GoldMail, a service launched last November, is a new messaging platform combining text, image and voice communication. GoldMail allows users to create “talking slide show messages” in 3 steps. First, a slide-show of sorts is created using photos, images and documents uploaded from a computer. Next, users can record a voice track over the slide-show to explain or enhance the show. After that, GoldMail provides a link to send via email, instant message, or to post on a website or blog. These multimedia messages can be used in a wide variety of unique ways. Possible applications include sending personal messages with voice to loved ones, posting to a blog, and sending a marketing clip to customers.
This new approach is meant to make newsletters and other text messages more memorable and exciting. Guy Longworth, CEO of Goldmail, explained the strengths of GoldMail to Forbes.com:
“Voiceover messaging signals the next iteration of messaging which — in the urgency to communicate with anyone, anywhere, anytime — has become a predominantly text-based communication format lacking the true meaning and understanding that only the human voice can communicate.” He continued… “[t]he clarity and emotion communicated through speech is what makes a GoldMail voiceover message resonate with people.”
GoldMail offers a free version which should suffice for the vast majority of users. This limited version does show ads, but does allow for unlimited views of the message. A more full-featured version is available for $10 per month for the average user. The registration process is tedious, asking for occupation, country, postal code, and requiring a password with a number and a letter (people, please let me create an insecure password if I want). Although GoldMail does offer a different form of communication than typical email, you do have to download their software for this to work. I would prefer a web-based solution with a more simplified registration process (or none at all). I do like this service, and I see quite a few potential uses for this.
To see examples of multimedia messages using GoldMail, click here, here or here.
Other commentary on GoldMail: WebsiteGear, Linqa and Dean Takahashi.
