Automatic Sync Technologies September 22, 2008
Posted by Jeff in Podcast Transcript.3 comments
It’s not every day that you’re watching a demo of a product and then see your name on the bookmark bar. It’s actually a really good product too!!!
Automatic Sync Technologies provides automatic capturing services for video. They also have technology licensing for lip sync, audio search, and audio synchronization. Check out their website at http://www.automaticsync.com.
Here’s a screenshot of the video demo for CSU’s solution. Look at the bookmarks bar at the top :)
From the Podcast and New Media Expo – Podcast Transcript 23 September 30, 2007
Posted by Jeff in Podcast Audio Equipment, Podcast Transcript, Podcasting.1 comment so far
The Links and Transcript to “From the Podcast and New Media Expo” (4:53) released September 29, 2007 (click here to listen):
Hi, this is Jeff Frey from the Why and How of Podcasting. I’m at the podcast and new media expo in ontario california and gathering some great information to pass on to clients, people that want to me to advise them on their podcasts, or those who want me to teach a class for them.
Speaking of classes, the course that I was going to teach at the Suzanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies at Rice University this fall was cancelled. I was going to use that to keep creating content on my blog and this podcast, but since it was cancelled, that took some wind out of my sails and I haven’t been producing much since.
It seems odd because the last class I taught was full and with a waiting list and this one only had a few people sign up. So, maybe it wasn’t advertised as well or something. Anyway. If you were one of those few people who signed up… send me an email and contact me about coming out to your location to do a day or two day course, or a directed class of some sort.
That goes for anyone in the Houston area really (unless you want to fly me somewhere, but), go to my blog at jdfrey.wordpress.com and check out a sample course outline under the podcast instruction link. If you like what you see, and you want to talk with me about coming out and teaching a course, email me at. Also, I’ve been doing more podcasting advising, creating, publishing, and things that businesses, educational institutions, and even just individuals are looking for in the podcasting realm. I’m ready and available to talk to you about your podcasting needs.
Right now, I’m creating this podcast just to get those of you listening to head to out my blog and check out my notes from the expo this year. It’s still going on for another day, and I’ll be busy trying to post things all this week. Some new hardware and software has come out, and I’m going to have to get back and research them a bit more before I tell you what I think of them. There IS a product I can tell you about that I want you to check out called copytrans. If you’ve got an ipod and you’ve ever been scared about losing your ipod songs, it does a full back up of you ipod including playlists and personal info. If you get a new computer, it does the same thing… it will load the info from your ipod into itunes instead of the other way around. If you accidentally delete a song, you can get it back… it’s just a great tool all around. I like it so much I’ve got a link on the side bar of my blog. J-d-f-r-e-y dot wordpress.com, click on the image on the right side of the screen, and I’ll also link to it in the transcript for this podcast (http://www.copytrans.net) along with a testimonial I found from someone else: http://jeffchin.com/2007/07/27/recover-your-itunes-library-with-copytrans/
Lastly, I’m recording this podcast on my H4 Handy recorder from the conference. If you’ve listened to me before, you know that for portable recording I went from an Edirol R-09 to this H4 because of the input jacks and the multi-tracking capabilities. Well, at the conference today, I was able to demo the Zoom H2 Handy Recorder… and think I might have another portable recorder in my pocket real soon. It’s about half the size of the H4, but seems to have the same sound quality for less money. I think if you don’t need the features of the H4, I’m going to have to say that the H2 is my top pick for highly-portable recording right now.
The unit comes with a small tabletop stand, an adapter that allows it to be mounted on a mic stand, a windscreen, a five hundred and twelve megabyte SD card. It will handle a 4 GB card, which is awesome, and that will get you about six hours of 44.1kHz recording, or, they say, 138 hours in MP3 format. Here’s a tip though, you’ll only get four hours of life from the 2 AA batteries that power it, so you’ll need to plug it in if you’re recording that long. It comes with an external power supply.
If you want use it for sound recordings, the unit even has a built in tuner and metronome. If you have multiple people or instruments, it has three microphones, one in the center and two on either side, this not only allows for stereo imaging, but you can also record from the front or rear… even doing Surround 5.1.
The only thing that the guys selling it at the expo said people complain about is the small buttons and interface… but… you know… I think I can deal with that for the amount money it costs… it’s just $200. So, for the cost, the portability, and the sound quality that I listened to during the demo… I don’t think you can beat it. I’ll have a link on my blog to the manufacturer and to a great review I found on the O’Reilly Digital Media website.
See this post for those links: https://jdfrey.wordpress.com/2007/09/29/a-look-at-the-zoom-h2-handy-recorder/
That’s it for me for now, I’m going to get back to the conference… and I’ll talk to you again soon. This is Jeff Frey for the why and how of podcasting… thanks for listening.
The Seven Stages of Podcasting – Podcast Transcript 22 August 10, 2007
Posted by Jeff in Podcast Transcript, Podcasting.1 comment so far
Transcript to “The Seven Stages of Podcasting” (5:21) released Friday, August 21, 2007 (click here to listen):
Hi, this is Jeff Frey from the why and how of podcasting. Today, I want to talk about the 7 stages of podcasting as I see them, and go through them to understand what tools you need to complete each stage. I could do a podcast about each of these stages alone, so let me get right into it.
Number 1. Prepare – all you need is your brain, a computer, or even just a pad and pencil to think about who you’re podcasting to, why, how long it’s going to be, and what you’re going to say. There’s a lot of info on my blog (jdfrey.wordpress.com) about how long podcasts should be, what to say, and a lot of info online in general about niches and markets for podcasting… so I won’t spend a lot of time here talking about stage one… but… it’s important to know where you’re going, before you start.
Stage 2. Record – you’ll need an audio or video recorder for this… it could be a video camera worth thousands of dollars, or a tape recorder, what ever you do, try to get the highest quality recording that you can. Most people these days are recording with a high quality mic though an interface directly into their computer. Again, see my blog for advice on digital recorders, microphones, and interfaces. It is crucial that you get the highest quality recording that you can because you can only do so much to enhance sound quality in the next stage. The end result is directly proportional to the quality of this recording on the front end.
3. Produce – once the audio is in your computer, you’ll need some software to add effects, splice out what you don’t want, add lower thirds or back ground music, and things like that. As I said, I could do a single podcast on each of these stages that I’m talking about, but this one, I could do a series on. My best advice about this stage is to pick a software package that you think you’ll be comfortable with based on demos and research, then learn it as best you can. Know everything there is to know about the capabilities and use it to it’s fullest. If you do this, your podcast should come out at a very high quality based on your expertise with the software. The hope then would be that you outgrow the software after a time and move up to a higher level of software… taking the quality of your podcasts higher as well.
Stage 4. Encode – your podcast is usually saved in a format consistent with the software package you are working in. You’ll most likely need to export that file to a format that can be accepted by podcatchers and played on any computer around the world. This used to be a longer process requiring specialized software, but now a days… most recording, editing, or production software packages have this feature built in.
The next 2 stages are provided for you if you sign up with an online podcasting host.
Stage 5. Upload And stage 6. An RSS Feed
Basically, you need somewhere to put your podcast, and you need and xml file to point podcatchers to so they know where and how to get your podcasts.
If you’re doing these yourself, you need space on a server that is accessible by the internet, and you’ll need to lookup podcast xml or rss feed files online to get an idea of what you need to write. An xml editor isn’t a bad idea either, just to keep track of what you’re doing a little easier than a plain text editor.
Lastly… stage 7. Subscribe. Always download a bunch of podcatchers (such as iTunes) and subscribe to your podcast. Look at how your podcast title and subtitle are listed. Look at the description and verify any links you may have put in there. Make sure the file comes down complete and of the same quality. Just double check what your viewers and listeners are going to read, see, and hear right away so that you can catch any errors immediately… before someone sees a mistake. If you do this, I guarantee that one day you’ll find a mistake somewhere on some system that you wouldn’t have known would have been there otherwise.
So, to recap, the seven stages are
1-Prepare
2-Record
3-Produce
4-Encode
5-Upload
6-Rss feed
7-Subscribe
If it sounds a little too simple, that’s because it is. I have no doubt that with the right equipment and software you can create an amazing podcast in short order. This approximately 5 minute podcast takes me about an hour total to do… but most of it (probably a half hour) is spent in stage one since I script all of my podcasts ahead of time. Recording, if I do it in a few takes is about 15 minutes. Producing and encoding is easy with presets that I have (maybe 5 or 10 minutes)… and then with libsyn, the online hosting service I have, maybe another 5 to post. A quick check of my podcastchers, and I’m done.
If you have questions or comments about these stages or need some more info about some of the things I passed over quickly here, just send me an email… jdfrey at rice dot edu. I look forward to hearing from you… and as always… thank you for listening.
Feedback and Purpose – Podcast Transcript 21 July 29, 2007
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Transcript to “Feedback and Purpose” (4:23) released Sunday July 29, 2007 (click here to listen):
Hello, this is Jeff Frey from the Why and How of Podcasting. Today, I’m going to talk about feedback from last week and the purpose of this podcast, my latest classes coming up at the Susanne M. Glasscock school of Continuing Studies at Rice University, and the Campus Technology conference happening in Washington DC.
First, I got some feedback last week from two categories of people. One, people that were still subscribed to me during my months between classes; and second, those that had never heard me before and just found the podcast for the first time. Most of the feedback was good, except for a few who listened before and were upset that I stopped… and most of those concerns, and even some of the new feedback that I got, can be addressed by me reiterating the purpose of this podcast.
This podcast is meant to be a companion to the classes on podcasting that I teach, and an augmentation of the podcasting blog that I have. This is a way for those of you who read my blog to put a voice and face to the content, and a way for me to visit some topics that I might be passionate about. I usually address everything I’ve talked about here in a blog, and even post these notes, so if you just read jdfrey.wordpress.com… you’re already getting all the content that I have. If you are interested in the classes going on at Rice University, I use this podcast to give a bit more information about that as well as publish podcasts from students here.
In addition to the podcasting course I’ll be teaching, I have the opportunity to teach two more this fall. If you know much about me, I’m very into technology education. I love to teach people about technology, and I’m especially interested in those getting into computing for the first time. I can’t stand when people talk negatively about computers and technology, and find that the more educated they are and the more they know how to use a computer, they richer their lives are and the less they have to complain about.
My two new classes are 50 Useful Activities on the Web and Buying a Personal Computer. Both designed for the novices with technology: Internet and computer purchases respectively. I’ll put a couple links out on my blog, so if you’re in the Houston area and would like to find some cool things to do online or buy a computer, take a look at them.
Lastly, I’ll be in Washington DC this week at the Campus Technology conference talking about, what else, The Why and How of Podcasting. For a copy of any of the presentations I give, just go to jdfrey dot wordpress dot com and go to the presentations tab on the link bar.
A little bit more about feedback… take the heart of feedback seriously… but not the delivery method. For example, someone called me and was truly trying to help me. Stating some things about my content and vocal sound that I actually think was helpful… however… it came across as some belligerent person who hated what I was doing. Seriously. I know that not what the person was trying to convey, so you have to separate the two. Also, if someone takes the time to give you feedback, always acknowledge it. I don’t like to play the feedback I receive here on the podcast because then I don’t have to choose which I play and which I don’t, and make someone wonder why I played someone over theirs… but I do always thank the person for their feedback by email and either address the information in my blog, podcast, or personally.
So, go if YOU have feedback for me, email me and let me know what’s up.
This is Jeff Frey for the Why and How of Podasting… thanks for listening.
Blogging and jdfrey.wordpress.com – Podcast Transcript July 23, 2007
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Transcript to “Blogging and jdfrey.wordpress.com” (4:24) released Monday July 23, 2007 (click here to listen):
Hi, this is Jeff Frey from the Why and How of Podcasting. I have a new course coming up at the Suzanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies in about 6 weeks and I want to take the time in between to start up my weekly podcasts and daily blog again. I took a break for a while after the last course, and I actually took the time to do a bit of studying and training myself. I have a whole new set of ideas and technical advice to share with you about podcasting, especially with specific podcasting concentrations… meaning… podcasting about and at your business, church, school, online service, etc.
Today, I want to talk about blogging as a… a kind of a partner to audio podcast. There are obvious similarities and differences between audio podcasting and blogging, and I’d like to talk about them along with a note or two on how to use blogging in conjunction with podcasting to get your message across. Bottom line is, blogging can be a great companion to your audio podcast, or vice versa.
So… what are the differences?
One. Podcasting is audio, blogging is text – that means that podcasts are listened to, and blogs are read… that means the podcasts are for more auditory people, blogs for visual (again, unless you’re video podcasting) – that is important in that you can reach different types of people with the different delivery methods. That’s why I post my podcast transcripts on my blog… people who don’t listen to my podcast, but read my blog, essentially just got my podcast.
Two. Because of technology and production, it’s easier for people to blog than to podcast. Why is this important? If you have a message that you want to get out to your audience quickly, and you have a blog, you can just type it out there quickly… an internet connection is all your need. It’s also easier to reference things from within your blog than podcast. I use my blog all the time to put links to things on, and then say “go see this link” in my audio podcast.
Three. Blogs are more viral than podcasts. What does that mean? A viral blog post (let’s say for example) is when it has something in it that causes people to pass it on to other blog sites, email links to others, and spread through the internet creating an exponential growth in the message’s visibility and effect.
(see http://searchcrm.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid11_gci213514,00.html)
It’s easier for someone to read what I just read and for someone to pass a link on than it is to send a podcast to another person and tell them to listen to minute 4 through 5… or something like that. Videos are viral because you can watch them quickly, and though a service like YouTube or Google, they are easy to link to.
Four and lastly. The provider writes a blog or speaks a podcast. This is related to number one, but is different in that it’s coming from the other direction. Fact is, some people are skilled writers, and some skilled speakers. Some have a pleasant way of putting words on paper, and some have pleasant speaking voices. So, in this case, know your strength. If you want to have a blog, but aren’t a good writer, find a proofreader. If you want to podcast, and don’t think you’re voice sounds very good… get some good processors and effects (that’s a bit of a joke).
In general, I recommend people at least have a space to post their transcripts and show notes. If on a website, that’s okay, but if on a blog that listeners or readers can subscribe to, even better. I continue to blog about podcasting ideas, post show notes, and communicate with people through comments and feedback on jdfrey dot wordpress dot com. Go there, and check it out as an example of what I’ve been talking about here.
This is Jeff Frey from the Why and How of Podcasting… thank you for listening.
Podcast Examples – Podcast Transcript 13 April 28, 2007
Posted by Jeff in Podcast Transcript.1 comment so far
Partial Transcript to “13 – Podcast Examples” (3:20) released April 27, 2007 (click here to listen):
Hi, this is JD Frey from the why and how of podcasting. We’re two classes through the six week course at the Glasscock School of Continuing Studies at Rice University, and this week, we talked about the preparation for your podcast. One very important thing that people sometimes overlook when starting a podcast is researching what’s already out there.
Call it whatever you want… like finding out what the competition is doing, making sure that you’re great idea hasn’t already been thought of, or again… just plain research… it’s very important to find out what’s out there and then distinguish how you’re to set yourself apart.
While you’re out there, find some podcasts that interest you. Find ones that do podcasting well, and figure out why… then, take steps to model them.
This week, I had attendees of the class sit at their computer and record a sound byte for you on podcasts that they think are interesting. Take a listen:
[If you listen to the podcast, you can hear three students talk about three different podcasts that they find interesting, or that are done well. Only Jeff has been transcripted here.]
Well, there you have it. Three more podcasts for you to go check out to get
ideas on why you should be podcasting, and how do it.
Remember, if you’re thinking about starting a podcast, make sure you find out what is already being done by others, document what you’ve found, and then set out to be different.
I’m JD Frey from the why and how of podcasting, thanks for listening.
Why Are You Podcasting? – Podcast Transcript 12 April 18, 2007
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The Transcript to “12 – Why Are You Podcasting?” (2:11) released April 17, 2007 (click here to listen):
JD: Hi, this is Jeff Frey from the Why and How of Podcasting. I’m here today teaching my first class. I’ve got a few people that want to talk about why they’re podcasting or why they’re taking this course.
Joni: Hi Jeff, I’m Joni with Jambone Records and I’m here to learn how to podcast in support of our artists and their music. Putting up podcasts, music, video, audio… the whole thing. Also in support of an e-book that’s coming out. We’re going to do sections of our book in audio to get the word out about our book and to market our book.
JD: Very good, thank you very much. Appreciate that.
Rob: Hi, I’m Rob and I’m from the University of Houston. I’m a trainer in their IT department and I am thinking about podcasting about some of the classes that we do. We teach classes on different technology topics different applications just so we can give something to our customers weekly tips and tricks or whatever else about the different applications we teach like Microsoft Word and so on and so forth.
JD: Great Rob, that sounds interesting, Thanks for coming.
Jade: Hi, I’m Jade and I’m the science editor at Rice University. I’m thinking of podcasting about Nano Technology, protein folding, bird flu vaccines, the birth of planets and all other kinds of cool science stories.
JD: That sounds awesome. So, there are three examples that you can take with you. If you’re not sure about what to podcast about or why to podcast, go to the why and how of podcasting dot com and listen to some more. We’re going to have five more of these podcasts during our class and we want to hear from you if you have any feedback about those. Go to jdfrey.wordpress.com to do that. Thanks.
More Rice University Course Info – Podcast Transcript 11 March 16, 2007
Posted by Jeff in Educational Podcasts, Jeff Frey, Podcast Instruction, Podcast Transcript, Podcasting, Rice University.add a comment
The Links and Transcript to “11 – More Rice University Course Info” (3:50) released March 18, 2007 (click here to listen):
The Links:
The Transcript:
Hi, J.D. Frey here from the why and how of podcasting. There’s less than a month left until the course at the Glasscock School of Continuing Studies at Rice University, and I wanted to give those attending a little bit more info about what we’ll be doing and what they should expect in the course.
First, if you’re not enrolled and you’ve been *thinking* about signing up, as of last week there were still spots open. I’m not sure how many, but call 713-348-48 zero 3 to register for the course. That’s 713-348-48 zero 3.
If you’re *already* signed up for the course and listening to this… welcome! I’m looking forward to getting to know you, you’re podcasting ambitions, and help you plan, produce, publish, and promote your podcast.
Podcasting is a great way for a company to market themselves or communicate with employees, a church, ministry or non-profit to get their message out to world of listeners or communicate with members or volunteers, or just one person who has a passion about something and wants others to know about it… there are obviously many reasons to podcast… and I’m looking forward to hearing why you, coming to the class, want to do it.
So, what will we be doing in class? Our first class is April sixteenth and we will be, as I just said, sharing why we’re there and what our podcasting ambitions are. I also want to know what attendees need to get out of the class to make sure that I’m covering everything… and then we’ll be going through partaking of podcasts: how to find them, podcatchers, examples of great podcasts and maybe not so great ones… and they’ll be time left for breaks, discussions and a podcast that we produce in the class each week. It will be released here on the why and how of podcasting feed so that you can listen to it and others can hear what you’re up to in the class.
There will be homework each week that we’ll talk about or use in the following weeks class… don’t worry… it’s not a lot… you can put as much or as little effort as you want into it… it’s after all for you to learn more and work on your podcast.
Our second class will focus on planning your podcast with issues surrounding things like format, duration, equipment and such.
The third class will be all about audio. The fourth about video and screencasting. And in the fifth class we’ll talk about publishing a podcast… and not just a feeds or tags, but the other elements that podcasters use to really get their podcast out there… which kind of takes us into the sixth and last class on podcasting promotion. By that time, you’ll have watched me do a podcast like this one from start to finish, produced a podcast in class as a class, and you’ll publish your own self created podcast.
The lab that we’ll be in is Windows Operating system based, but I’ll also have a Mac OS X laptop and maybe a couple other machines that I bring in to talk about the software differences and demonstrate on.
I think that’s about all the info I had for you on the course. If you are thinking about attending and have questions, or you ARE attending and want to know something more about a class, have an issue with the date, need to contact me for some special instructions… email me at jdfrey@rice.edu… that’s J D F R E Y at rice dot E D U… or simply give me a call at 713-348-5827.
I’m J.D. Frey… if you’ve signed up for the course… I’m looking forward to meeting you soon… if you’re in the Houston area and you haven’t yet… do it… it’s going to be fun… as always… thanks for listening.
Podcasting at a University – Podcast Transcript 10 February 19, 2007
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The Links and Transcript to “10 – Podcasting at a University” (4:58) released February 19, 2007 (click here to listen):
The Links:
• Educause Session Here
• Presentations: https://jdfrey.wordpress.com/presentations
The Transcript:
J.D. Frey here, and you’re listening to the why and how of podcasting. I’m speaking this week at the southwest regional educause conference in Austin texas and for those of you listening that are going to the conference; I plan on talking about three main things.
One – What university podcasting departments are being asked to do, with examples.
Two – The step-by-step process of podcasting.
and Three – The technical requirements of podcast studios with setups for different budgets.
I will of course be podcasting the session in it’s entirety next week. So I won’t go into details now, but I did want to give you a quick bottom line podcast about the main points around the first topic… What university podcasting departments are being asked to do. Through research, surveys, discussions with peers, and personal experiences, I put together a little list of the top reasons to podcast at a university.
First, universities should be podcasting courses. There is research that this in fact does not hurt the students or class attendance, but actually helps the learning experience. Past that, there are five main reasons to podcast at a university. Counting down,
Number five is faculty, then staff, three is students, then alumni, and the number one reason to podcast… admissions. If you think about it, it’s all person based. The things I mentioned aren’t really so much reasons to podcast as people to podcast to. First, potential students, because what is a university without students. Then, past students and donors, because again, what is a school without resources. You then podcast to current students attending to enhance their existence. Staff, who make the university run, and then don’t forget faculty, for without them, there would be no courses or classes.
I skip over this people point in my talk, choosing to give examples of the different podcasts from other universities… and I’ll be sure to put a link to each of those examples in my transcript next week. But the point is, podcasting at a university is all about the people.
Since I want to podcast my session, and they don’t record the audio at this conference, I have to record it. I have a lot of different options available, strait to hardrive, bring my roland multitrack, I have an Edirol R-09, and just got a Zoom H4 Handy Recorder… but… I decided to take an M-Audio Microtrack. It will record WAV or MP3, about two hours of mp3 at the settings I wanted, and it sounded the best when I hooked up a wireless lapel microphone that I had. I’m going to leave it on the presenters table with the wireless receiver and wear the lapel to record with. You’ll get to hear it next week if all goes well.
That “how” of podcasting is something to remember. If you don’t want to be tied to a microphone and you want to record a presentation or speech. Buy a wireless mic and set that next to a computer with an audio out of the wireless to the audio in of your computer. Open up a piece of recording software, and check the levels. Before you start talking, hit record. It’s a very easy way to ‘share’ your audio presentations.
Remember, next week, a big 45 minute podcast from me all about podcasting at a University. If you have any stories surrounding university podcasting, email me at jdfrey at rice dot edu. I’d love to hear them. The slides and handouts from my session will be posted on the presentations page of my blog: jdfrey.wordpress.com… so go there for more info. Of course you can get to all this information from one of the longest urls in the world… thewhyandhowofpodcasting dot com. I’m J.D. Frey, thanks for listening.
Learning to Podcast from Podcasters – Podcast Transcript 8 February 5, 2007
Posted by Jeff in Podcast Instruction, Podcast Transcript, Podcasting, Podcasting Podcasts.2 comments
The Links and Transcript to “8 – Learning to Podcast from Podcasters” (6:04) released February 4, 2007 (click here to listen):
The Links:
- http://homepage.mac.com/ilife06/learn/learn-to-podcast.xml
- http://amoore3.podOmatic.com/rss2.xml
- http://www.podcast411.com
- http://www.podcastsalad.com
- http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesTitle/productCd-0471748986,page-1.html
- http://www.podcastingunderground.com
- http://www.schoolofpodcasting.com
- http://www.profitablepodcasting.com
The Transcript:
Hello podcast listeners, this is J.D. Frey from the why and how of podcasting. I love to educate people about technology, and today’s podcast is all about podcasts out there that will teach you about podcasting. Of course there’s this podcast, my blog, classes, and presentations, but there are podcasts that have been educating people about podcasting since podcasting began. (sigh) I can tell already I’m going to say podcast way too many times in this… podcast.
Anyway, I will be using thewhyandhowofpodcasting to broadcast my class coming up in April where we will be going through creating it step by step. After I’ve edited all the audio, I’m going to try to break the class up into reasonable sound bites for you all to listen to.
So, on to the podcasts. I have four types of podcasts that I want to talk about, and I’m going to give you two examples of each type… that’s eight podcasts for you to listen to this week.
First, I want to tell you about two tutorials or how-to podcasts. Though podfading has taken it’s toll on one of these, and the other is a bit old… I still save them and use them as resources for people who ask.
• Apple’s GarageBand product is a great tool to use for podcasting. When iLife ’06 was released, they created 8 videos about iLife that they tied to a podcast feed. The URL is too long to tell you here, but if you’re into GarageBand, you should watch these. Just a reminder, I’m posting all of these links out with the transcript on my blog jdfrey.wordpress.com or there’s a link to it at the why and how of podcasting dot com.
• So, what if you’re on a PC? Audacity is a great piece of audio editing software and I found a really good tutorial for it from a guy on podomatic. He’s only got one podcast, but it’s a pretty good tutorial. Google audacity, tutorial, and moore… m o o r e… it should pop up as the first or second link.
Next, I’d like to talk about podcasts about podcasts. These two can keep you informed about who’s doing what in the podcasting world.
• podcast411 is an audio podcast where the host, Rob, interviews other podcasters. It is definitely a must listen to. While they talk, you will learn a lot about the podcaster being interviewed and his or her podcast, but you’ll also learn a lot about podcasting in general.
• podcastsalad is a video podcast about video podcasting. If you’re thinking about starting a video podcast, or video podcasting now, and you want to see what’s out there… this is the one. Host Katie Bavard takes you through some short clips of video podcasts while adding some cute satirical comments along the way.
Third, I’m on to podcast education podcasts. People that put a podcast together, so you can podcast better.
• First on this list, podcasting for dummies. I’m a big fan of the podcasting for dummies book… and wouldn’t you know… they started a podcast as a companion to it. If you go out to dummies dot com and search for podcasting, you can find it. Tee Morris is the one doing it. Click on the link for the book and then you’ll see at the bottom of the link bar a link for “companion podcast.” That’s actually where I got the idea to do this podcast as a companion to my class.
• Next, the school of podcasting. There is a subscription service that you can pay for where you get a bunch of podcasting tutorials and screencasts, but the podcast that’s free is the school of podcasting morning announcements. I actually don’t have time to listen to all these as they come out all the time, but I queue them up and then listen to a bunch of them during a car or plane ride.
The fourth and last podcasts that I want to make sure you take a listen to are marketing or money-making podcasts.
• Jason Van Orden’s news and tips and interviews that he does on his podcast called podcasting underground are great. Listening to this podcast could distinguish whether you’re podcast is a marketing success or failure.
• Profitable Podcasting with Paul Colligan is a podcast concerning issues about the profitability and monetization of podcasting. He interviews people doing it, and runs some numbers. I’d put these both on your must listen-to list.
So, I know I threw a lot of podcasts out at you today, but the links are out on my blog to the eight podcasts I talked about:
• GarageBand and Audacity tutorials.
• Podcast411 and Podcast Salad about other podcasts.
• Podcasting for Dummies and The School of Podcasting for Podcast Education. and
• Podcasting Underground and Profitable Podcasting for marketing and monetization.
Before I go, I’ve got a plug a talk I’m doing in Austin, in a few weeks at the Educause SouthWest Regional Conference called… what else… the why and how of podcasting. I’m going to be speaking to IT professionals from academic institutions about podcasting at a university level. Basically, I’m going to go through why universities podcast, and show some examples of podcasts from other institutions. Then. I’ll go through the steps of podcasting, and what podcasting studios at universities might look like.
If you want to check it out, go to educause.edu and click on the southwest regional conference link. I also have a link on my blog, will post the slides there, and of course… I’ll be podcasting the session once I get the audio.
So, remember, you have eight podcasts to listen to this week… and feel free to let me know if you have any podcasts that have taught you something about podcasting. I’m J.D. Frey… thanks for listening.
The Format of Your Podcast – Podcast Transcript 7 January 28, 2007
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Transcript to “7 – The Format of Your Podcast” (5:26) released January 28, 2007 (click here to listen):
Hi, J.D. Frey here from thewhyandhowofpodcasting. I’m going to get right into podcast formats today because I think I could write an entire book on this subject alone.
There are several formats I want to talk about surrounding speakers and topics for your podcast.
First, a Single Speaker with One Topic. A good thing about having a single speaker is that there isn’t anyone else to have to worry about what they say. The problem is that there’s no one else to cover or critique what YOU say.
Single podcaster or not, always have people screen your podcast. They can proof-listen to make sure you haven’t missed anything… because we all know that we’ve been too close to a project, or worked with it too long, that sometimes we miss things.
A good thing about having one topic is that there is only one thing to focus on. The content that you have to gather can be concentrated. The bad thing about that is that sometimes, when there is only one thing to focus on, you might wear out the content that there is to find about it.
The worst thing about that… not having content… is that people tend to make up things to say about the topic or unintentionally drift off topic because they’ve run out of content.
So, single speaker, single topic… just make sure someone screens your podcast and you have enough content.
What about a single speaker with multiple topics?
Having multiple topics can be a great way to draw multiple people groups to your podcast. Let’s say you’re podcasting about the overall issue of health news. If you cover a men’s topic, and a women’s topic… you’ve brought both men and women to your podcast… maybe you can do a podcast on diet, exercise, and work related issues surrounding them. That way, you pull in a conscientious eater, a gal that goes to the gym, and a guy at work that doesn’t have time to think about either but really wants to. The lesson there? Vary your content and direct it at different groups.
If you are going to do multiple topics in your one podcast, be prepared for some listeners to care about some topics, and not about others. To get around this, spend a short time on each topic, and give a preview of what you’re going to talk about in the whole podcast. So, even if the thing a listener is interested in doesn’t show up until last, they’ll listen the whole way through. The lesson there for that one? Let people know what you’re going to be talking about, and don’t spend too much time on one topic.
So, multiple topics… vary your content, direct it at different groups, preview what you’ll talk about, and don’t spend too much time on just one of the topics.
Now, what about a podcast with multiple speakers? I’m going to over exaggerate this, but experience tells me that two people usually have two different lives with two different sets of goals. If you decide on a two person format podcast, be prepared to miss some deadlines when both of you can’t make that recording date you set up. Think through who will take control when someone decides it’s not going well for them anymore. Also, make sure you keep your audience informed when one of you decide to move on to something else… get the point? Though you might not be thinking about this with your hobby podcast that you and your friend are putting together… I suggest having a contract. Something simple that you both sign to answer some of the questions surrounding ownership and money of the podcast. Who knows, you could end up being an overnight sensation, not knowing where that leaves your friendship.
When writing your contract, flesh out things about the podcast as well… like frequency, duration, topics, etc. Also, don’t rely on just one person to know how to do a podcast. Both of you, unless you have a production crew, should be equally familiar with recording, editing, and posting a podcast. If the knowledgeable one is out, the other needs to keep the podcast running for the listeners.
Ultimately, the best podcast format is a combination of speakers and topics. You’ll reach the most people in the least amount of time that way. Just one warning… I know you’re saying… why does there always have to be a warning… (laugh)… but my warning is… whatever format you use, and whatever combination you use… some listeners don’t like change. If you watch any late night comedy show… you know that. Intro, 20 minute dialog, funny skit, interview #1, interview #2, band, interview #3, end. If you’re going to try something new, ease your listeners into it. Talk to someone one week, bring someone else on the next. Talk about two things, then three. Make the change as seemless as possible.
So, play around with the different formats, watch for gotchas on all of them, and if you need more advice, I’ll be writing a bit more about podcast formats this week on my blog… also feel free to send me an email at jdfrey at rice dot edu… j d f r e y at r i c e dot e d u… so I can answer your question directly.
As always, find more info at thewhyandhowofpodcasting.com and jdfrey.wordpress.com. I’m J.D. Frey… thanks for listening.
Your Hobby is Now Your Job – Podcast Transcript 6 January 21, 2007
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The Links and Transcript to “6 – Your Hobby is Now Your Job” (4:59) released January 21, 2007 (click here to listen):
The Links:
• Zoom H4
• Rice U School of Continuing Studies Class
• FORTUNE Magazine Article
The Transcript:
Sticking with the hobby theme that I’ve been on about “why to podcast,” I met up this week with a hobby podcaster who had a question for me: “What happens when your hobby, becomes your job?”
This is J.D. Frey from The Why and How of Podcasting, and though I don’t really podcast about my hobby… podcasting for me is both a part of my job, AND a part of my hobby.
I dug a little deeper into the question with my friend, and it turns out that she was podcasting about her hobby, but once she had to start spending so much time on it, she didn’t enjoy it anymore. I obviously don’t think that this is specific to podcasting. Many people think that if they could quit their day job and do that thing that they love… the world will be at peace… only to find that their hobby has now become their job.
Well, here are a few of my tips for dealing with an out of control hobby:
Number 1 – Get Another Hobby. If your hobby has become your job, when do you take a break… and what do you do during it? It important to know that too much of anything, even if it is a good thing, is actually bad. I remember reading an article in FORTUNE magazine that talked about cross training your brain. That people think concentrating on one thing is the most productive way of doing something… but it’s actually not. You become more productive at each thing, when you are able to switch back and forth between them. This is especially true if you’re struggling with a job… and can take a break with a hobby. For our purposes, if you’ve quit the job… and are struggling now with the hobby… maybe it’s time to find a new hobby.
Tip Number 2 – Organize and Automate. This is a big one for me… even as a general time saving technique. What are those maintenance items that you take care of? And What do you waste time doing or looking for? Think of things that you can organize or automate to cut down on the time you spend doing them. With podcasting, if you’re writing your own RSS script, find an application that will do it. If you’re having to look up past transcripts to make sure you don’t say the same thing, put them all in a directory and search through them electronically. If you feel like your tied to your computer every night because of something you have to do, see if you can set a job to run, or pre-date something, so that you can take a break.
Number 3 – Find a Buddy. (laugh) And I’m serious about this. Don’t go it alone. Find someone with a similar skill set, passion, hobby, etc. and get them to help. Even if you’re running a successful podcast yourself and need to take a break… tell your listeners what you’re up to and have them submit example podcasts to you. You might find someone out there that would take your podcast for a month and do just fine. It might be fun to have people submit podcasts to you, and if you get enough of them, run them all for a few weeks? You could spend some time ahead of them introducing them or just put the same trailer on the front of every one explaining what’s going on.
So, whether you one – get another hobby, two – organize and automate, or three – find a buddy… the important thing is that you find a way to relieve your newfound stress.
Now, for a quick “how of podcasting”… last week I talked about the Edirol R-09 from Roland. It’s a portable recorder that’s great for podcasting. Though it’s not here yet, I actually just purchased a Zoom H4 recorder. From reviews I’ve read, it seems like a great device and I’m anxious to get it. Though people say it has a bit more noise, it has similar features, it costs less, and it has two built in phantom powered XLR inputs. I’m doing something specifically in a few weeks where I wanted that feature… and, well, actually… I just want to play with it for a while so I can let you all know what it’s like and how it works. If you haven’t heard of it yet, I’ll put a link in the transcript of this podcast to a review of it.
The last thing I want to talk about is a class. After all, podcast education is actually why I started this. If you enjoy these podcasts or my daily blog, you want to learn more about podcasting, and you’re in the Houston Texas area… be sure to sign up for my podcasting class at the Rice University School of Continuing Studies. Space is limited, since we’ll actually be podcasting during the class, and even though it’s in April… people are registering for it now… so sign up quickly. I have a link on my website: thewhyandhowofpodcasting.com. After all, again, that’s what this podcast is for anyway… the class. We’ll be using this podcast to do some fun stuff during it.
Well, that’s it for this one. Good luck with your podcasts and contact me if you have any questions.
The Simplest Reason to Podcast – Podcast Transcript 4 January 5, 2007
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Helpful Links, Audio Setup, and Transcript to “4 – The Simplest Reason to Podcast” (5:03) released January 7, 2007 (click here to listen):
Helpful Link:
Audio setup: I learned this from a podcasting college student…
- Record your self in your dorm on this:
- Go buy one of these:
- Plug one end into the out of the recorder and one end into a college computer lab machine:
- Hit record on the computer and play on the recorder, and you’ve recorded your podcast.
The Transcript:
Hi, I’m J.D. Frey from The Why and How of Podcasting. What’s the simplest reason to podcast? Some people might disagree, but I’m going to tell you that you should podcast… because you can. Chances are, if you’re LISTENING to this podcast… you CAN podcast. Now… I didn’t say… “because you can”… is my number ONE reason to podcast… I just said it’s the simplest. Think about it, let’s say you’re listening to this podcast on a computer. It probably has a microphone or a place to plug one in. I’m guessing it has some sound recording software on it… and probably an Internet connection. That’s it my friend, you’re a podcaster. Oh, it’s not your computer? You’re a work, in a library, or at a school where you can’t record in private? Maybe you’re not listening to this on a computer, but some portable device that you own. Not a problem. Do you have a boom box at home, (laugh) a tape recorder, maybe that portable device has an attachment you can buy to record. How ever you can do it… record yourself. Then what? Go buy a one-eighth inch to one-eighth inch cable for less than 5 bucks at your local electronics store. Find a computer with an Internet connection. Plug one end into the headphone jack of the device where you have your recording, and one end into that mic input on the computer I mentioned earlier. Hit record on the computer, and play on the device. Some podcasters will say, “well, that won’t sound very good.” No, not really, in fact…
This is what it sounds like. No fancy microphone, no voice enhancements, just a tape player that I dug out of a closet, a used tape, and one-eighth inch cable plugged into my computer to record. It doesn’t sound as good as I’d like it to, but the point is, I’m podcasting.
After you have your file on the computer it gets a bit more complicated. You have to make sure your file is of the right type, upload the file, name the podcast, register it with podcast directories, and so on… but if you find a good podcast hosting service, they’ll help you through the process of doing those things with online wizards, instructions, chat and even call-in help lines. Again… why podcast? What’s the simplest reason to podcast? Because you can… and I’m here to tell you… you CAN podcast. How do you do it? That’s just as simple as you want to make it. See the actual audio set up I had for today’s minimalist podcast on my blog that you can click to at thewhyandhowofpodcasting dot com. I know it’s a huge address, just type it in… the why and how of podcasting dot com. I’ll also put a link the blog today to a podcast hosting service rundown with suggestions on who to go with.
While I’m at it, and since I mentioned it earlier, let’s talk about my number one reason to podcast. Why should a company, a school, an art gallery, a fitness group, a sports team, a craft club, a math guru, a game player, a mom, a grandmother… why should YOU podcast? Because you have something to say. Every individual, whether they know it or not, has something to say that someone else wants to hear. It doesn’t have to be profound, solve some big mystery, or be anything that thousands of people want to hear… it just has to be… something. It doesn’t even have to be said. It could music or sounds… and even though I talk a lot about audio, it could be pictures, diagrams, or movements that video taped. … So, what do you know? What do you do? What do you LIKE to do? / What do you think about? / What do you think about what others know, do, or like to do? It doesn’t even have to focus on a particular topic. It can be about anything at any time. There is someone out there that will listen. I guarantee. It might not be a lot of people, you may not be tops on the podcast rankings, search engines may not list you in the top 10, 100, or even 1,000 hits when searching… but… you can have a voice using this awesome new media that as easy to set up as I discussed earlier. So, if you’re podcasting now. Congratulations. Keep it up. If you haven’t started yet, why not start now? Don’t let us all miss out on what you have to say. If you ARE going to start a podcast today, or sometime soon, or maybe you have a simple set-up like I talked about or a story about your listeners and ‘having something to say’… contact me. My info is out at the why and how of podcasting dot com. You CAN podcast, and you have something to say.
I’m J.D. Frey… thanks for listening.
Podcast Promo – Podcast Transcript 3 December 18, 2006
Posted by Jeff in Jeff Frey, Podcast Transcript, Podcasting Podcasts.1 comment so far
Transcript to “3 – Podcast Promo” (1:00) released December 16, 2006 (click here to listen):
Hi, this is JD Frey from the why and how of podcasting.
I’m very into podcasting education, and I take time in my weekly podcast to answer the two questions about podcasting that I get asked the most… Why should I podcast?… and How do I do it?
I don’t think I’ll run out of reasons to talk about why to podcast. Though there are overarching categories like the love of the technology, a hobby, and making money… the reasons to podcast are just as different as the many podcasters out there.
How to podcast is continually changing. Studios are popping up, audio/video and portable recording companies are now catering to podcasters, and… as these new… “hows” of podcasting come out… I want you to know about them.
So, check me out at the why and how of podcasting dot com, click on the link to my daily podcasting blog, and send me a question while you’re there.
I’m JD Frey from the why and how of podcasting. Thanks for listening.
Podcast Explanation – Podcast Transcript 2 December 1, 2006
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Transcript to “2 – Podcast Explanation” (2:09) released December 2, 2006 (click here to listen).
Hello. I’m JD Frey from the why and how of podcasting: a companion podcast to the course by the same name at the Suzanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies at Rice University in Houston, Texas.
I love educating people about technology, and in this podcast, I’m going to be focusing on the two questions that I get asked the most about podcasting… question number one – Why should I, or anyone else for that matter, podcast?, and the number two question – How do you go about doing it?
If you’ve read my daily blog, you know that I’m a get to the point kind of guy… so that’s what you’ll hear in this podcast. For now, leading up to the summer 2007 course, I’ll be releasing a short weekly audio podcast in which I take one of the why and/or how topics from that week… and I’ll just tell you what it’s about.
If you want more details about the subject, you’ll probably want to go to the show notes at the why and how of podcasting dot com… and on that site, if you want even more details about OTHER subjects related to podcasting, you’ll find a link to my blog at jd frey (that’s j – d – f – r – E – y) dot wordpress dot com.
So, that’s the why and how of podcasting podcast… and for those of you who are in the Houston Texas area and want to attend my course, there are links to that on both of the sites I just mentioned. I assure you that neither the content that you get in this podcast or the blog will be duplicated in the class… where… we’ll have enough time to cover the five “p”s in the pod of podcasting in depth: playing, planning, producing, publishing, and promoting.
I’ve already released a four minute course promo, and I’ve been asked to do a 60 second podcast specific promo to be released in the next couple of weeks. I’m planning on starting to release this podcast weekly in January 2007.
I’m JD Frey, go to the why and how of podcasting dot com for more information, and, as always, thanks for listening.
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