Ahh, sweet sweet juice, power, electricity. My laptop is now powered up via a direct line… on to the next event…
Podcasting with Tod Maffin from the CBC.
In the beginning, there was code- you could hit “publish�? and have a bad web site
Then there were WYSIWYG tools, and you could hit publish and create a better page
Then you have content management and blog tools. When you hit “publish�? it puts an RSS out into the world in addition to putting up a new web page. This evolution is what enables podcasting.
Podcasting came from putting a new tag “
A podcatcher, or RSS reader for podcasts, will go out and look for new posts, if none exists it will wait for one. If there is a new a post with an mp3 enclosure, it downloads it and puts it on a .mp3 player, like an iPod.
Kilohertz, kHz is the number of samples per second- the number of times the computer samples the sound per second. It’s all about filling the gaps between samples. High kHz means better quality.
44,100 kHz for mp3s
48,000 kHz and up professionally
8,000 kHz for phone lines
Content for podcasts:
What’s your passion
* Clear topics/focus- serve an audience
* Tell a story (See Adam Curry’s Daily SourceCode) Most DJs don’t let you into their lives. To be compelling, make it about the person, the life, the voice
* Speak to one person- there is no “everybody�? in radio. Most people listen to the radio alone. Either doing household chores or in the car- talk to them.
* Be brief – get into someone’s daily-jog playlist
* Mix up the sound- provide “audio on-ramps�? a way to get back into the show. Bits of music, stings, something you do verbally. They are a bit like audio headers.
* Microphones are meant to be near mouths
* Don’t listen verbally. No “uhum�?, “ahhh�? “I see�? interspersed over the conversation. It does not translate well.
* The secret of double enders (not sure what this means)
Recording other people…
It’s basically a conversation on your laptop
Beware ambient sound (dishes, etc)
Find a place with upholstery for sound canceling (See Tod’s Studio “B�? on Flickr.) Funny.
Mp3 posts should have:
ID3 tags
Show Notes
Feedburner
Server space- bandwidth costs
Creative Commons license
Promotions Feedback
Regular schedule
Show Notes
Blog with RSS (you could have people d/l the file on your site too)
PodCast Alley is a good resource
Simple- siglines
Feedback
Ask!
Blog Comments
Myths: It’s perfectly legal to play, if…
I only play 15 seconds
I talk over the intro of the song
If I bought and own the CD
If the artist agrees (may not be true- consider the labels)
About “Fair Comment�?… law that says that you can comment on something- you can play a bit of it for illustration purposes. You have to comment on the topic. Most Simpsons sounds are illegal.
Licensing of music
Truly independent? Easy, get OK from artist
ASCAP.com /weblicense
Mandatory Listening:
Daily Source Code
Doug’s Applescript
Coverville
Cbc.ca/nerd