“As of November 1, 2006, Odeo phone posting will no longer accept calls. We will continue to host and serve all MP3s made with the service indefinitely, but you will no longer be able to use it to post new audio.”

Until moments ago, I would recommend Odeo and Hipcast (formerly Audioblog.com) as the easiest way to get podcasting – just sign up and call the phone number they give you. (Odeo free, Hipcast small fee)

Boom. Mass voicemail.

Outside of that, I wasn’t sure what Odeo had unique and compelling from so many of the other players in the space (is it a directory?, a studio?, a social network?, an aggregator?). Only their post-by-phone clicked for me. I guess it didn’t click for anyone else.

Kudos to Hipcast for charging from the beginning and ensuring a greater permanence than a free, resource-intensive service.

Many thanks to Eric Rice for clarifying the difference between Hipcast and AudioBlogger.com (the post-by-phone engine behind Odeo). For quite a while, I thought they were one in the same. Real glad they’re not.