Mike for the great questions on Cinch.

Lastly, I would like to bring the question to the Cinch community, “what would you use Cinch for within a business?” You can email me links (amydomestico@blogtalkradio.com) to your Cinch recordings and we will bring your answers to the Cinch community.  

I’m very curious to see what your great business and social media minds can come up with.

DC Social Media Examiner Ananda Leeke attended this year’s BlogHer Conference in New York City and while she was there she gave everyone an inside view of what was going on with Cinch. BlogHer is a wonderful collection of blogs “for women, by women.” Core to their mission is “to create opportunities for women who blog to gain exposure, education, community and economic empowerment.” Ananda shared her recent coverage of BlogHer on the Examiner.com.

Ananda, a long time user of Cinch, has shared audio updates about many things; her writing, non profits, her role as a blogger during President Obama’s speech today@National Urban League’s 100th Anniversary Convention, and more.

You can read more about Ananda, her use of Cinch, and all of the exciting interviews she did while at the BlogHer New York City Conference here.

When a child is born the 1st thing you wait for is the sound of that cry, the one that tells you “yes I have arrived and I am voicing my opinion about it”, the very 1st time you will hear the wail of your child and your heart bursts with pride and joy. This week we were honored to share this moment with one of our Cinch Caster’s.

Sean Percival, one of the Vice Presidents at MySpace has been documenting the pregnancy of his wife on Cinch with periodic Cinch recordings of Doctors visits, late night pillow talk, and random tidbits of news.

We have all been following Sean and his wife Laurie, as they have let us peek into this very special time of their life. They were even dubbed “Tweethearts” by LA Weekly in their “People of The Year” issue for their use of social media throughout marriage.

From all of us at Cinch Cast we want to congratulate the Percivals and their newest addition.

We look forward to the milestones and updates as the months go by.

Mobile podcasting just got easier for Android users with Cinch

Today we released a new Cinch app for Android. It’s free to download, so check it out today. The new Cinch Android application has the same great features as the Cinch iPhone application that we launch about seven months back. You can easily record audio on the go, include a picture and text, and share it out to Facebook, Twitter, CinchCast.com and more with just a few clicks.

You can read more about the application at ReadWriteWeb. Marshall Kirkpatrick, who is a long time Cinch user gave a good overview of the product and his thoughts on it and the mobile podcasting space.

Here is a quote from his post that we really liked:

“I marvel, every time, at the fact that I can publish my thoughts so effortlessly in audio out to the world now, from wherever I am. Just like blogging made text publishing and distribution more accessible and democratic than it had ever been before in human history, mobile audio publishing apps like this are truly world changing. The availability of Cinch on Android is an important event.”  – Marshall Kirkpatrick, ReadWriteWeb

You can read the complete article by clicking here.

Thanks to the development team that helped us get this application into the social media sphere.

Download the Cinch App for Android today. Download now

If you have any questions or need support please reach out to us at support-at-cinchcast.com.

Barbara Talisman was at the Nonprofit Tech Conference – April 7-10, and kept us up to date with frequent interviews.  One of them Abdul Abdulbarr from DC Council of Chief State School Officers, check it out below.

We are always excited when Robert Scoble uses Cinch. His candid commentary on new technology and the goings on in the social media are always thought-provoking and conversation-starting. Here is his conversation with Andrey Ternovskiy about Chatroulette. Recorded at 4 am on the street in Palo Alto, Califormia. You can read addition commentary about this interview here. As a side note, this is the beautiful thing about Cinch. You can capture and share on the spot interviews with high-quality audio that you may not have been able to document otherwise.

Robert Scoble also shared with us his son’s follow up review of the iPad. This is a much different outlook then the 1st one he shared with us not so long ago.

Marshall Kirkpatrick of ReadWriteWeb gave Cinch a test run with the iPad that was released this past week. Thanks Marshall, and here are the results, and they sound fantastic.

With all the hubbub on TV about ghost hunting, Cinch has acquired its own ghost hunters. The “Fearless Ghost Hunters” have been cinching their recent hunts with updates that involve lots of great audio, pictures, and descriptions as they hunt for ghosts. Here is one from “The Rolling Hills Sanitarium”

Granny Joan often posts helpful tips and tricks about using Cinch. Although my favorite cinch from her this past week was one that had nothing to do with social media whatsoever. Listen for yourself and you will see what I mean.

In November of 2009, Rafi and Klee left Joliet, Illinois, and embarked on a journey to visit every state in the United States. Their plan is to document the people, places and wonders they find as the make their way around the country using Cinch. Here is one that I found very touching.

Thanks for sharing all your wonderful moments, thoughts and ideas with us Cinchers, and as usual “happy cinching”!

“Benz” as we know him, has become a regular voice on Cinch.  To hear him is to know he has a voice that was made for radio, sit back and learn a bit more about the man behind the voice.

1.    We know you as Benz on Cinch and other social networks, where did you acquire that name, it’s very catchy?

It’s true what they say, the lights in here are very hot, time to get energy saving light bulbs in here. Maybe the heat won’t kill you the mercury will. Amy, I got the name from the first Mercedes Benz Hood Ornament that I stole as a child, growing up in Hoboken, NJ.  When the owner of the car caught up with me, he slapped me so hard, while holding the Benz Ornament in his hand, that it left an indentation on my left cheek. No, “Benz” was my mother’s last name.

2.    You have an amazing voice that is perfect for radio, what is your terrestrial radio experience?

Terrestrial Radio, sounds like something from outer space, or the planets far, far in our galaxy… I grew up listening  to “Radio”, in the 60′s, I mean Television was in no way, what it is today. Television, consisted of eight or nine channels at the time, and came midnight it would go “Off Air” until morning. I think my father invented the “TV Remote,” …yep…, it was called “Benz”. He would say ‘can you get up and change the channel,’ in a course of an hour, I got up at least twenty times to change channels. So, the Radio  became my best friend, when our school took a field trip to WNBC Radio in New York City. Seeing all the wires, microphones, radio personalities and the studio opened my young mind to horizons like never before. While attending Hoboken High School in the early 70′s I joined a “Radio Club,” where we used to broadcast shows over the Intercom System, man has radio changed. But, my first Radio Show was really while attending college at one of our great Military Academies. After leaving the military, I joined the “NYPD,” where you can imagine the trouble I got into, messing around with the Walkie Talkies. In 1983, while still on the “NYPD,” I landed a Radio “DJ” position at a very small Community Radio Station, WVRM in Hazlet, NJ. I think the station reached about five listeners. Around the same time I was picked up by  WBLS, in Long Branch, NJ for a short while, nice memories. I also filled in and assisted at WKTU in NYC, during the “Disco Era,” this is “Rosco.” I left radio around 1987 to do a Weekly Live Show on Cable TV, and to concentrate on my Law Enforcement career, and my music “Raza”, a Salsa Band, where I played various musical instruments. Returned to Radio around 1999, and have been affiliated with countless Radio Stations, working behind the scenes.

3.     What is it you do for a living?

Besides breathing…  I’m engaged in conducting Research and  Background Investigations, for various Journalist, Attorneys and Radio Personalities. Writing Commercial Spots, and once in a while Voice Overs, under JXR Productions Ltd. I’m also involved in other businesses, Real Estate, Women Fashions, Automotive just to name a few.

4.     When growing up did you always have a desire to be on the Radio?

You mean, like sitting on a Radio, I don’t think they make radios that big anymore… Yes, I always had and still have the passion for Radio. I find radio an avenue where one can express themselves, openly and without the fear, or discomfort that one may find on a of face to face discussion. So, when I come across shy people, I always recommend Radio as a profession.

5.     When and how did you get involved in the internet and social media?

Wow.. I purchased my first computer around 1985 a “KayPro”, still have that T-Rex Dinosaur in my attic…  I’m not sure but I think around 1991, I discovered Adults On Line … “AOL”. I got involved in the internet in 1992 while assigned to “OCB” in the NYPD. My social media experience began with eBay in 1996. I discovered eBay, while on a WEB-TV System, do they still have WebTV ?… Anyway, once I got on eBay, I said “this is great”, time to start making some real money. I started selling and meeting people from all over the world. I than formed a company “JXR Noritake Connection”, selling Fine China Dinnerware, became a “Power Seller” on eBay, and in 2002 sold the company. Along with eBay, came, AIMs, Yahoo, and so on.

6.     What social websites are you part of and how can people find you?

I belong to several websites, MySpace.com/benzjaguar, Youtube.com/benzjaguar, Facebook.com/benzjaguar, Twitter.com/benzradio and CinchCast.com/benzradio. I was getting ready to launch www.BenzRadio.com, but due to the present economy and my involvements in other ventures, it has been put on hold for now… But, not forever.

7.     What advice would you give terrestrial radio regarding the social scene on the internet and how they can use it to further their reach?

Amy… That is a very good question. I think Terrestrial Radio is fading very quickly, this is not to say that it will go into the history books any day soon, but it is fading. Most traditional radio stations today tied an Internet Radio, Streaming Radio, Web Radio or they are tied into a Radio Network of one kind or another. Your traditional radio station, is limited to the social local media, as oppose to Internet Radio. Meaning your social networking and marketing is worldwide and open twenty four hours a day non-stop via internet radio. Many traditional radio stations should be thankful that we have this thing called the internet. Let’s also get real here, even your television major news networks are tied into internet streaming. My advice to anyone interested in Radio, Communications, Journalism and TV is to keep pace with the everyday changes in internet technology. The internet in my opinion is the “Next Media Generation”, it will become a practice that future users, will take for granted. Just like we take traditional radio and television, for granted today. Also, join as many networking websites as possible, to better reach, and get your product, voice and or ideas to the eyes and ears of those you want to target. Like I always say… “Chase Your Dreams” !

8.     How are you liking Cinch so far, and what have you been using it for?

I came across CinchCast, sometime back in November 2009 while looking for a new clothing line, “Cinch Jeans & Shirts”… I bookmarked the page and once in a while I would monitor it’s use, and soon discovered it’s great future potential as a social media venture. Now, I use CinchCast, almost on a daily basis to stay current, meet others, and to stay in touch with friends and family… So far, I’ve meet some real interesting and professional individuals that have substance. I’m loving the site, and who knows what the future will bring. But, I’m a visionary and a optimistic kind of person, and I strongly see CinchCast being an important player, and playing an important role to people like myself.

9.     Also, being you are planning on getting into radio again, have you given Blogtalkradio any consideration, and have you used it at all, if so tell us about it?

A friend introduced me to “BTR” back in 2007, and in a way led me to the idea of “BenzRadio”… I have listen in on a few shows, and participated in many. The times that I have used BTR, I have found the experience both fun and rewarding, and at times a little crazy. I find the Radio format at BTR very close to what I am accustomed to. I also feel, that anyone that has an interest in broadcasting should use the services of BTR. It’s a fun road to the world of Radio Broadcasting… BTR has changed since, I first was introduced to it, and gotten so big that I need a “GPS” system to get around it. I’ve been studying the site, and viewing the Tutorial Videos and visiting the Forum with the expectation of doing a show on BTR sometime in the future… So watch out because someday your ears might be hearing,… “Remember to creep up to the ear of that special person you love the most, and whisper gently in their ear, just how much you truly, truly love them”…. Benz !

Thanks to Benz for sharing a bit of himself with us today, and has usual “happy cinching”!

Well it just got a little easier. Today on Cinch we released the ability to sync your friends and followers with your Facebook and Twitter Accounts. This allows you to easily find and follow friends that are already using Cinch and to invite those who aren’t to join the community.

It is very easy to do. Here’s how:

1) Log in to your Cinch account
2) Go to your settings page and select Facebook or Twitter on the left menu
3) Click on link to “Find Followers” and “Invite Friends”
4) System will automatically find your connections that are using Cinch already and will enable you to invite others to join you in the Cinch community

Please let us know if you have and questions or need help using this feature at support-at-cinchcast.com. Now, go build your network!