What is this service?

Tribal Shout allows you to access audio content found on the Internet such as Podcasts and Audio Blogs without being tied to a laptop or PC. You can listen to podcasts we have chosen by simply dialing 415-373-0673 or once you have registered and logged in choose your own podcasts by visiting "Find " and browse our growing catalog of podcasts or add some podcasts that you have found elsewhere.

If you're tired of listening to other people or organizations and you want to "Be Heard" yourself, then you can create your own content by using our new blogging features.

Tribal Shout is free and available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day using any telephone by simply dialing 415-373-0673. Tribal Shout does not require any software downloads for your mobile phone. It's as simple as voicemail!

How much does it cost?

It's FREE! Tribal Shout does not charge a subscription fee. You can use any telephone available to you regardless of whether it's a landline phone, a cordless phone, a cellphone or even a conference phone. It does not have to be a specific kind of phone. And most importantly, it does not have to have a data service plan and there is no software download required!!

If you don't believe us call 415-373-0673 and see that you don't get a bill from Tribal Shout.

How do I use it?

Well that is the easy part. Just dial 415-373-0673 and listen to some podcasts we thought you might like. Click here to learn how to use the phone menu. If you want to find other podcasts or load your favorite podcasts simply register and then click on "Find " to browse and add podcasts to your "Listen" menu.

Wasn't that easy?

What kind of phone can I use?

Do we have good news for you! You can use Tribal Shout from any phone, mobile or landline. Don't worry if you have put off updating that old cell phone.

We designed Tribal Shout with mobile phone users in mind but created the system so that you can pick up a phone wherever you are at and listen to your podcasts with ease. Don't believe us just dial 415-373-0673.

It's as easy as voicemail!

What if I don't have a cell phone?

No Problem. We created Tribal Shout for you too.

See the previous FAQ.

Can I use the service on the web?

Sure. Tribal Shout is all about convenience.

Your podcasts will be organized in the "Listen" just as they are when you access them on your phone. Just select the little grey play button on the left.

How do I make an account?

We have provided 2 ways for you to register.

Since you are already on the web site reading this FAQ just select "Register " and simply create a username and password as well as provide your desired phone number that you will most likely call from to access Tribal Shout (most likely your cell phone) and create a PIN. This will allow us to secure your account.

You can also register by dialing 415-373-0673 and selecting * at the beginning or 8 after you listen to some sample podcasts. You will be prompted for your number and to create a PIN. Now you can vist the site, select register and complete the process so that you can select your favorite podcasts and create audio blogs.

Once you have received and accepted the activation email you can then browse, select and add your desired podcast feeds. Once your account is setup and you've chosen your podcast feeds now located at "Listen " you simply access Tribal Shout's telephone interface by dialing 415-373-0673. We will use CallerID and the phone number you provided together with your PIN to authorize access allowing you to retrieve your custom content.

Your content will be presented to you on the telephone in the order you specify it on the web. Click here to learn how to use the phone menu.

It's as simple as voicemail!

Why do you ask for all this personal information?

We ask that you provide us with some basic of information such that they Tribal Shout system is completely functional for your personal use.

Phone number. The handset you will use most often to access Tribal Shout.

Create a PIN. This is used to uniquely identify you when you are using the telephone interface.

Username and password for you web interface. This is so we can uniquely identify you through the internet.

Once you have registered you can visit the "My Account" page (under the "Home" menu) to make changes and enter addiitonal information. You also have the option of turning off the pin function so that it is quicker to access the system on your phone. Tribal Shout will just use your caller ID to authenticate your access.

Please refer to our privacy policy for further information on our commitment to our users.

What if the number is not working?

Uh oh! That shouldn't happen but if that does lets hope that it means we are so popular that too many people are using the phone system.

Please try again at 415-373-0673.

If you are still having problems please let us know.

I made an account but it doesn't seem to work.

We are sorry for the inconvenience. Did you get your activation email? Sometimes it might find its way into your spam folder.

Please email us your problem by contacting support and we will get back to you shortly.

What are the phone numbers?

To access the Tribal Shout telephone interface please dial 415-373-0673. We think it is a good idea to program that number into the #1 speed dial key or at the minimum enter it into your address book. If #1 is already taken by your voicemail or significant other we would be happy to be #2 or #3. Click here to learn how to use the phone menu.

Are there any local phone numbers?

Sorry, at this time 415-373-0673 is our only access number. In the future we may offer regional access numbers.

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Podcast Feeds

What is a podcast?

Podcasts are multimedia files which can have both audio and video content. Today most are still commonly in the form of audio files. They are commonly delivered and aggregated through syndication platforms such as RSS and Atom which means they are easily transferable to the access medium of convenience.

Do these icons look familiar? Ever seen them on your favorite website?

These are some of the icons that show a podcast may be available. Because RSS is also used for textual feeds such as blogs and news you will need to check that link to see if it as audio content. Check that the URL ends in XML.

To search the Internet for podcasts please click here . Happy hunting!

Podcasts are often referred to as a feed and each feed has information or program content arranged by episode. These episodes are commonly produced hourly, daily, weekly and monthly. The actual content may be produced professionally or by amateurs...depending on your point of view. In either case there is an extremely broad range of topics covering just about anything you can image.

Still confused? Just try listening to some podcasts first hand simply by dialing 415-373-0673.

Click here to learn how to use the phone menu.

How do I browse for podcast feeds?

As a registered user Tribal Shout provides different ways for you to locate podcasts.

You can browse from our list of categories, search the Internet or add podcasts that you have found through some methods we have recommended to you.

What feeds are on Tribal Shout's list?

We have some pre-loaded podcasts that you might find interesting. Just dial 415-373-0673 to take a listen.

Once you are registered simply visit "Find " and "Listen " to organize and find the podcast you want to hear.

How do I find podcast feeds?

You'd be surprised how many organizations produce podcasts. Did you know the New York Times and Wall Street Journal read their key sections to you? Likely your favorite radio station offers podcasts of many of their programs.

Start by going to the website. Look around the home page for anything that says "podcast". Sometimes you'll find podcasts under XML or RSS, or perhaps icons like these:

When you have found a list of podcasts, you'll need to find the URL for the podcast you want. We have found http://www.podcast.net/ very useful in locating podcasts URLs. Look for this icon to find URL:

iTunes is a very popular aggregator and directory of podcasts. If you happen to find a podcast from iTunes that you like make sure you visit the source website to locate the podcast feed URL. Simply clicking on the iTunes podcast icon will attempt to load the podcast into your iTunes application. You will not be able to listen to that podcast on the Tribal Shout system.

Sometimes you'll see a URL you can copy. Sometimes you'll click on a URL and get something that doesn't look human readable. Copy that link and paste it above. Be careful, some RSS feeds are text only and will not be useful on the Tribal Shout system. If you accidentally enter a text only RSS feed the green play button in "My Feeds" will not appear. Keep an eye out for audio files. That's what you are looking for!

Still having problems? Just cut and paste the feed here and we will take a look at it for you.

There are many podcast directories representing ten's of thousands of podcasts. Try doing a Yahoo! or Google search on "podcast directory". To start with, here are four:

What if I want to search elsewhere?

Please do. There are lots of great podcasts out there on the Internet.

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How do I add feeds to my account?

Once you have registered for a Tribal Shout account simply click on "Find " and from there you can see some recommended podcasts, browse and select a podcast feeds from our variety of categories.

Simply click "add" and that podcast will be loaded into "Listen " for you to manage.

If you don't find something you like browsing our categories and you have a great podcast that you already listen to or found while you were surfing the web just go to "Add Feeds "

What about video files?

Sometimes a RSS feed will have movie files such .m4v or .mov. You will be able to view these videos files on the Tribal Shout website but will not be able to view these files over your phone.

As we expand our functionality we may include this feature in the future.

How do I add a Tribal Shout feed to my list?

We will start a Tribal Shout blog that will have an "add" link that will allow you to add our blog to your favorite feeds.

How do I remove feeds from my account?

Tired of a podcast and ready for a change?

Once you've logged into your accout select "Listen " and then simply click "delete" and that podcast will be removed.

You may then browse for a replacement or add a URL of a podcast you have found yourself.

How do I add a podcast feed I found elsewhere?

We are always on the lookout for interesting new podcasts.

Therefore we have made it simple for you to add a podcast by just cutting and pasting the link within our "Add Feeds " field.

How do I use the phone menu?

Click here for a phone cheat sheet.

It's as easy as listening to voicemail. From the main menu you follow the voice prompts to select your desired Podcast feed. Once a Podcast feed is playing you can skip ahead or back 10 seconds as well as jump to the beginning or end. You can also pause or exit to the main menu to save, delete or get a help menu.

While the podcast feed is playing you use the following keys: Press 1 to skip back 10 seconds, Press 2 to pause and Press 2 again to resume play, Press 3 to skip forward 10 seconds, Press 4 to jump to the beginning, Press 6 to jump to the end, and Press * or 0 to exit the playing mode and go to the main menu. Once back in the main menu Press 0 for Help, Press 7 to save the Podcast you were listening to, Press 9 to delete the Podcast you were listening to or Press * to hear your topic list again.

What if I get a call while I'm listening?

Just press "2" to pause your podcast, accept the other call and when you are done with the second call just switch back and press "2" to resume your podcasts.

Switching calls will differ based on the phone and service.

Click here to learn more about how to use the phone menu.

What if I want to make a call while I'm listening?

Not sure why you would want to stop listening to a podcast but if you must just press "2" to pause your podcast, initiate the other call and when you are done with the second call just switch back and press "2" to resume your podcasts.

Switching calls will differ based on the phone and service.

Click here to learn how to use the phone menu and then give it a shot by dialing 415-373-0673.

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Audio Blogs

What is a blog?

Blogs become more popular every day. It seems that everyone has their own blog. Blogs are chronological streams of commentary, news or online diaries. Blog popularity is a function of the quality of the content and type of subject they cover.

Blogs have primarily been created and read in text and have traditionally been limited to viewing on blog websites. Today, blogs are beginning to include video and audio files (audio blog) . These audio blogs essentially become podcasts.

As a registered user Tribal Shout allows you to create an audio blog that you can record from any phone or upload from our website so that we can put it in a feed format for easy access.

How do I make a recording?

That is easy!

As a registered user visit "Be Heard " and select "Create Blog "

From there you can create a name for your blog, a description and in what order you want episodes to play back. You can also designate your blog as public or private. If you choose private you can invite only those that you want to listen to your blog. Tribal Shout will automatically place your new blog in the "Listen" section so you can listen to them on the phone or on the web site. We will put it in XML feed format so that it is easy to post and access from anywhere.

To bypass the listening part of the telephone user interface, advanced bloggers can dial 415-373-0674.

Once in the phone menu you can press "0" for options. Otherwise weight for the tone and begin recording. When you are finished press "#" To save press "#" again or to re-record press"*"

Once the blog episode is saved you can press "#" again to unpublish the last recording and assign later, press 1 to go to the listening system, press 2 to record other blog and press 3 to manage your blog episodes which allows you to assign your recording to your specific blog if you have more then one feed created.

How many blogs can I record?

Currently Tribal Shout allows you to create up to 10 distinct blog feeds with each feed allowing you to record 20 thirty minute episodes.

Tribal Shout is working on ways for you to archieve your content.

What if I didn't like my recording?

Perfectionist?

From the user interface for each blog feed we have provided a delete button.

We have also allowed you to mark the episode and feed as "unpublished" so that you have an opportunity to edit it before you post it.

After recording on the phone interface you can always hit "*" to delete and re-record or hit "#" twice to save as unplublished so you can work with the recording later.

Who can listen to my recordings?

Everybody or nobody.

Tribal Shout allows you to designate any of your audio blog feeds as either private or public.

If you choose public then anyone can listen to your podcast. They can find it in our directory and add it to their favorite feeds that they listen to over their phone.

If you choose private you can use Tribal Shout blogging feature as your own personal journal or invite a select group of friends or a variety of different friends to have access to your blog. This is a great opportunity to create small communities of interest. For your convenience we have provided an invite button in the bottom task bar of each blog listing.

We will be launching additional new an innovative ways for you to use the blogging feature in the future.

Let us know how you would use this feature.

How do I let only my friends listen to my recordings?

In the "Create Blog " section designate the blog as private and then select "Invite on the feed tool bar once you have create your blog feed.

How do I give names to my episodes?

Under each episode or blog feed description we have provided an "Options" button that allows you to change the name, description and profile.

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Channels

What is a Channel?

We are very excited about launching this feature for your listening convenience!

There are many sites that use the term "channel"...all with different definitions. We have kept it simple and are utlizing channels to streamline your listening experience.

Through channels Tribal Shout has created a quick way for you to listen to your favorite podcasts starting with the most recent episode of each.

Morning Commute

Let's say you like to listen to New York Times, Wall Street Journal and ESPN during your morning commute.

As a registered user you can create a new channel, which you may call "Morning Commute", then find your favorite podcasts in the order you want to listen to them and you are all set. We do all the work for you!

Now when you dial 415-373-0673 and you are prompted to select "Morning Commute" you will hear Episode 1 of the New York Times, Episode 1 of Wall Street Journal and Episode 1 of ESPN. Then the Tribal Shout system will conveniently cycle through the subsequent episodes in the same listening order.

Friends' Blog

TSBlogThis feature is really cool for audio blogging!

You may want to create a special channel to listen to the audio blogs of your friends that have invited you to listen to their audio blogs.

Now you can stay update on the most recent episode your friends have created.

This is how we might use it at Tribal Shout...

1) Jason has invited you into his snowboarding blog.

2) Kevin has invited you into his CEO lessons blog

3) Dave has invited you into his cool Open Source code blog

Now you can create a "friends" channel, we will call "Tribal Shout Team" for this example, to hear the most recent episode of each friend's blog...just like your morning commute.

Much more...

We can't wait to see how you will use this feature! Perhaps you can use it for your fantasy football league or use it for work to get updates from your team.

How do I create a Channel?

As a registered user just click on the "Listen" menu and then click on "Create Channel " on the top right.

From there you can give the Channel a title, a description and how the phone interface reads it back to you. You may also designate the order in which you listen to the feeds.

How do I add podcast feeds to a Channel?

For now, once you have selected a podcast or blog to list in the "Listen " section you will notice an "+Channel" button in the lower toolbar. By simply clicking on that button you can then add that feed to any specific channel you have created.

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Miscellaneous

Who are you guys?

Learn more by visiting the "About Us " section.

What if I want to share a podcast with a friend?

Full functionality will be coming soon!

First you should invite your friend to join Tribal Shout. Just send them an email with link back to www.tribalshout.com. Or you can text them 415-373-0673 to have them give the service a try.

How can this service be free?

Too good to be true? We hope that is how you will feel once you try Tribal Shout by calling 415-373-0673.

Tribal Shout will place a few ads on the Tribal Shout web pages and we will place short yet relevant audio ads just prior to the playback of your podcasts.

What do other people think about this service?

So you don't believe it when we tell you the service is great. We have made it easy for our users to leave audio and textual comments at our Tribal Shout user forum .

Just dial 415-373-0673, listen to a few podcast and then let us know what you think. What did you like? What did you dislike?
Or you can do it the old fashion way and send us an email.

How can I advertise with Tribal Shout?

Thank you for clicking on this question...we would love to talk to you.

If you are interested in sponsoring this new service and reaching a captive mobile audience via audio ads and/or visual web ads please send us a note so we can help craft a new media campaign for you.

Tribal Shout is creating an advertising platform that will allow you to reach your desired audience leveraging parameters such as location and context via podcast themes.

For sponsorship and advertising information please click here .

How do I contact you?

Did we miss anything?

Click here . We want to hear from you.

Be Heard!

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