w w w .podcastusermagaz ine.com
Podcast U ser Magaz ine Team Executive Editor: Managing Editor: Linda M il l s l inda.m il l s @ podcas tus e rm agaz ine .com Review s Editor: Sim on Toon w w w .s l am idol podcas t.com Music Editor: Grant M ason w w w .th re e from l e ith .com
Feature W riter: Joh n Buck l ey citiz e ns coop.co.uk Columnist: Col in M e e k s w w w .ne w m e dial aunch pad.com Columnists : Paul& Judy H utch inson w w w .Total PodCas troph e .com Columnists : Sow e rby & Luff s ow e rbyandl uff.com Production: PaulH utch inson w w w .Total PodCas troph e .com Cartoonist: D FRW de anw h itbre ad.com New s Editor &
M ark H unte r
w w w .tartans torie s .com Feature W riter: Lance Ande rson ve rge ofth e fringe .com Review er: Be rnade tte w w w .podcas tfanatic.com Review er: M aril yn M adse n m ads e nm @ e arth l ink .ne t Review er: H il ary Tyl er tpn.th e podcas tne tw ork .com Guest W riter: Gabor Kovacs w w w .e l e ctrical l anguage .co.uk Guest W rter: Patrick M e l ton w w w .nobodyl ik e s onions .com Guest W riter: M ark Jul iano w w w .tal k s h oe .com Guest W riter: Judith H utch inson, M .D . w w w .m e dical m inute podcas t.com
Co-Founders: Al e x Be l l inge r, Jim m y H aste l l , M ark H unte r, Grant M ason, Col in M e e k s, Linda M il l s, PaulNich ol l s, Jane t Park inson, PaulPark inson, PaulPinfie l d, Ch ris Sk inne r, Ge off Tinnion, Sim on Toon.
Cove r de s ign by M ark H unte r Cove r ph oto by Eric Rice
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Page 2 - Issue 19 : August 2007
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Contents Editorial New s
Beverly Mickins Creates a Community w ith S tories and a S ong - Lance Ande rson
12
Mark: My W ords - ADD, oh really?
13
S ow erby & Luff: H ow To K ill An O ctopus W ith A Ch ampagne Cork
- M ark H unte r
Regular Columns
4 6 8
- Ge orgina Sow e rby & Brian Luff
15
Th e Edinburgh Festival Fringe w ith Ew an S pence
19
Life's Journal
21
Inside Th e Podcasters' S tudio: Kevin Cummings
27
U rban Coffee
31
I, Platform - Th e Eric Rice Interview
40
Review Roulette
45
Ph ideaux: 'Doomsday Afternoon'
47
Junk: 'Th e Last S tand O f Th e Conspiracy Cow boy'
48
Th e Bads: 'Earth From S pace'
49
Your Podcast Probably S ucks
51
Your Podcast Is Probably Just Fine
52
NexTier Bank Podcasting Case S tudy
54
Reveal Yourself: Amestory
55
Letters to PU M
57 60
More New s From PU M
- Judy & PaulH utch inson - Col in M e e k s
- Paul& Judy H utch inson - M ark H unte r
Review s
- Be rnade tte , M aril yn M adse n, H il ary Tyl e r, Ph ilCl ark , Sim on Toon
Feature
"I'm Just A Guy W ith A Bl og!" - Joh n Buck l e y ak a Citize n Scoop
- Grant M ason
- Gabor Kovacs - Gabor Kovacs
- Judith H utch inson, M .D .
Guest W riters
- Patrick M e l ton
- M ark Jul iano
- M aril yn M adse n & Grant M ason
D e ar Pod cast Use r Magazine W edge 2.0 by D FRW
Contents Page 3 - Issue 19 : August 2007
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Editorial It's produce d by vol unte e rs for no profit and it th rive s on com m unity invol ve m e nt. Just l ik e your podcast. W e l com e to Podcast Use r M agazine . Th e te am at th e m agazine are e ith e r se asone d podcast produce rs or h arde ne d podcast consum e rs, and be cause of th at PUM re m ains th e be st pl ace for productive produce rs and disce rning l iste ne rs. Joh n Buck l e y h as h ad a busy m onth sh adow ing th e one and onl y Eric R ice as h e stal k s h is w ay from Se cond Life to Tw itte r, re ad h is fe ature on page 31, and Lance Ande rson pul l s out anoth e r gre at story th is m onth al l about h is good frie nd Be ve rl y M ick ins, a pe rson w h o trul y unde rstands th e ve rsatil ity and ubiq uity of podcasting. Sh e 's trave l l ed from Ne w York to Los Ange l e s and th is m onth Lance brings h e r to Podcast Use r M agazine . Ch e ck out h e r story on page 8. Patrick 's at it again, but w e be l ie ve h e probabl y m e ans w e l lde e p, de e p dow n in h is l ittl e h e art. Eith e r w ay, h e 's cal l ing you out about th e q ual ity of your podcast. H e says it suck s. But fortunate l y h e al so sh are s h is w isdom w ith you, so, al ong w ith Judy H utch inson, M .D ., you'l lbe w el lpl ace d to produce your be st e pisode ye t. Podcasting buddie s D ave and Se th tal k e d to m e about th e ir l ong-running and w e l lre ce ive d sh ow 'Urban Coffe e ' w h ich is just about to l aunch into its se cond se ason. Expo se ason is al m ost upon us. If you h ave n't h e ard about it l ook for th e ir ad in th is m onth 's issue . And if you're going to th e e ve nt, al lth re e days of it (!), pl e ase l ook out for th e PUM te am . W e h ave a booth and w e 'l lbe gl ad to sh ak e your h and and give you a nice stick e r for you to pl ace in a prom ine nt l ocation w h e n you re turn h om e . Ye s, w e be l ie ve in se l f prom otion too. Grant and h is te am bring you th e cre am of indie m usic once again;pl e ase don't l e t anyone te l lyou th at th e re 's no de ce nt unsigne d m usic out th e re . Th e m usic se ction starts on page 45 and th e re 's a sl e w of conte nt to k e e p your e ar buds busy.
Mark H unter
m ark .h unte r@ podcas tus e rm agaz ine .com Page 4 - Issue 19 : August 2007
ABO U T PO DCAS T U S ER MAGAZ INE Each m onth , our de dicate d contributors w il lre vie w a range of h ardw are and softw are to guide you to th e righ t buying ch oice s. W e w il lal so re vie w a w ide varie ty of podcasts, bringing you dive rsity and e nte rtainm e nt from both m ainstre am and nich e .
ADVICE AND H ELP hel p@ podcas tus e rm agaz ine .com
Podcast Use r M agazine staff h ave ye ars of com bine d e xpe rie nce . If you h ave any probl e m s or w oul dl ik e any inform ation, just e m ailus;w e 're h e re to h e l p.
S U BMIS S IO NS
s ubm is s ions @ podcas tus e rm agaz ine .com
W e are al w ays l ook ing for gre at ne w tal e nt. So if you h ave a topic th at you w oul dl ik e to w rite about, w e w oul d be gl ad to h e ar from you.
CO MMENTS
ge ne ral .com m e nts @ podcas tus e rm agaz ine .com
If you h ave a com m e nt, criticism or e ve n praise for w h at w e do, pl e ase don't h e sitate to l e t us k now . W e can't ge t be tte r at w h at w e do w ith out you.
PO DCAS T U S ER MAGAZ INE invite s and e ncourage s subm issions from al lre garding podcasting. Any opinions on any subje cts e xpre sse d by th e co-founde rs or contributors in th e ir podcasts are th e irs al one and do not re fl e ct th e e ditorialopinion of th e m agazine .
ADVERTIS ERS Podcast Use r M agazine now w e l com e s adve rtising, both sh ort and l ong te rm . R e ach ove r 10,000 re ade rs pe r m onth in m ore th an 120 countrie s. For m ore de tail s, contact podcas tus e rm ag@ gm ail .com
M JH
- Life casting
Justin.tv- th e y're al lnuts. But w h o can l ook aw ay e ve n for a m om e nt?
- Expo fund d rive s
Eve ryone w ants to be th e re , so se nd in your donations now ! im age : Sam s on
- Sam son USB m ics
Th e y l ook l ik e prope r m ics, th e y act l ik e prope r m ics, but th e y're USB!
Going Dow n - Aud acity
Spl urge for som e th ing sl ick e r to re cord your podcast. Lik e Ube rcaste r for th e M ac or Audition for th e PC.
- Suck ing l e ss
O k Podsh ow , so you suck , w e 've al lm anage d to ge t ove r it.
- iPh one cove rage
You k now it, I k now it;e nough al re ady.
im age : Pods h ow
Th e rm om ete r
Going U p
New s
w w w .podcastusermagaz ine.com
New s Editor: Joh n Buckley
Appl e h as m ove d to trade m ark it's podcasting sym bolw ith th e US Pate nt & A Ch anne l -4 l e d consortium h as w on a bid Trade m ark O ffice . Th e trade m ark w as to broadcast 10 ne w digitalradio stations. publ ish e d on Jul y 26, unde r appl ication Th e 4 D igitalGroup (in w h ich Ch anne l4 num be r 77235043. Appl e de scribe s th e h as a 55% stak e ) h as be e n aw arde d a m ark as “consisting of a styl ize d pe rson or D igitalAudio Broadcasting (D AB) national ante nna surrounde d by conce ntric radio m ul tipl exl ice nce . Announcing th e circl e s/broadcast w ave s.� Th e com pany h as de cision, th e UK te l e vision re gul ator use d th e sym bolin a varie ty of products O fcom state d th at : and se rvice s to re pre se nt podcasting. "Th e m ul tipl exl ice nce w il lal l ow th e broadcast of a num be r of radio se rvice s as w e l l as th e de l ive ry of oth e r m ul tim e dia se rvice s such as te xt and data se rvice s." Th e 10 ne w nationalstations are aim ing for th e conte m porary and th e youth m ark e ts. O fcom announcing th e de alsaid th at it th e ne w conte nt cre ate d for th e se ne tw ork s w oul d incl ude a "w ide se l e ction of podcasts provide d by a range of dive rse com panie s". Am ongst th e conte nt provide rs e xpe cte d to be invol ve d are th e FinancialTim e s, Sk y Ne w s, Virgin R adio, publ ish e r EM AP, W al t D isne y and th e Carph one W are h ouse . Th e de alw il lal so incl ude se ve ralse rvice s spe cifical l y de signe d for m obil e ph one s. Th e Ne w Engl and Journalof M e dicine publ ish e d an articl e th is m onth cl aim ing th at use rs w e aring iPods and oth e r portabl e el e ctronic de vice s are at risk of injury during se ve re w e ath e r conditions such as th unde rstorm s and l igh tning strik e s. Th is cam e afte r a 37-ye ar-ol d m an w as adm itte d to a h ospitalin Vancouve r, w h e n h e w as struck by l igh te ning w h il st jogging in a th unde rstorm and l iste ning to m usic on h is iPod. Last ye ar a Col orado m an w e aring an iPod w as struck by l igh tning w h il st m ow ing h is l aw n. H ow e ve r scie ntists insist th at el e ctronic de vice s don't attract l igh tning ove r and above any oth e r obje ct, but once th e l igh te ning contacts th e m e tal containe d in an e l e ctronic de vice it can l e ad to contact burns and incre ase th e possibil ity of oth e r e xte rnalinjurie s.
Page 6 - Issue 19 : August 2007
Th is m onth h as se e n th e arrivalof an organization cal l ing itse l f Th e Association for D ow nl oadabl e M e dia.(AD M ). Th e ne w body announce d its h ope th at it can pl ay a k e y rol e in h e l ping th e industry standardize m e th ods for th e pack aging, de l ive ry and track ing adve rtise m e nts across podcasts and oth e r dow nl oadabl e m e dia. Com prising an inte rim board of re pre se ntative s from Appl e , Bl ogTal k R adio, Fe e dburne r, LibSyn, Nie l se n/Ne tR ating and oth e rs. Th e AD M w e bsite state d th at it h ope s: "To provide l e ade rsh ip in and organization of adve rtising and audie nce m e asure m e nt standards, re se arch , e ducation and advocacy to al lth ose invol ve d in portabl e m e dia (Podcasts/ATO M /R SS m e dia e ncl osure s) across th e Inte rne t, iPods, M P3 pl aye rs, m obil e de vice s, P2P and oth e r upcom ing pl atform s". M ore info at: h ttp://w w w .dow nl oadabl e m e dia.org/
w w w .podcastusermagaz ine.com
Beverly Mickins Creates a Community
w ith S tories and a S ong Text and Ph otos by Lance Anderson
ph oto by Je rom e Pe nnington
Be ve rl y Mick ins trul y bel ie ve s in com m unity.Grow ing up in San Francisco d uring th e sixtie s pl ante d th e se e d s of a sh are d vision and e xpe rie nce .H e r roots h ave al w ays guid e d Be ve rl y th rough out h e r journe y to Ne w York as an actre ss, singe r and stand up com ic.So w h e n sh e final l y se ttl e d in Los A nge l e s, sh e cre ate d h e r ow n storyte l l ing com m unity th at h as grow n for a d oze n ye ars. Now Be ve rl y is re ad y to sh are Story Sal on w ith th e W orl d.
ph otos courte s y Lance Ande rs on
Page 8 - Issue 19 : August 2007
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ph oto courte s y Lance Ande rs on
"PROGRESSIVE, LEFTIST AND w e ird," th at is h ow Be ve rl y de scribe s h e r be l ove d h om e tow n, th e city of San Francisco. "It fe l tl ik e a gre at artist col ony."Be ve rl y's fam il y w as "bl ack upw ardl y m obil e "so th e y l ive d in a nice w ork ing cl ass ne igh borh ood and th e y w e re a "re gul ar nucl e ar fam il y, w ith th e re gul ar de m ons."H e r fath e r w ork e d h ard to k e e p m oving forw ard and "w as al w ays th e first bl ack m an to h ol d h is positions in th e city."Be ve rl y's fath e r instil l e d to h is daugh te r, th at th e re w as "ne ve r a re ason to cross a pick e t l ine "in a tim e of socialre vol ution. "In San Francisco in th e sixtie s th e re w as al w ays som e th ing h appe ning"and Be ve rl y w as part of th e l arge r com m unity th at w as de ve l oping. Across th e bay in O ak l and, Be ve rl y e ve n h e l pe d w ith th e "fre e bre ak fasts"put on by th e Bl ack
Panth e rs. Al th ough h e r e nvironm e nt w as progre ssive , sh e stil le ncounte re d racism and a fe e l ing of "not be ing e nough ." D uring h e r ch il dh ood th e re w e re "not m any rol e m ode l s for bl ack girl s"so w h e n Cice l y Tyson or D iah ann Carrol lw e re on Te l e vision, it w as som e th ing of an e ve nt.
Som e th ing is going on. I d on't k now w h at it is, b ut I w ant to b e part of it
At Notre D am e Sch oolfor Girl s, Be ve rl y m e ta l ot of "w ack y nuns"but sh e al so took th e stage for th e first tim e in a production of 12 Angry W om e n. Base d on th e cl assic pl ay 12 Angry M e n al lth e m al e rol e s w e re sim pl y ch ange d into w om e n, so Be ve rl y fondl y note s th at th e h igh sch oolpl ay w as "probabl y ah e ad of it's tim e ."D uring th e first pe rform ance as Juror # 5 h e r "k ne e s sh ook l ik e a ne w born cal f"but sh e cal m ed h e rse l f and fe l lin l ove w ith th e atre . Be ve rl y e njoye d th e "com m unalth ing"of Page 9 - Issue 19 : August 2007
w w w .podcastusermagaz ine.com w ante d to find a ve nue to e xpre ss h e rse l f. It w as th e "pre -com e dy boom "in Ne w York so sh e w oul d find h e rse l f on th e sam e bil lw ith th e l ik e s of Je rry Se infe l d, Larry D avid and R ich ard Be l ze r. It w as a tough care e r path . Be ve rl y says th ose e arl y days w e re "k inda suck y"and sh e h ope s "th e re is no re cord"of th ose first pe rform ance s. O nce again, Be ve rl y starte d and stoppe d doing com e dy until sh e saw th e "off-be at se xy"El ayne Boosl er at Th e Bottom Line . Th e pe rform ance w as so pow e rful , th at Be ve rl y de cide d "I'm going to stick w ith it."Eve ntual l y Be ve rl yl e arne d h ow to w rite and pe rform in h e r ow n voice , al th ough sh e fe l t "h e m m e d in"by th e form at of com e dy. By th e tim e sh e m ove d out to Los Ange l es in 19 89 , Be ve rl y w as al re ady pe rform ing at al te rnative ve nue s l ik e poe try re adings be cause h e r m ate rialw as m ore storyte l l ing base d. Fe e l ing frustrate d, one day in 19 9 6 sh e w as "w h ining"to h e r frie nd Cl ifford Be l lw h o sugge ste d th at sh e put on h e r ow n sh ow and do com e dic storie s. It w as l ik e an e piph any. A w e e k l ate r, al ong w ith fe l l ow com ic El aine Al l ison, Be ve rl y w al k e d into a sm al lNorth H ol l yw ood coffe e h ouse cal l e d Th e Kindne ss of Strange rs. Th e y w al k e d out w ith th e gig and a ne w sh ow th e y cal l ed Anyth ing but stand up. Th e first sh ow s onl y h ad a fe w oth e r pe rform e rs, pul l ing m ostl y from oth e r "disgruntl e d com ics." Eve ntual l y th e sh ow found it's ow n voice and a com m unity of storyte l l e rs w as born.
ph oto courte s y Lance Ande rs on
cre ating a production. Th e w h ol e proce ss, starting w ith th e first re h e arsalin "je ans and a t-sh irt,"to th e buil ding of se ts. Afte r a coupl e of w e e k s "you se e som e th ing e m e rging"and in th at k ind of e nvironm e nt a "com m unity h appe ns in a sh ort pe riod of tim e ."Afte r a coupl e of ye ars in col l e ge , Be ve rl y h e ade d to Ne w York to be com e a se rious actre ss, w ith dre am s of doing Cl assic Gre e k Trage die s. Sh e l ive d th e l ife of th e struggl ing actre ss, first l anding at th e "Y"on W e st 63rd Stre e t. Actors and stude nts from Jul l iard w e re give n a re duce d rate so it w as "a gre at gum bo of struggl ing artists." Be ve rl y's m ain artistic infl ue nce s are al so a "gre at gum bo."From actors Brock Pe te rs and D iana Sands to singe rs D inah W ash ington, Sarah Vaugh an and Annie Le nnox. "I've al w ays l ove d singing... singing is so raw ... you are re al l y butt nak e d up th e re ."Singing is an art form th at h as al w ays e nch ante d Be ve rl y, one sh e h as "stoppe d and starte d for 25 ye ars."
Page 10 - Issue 19 : August 2007
ph oto courte s y Jos e ph Dough e rty
Be ve rl y al so found inspiration from com e dian CarolBurne tt in th e w ay sh e w oul d tal k to th e audie nce w ith out "any artifice ."Th e act of be ing one se l f on stage and tal k ing natural l y h ad a de e p im pact. So Be ve rl y trie d com e dy be cause sh e "w asn't ge tting a l ot of acting"and sh e
Soon th e goalof th e sh ow w as to "e m brace th ose w ith a story to te l lin a
w w w .podcastusermagaz ine.com w el com ing e nvironm e nt"re gardl e ss of w h e th e r or not th e y w e re a pe rform e r. R e gul ar pe opl e fe l t fre e to tak e th e stage and sh are th e storie s of th e ir l ife . Eve ry W e dne sday nigh t, w ith fe w rul e s oth e r th an te l l ing a ne w story e ve ry w e e k and not doing stand up, th e sh ow and th e com m unity gre w as Be ve rl y constantl y e ncourage d oth e rs to "l e t th e ir fre ak fl ag fl y." O ve r th e ye ars th e sh ow h as m ove d to diffe re nt ve nue s and e ve ntual l y ch ange d it's nam e to Story Sal on. Th e group h as al so produce d th e ir ow n CD Th e M ario Se ssions, an annualStoryFe st, a book Th e Story Sal on: Big Book of Storie s and of course th e ir podcast Story Sal on: O N TH E AIR . Se ve raloth e r book s, one pe rson sh ow s and podcasts h ave com e dire ctl y out of Story Sal on. Th is ye ar on O ctobe r 20, 2007 th e group w ith h ost Story Sal on Saturday, an e ve nt to e ncourage pe opl e around th e w orl d to te l lth e ir ow n storie s. ph oto by Je rom e Pe nnington
W ith e ve ryth ing Be ve rl y h as done to prom ote th e ve ry h um an act of storyte l l ing, sh e h e rse l f w as fe e l ing im age s : Story Sal on
cre ative l y "stuck ."For a doze n ye ars sh e buil t a cre ative and supportive e nvironm e nt for oth e rs, but Be ve rl y says sh e "w asn't tak ing ch ance s."Until sh e de cide d to tak e a risk and incl ude singing into h e r storyte l l ing to th e de l igh t of h e r audie nce . Th e supportive com m unity sh e h ad cre ate d, al l ow e d Be ve rl y to final l y tak e h e r ow n advice and l e t h e r "fre ak fl ag fl y." Be ve rl y M ick ins h ttp://w w w .s torys al on.com Lance Ande rson h ttp://ve rge ofth e fringe .com
Cl ick h e re to l iste n to th e inte rvie w
Page 11 - Issue 19 : August 2007
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Mark : My W ords - ADD, oh really? Text by Mark H unter im age courte s y M ark H unte r
TH IS IS SOM ETH ING th at I find to be incre dibl e . Am ong th e podcasting/bl ogging gl obal com m unity th e re are doze ns and doze ns of pe opl e se l f-diagnosing th e m se l ve s as suffe ring from Atte ntion D e ficit D isorde r, or Adul t Atte ntion D e ficit D isorde r. Unl ik e th e diagnosis you’d e xpe ct to re ce ive from a m e dicalpractitione r, th is se l f-diagnosis am ounts to l ittl e m ore th an th e fol l ow ing;
and sm art m obil e ph one s, AD D h as be com e som e th ing th at you ne e d to h ave .
I w onde r if th is se l f-diagnosis is a re sul t of pe e r pre ssure or th e bite -size d inform ation bubbl e we l ive in on th e 'ne t. Can’t re ad al lof your R SS fe e ds w ith out Is it m ore a case of h aving l ots and l ots of be ing distracte d by ch e ck ing out your l it t l e pie ce s of inf orm at ion Fl ick r groups? Ye p, you to consum e e ach day (R SS h ave AD D fe e d subje ct l ine s, Tw e e ts, Face book status, Pow nce Can’t finish ing w riting th at update s) th at cause s our bl og post about your l ate st brains, th rough tim e , to productivity bre ak th rough struggl e w ith m e atie r w ith out be ing distracte d pie ce s of inform ation or by w atch ing an e pisode of task s?And if m uch of our Lost? AD D , I’m afraid day is spe nt producing sm al lpie ce s of inform ation, Struggl e to focus on th at doe s th at e ffe ct th e aw e som e ge e k -fe st se ssion q uantity w e can, in turn, at your l ocalcoffe e sh op consum e ?O r is it m ore to ph oto courte s y PaulH utch ins on (I’ve no ide a w h at a ge e k do w ith th e appare nt tre ndine ss? fe st se ssion is, but I’m sure it e xists) w ith out h aving to punch in a Tw itte r update via your m obil e ph one ? Sorry, but you m ust h ave AD D Finding it h ard to docum e nt your artistic th ough ts into your l ittl e bl ack note book w ith out be ing side track e d by re ading th rough th e l aste st posts at th e “O ut of w ork W e b 1.0 de ve l ope r” forum ? Sure sign of AD D Lik e M ol e sk ine note book s, Appl e com pute rs, D ave Al l e n book s, ch unk yfram e d re ading gl asse s, Tw itte r accounts Page 12 - Issue 19 : August 2007
M y diagnosis, m e be ing as q ual ifie d to m ak e such as anyone e l se , is th at m ost of us are sim pl y consum ing too m uch caffe ine w h il e im bibing our bite -size d inform ation. Al th ough , w h e n al l 's said and done , I’m gue ssing th at th ose w h o actual l y do suffe r from AD D m ust be irk e d at its sudde n tre ndine ss. It re al l y is som e th ing you w oul dn’t w ish on your w orst e ne m y, l e t al one on yourse l f. M ark H unte r h ttp://w w w .tartans torie s .com
w w w .podcastusermagaz ine.com
Th e W orld of S ow erby & Luff Text by S ow erby &
Luff
H ow to K ill an O ctopus w ith a Ch ampagne Cork
ph oto courte s y Sow e rby & Luff
GEORGINA AND BRIAN w e re tw o of th e first British podcaste rs to buil d a trul y cul t fol l ow ing around th e w orl d w ith th e ir Com e d y 365 se rie s Th e Big Sq ue e ze . Th e ir l ate st podcast, Th e Sow e rb y & Luff Sh ow , is h oste d by Libsyn and syndicate d via Fe e dburne r. In th is, th e ir th ird col um n for Podcast Use r M agazine , th e dynam ic duo w onde r w h at first inspire d th e m to start podcasting…
O n 28th Nove m be r 2005 com e dian R ick y Ge rvais appe are d on Ne w s A t Te n , and said h e w as going to start doing som e th ing cal l e d a 'podcast'. Eve ryone got te rribl y e xcite d, but no-one q uite k ne w w h at R ick y w as tal k ing about. A fe w days l ate r, a fre e l ance journal ist from th e H am and H igh te l e ph one d Ge orgina at our fl at in Crouch End. H e said h e ’d h e ard our podcast Th e Big Sq ue e ze on Page 13 - Issue 19 : August 2007
w w w .podcastusermagaz ine.com iTune s, and ask e d if w e ’d got th e ide a from R ick y Ge rvais. W h at w e sh oul d h ave said w as “sod off”, but inste ad, w e pol ite l y e xpl aine d th at w e h ad be e n podcasting since Jul y 2005, and th at it w as M r Ge rvais w h o h ad probabl y got th e ide a from us. O r, at th e ve ry l e ast, podcaste rs l ik e us. Th e journal ist l augh e d, but w e didn’t. W e answ e re d h is inane , podcast-re l ate d q ue stions and th e n q uie tl y put th e ph one dow n. Th is unsch e dul e d conve rsation w ith H e r M aje sty’s Pre ss w oul d ne ve r h ave tak e n pl ace , h ad I not w al k e d into PC W orl d, e igh t sh ort m onth s e arl ie r, and bough t a brand ne w , al l -singing, al l -dancing com pute r. “W h at do w e ne e d a ne w com pute r for?” Ge orgina h ad scre am e d, k now ing m y fondne ss for buying m e rch andise be cause of th e brigh t, attractive pack aging. “For m ul ti-m e dia stuff” I m um bl e d. “W e onl y use it for e m ail s” Ge orgina re torte d. “ You m ay onl y use it for e m ail s” I snappe d, “But I ne e d to stay at th e ve ry cutting e dge of te ch nol ogy”. Ge orgina pick e d at a fre sh l y pe e l e d tin of sardine s and continue d to sne e r at m e as I w re stl e d w ith m onitor cabl e s, printe r softw are , and a w e bcam w h ich fl atl y re fuse d to com e out of its vacuum -se al ed pack aging. Nine h ours, and th re e q uarte rs of a bottl e of Fam ous Grouse l ate r, I w as final l y onl ine . Ge orgina w as in be d by th e n. “H ave you h e ard of th is th ing cal l e d You Tube ?” I ye l l e d out from th e l iving room a coupl e of h ours l ate r. “It’s fantastic! Pe opl e can upl oad vide o to th e inte rne t. It’s l ik e h aving your ow n TVstation!” “Ste p aw ay from th e com pute r” Ge orgina sh oute d. “For God’s sak e , Brian, it’s tw oth irty in th e m orning!”
Page 14 - Issue 19 : August 2007
im age iTune s
But I w as h ook e d. M y tire d, dodde ry ol dl aptop and 56 k bs dial -up conne ction w e re now fore ve r consigne d to th e bin, and I h ad arrive d, h ype rve ntil ating w ith e xcite m e nt, on th e brink of w h at w as soon to be com e k now n as th e e xpl osion of 'Use rGe ne rate d Conte nt'.
Now anyone , anyw h e re , coul d re cord any ol d crap, and upl oad it to th e inte rne t, to b e consum e d b y a h uge w orl d w id e aud ie nce . I final l y craw l e d into be d at about four in th e m orning, w ak ing Ge orgina up w ith one of m y usualfarts, be fore sl iding unde r th e duve t l ik e an ove rfe d w al rus. I tosse d and turne d, and sw e ate d, w h ich is unusualfor m e , be cause I norm al l y sl eep l ik e a baby. “W h at is it?” Ge orgina m um bl e d into h e r pil l ow . I turne d ove r and face d h e r in th e dark ne ss. “Th is is going to sound strange ” I said. ”But I’ve h ad a pre m onition”. “W h at?” “I th ink I m ay h ave be e n put on th is Earth , in orde r to upl oad crap to th e inte rne t!” Ge orgina w as m om e ntaril y intrigue d. “W h at k ind of crap?” sh e ask e d. “O h , I don’t k now … “H ow to k il lan octopus w ith a ch am pagne cork . Th at sort of th ing?” “Good nigh t” said Ge orgina, and sh e w e nt back to sl e e p. About a ye ar l ate r, Ge orgina and I re corde d a podcast cal l ed 'H ow to Kil lan O ctopus w ith a Ch am pagne Cork ', and for al l w e k now R ick y Ge rvais dow nl oade d it onto h is iPod. im age YouTube Th e w orl d w as ne ve r going to be th e sam e again… h ttp://s ow e rbyandl uff.com h ttp://com e dy365.co.uk
w w w .podcastusermagaz ine.com
Th e Edinburgh Festival Fringe
w ith Ew an S pence Text by Judy & Paul H utch inson
ph oto courte s y Pie rs Caw l ey
AS TH E ED INBURGH Fe stivalFringe ge ts unde rw ay, podcaste r Ew an Spe nce w il lbe sh aring it w ith th e w orl d. W e ask e d h im to te l lus w h at it's al labout. TELLUS A BIT ABOUT TH E ED INBURGH FESTIVALFRINGE.
pl ace s l ik e Th e Trave rse Th e atre , th e Fe stivalTh e atre . Som e of th e m are in ve nue s de dicate d to com e dy, for e xam pl e EW AN: Th e Edinburgh Fe stivalFringe Th e Stand Com e dy Cl ub. Th e stude nt starte d th e be st part of fifty or sixty ye ars unions be com e com e dy bars and so on, ago, to be opposite th e Edinburgh but al so pubs put up stage s. Som e body's Fe stival , w ith a coupl e of stude nts w h o pe rform ing M acbe th in a tre e . I be l ie ve cam e up from O xford. At th at point you l ast ye ar w e h ad H am l e t on a bouncy h ad to audition to be castl e . Th e re 's a in th e Edinburgh de l igh tfultw o-pe rson Inte rnationalFe stival . sh ow going on th is Th e y w e nt up be cause ye ar th at's in a room th e y h adn't in a boarding h ouse . I auditione d, th e y didn't th ink th e y are h ave a sh ow , and th e y al l ow e d to h ave a de cide d to ge t just a capacity of five in th e room or a stage audie nce pe r th e m se l ve s, put on a pe rform ance , and th e sh ow al lon th e ir ow n tw o pe rform e rs. It's and cal lit Th e Fringe . going to be a ve ry And th e n th e ne xt cosy room . So, ye ar th e re w e re m ore l ite ral l y, it’s w h e re ve r ph oto courte s y w w w .incre dibl e .org.uk sh ow s, and m ore pe rform e rs can pe rform , pe rform e rs sh ow s, and m ore sh ow s. You now h ave pe rform . th e situation w h e re th e Edinburgh Fe stivalFringe is bigge r th an al lth e oth e r AND W H EN IS TH E FRINGE TAK ING fe stival s th at h appe n at th e sam e tim e , PLACE? and is q uite l ite ral l y th e l arge st arts fe stivalon th e pl ane t. EW AN: Th e Fringe starts on th e th ird of August and finish e s on th e tw e ntyW H ERE IN ED INBURGH D OES TH E se ve nth . So it's pre tty m uch al lof August. FRINGE TAK E PLACE? AND W H OM W OULD YOU SAY TH E EW AN: In Edinburgh , ful lstop. Th e re are FRINGE IS FOR? tw o h undre d and fifty stage s around Edinburgh th is ye ar. Som e of th e m are in EW AN: It l ite ral l y is for e ve rybody. Th e re 's de dicate d ve nue s. Som e of th e m are in com e dy, th e re 's m usic, th e re 's arts, th e re 's Page 15 - Issue 19 : August 2007
w w w .podcastusermagaz ine.com dance rs, th e re 's inte rpre tive m ove m e nts, and th e re 's l e arn h ow to do fl am e nco dancing for five -to-e igh t ye ar ol ds th is ye ar. It re al l y doe s appe alto a h uge range of pe opl e.
AND W H Y D O YOU CONTINUE TO COVER IT?
EW AN: I th ink I am good at it. I h ad th e first sh ow th at got a nom ination for British Acade m y Aw ards in Be st Cre ative W H AT D OES IT COST TO ATTEND TH E M e dia, so I w as doing som e th ing righ t. FRINGE? Last ye ar, in about M arch , I starte d to ge t al oad of e m ail s from EW AN: It de pe nds on pe opl e going...”Are th e sh ow s. Th e re are a you doing it again?” num be r of sh ow s th at And w h e n e m ail s are fre e tick e te d. But from pl ace s l ik e ge ne ral l y th is ye ar w e Al ask a, H aw aii, are l ook ing at a price Austral ia are saying, of about e igh t pounds ”I w ant to be at Th e a tick e t, I w oul d say. Fringe , I can't be , I O bviousl y th e re are ne e d you to go for som e th at are l ow e r m e ”, th e re 's and th e re are som e ce rtainl y an th at are h igh e r. audie nce de m and. Pe rform e rs are ph oto courte s y Jungl e boy AND H OW D OES com ing back ye ar ONE GET TICK ETS FOR TH E EVENTS? afte r ye ar, so w e are buil ding up re l ationsh ips. And th e re 's a h uge am ount EW AN: You turn up on th e door. O r you of undiscove re d tal e nt. You're se e ing can book on l ine at e dfringe .com . O r you pe rform e rs norm al l y doing one discipl ine can go al ong to any of th e tick e t booth s doing anoth e r one , be cause it's Th e th at are in Edinburgh th rough out th e day. Fringe , and you w ant to se e if th e y can. It Th e re 's a gre at big stand up on top of th e se e m s w rong not to docum e nt it, just to train station, w ith an e l e ctronic tick e t sh ow h ow w onde rful , e xciting, vibrant, booth . You just te l lit w h at sh ow you w ant w ack y, crazy it can be . and it prints out th e tick e t. W H AT IS YOUR TARGET AUD IENCE W H AT PROM PTED FOR TH E YOU TO COVER TH E POD CAST? FRINGE? EW AN: Th e re are EW AN: Th e first one tw o goal s. If you are w as back in 2005. I'd at Th e Fringe , it's l ik e just m ove d back to h aving a back stage Edinburgh from pass. And if you're London. Th e Fringe not at th e Fringe it's ph oto courte s y w w w .th e e dinburgh bl og.co.uk w as th e re , and I w e nt, going to m ak e you “Ye ah , l e t's do it!” It got m e out th e je al ous as anyth ing. And if I can ge t th ose h ouse as w e l l . Th e re w as al so th e fact tw o goal s out, I k now I've got a good th at it h adn’t be e n done be fore . And, part sh ow . of it w as th e ch al l e nge . I th ink th e big part w as, can one m an tak e an e ve nt as W H AT SORT OF PERFORM ANCES l arge as th at, cove r it, re port it, pre se nt it, D OES YOUR POD CAST COVER? be e nte rtaining about it, to m ak e pe opl e w ant to l iste n to a sh ow about it? EW AN: If you com e up to Edinburgh and Page 16 - Issue 19 : August 2007
w w w .podcastusermagaz ine.com you pe rform , you're in Th e Fringe . If you D O YOU EVER INCLUD E ANY ACTUAL w ant to pay to ge t in th e program m e , PERFORM ANCES AS PART OF YOUR you're in th e program m e . Th e re l ite ral l y SH OW ? are no l im its. Th e re are sh ow s th at can EW AN: I don't go in m ove you to th e core . and re cord th e Th e re are sh ow s th at sh ow s. For a l ot of w il lh ave you th e se artists and l augh ing your sock s pe rform e rs, th is is off. And th e re 's just th e ir bre ad and e ve ryth ing be tw e e n butte r, so w e ge t th ose tw o contrasts. th e m into th e studio. Last ye ar, to tak e tw o O ne of th e inte rvie w s or th re e e xam pl e s, w e 're going to h ave th e re w as a sh ow q uite e arl y in th e ph oto courte s y w w w .th e e dinburgh bl og.co.uk about th e Bl ack Edinburgh Fringe W atch , one of th e Scottish Arm y units, Sh ow th is ye ar, 2007, is Im prove ra, w h ich and th e y did it in a car park . It w as about is im provise d ope ra. W h e n th e y're ge tting th is troop going out to Iraq . You coul d th e m icroph one s put in front of th e m , w al k out of th e re , and dow n to th e grass th e y're giving m e som e th ing. W e 'l ldo a m ark e t and th e re 's som e body doing a pe rform ance th e re . In th e se nse of going stand up sh ow th at th e y've ne ve r done out and ge tting bootl e gs, no. In th e se nse be fore . Th e y've onl y be e n doing stand up of h aving th e m th e re and sh ow ing th e for th re e or four w e e k s, and th e y're l iste ne rs w h at th e y can do, ye s. rock ing th e pl ace . Th e n you go up and find som e of th e l um inarie s of th e UK W H AT D O YOU H OPE TO ACH IEVE BY com e dy sce ne , l ik e Arth ur Sm ith , w h o COVERING TH E EVENT? w il ljust tak e you on a pub craw laround Edinburgh and al lth e pl ace s w h e re h e 's EW AN: W orl d pe ace . done th ings w ith oth e r com e dy acts. And you w oul d finish w ith a nigh ttim e GOOD LUCK W ITH TH AT. pe rform ance of Ch e k h ov. H ow w oul d you not w ant to ge t th at into a sh ow and te l l EW AN: Eve rybody stops and e ve rybody pe opl e ...l ook at som e of th e stuff you can l iste ns, th e n nobody's going to figh t. And do h e re ! if th e y can do th at e ve ry day, th e n w e D O YOU INCLUD E h ave w orl d pe ace .. INTERVIEW S W ITH It's al m ost l ik e w e 've PERFORM ERS? got th is l ittl e tre asure h e re in Edinburgh . EW AN: Ye s. Th e sh ow And, ye s, pe opl e can itse l f is e asil y com e up to de scribe d as be ing Edinburgh and se e it, l ik e th e Tonigh t Sh ow , but to actual l y put but it's on audio onl y, th at on displ ay for and it's not in th e th e e ntire w orl d, I ph ot o court e s y L iz Sm it h e ve ning, and it's w ith find incre dibl e . I find m e and not Joh nny Carson. Th e re 's th e it incre dibl e you can tak e th e Inte rne t and dail y ne w s, w h at's going on, w h ich sh ow s sim pl yl e ve rage al lth e cul ture th at w e are h ot or not. W e ge t som e of th e h ave h e re , th at norm al l y w oul d stay in pe rform e rs in. W e ge t back stage pe opl e, Edinburgh . It's just ge tting bl aste d out al l dire ctors, prom ote rs, ve nue m anage rs, around th e w orl d. Th e BBC m ay be doing and th e Fringe dire ctors th e m se l ve s. som e th ing on th e radio or stuff on th e Page 17 - Issue 19 : August 2007
w w w .podcastusermagaz ine.com te l e vision, and th e re m ay be w ritte n re vie w s on w e b site s, but noth ing actual l y ge ts in, doe s th at dail y varie ty tal k and ch at sh ow and says to e ve rybody “Th is is Edinburgh , com e and sm il e .” I l ik e th at sl ogan I'm going to k e e p it. D O YOU EVER GET A CH ANCE TO JUST ATTEND A SH OW ?
ph oto courte s y w w w .th e e dinburgh bl og.co.uk
W H EN W ILLYOU BE POD CASTING EW AN: I te nd to se e m aybe th re e or four AND W H EN W ILLYOU BE PUTTING sh ow s a day. I com e out and do a re vie w OUT YOUR SH OW S? on it, and e ve rybody com e s out w ith an opinion. So it's ve ry h ard to se e just a EW AN: Sh ow s go out dail y e ve ry sh ow . I go to a sh ow , and part of m e h as m orning, M onday th rough Saturday th e produce r’s h e ad, th ink ing, “W oul d th rough out th e e ntire Fringe . W e w il l th e y be good?W h at w oul d I ask th e m ?” h ave som e Sunday spe cialsh ow s as w e l l , Part of m e h as th e re vie w e r’s h e ad w h ich w il lbe sl igh tl y diffe re nt. th ink ing, “W h y did th e y do th at?” Part of AND W H ERE CAN m e th ink s, “Th is is PEOPLE FIND YOUR absol ute l y fantastic! POD CAST? W h o w oul d e ve r h ave th ough t of doing EW AN: O n th e Tol stoy in a inte rw e bby-th ing, at subm arine ?” Going e dinburgh fringe .th e p out, l ook ing around, odcastne tw ork .com . and re al ising th at I'm Th e y'l lal so be abl e to sitting ne xt to H arry find us at Sh e are r, w h ich th e stage .co.uk , w h o ph oto courte s y Sh annon M cCl e an h appe ne d to m e l ast w e continue to coye ar, w atch ing Ste ph e n K. Am os. Th e produce th e sh ow w ith . And I w il lal so be sh ow finish e d and h e w as gone , w h ich partne ring up th is ye ar w ith w as a sh am e . Th e pe rform e rs are so cl ose broadw aybaby.com , and th e y'l lal so be to th e audie nce , w h e n th e sh ow 's finish e d abl e to find it th e re . e ve rybody goe s out th e sam e door, and e ve rybody goe s to th e sam e bar. Th e re 's IS TH ERE ANYTH ING ELSE YOU'D LIK E no such th ing as going and w atch ing and TO AD D ? just going h om e again. I don't th ink anybody doe s th at or coul d do it. O r if EW AN: It doe s l ook l ik e I'l lbe doing one th e y are , th e y're just not e xpe rie ncing it of th e sh ow s from Finl and. I h ave to go ful l y. ph oto courte s y Gary H e nde rs on visit H e l sink i for a w e e k e nd. So I suspe ct one of th e Sunday sh ow s w il lbe com ing l ive to you from th e stre e ts of th e Finl and capital . If you can ge t M acbe th up a tre e , I don't se e w h y I can't do an Edinburgh Fringe sh ow from H e l sink i. Ew an Spe nce h ttp://e dinburgh fringe .th e podcas tne tw ork .com / Judy & PaulH utch inson h ttp://w w w .Total PodCas troph e .com Cl ick h e re to h e ar th e inte rvie w Page 18 - Issue 19 : August 2007
w w w .podcastusermagaz ine.com
Life's Journal Text by Colin Meeks LIFE IS H ECTIC at th e be st of tim e s. Be fore you k now it, th e days h ave turne d to m onth s and th e m onth s to ye ars. It's e asy to forge t al lth e th ings th at h appe n in th at tim e . I first starte d m y ow n bl og in Fe bruary of 2004 - not a pione e r bl ogge r by any m e ans, but I k ne w I w ante d to re cord m y th ough ts and ne arl y tw o and a h al f ye ars l ate r, it's turne d into q uite a body of w riting. I'm pre tty grounde d and not de l ude d to th ink m y w riting is Book e r Prize m ate rial , but it's a pe rsonall ook into m y l ife , in m y ow n w ords, and if I w e re to pop m y cl ogs tom orrow , it w oul d at l e ast provide a sm al linsigh t into w h at m ade m e tick . Fast forw ard to today, and th e podcasting re vol ution is in ful lsw ing. Sudde nl y anyone w ith a m icroph one and com pute r can say w h ate ve r th e y w ant, on w h ate ve r subje ct th e y de sire , and som e w h e re , som e one w ants to l iste n;th at's th e th e ory, anyw ay. To m any, podcasting be cam e an e xte nsion of th e ir bl ogging. M any oth e rs, l ik e m yse l f, saw podcasting as a w ay to try som e th ing th e y oth e rw ise w oul dn't h ave dre am t of. I've ne ve r be e n th e be st of publ ic spe ak e rs. In fact I stil lsuffe r from te rribl e sh yne ss to th is day. Put m e in a room ful lof pe opl e I don't k now and I'm th e one trying to bl e nd into th e w al l pape r. I do h ave to adm it, h ow e ve r, I did al w ays fancy m yse l f as a D J, l ik e th e BBC D Js Ste ve W righ t and Jonath on R oss, inane ram bl ings w ith a sm atte ring of m usic. Lik e e ve ryth ing, th e m ore you do it, th e be tte r you ge t. I've got 66 sh ow s be h ind m e , e ach around 35 m inute s l ong;th at's ove r 36 h ours. W h e n I l iste n to th e first sh ow , I cringe l ik e you w oul dn't be l ie ve . Unl ik e som e podcaste rs, h ow e ve r, I don't w ant to re m ove th e e arl y podcasts and bury th e m in th e vaul t. I l ove th e fact th at pe opl e can se e m y podcast de ve l op. I stil l "um "and "e rr", but som e th ing I re al ise d fairl y e arl y on w as th at I say th e se th ings in e ve ryday conve rsation. I'd spe nt m any
h ours trying to e l im inate th e se vocal annoyance s but re al ise d it's be tte r to l et som e th ings w ork th e m se l ve s out. "Um s" and "e rrs"are just your brain's w ay of fil l ing in w h il e it col l e cts itse l f and form s th e ne xt part of your conve rsation. Th e m ore you podcast, th e m ore at e ase you'l l ge t be h ind th e m icroph one , w h ich in turn m e ans th ose nasty l ittl e annoyance s w il l e ve ntual l y fade from your patte r;w e l l , m ost of th e m , anyw ay. I th ink it's unre al istic to e l im inate th e m al l . You just w ant to ge t to som e th ing you conside r th e naturalyou. I ne ve r re al l y conside re d th e Indie Launch pad podcast to be a journalof m y l ife , th at is untilI starte d re ce iving e m ail s from l iste ne rs th ank ing m e not onl y for th e m usic I pl ay but al so for sh aring a l ittl e sl ice of m y l ife , or w h at I oth e rw ise conside re d to be ram bl ings. It's h ard to re cord a podcast w ith out re ve al ing a l ittl e som e th ing about yourse l f, be it your ge ne raltrial s and tribul ations, or brie f com m e nts h e re and th e re on h ow your w e e k h as gone . It w as onl y w h e n I starte d to re ce ive th ose e m ail s th at I starte d to re al ise just h ow m uch about m yse l f I'd put into al lth e podcasts I'd done . O nl y once I'd conside re d th at, did I re al ise th at m y k ids w oul d now h ave som e th ing q uite spe cialto tre asure afte r I'm gone . Th is h as Page 19 - Issue 19 : August 2007
w w w .podcastusermagaz ine.com al so m ade m e th ink about trying to ge t som e audio of m y fam il y and frie nds. I can re m e m be r vividl y m y Nan te l l ing m e story afte r story, h ow e ve r th e spe cifics of th e se storie s is now l ost fore ve r. Sh e passe d aw ay in 19 9 0, I th ink it w as. I re al l y w ish I'd h ave h ad today's te ch nol ogy th e n, to be abl e to docum e nt h e r storie s and h ave som e th ing to re m e m be r h e r by and inde e d to pass on to m y ch il dre n. Ye s, I coul d h ave use d re gul ar tape s, but I w asn't th ink ing al ong th ose l ine s back th e n. Eve n back th e n I can re m e m be r h aving tons of tape s stre w n about in draw e rs, it w as ne ve r th e be st of te ch nol ogie s, and don't ge t m e onto th e subje ct of m angl e d tape s. So w h e re w as I?Ah ye s, m y l e gacy. Now th at doe s sound pre te ntious, doe sn't it? But stil l , it is som e th ing th at w il l , I h ope , be around l ong afte r I'm gone . H ow e ve r, provisions do ne e d to be m ade . M any podcaste rs use Podsh ow or th e Libsyn se rvice to prote ct th e m se l ve s from possibl e l arge bandw idth costs. If you do th is, m ak e sure th is is not th e sol e copy of your sh ow . Inde e d, you sh oul d e nsure th at you back up e ach sh ow in its e ntire ty. For e ach Indie Launch pad sh ow , th e proje ct fol de r is probabl y around 150 M B. Th is incl ude s th e finalM P3 of th e sh ow , al lof th e uncom pre sse d w ave fil es for m y bum pe rs and sw e e pe rs and th e uncom pre sse d re cordings of m y w itte rings. It is im portant to k e e p th e uncom pre sse d re cordings of your sh ow , be cause if you l ate r w ant to re use el e m e nts of it to cre ate bum pe rs and sw e e pe rs, you'l le nd up w ith m uch be tte r q ual ity, rath e r th an re -com pre ssing an al re ady com pre sse d fil e . Back ing up to CD or D VD is gre at, but w ith anyth ing you back up, you sh oul d al w ays m ak e a provision to h ave som e k ind of off-site back up;th at is, h aving copie s of your back ups at anoth e r l ocation, e ve n if it's at your pare nts' or Granny's h ouse .
Col in M e e k s h ttp://w w w .ne w m e dial aunch pad.com Page 20 - Issue 19 : August 2007
King of th e Boys Storyte l l ing by Lance Ande rson
h ttp://ve rge ofth e fringe .com
Pe rform ance poe try from around th e w orl d brough t to you by Sim on Toon h ttp://w w w .s l am idol podcas t.com
A w eekl y sh ow bringing you th re e e xce l l e nt podsafe track s, h oste d by Grant M ason from Le ith , Edinburgh h ttp://w w w .th re e from l e ith .com /
D on’t just se e th e m e dia, be th e m e dia! H ost Joh n Buck l ey
h ttp://citiz e ns coop.co.uk
From th e h ick orysm ok e d h e artl and of th e R e d D irt State , NPR m e e ts R ock 'n' R ol l ... Sort O f! PodSafe m usic, H istoricalAudio, and l ots of O PINIO N! h ttp://w w w .s k innyw h ite boy.k as tpod.org/
Sow e rby & Luff th e re is a pl ace w h e re dre am s l ive ...
h ttp://w w w .s ow e rbyandl uff.com /
w w w .podcastusermagaz ine.com
Inside Th e Podcasters' S tudio
Kevin Cummings
In an e ffort to b e tte r k now our col l e ague s, w e are tak ing a l ook 'Insid e th e Pod caste rs’ Stud io'.W e w ant to k now w h at m ak e s pod caste rs d o w h at th e y d o, w h at m otivate s th e m , and w h e re th e y se e th e ir pod cast going in th e future .
Text by Paul and Judy H utch inson
ph oto courte s y K e vin Cum m ings
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Ke vin is th e h ost of Sh ort Cum m ings A ud io, a w e e k l y pod cast of h um ourous aud io e ssays consisting of q uick -w itte d w ord pl ay and w ry ob se rvations on l ife .Th e sh ow b e gan in m id June of 2006. Le t us b e gin w ith a b rie f se l f-introd uction... K EVIN: I'm a forty-tw o ye ar ol d h usband and fath e r of tw o te e nage sons. I've l ive d in north e rn Utah for m ost of th e past th irty ye ars, but th at's just to m ak e up for al lth e m oving I did as a ch il d. M y fath e r se rve d in th e U.S. Air Force and w e m ove d about once a ye ar untilI w as a junior in h igh sch ool . In th at tim e I l ive d al love r th e w e ste rn U.S. and spe nt four m e m orabl e ye ars in th e U.K. By trade , I'm an adm inistrator at a te ch nicalcol l e ge . I starte d th e re e igh te e n ye ars ago as a com pute r instructor and I'm stil lve ry m uch a ge e k at h e art. im age courte s y K e vin Cum m ings
W H EN, AND H OW , D ID YOU FIRST H EAR ABOUT POD CASTING? K EVIN: Ironical l y, it w as in th e traditionalm e dia. O ne of th e l ocaltal k radio stations (w w w .k sl .com ) h ad starte d to re l e ase its sh ow s as podcasts. O ne of th ose w as a w e e k l y m ovie re vie w sh ow . Th e form at w as a pane ldiscussion w ith a m ovie critic, a vide o store m anage r and a tal k sh ow h ost. I'd al w ays found th e sh ow e ngaging, but it aire d on Fridays w h il e I w as at w ork . For a w h il e , I actual l y use d a pie ce of tim e d re cording softw are to capture th e ir audio stre am (sort of D IY podcasting), but th at w as te dious. Eve ntual l y I gave up. W h e n I h e ard th e y w e re m ak ing th e e pisode s avail abl e for dow nl oad, I w as inte re ste d again. I h ad no re al unde rstanding of h ow to use an R SS fe e d, but k now ing th at sh ow w as out th e re w as e nough to m otivate m e to inve stigate furth e r. W H AT W AS TH E FIRST POD CAST YOU SUBSCRIBED TO, AND W H Y? K EVIN: Th e ve ry first w as th e KSLM ovie
Sh ow . Th at got m e to w onde ring about oth e r podcasts, th ough , so I starte d se arch ing. Som e h ow I ran across Th e Cath ol ic Inside r and th at re al l y caugh t m y atte ntion. Re l igion is a big de alin north e rn Utah –pe opl e are pre tty ope n about w h at th e y be l ie ve and you can't l ive h e re l ong w ith out be ing ask e d about your faith . You can som e tim e s fe e la l ittl e isol ate d if you're not M orm on, so it w as nice to be abl e to conne ct w ith oth e r Cath ol ics th rough Fr. R ode rick 's sh ow . Afte r th at I w as h ook e d. I got m y first m p3 pl aye r and starte d using Juice to dow nl oad sh ow s. Th e m ore I l iste ne d, th e m ore I w ante d to l iste n. Earl y on I found th e audio dram a-styl e podcasts and fe l lin l ove w ith th e w ork of th e fol k s at D e code r R ing Th e atre . I've al w ays be e n a fan of audio dram a –I can re m e m be r l ying in be d as a k id l iste ning to CBS R adio M yste ry Th e atre and w h e n I found O l d Tim e R adio on th e Inte rne t, I col l e cte d as m uch as I coul d. D e code r R ing Th e atre is a pe rfe ct re -cre ation of th e gol de n age of radio.
A s of Jul y 7th 2007 Ke vin h ad re l e ase d 56 Sh ort Cum m ings A ud io pod casts. Page 22 - Issue 19 : August 2007
w w w .podcastusermagaz ine.com W H AT D O YOU LOOK FOR IN A POD CAST?
W H AT D ROVE YOU, PERSONALLY, TO BECOM E A POD CASTER YOURSELF?
K EVIN: I w ant to be e nte rtaine d, but I K EVIN: A com pl e te m isunde rstanding of al so w ant to fe e ll ik e som e th ough t w e nt th e fie l d. R e al l y. into th e sh ow . W h e n I l iste n, im age courte s y K e vin Cum m ings I'm ch oosing to give som e of I took som e l e ssons in voice m y tim e to th e podcaste r and acting from Scott Sh urian I w ant to fe e ll ik e th e y (w w w .voscott.com ) and re spe ct th at inve stm e nt. Th e th ough t I'd l ik e to tak e a stab conte nt of th e sh ow sh oul d at ge tting invol ve d in th e be w e l lth ough t-out and busine ss. M y w ork sch e dul e de l ive re d w ith a l ittl e w asn't re al l y com patibl e w ith profe ssional ism . I re al l yl ik e a buil ding a care e r in voice sh ow if it ch al l e nge s m e to acting, so I th ough t I coul d th ink in som e w ay...if it give s strik e out on m y ow n. m e ne w inform ation, or som e Podcasting se e m e d to be a tidbit of ne w s th at I'd m isse d, good pl ace to start. I figure d I or stays w ith m e afte r th e coul d se t-up a w e bsite , put out a podcast e pisode is ove r. as a sort of cal l ing card, and th e n offe r to re cord sh ort snippe ts for podcaste rs at I al so l ik e a sh ow w ith at l e ast a se m il ow price s. re gul ar production sch e dul e . I don't w ant to conne ct w ith a sh ow and th e n h ave it I did e nough re se arch to find out th at fade or com e and go irre gul arl y. th e re w e re a fe w pe opl e doing th at. W H AT PUTS YOU OFF A POD CAST? K EVIN: Anyth ing th at se e m s poorl y conce ive d, pointl e ss, or too e goce ntric. It's a pe rsonalm e dium , of course , so a l ot of us tal k about ourse l ve s. Th at's ok ay if you m ak e it inte re sting and re l e vant. I ne e d m ore th an just som e body narrating h is day if I'm going to care . Is th e re a point to th e story or is it just a w ay to fil l th e tim e ? I'm al so not k e e n on passionl e ss podcasting. I w ant to l iste n to som e one w h o is re al l y e xcite d about th e ir topic, som e one w h o care s.
W h at I didn't re al ize is th at a l ot of podcaste rs are doing voice w ork for e ach oth e r for fre e . Th e onl y w ay to ch arge is if you are re al l y, re al l y good, and I'm not. By th e tim e I re al ize d th is, I'd al re ady w ritte n th e e ssays for m y first te n or so podcasts and I'd re corde d th e first th re e . It se e m e d a sh am e to go th at far and not start re l e asing th e e pisode s so I took th e l e ap and se t-up a Libsyn account.
I w ant to l iste n to som e one w h o is re al l y e xcite d ab out th e ir topic, som e one w h o care s
I can tol e rate poor q ual ity audio, but I w on't tol e rate poor q ual ity conte nt. Th e re are too m any re al l y good podcasts, so I don't fe e lcom pe l l e d to l iste n to th e bad one s.
W H AT M OTIVATES YOU, CURRENTLY, TO CONTINUE POD CASTING?
K EVIN: I'm finding th e discipl ine of it to be good for m e as a w rite r. Back in th e l ate 80s I h ad a w e e k l y h um or col um n in a l ocal pape r. Th e w e e k l y de adl ine s k e pt m e on track and w riting. W h e n I'm not w ork ing unde r a de adl ine , I don't w rite as consiste ntl y. Th e podcast provide s th e sam e m otivation. Page 23 - Issue 19 : August 2007
w w w .podcastusermagaz ine.com Eve ry w e e k I w rite a ne w 1,000 w ord e ssay. I carry a note book e ve ryw h e re I go and w h e n a good ide a occurs, I w rite it dow n as com pl e te l y as possibl e . O nce I ge t to a com pute r, I use Googl e docum e nts as a pe rm ane nt storage pl ace for m y “ide a fil e ”. Eve ry w e e k e nd I sit dow n and pick one of th e topics and start w riting. If I'm fe e l ing re al l y cre ative or h ave som e e xtra tim e , I m igh t w rite an e xtra col um n just to k e e p ah e ad.
do try not to l e ave th e h ouse unl e ss I h ave e nough podcasts to k e e p m e e nte rtaine d on th e road. I rare l yl iste n to th e radio anym ore . Eve n th e sh ow s th at I use d to l iste n to on NPR are podcasts now and so I can controlw h e n I h e ar th e m , w h ich sum s up m y attitude tow ard "ol d" m e dia. If I can't controlit, I'm not th at inte re ste d. I've e ve n starte d to w ait for TVse rie s to com e out on D VD be cause I can w atch th e m on m y sch e dul e . It's not e xactl y podcasting, but it give s m e th at sam e l e ve lof control .
If I can't controlit, I'm not th at inte re ste d
I al so re cord a ne w e pisode e ve ry w e e k e nd. Th e n I post it to Libsyn w ith a re l e ase date about th re e w e e k s in th e future . Th at w ay e ve ry e pisode is re l e ase d on a fixe d sch e dul e. Th e n I w atch th e num be rs –w h ich is anoth e r m otivator. I'm a Libsyn stats junk ie and I h ave a Googl e Anal ytics account. I ch e ck both e ve ry day to se e h ow m y sh ow s and m y w e bsite are doing. Th e big m otivator, th ough , is th e pe opl e th at I've m e t. Th e crow d ove r at th e PodcastPick l e forum s is aw e som e . Too m any to nam e , re al l y. It's a gre at pl ace for hel p, inform ation, inspiration, or just a ch ance to conne ct w ith oth e r podcaste rs.
H OW H AVE POD CASTS CH ANGED YOUR LIFE IN A M ORE GENERAL SENSE? K EVIN: I jok e th at I h ave l e ss fre e tim e . It tak e s be tw e e n four and six h ours to script, pol ish , re cord and produce e ach six-m inute e pisode . Som e pe opl e paint or fish or gol f, I podcast.
O n a m ore se rious note , I'm probabl yl e ss up-to-date on th e ne w s th an I use d to be . Th e ne w spape r and Googl e ne w s are now m y prim ary source s for th at k ind of inform ation. O n th e oth e r h and, podcasts are so w onde rful l y idiosyncratic th at I'm H OW H AVE POD CASTS CH ANGED ge tting m ore inte re sting storie s. In YOUR ATTITUD E particul ar I e njoy th e TOW ARD , AND orie s th at crop up on th e Th e re 's a sh ow for st CONSUM PTION OF, Ecl e ctic R e vie w –odd and TRAD ITIONALM ED IA? e ve ryb od y.You just off-be atscie nce storie s th at I w oul dl ik e l y m iss h ave to find th e K EVIN: I l iste n to a l ot l e ss oth e rw ise . radio now th at I did be fore sh ow or sh ow s th at W H AT, IN RELATION TO and I find m yse l f pl anning m y driving route around th e POD CASTING, GIVES appe alto you sh ow s I've dow nl oade d. YOU TH E M OST H OPE? (H m m m m ....one D ail y Bre ak fast, th e ne w Ecl e ctic R e vie w , a ne w K EVIN: Th e range of individual Gram m ar Girl , and KidsW ife W ork Life ... e xpre ssion. You k now h ow th e y say Th e fre e w ay is usual l y bum pe r-to-bum pe r "th e re 's som e body for e ve rybody"?I th ink at th is h our of th e m orning ... th at'l lgive th e sam e th ing is true of podcasting. m e th e tim e to ge t th rough al lof th is.) Th e re 's a sh ow for e ve rybody. You just h ave to find th e sh ow or sh ow s th at Wel l , m aybe it's not q uite l ik e th at, but I appe alto you. Page 24 - Issue 19 : August 2007
w w w .podcastusermagaz ine.com Th e re albe auty of it is th at m ost of th e be st sh ow s are th ings th at w oul dn't be produce d by traditionalm e dia. M ignon Fogarty's Gram m ar Girlis a pe rfe ct e xam pl e . W h o'd h ave gue sse d th at a sh ort sh ow about th e rul e s of gram m ar w oul d m ak e it onto th e front page of iTune s and e ve ntual l y ge t th e h ost a gue st spot on O prah ? So l ong as you h ave good pe opl e l ik e th at putting out good conte nt (and th e re are doze ns of oth e r e xam pl e s I coul d h ave ch ose n), podcasting w il lattract a bigge r audie nce . W H AT D O YOU SEE IN TH E FUTURE FOR YOU, AND YOUR POD CAST? K EVIN: Th e first annive rsary of m y sh ow w as th is past June . In al lth at tim e , I've w ritte n an e ssay a w e e k . At 1,000 w ords e ach , th at’s e nough conte nt for a de ce ntsize d book . If I can attract a l arge e nough audie nce , I’d l ik e to sh op th e book around to publ ish e rs. In th e traditionalprint m ark e t, it's pre tty tough to bre ak in as an e ssayist. Sh ort Cum m ings Audio is m y "ne w m e dia" approach to crack ing th e m ark e t. If th at doe sn't h appe n, I've stil lgot th e e xpe rie nce of podcasting and th e be ne fits of w riting on a sch e dul e. At th e sam e tim e , Print-on-D e m and is ge tting m ore and m ore popul ar. Th e q ual ity of production is ve ry good and th e notion of se l f-publ ish ing is sl ow l y gaining acce ptance . If I can’t attract a “traditional ” publ ish e r, I’d ce rtainl y conside r w ork ing w ith a PO D pre ss l ik e Lul u.com . Afte r al l , I starte d th is as a ne w m e dia ve nture . W h y not go w h ol e h og? It al lde pe nds on h ow w e l lI conne ct w ith an audie nce . Ke vin Cum m ings - Sh ort Cum m ings Audio h ttp://w w w .s h ortcum m ings audio.com / Judy and PaulH utch inson - TotalPodCastroph e h ttp://w w w .Total PodCas troph e .com
ph oto courte s y K e vin Cum m ings
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U rban Coffee Text by Mark H unter
ph oto courte s y Urban Coffe e
POD CAST ALLEY'S TOP 10 h as, virtual l y since podcasting be gan, be e n th e pl ace to be se e n. And w h il e it m ay h ave be e n e cl ipse d by iTune s in te rm s of th e top pl ace pe opl e l ook to find podcasts, it stil lh as a ce rtain cach e am ong us ol d sch oolpodcaste rs.
Beginnings Th at's w h e re I first notice d Urban Coffe e . In a rush to find som e ne w conte nt to fil l m y m p3 pl aye r, I pok e d around th e Top 10 ch art but w asn't k e e n on th e H arry Potte r-ce ntric 'casts and w as al re ady subscribe d to Ne w York and Tam pa Bays' m ost outrage ous. Urban Coffe e , at th at tim e sitting at num be r 9 , caugh t m y e ye . I'm not sure w h y. M aybe it w as th e coffe e th at dre w m y atte ntion. W h o k now s?But ove r a ye ar l ate r I re m ain subscribe d, and for m e th at's ofte n th e l itm us te st of any podcast;th e l e ngth of tim e it re m ains on your subscription l ist. D e ciding to abuse m y position as Exe cutive Editor of PUM , I contacte d th e h osts, D ave and Se th , l ik e any oth e r fan boy, and ask e d th e m for an inte rvie w . H appy to obl ige , th e y sat dow n w ith m e and ove r a coffe e (w h ite , no sugar, nonUrban) w e tal k e d about th e ir succe ssful podcast.
"It's just be com ing m ore and m ore corporate ,"D ave opine s on iTune s podcast page , "Th e re 's no rh ym e or re ason for anyth ing m ak ing it onto th e front page ."D ave 's in h is 20s, re ce ntl y m arrie d, l ive s and w ork s in D al l as as, ow ning a vide o production com pany. H e use s th e 30 w e e k s or so a ye ar spe nt on th e road surfing th e 'ne t in h ote lroom s w h e n not w ork ing. Th at's w h e re h e com e s up w ith ide as for Urban Coffe e . H e continue s, "th at's w h y Podcast Al l ey be cam e im portant. I be l ie ve it's stil l w h e re m ost pe opl e go to pick up ne w podcasts. Th e re 's m ore com pe tition th e re too. It use d to be you onl y ne e de d about 30 vote s to m ak e it to th e top te n. Now you're constantl y push ing your l iste ne rs to vote . It m ak e s th e m do a bit of w ork on your be h al f."H e sm il e s, "I re m e m be r w h e re I w as w h e n I l e arne d w e 'd brok e n into th e top te n. I w as in London w aiting Page 27 - Issue 19 : August 2007
w w w .podcastusermagaz ine.com for a fl igh t to Ital y. It h ad a big im pact on our l iste ne r num be rs;w e gaine d about 500 l iste ne rs in th e first fe w days be ing in th e top te n." O f th e tw o, D ave fits your cl assic podcaste r profil e . Se th e xpl ains, "I m e t D ave in th e sum m e r of 2000 w h e n I m ove d to D al l as. Th e first th ing I notice d about D ave w as h is abil ity to w ork ove r a PC l ik e an instructor at a m assage th e rapy sch ool . If m y m e m ory se rve s m e righ t th e party w e w e re at w h e n w e m e t h ad a TV in th e l iving room w ith an anim ate d BBQ gril lth at h ad sm ok e bil l ow ing out of it. It sim pl y said "Ge t Your Gril lO n 2000". O ve r a fe w be e rs h e e xpl aine d h ow h e m ade it w ork and th at sum m e r h e sh ot m y first m usic vide o, w e pl aye d w ay too m any vide o gam e s and drank l ik e fish ."And frie nds th e y be cam e . W h il e Se th m ay not h ave th e com pute r and vide o ge e k cre de ntial s th at D ave h as, h e doe s h ave a day job suite d to podcasting. "I w ork as a R e cording Engine e r in a studio in D al l as. I re cord e ve ryth ing from l ocalartists to m ajor l abe lacts. I al so w ork w e e k e nds as a l ive sound e ngine e r."
Diggnation W h e n podcasting be cam e k now n to D ave it w as naturalth at h e and Se th start th e ir ow n sh ow as both h ave audio production e xpe rie nce and th e ubiq uitous som e th ing to say. D ave h ad h e ard th e w ord podcast, but gave it no th ough t untilone day h e w as Googl ing Ke vin R ose to find out if h e w as stil ldoing Te ch TV. Inste ad, h e found out about R ose 's podcast D iggnation. "I starte d l iste ning to th e podcast and it w asn't l ong afte r th at Appl e adde d podcasts to iTune s. I w as h ook e d." Se th 's e xposure to podcasting cam e via D ave . "I w al k e d into h is apartm e nt one afte rnoon and w as bom barde d w ith an assortm e nt of w ords I h ad no cl ue as th e ir m e aning. 'Podcast', 'R SS', 'Forum s'. I w asn't com pute r savvy back th e n, I didn't e ve n ow n one - w h e re I com e from cow s Page 28 - Issue 19 : August 2007
H ow Th ey Do It And W ith W h at
Urban Coffe e is re core d using Se nnh e ise r 421 m ics for th e h osts and S M58s for gue sts. Each h ost h as a 17" Macb ook Pro th at th e y use w h il e re cording so th at th e y can bring up l ink s and vide o cl ips. D ave 's l aptop h as a d igitalcart syste m for sound e ffe cts and Sk y pe cal l s. Eve ryth ing th e n goe s th rough a fire w ire m ixe r and fe d digital l y into anoth e r M ac. Each ch anne l is re corde d se pe rate l y in Logic Pro and Nice cast is use d to stre am th e audio l ive onto th e 'ne t. Afte r re cording th e sh ow is m ixe d dow n, a l ittl e bit of panning use d on e ach h ost. outnum be r pe opl e . But D ave l e t m e h e ar a podcast on h is com pute r and I th ough t, 'O k , th at sounds cool ! So, now w h at?" Th e 'now w h at?'w as D ave sugge sting th e y start th e ir ow n podcast. Se th 's sm al ltow n back ground aside , h e w as in from th e start. "I m e an, w h o w oul dn't w ant to act out th e ir fantasy of be ing a radio pe rsonal ity?At first it w as fun to tal k about ne w s and pe opl e , but afte r a w h il e w e adde d structure to th e sh ow , running re gul ar se gm e nts l ik e 'Bitch O f Th e W e e k ', 'Se th 's M usic Cafe ', 'D ave 's Link s' and 'Te ch Tal k '."Th e production of th e podcast h as al w ays be e n h igh , as you'd e xpe ct from th e ir day jobs, but for Se th it w as l e ss about th e ch ance to fl ex h is audio producing m uscl e s and m ore about ge tting th e opportunity to h ang out w ith h is be st frie nd and tal k about w h ate ve r is on th e ir m inds. "It's l ik e sitting w ith your frie nds in Starbuck s tal k ing about th e w orl d. W e bre w e d a pot of coffe e for th e first e pisode and th at's w h e re w e e nde d up ge tting th e nam e ," D ave adds.
O ffensive Th e topics th e pair cove r ofte n w ande r into are as th at are l iabl e to be offe nsive , nam e l y pol itics and re l igion. Factor in strong, pe rsonalopinions and it can be a m ine fie l d. M any podcaste rs use th e
w w w .podcastusermagaz ine.com fre e ne ss of th e m e dium as a springboard for be ing de l ibe rate l y caustic. H ow e ve r, D ave and Se th are cautious, but in diffe re nt w ays and for diffe re nt re asons. Ne ith e r subscribe to th e 'say w h at you w ant, h ow you w ant' e th os of som e of th e oth e r Podcast Al l e y Top 10 re side nts. "Fe w frie nds and co-w ork e rs k now about Urban Coffe e ," D ave says, "I l ik e to k e e p th e sh ow PG-13 so th at pe opl e can l iste n at w ork , but I'm al w ays conce rne d th at if som e one I k now l iste ns th e y m ay be offe nde d by som e th ing w e say. W e pre tty m uch te l lit l ik e it is, and som e tim e s th at re q uire s us to be a bit e dgy. I'd rath e r offe nd pe opl e I don't k now and not h ave to h ang out w ith th e m afte rw ards." Se th is ofte n a l ittl e m ore forth righ t on th e sh ow , ofte n giving D ave cause to e dit out uninte ntionalcurse s. But h e too h as k e pt is invol ve m e nt fairl y q uie t, e xpl aining th at h is e m pl oym e nt m ay be at risk due to h is
S even U rban Coffee H igh ligh ts 1. W h il e discussing h ow bad ge ne ric punk rock w as, w e de cide d to m ak e our ow n and it turne d out gre at. 2. W e prank cal l e d a Nige rian Em ail Scam m e r m ul tipl e tim e s w h il e h e w as sl e e ping 3. W e m ade our ow n Sonic Com m e rcial (Am e ricans w il lge t th at one ) 4. W e h ad a pol lin our forum s about th e m ost inappropriate th ings to buy at th e sam e tim e w h e n groce ry sh opping. W e pack e d a h idde n cam e ra and w e nt sh opping for th e m . 5. “Th e H am burgl e r” –A gue st w ith one of th e m ost outrage ous storie s w e ’ve e ve r h e ard. 6. W e did a l ive annive rsary spe cialand prom ise d to do a sh ot for e ve ry pe rson w h o cal l e d in. W ay too m any pe opl e cal l e d in. 7. Se th tal k e d to a crazy guy from th e side of th e road th at said w e w e re dam ne d to h e l l .
podcast pe rsona's brash ne ss. "W e l ik e tal k ing about w h at's on our m inds, th ough , w h e th e r it's pol itics, l unatics, re l igion, m usic, ge e k s, fre ak s, w ars or disaste rs. W e just tal k about th e se th ings th e w ay frie nds do,"Se th offe rs. ph oto courte s y Urban Coffe e
Th e Listeners & O ld Media
Th e ir frank ne ss, frie ndl ine ss and natural ne ss h as gaine d th e m l iste ne rs, l iste ne rs w h o, according to Se th , go above and be yond for th e m . "Th e y've done e ve ryth ing for us,"h e e xpl ains, "th e y've cre ate d ch atroom s, donate d to h e l p use ge t to th e Expo in Cal ifornia, th e y se nd us l ink s to inte re sting stuff on th e 'ne t and pe rsonal l y one of th e bigge st re w ards is h e aring h ow th e y're affe cte d by th e m usic I pl ay on 'Se th 's M usic Cafe '."M usic's a big part of h is l ife , sh aring it is an obse ssion. H e te l l s m e about one l iste ne r in th e UK w h ose young son w as l e arning th e w ords to a song by M use w h o'd be e n fe ature d on th e M usic Cafe . "Th ings l ik e th at al w ays m ak e m e fe e lgre at!" D uring th e tim e s w h e n Urban Coffe e is re corde d l ive th e l iste ne rs ge t invol ve d by posting re l e vant l ink s and l ook ing up facts for th e guys w h il e th e y stre am th e sh ow ove r th e 'ne t. "You can't stop once you start a l ive sh ow and it's gre at to ge t l iste ne r fe e dback w h il e you're discussing a topic. If I forge t th e sm al l e st pie ce of inform ation th e re 's al w ays som e one th e re to h e l p you re m e m be r,"D ave e xpl ains. H is favourite l iste ne r, th ough , is a m issionary l iving Uganda w h o l iste ns via sate l l ite inte rne t in a sm al lh ouse in th e m iddl e of th e w il de rne ss. I ask th e guys about ol d m e dia and w h e th e r th e y've re ce ive d any atte ntion on th e pre ss, on TVe tc. "W e w e re m e ntione d on th e UK's Ch anne l4. Th e y pl aye d a cl ip of Se th and I tal k ing about Se nator Te d Ste ve n's tw iste d vie w of th e 'ne t (th e infam ous 'it's a se rie s of tube s' spe e ch )," D ave re pl ie s, "I've al so done som e e go Page 29 - Issue 19 : August 2007
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Th e sh ow is progre ssing, ch anging, im proving, upgrading, al lth e w h il e k e e ping th e e sse ntial s in pl ace ;gre at h osts, th e l ik e abil ity factor and th e fam il iarity. But D ave is k e e n to k e e p th ings m oving forw ard. "Now w e ’ve adde d vide o. You h ave a ch at room , audio stre am , and a vie w of th e tw o of us drink ing coffe e al lon th e sam e w e b page . Pre tty soon w e ’l lbe sw itch ing be tw e e n a l ive vie w of us and our com pute r scre e ns so you can se e e xactl y w h at w e ’re tal k ing about w h e n w e ’re on th e w e b. I k now th at vidcasts are a l ot m ore w ork , but it l ook s l ik e th at’s th e w ave of th e future . IPTVk il l e d th e podcast star." August se e s th e pair l aunch Se ason 2 of Urban Coffe e , com pl e te w ith ne w se gm e nts, a ne w w e bsite and a ne w fre sh ne ss. "W e ne e de d to tak e a coupl e of m onth s out to ge t som e of our affairs in orde r, stuff w e 'd be e n ne gl e cting," continue s D ave . Th e bre ak w as out of th e bl ue , but, h e says, ve ry ne e de d. H e assure s m e th at h e and Se th are fe e l ing m uch re fre sh e d and are ve ry e xcite d about th e re turn of Urban Coffe e . From a pe rsonalstandpoint, so am I. I've m isse d h anging out w ith D ave and Se th e ve ry w e e k , l iste ning to th e ir opinions and not al w ays agre e ing w ith th e m . Pick ing up ne w m usic tips from Se th w h il e l ook ing forw ard to ch e ck ing out D ave 's vide o l ink s w h e n I ge t h om e from w ork . Th e ir's is a podcast th at h as som e th ing for m ost pe opl e , pre se nte d by tw o l ik e abl e , ordinary guys, th e sort of guys you'd e njoy spe nding tim e w ith ove r coffe e . And Podcast Al l e y?W e l l , h e re 's to th e m m ak ing it back into th e top 10 again. Th e y de se rve to be th e re . D ave Koss & Se th Fal k ne r h ttp://w w w .urbancoffe e .ne t/ M ark H unte r h ttp://w w w .tartanstorie s.com Page 30 - Issue 19 : August 2007
ph oto courte s y Urban Coffe e
surfing on Googl e and be e n pl e asantl y surprise d at h ow ofte n w e 're m e ntione d on oth e r w e bsite s."
Th ree Tips
For Producers
1. Be yourse l f. Pe opl e h ave a sick obse ssion w ith th e h um an condition. Liste ne rs can te l lw h e n you’re be ing fak e . 2. Cre ate a l ittl e controve rsy from tim e to tim e and save it for th e sh ow . I h ad to l augh afte r re ading th at Ke ith and th e Girlsave th e ir conve rsations for th e sh ow be cause th at’s th e sam e th ing w e do. W e try not to tal k about our w e e k be fore w e start re cording. 3. Liste n to sim il ar sh ow s and de cide w h at you l ik e and don’t l ik e about th e m . Base your sh ow on al lth e th ings you l ik e about th ose oth e r sh ow s. It w il lm ak e yours be tte r.
For listeners
1. Participate ! Se nd e m ail s, l e ave voice m ail s, join th e forum s. It’s gre at to h e ar from l iste ne rs. W e l ove to k now you’re out th e re . 2. H e l p prom ote your favorite sh ow . Te l l pe opl e about it, vote for it on Podcast Al l e y, and if th e y h ave prom otional m ate rial … use it. 3. D onate . It sounds ch e e sy but it’s true . W e buy e q uipm e nt, spe nd our fre e tim e , and w ork for ve ry l ittl e m one y. Se nd your favorite podcaste r a fe w buck s e ve ry now and th e n so h e or sh e can buy a fe w be e rs and re l ax. It’s m uch appre ciate d.
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"I'm Just A Guy W ith A Blog!" by Joh n Buckley aka Citiz en S coop TH E FIRST TIM E I h eard Eric Rice w as back in Novem ber 20 0 4. H e w as podcasting on vacation from a steam engine at Disneyw orld Florida, via m obile ph one. I h ad no idea w h o h e w as, but som eth ing about h is snark y delivery, coupled w ith h is h um or and and an obvious enjoym ent of using tech nology struck a ch ord w ith m e. I quick ly discovered th at h e'd founded a little startup com pany called 'Audioblog', (now H ipcast), and th at th ey'd com e up w ith just about th e easiest w ay to get a podcast or a videoblog uploaded onto a w ebsite. Th ey also provided a coollittle custom isable flash -based player -- I signed up righ t aw ay.
SINCE TH AT TIM E I've k ept an eye and ear out for th e w h irlw ind of activities th at alw ays seem to surround Eric. Blogging, podcasting, videoblogging, building in Second Life, starting a (virtual) record label, or populating socialnetw ork s w ith h is observations on allth ings blogosph eric. Eric Rice is one busy guy.
Nam e: Eric Rice Alias: Spin Martin Age: 35 Location: San Francisco/Silicon Valley, CA Occupation: Producer/W riter W ebsite: h ttp://ericrice.com Favorite Food: Fak e Banana Flavored *anyth ing* Favorite Drink : W e'llpretend it's w inter. Ch ai Egg Nog Latte Favorite M ovie: Big Trouble in Little Ch ina Favorite Book s: Snow crash , Microserfs, Silicon Snak e Oil, W ay of th e PeacefulW arrior Favorite M usic: H iph op, Industrial, Various electronic genres LATER ON, I bum ped pixels Favorite TV Sh ow : Th e Sh ield and Entourage w ith h is avatar in th e virtual RECENTLY I SAT dow n for w orld of Second Life. a few conversations on m any I W AS LOOK ING around h is Slack street sim , w ondering h ow th e h ell platform s to get h is tak e on h e'd m anaged to build allth is stuff, w h en h e cam e bow ling up a virtual w h ere w e've been, w h ere w e pier to greet m e, w earing a funk y black leath er bik er jack et w ith no collar are and w h ere on earth w e m igh t be h eading. W elcom e -- look ing, (for an avatar), rem ark ably sim ilar to h is real-life self. I to th e 'one-m an em pire' th at rem em ber being both im pressed th at h e w as alm ost recognizable and is Mr Eric Rice! surprised th at h e'd turned up to say h ello personally. W e exch anged a few pleasantries and I ask ed h im w h ere h e'd bough t th e jack et, h e gave m e an address for an avatar cloth ing sh op, flipped m e a friendsh ip card Read on... and sh ot off to do a ph oto session, using Second Life as h is canvas. ph otos & im age s courte s y Eric Rice Page 31 - Issue 19 : August 2007
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W H O IS ERIC RICE? Eric, you've been called "a one m an buzzw ord" and "one of th e w orld's leading experts in consum er-generated m edia" So, w h ere are you interacting m ost righ t now and w h y? I'm caugh t up w ith in th e current trend of status and presence-based socialnetw ork s. Tw itter, Pow nce, Facebook -- as w ellas a couple of live video stream ing sites. Th e dirty little secret about m e is th at IRC is probably th e h igh est on th e list of all. So w h at's th e biggest m isconception people h ave about you? Th ere are a couple. People eith er don't k now w h at I do OR th ey th ink I'm really busy and doing a lot of projects. Th e truth is th at m ost of th ese individual projects are allrelated or require th e exact sam e efforts. Th e bad part about th is is th e m isconception th at I'm too busy to talk to, or th at a project or idea isn't good enough to even both er m e w ith . I love w ork ing on aw esom e stuff w ith oth er people! It's th at w h ole bizarre notion of 'celebrity' in th e new m edia space. W h o is Spin Martin, and h ow is h e different to Eric Rice?
'Spin M artin' w as th e nam e I pick ed for m yself w h en I cam e back to Second Life in late 20 0 5. In SL, everyone is given a list of surnam es to ch oose from , and th e first nam e is open (if available, th at is). I lik ed 'Spin' since it represented so m uch : from spiders spinning a w eb - a naturalpiece of beauty - to Spin Art, to m usic spinning, to PR spin. I h ad m y first professionalcorporate w ebm aster job in 19 9 5 and sure, 'spin a w eb' certainly cam e into play. Page 32 - Issue 19 : August 2007
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Spin w as never intentionally supposed to be different from m e, it w as just m y nam e in SL. And SLw as actually k ind of lonely. I k ept to m yself and explored and built. As m y real-life self becam e m ore k now n to Second Lifers, 'Spin' w as a nam e people referred to m e-- lik e m any SLers do, especially after m eeting in reallife at th e second SLconference. After th at, I h ad used 'Spin' on Tw itter, because I w anted to see if w riting in 140 ch aracter ch unk s w ould be a good fiction-w riting experim ent. Th at only lasted for 25 friends, th ough , before I started using Tw itter norm ally. Am usingly, because you h ave to specify som eone's nam e on Tw itter w ith th e @ sym bol, anyone I k new w as inadvertently forced to 'address' m e as Spin. And so, now it's a nick nam e. W h at's th e one piece of tech nology you can't live w ith out and w h y? A ph one. No, m ak e th at a ph one *th at w ork s*. I'm dropping VOIP and going back to a norm al teleph one line at h om e. I h ave m y cellph one, w h ich doesn't w ork at h om e because I'm in th e country. Allth is fantastic tech nology th at h as and certainly w illcontinue to ch ange th ings is th e m ost irritating th ing to dealw ith w h en actual life experiences com e into play-- never h aving a h eadset h andy, w anting to grab th e ph one and leave th e room -- even just spending tim e NOT TYPING. Just. Please. Call. Me. Instead. Out of allth e m edia you're involved w ith , w h at do you m ost enjoy? Gam ing actually, but only because I h ave faith th at th e w alled garden of th e video gam e industry w illstart to crum ble because of allth e virtualw orlds lik e Second Life, K aneva, and oth ers th at em erge. Gam ing is a place w h ere a ton of th ings h appen at once... and if you can use Ph otosh op, or are good w ith audio, or video and th e overall concept of m oving im ages and sound, and finally, m ulti-user socialinteraction--- allof th ose th ings are present in gam ing. It's th e ultim ate m ash up and one of th e last m edia frontiers th at's closed. Th at's w h y Second Life really m atters-- because w h at's going on th ere is w h at w e've been th rough TH REE TIMES already. Once w ith blogging, once w ith podcasting, once w ith vlogging. It's an absolute rush to be able to m ak e m edia in any form : text, audio, video, ph otos, 3D, social... and I enjoy th at im m ensely.
Read on... Page 33 - Issue 19 : August 2007
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W h at's th e be s tand th e w ors tth ing aboutth e bl ogos ph e re ? An ol d col l e ague tol d m e th atth e be s tth ing aboutth e bl ogos ph e re is th at pe opl e ne ve r s top tal k ing, as w e l las th e w ors tth ing aboutth e bl ogos ph e re is th atpe opl e ne ve r s top tal k ing. I h ave to s ay, I'm s tarting to agre e . It's jus tSO m uch attim e s . I h ave to re m ind m ys e l fth ough , th atw h e n I s ay 'bl ogos ph e re ', I'm re al l y tal k ing about'th e bl ogge r bl ogos ph e re '. I'm caugh tin th e e ch o ch am be r too, and partofth e probl e m . Th e re 's a good portion ofth e w orl d th atcoul d give a s h itaboutw h e th e r or notPow nce h as an ope n API or not. I ne e d to re ad th atbl ogos ph e re m ore . So w h at's your tak e on W e b 2.0? Itce rtainl y re pre s e nte d s om e th ing val uabl e atone tim e , ye tI th ink th e cul ture around itove rs h adow e d itto th e pointofm ock e ry. Tak e outa vow e land h ave no bus ine s s m ode lon be ta s oftw are th atw il lturn oth e rw is e s m artpe opl e into panh andl ing fool s fal l ing ove r for l ink l ove from th e s o-cal l e d A-l is t. W h ate ve r h appe ne d to buil ding com panie s firs t, buil ding rock -s ol id s oftw are ?Ins te ad, w e buil d 'fe ature s ' and cal lits oftw are . I'm s o gl ad autom ak e rs and re ale s tate and th e re s taurantindus try do notope rate w ith th e s e principl es. H ow ol d doe s Ne w M e dia h ave to be be fore it's no l onge r ne w ? W e w il lge tth e re fas te r, th e l onge r th atw e k e e p l ook ing ate ach oth e r be caus e w e are buil ding th e w al l e d garde n m ade up ofours e l ve s . Th e re are te ch nol ogy w al l e d garde ns and th e re are s ocialw al l e d garde ns . W e s aw it w ith th e w h ol e iPh one vs Nok ia de bate ;e ve rybody is l oyalto a ce rtain w ay of th ink ing, a brand, or a s ch oolofth ough t, and th e m ore w e k e e p th ings th is rigid form at, th e m ore th atw e s tartcre ating our w al l e d garde n, ofa s ocial cl as s . I've s l ow l y s tarte d to s e e th e s e w al l s com e dow n be tw e e n traditional RSS-bas e d vide o podcas te rs and You-Tube rs . Th e factth atth e y h ave tw o diffe re ntnam e s s h oul d te l lyou th atth e s e are tw o s ocialgarde ns . Th e factis th e y are s tarting to m ix, and th e m ix is be com ing e xtre m e l y fas cinating. Th os e are th e pe opl e th atare going to w in - th e h ybrids . W h os e bl og do you re ad re gul arl y and w h y? Itch ange s from tim e to tim e , butl ate l y, I'm al laboutTe ch m e m e and Ars Te ch nica. Th e re 's a good cros s -s e ction oftopics th atI pay atte ntion to, and s ite s l ik e Te ch m e m e l e tm e re ad th e pos ts ofpe opl e w h o are inte re s te d in th e s am e th ings I am - it's w ay diffe re ntth an s ubs cribing to pe opl e . I'm dis cove ring th atI s pe nd l e s s tim e re ading th e bl ogs offrie nds and pe opl e and m ore tim e on topics . Th e re are e xce ptions th ough , I re ad Te ch Crunch for th e com m e nts and Val l e yw ag for th e trainw re ck .
It's a h um an probl e m , too. I as k aboutifpe opl e k now bas ic s k il l s , gota s o-s o re ps ons e . I m ak e up a Face book gam e , pe opl e go nuts . 03:47 PM July 24, 2007 from w e b
Th e datace nte r th atw e ntdow n is partofm y pointre : W e b 2.0 dis as te r pre p. Th e s e te ch s onl y do s o m uch . Th ings fail . 03:46 PM Jul y 24, 2007 from w e b
Good th ing th atw h e n an actualdis as te r s trik e s & m aybe k nock outdata ce nte rs , w e can re l y on Tw itte r and s uch to com m unicate , righ t?03:46 PM Jul y 24, 2007 from w e b
W atch ing a m ovie on th e ipod, e r ph one , e r w h ate ve r, in be d. 1h r 40m 02:02 AM July 23, 2007 from w e b Th e onl y officialth ing I h ave to s ay aboutth e iph one is th at 80% ofits us age is s naz z y ipod & brow s e r, and NO T ph one 07:41 AM July 22, 2007 from w e b "O fal lth e face book s , in al l th e tow ns , in al lth e w orl d, s h e w al k s into m ine . " 07:03 AM July 22, 2007 from w e b
Eve n pre -podcas ting, doing a s h ow w as m e tw ith 'w h at s tation?'and s urpris e , its til l is ... s am e w ith doing an advance d vl og th ing in publ ic 03:10 PM Jul y 21, 2007 from w e b
I've al w ays k now n th atte rm s l ik e 'w e b 2.0' 'us e r-ge n...' 'ne w m e dia' are w orth l ess, be caus e pe opl e DO , and don'tTALK aboutth e m ... 03:09 PM Jul y 21, 2007 from w e b
Can you fak e itin th e bogos ph e re and ge taw ay w ith it? O h total l y, be caus e pe opl e are l ik e th e re and you k now th e m . I al w ays us e Am anda Congdon as an e xam pl e to il l us trate th is th e ory. W h e n th e w h ol e Am anda/Rock e tboom th ing w e ntdow n, atth e core - s ay, Yah oo group for vide obl ogge rs - th e conve rs ation w as norm al , civil , dis agre e ing, butfor th e m os tpart, al lfine and dandy. As th is bitofne w s m ade its w ay outinto th e bl ogos ph e re , th e tone s tarte d to ch ange . Itbe cam e 'w h o?'or 'w h y s h oul dI care ?'and TH EN by th e tim e itm ade USA Today's bl og, itw as atth e l e ve lof 'w h atth e **** w h o care s , nice tits '. Lik e a rock in a pond and th at's k inda th e re al ity ofth e publ ic s pace .
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don'tw antto s e e Ge e k s h ol ding iPh one s , I w antto s e e iPh one s h ol ding art: h ttp://tinyurl .com /2v4d44 01:02 AM Jul y 18, 2007 from w e b
don'tk now h ow m any pe opl e tal k abouth ow th e s ocialm e dia s pace is attim e s for s om e . A m il l ion contacts , ye t, can you fe e lal one ?11:12 PM July 17, 2007 from w e b
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So w h o do you s e e th atyou're tal k ing to in w h atyou do, is itm any audie nce s and nich e s ? Wel l , it's h ard, I w is h itw as h al fand h al f: h al fth e 'us ' pe opl e and h al fth e 're s tofth e w orl d' pe opl e . Butit's not. I'm a victim ofth e e ch o ch am be r l ik e w e al lare . Funny s tory to prove th is point. I as k e d m y tw itte r ne tw ork w h o w as into pim ping cars ;notto th e re tarde d e xtre m e s , butw h o can re al l y appre ciate a good s ound s ys te m or m uffl e r or m aybe th is or th atupgrade . I th ink l ik e four pe opl e re s ponde d. Th e bl ogos ph e re is noton th e s am e pl ane ofre al ity as th e w h ite guys w h o argue aboutth e s tandards and APIs on a te l e ph one . Butyou can'tge tth at th rough th e th ick s k ul lofth e craz y-uncl e bl ogos ph e re . It's th e F-to-Z l is te rs w h o m atte r;A th rough E l is te rs ... nots o s ure . Th at's w h y I s aw th atth e bigge s tprobl e m facing podcas te rs is podcas te rs th e m s e l ve s . I'd be w il l ing to be tth atfor e ve ryone w h o is al l"oooooh , iPh one " and h as one , th e re are 40 pe opl e w h o as k , "uh , can I ge tth e fre e ph one ?" It's l ik e th e ne w be auty. Am e ricans are obe s e , be auty is s ol d to us , and w e w antit, th is ne w be auty, e ve n ifw e are brok e and in de bt. Le t's tal k al ittl e bitabouts ocialne tw ork s . Inotice a l otofpe opl e h ave l ite ral l y h undre ds ofpe opl e in th e ir ne tw ork . Do you th ink th e re is a pointto m as s frie nding?Doe s itw ork and doe s ith e l p? Wel l , th e re 's th e M ySpace col l e ction, w h ich is point-bl ank anyone . Th e n th e re 's th e ps e udo-aw are ne s s crow d l ik e bl ogge rs adding al lbl ogge rs . Jas on Cal acanis and s uch h ave be e n m oving cl os e r to th e M ySpace m ode l . Il ik e to th ink I can ge tm y h e ad around 500 pe opl e onl y, butI can't! It's notl ik e adding th e w orl d, w h e re you gotta w onde r ifth e re is n't s om e troph yis m going on. It's notjus tth e num be rs butth e 'w h o' you're adding. Ital w ays crack s m e up, th e notion ofce l e brity in th e bl ogos ph e re . Th e bum m e r aboutth atis th atitm ak e s its o e as y to uncons cious l y fal linto s tardom -tal k ing-at-dom . H ow can you s e rious l y h ave a conve rs ation w ith 3000 pe opl e !? I m e an, re al l y?You h ave no ch oice butto 'addre s s th e m as s e s '. I'm ata tippping pointnow w h e re I jus tcan'tk e e p track ofpe opl e I've m e t, and th atREALLY bugs m e .
h ol y crap i jus tcl ick e d on a banne r ad on PURPO SE 02:59
AM
Jul y 15,2007 from w e b
ok ge tting re ady to be inte rvie w e d z om g citiz e n paparaz z i! 07:05 PM July14, 2007 from
web
O ffto be d! W h ich is s om e futuris tic e uph e m is m for m y bios ys te m s ' s ch e dul ed m ainte nance and nigh tl y update s & back ups . NO CARRIER 01:51 AM July 14, 2007 from w e b Th e re are no 'ce l e britie s ' in th is s pace -jus tl ots ofs m artpe opl e in 'indus try'. W h ip outyour w ik ipe dia e ntry atH om e De pot, s e e w h o care s 01:30 AM July 14, 2007 from web
H e h jus ts aid to m y w ife "H ow do you m ak e m one y in podcas ting?Do a podcas ton w h o Britne y Spe ars is s cre w ing. You'l lm ak e m one y, e as y." 01:27 AM Jul y 14, 2007 from w e b
and th atl adie s and ge ntl e m e n, is partofth e doorw ay to oz . O nce you ge toutofth e com fortz one of your s ocialne t, th at's w h atyou find 11:04 PM July 12, 2007 from w e b
W h at's th e s ol ution?Is th e re one ? Itde pe nds w h atyou w ant. Som e pe opl e don'tw antth atk ind ofor l e ve l ofe xpos ure , and s om e do, s om e h ave to be com fy w ith it;butin th e s ocials ce ne , w e k inda do itto ours e l ve s . I h ave to dig outa q uote s om e one w rote aboutm e age s ago. "Com fortabl e w ith h is ow n e go and re ady to be fam ous " - s om e th ing l ik e th at. Th atw as k ind ofte l l ing be caus e I h ad to l ook atm ys e l fand go, "h e y, am I?" Th e s e cre tofal lth is is th atm os tofour true , true s ocialne tdoe s n't h appe n on th e s e s ocials ite s . I can'te ve n ge tm y be s tfrie nds to us e RSS, and te l e ph one s RULE! I jus th ope th ats om e day, ifI e ve r be com e s tupid fam ous , I don'tturn into a dick , l ik e you h e ar about ce rtain s tars . I h ope I can s tay norm alifth ate ve r h appe ns to m e .
Re ad on...
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e ricrice
cs coop: W h atis 'Live cas ting' and w h atare you up to ove r atRe z z ing.tv/l ive ?
cs coop
e ricrice : Re z z ing original l y w as to be a s h ow aboutgam ing cul ture and l ife s tyl e ove r atPodte ch . I s tarte d th ink ing aboutitand aboutth ats pace , and it's an e xtre m e l y difficul ts pace to e xis tin, be caus e it's th rough th is m agical'door to O z ', as I l ik e to cal lit, w h ich is th atw orl d outs ide ofyour com fortz one . Th e w orl d outs ide th e e ch o-ch am be r is a ve ry vicious , m e an and nas ty pl ace . I w ante d to do s om e th ing th atturns th e fl oodgate s on, re al l y do s om e th ing th atis th e 'e ve ryth ing'. It's art, it's e ducation, it's e ve ry m e dia - I don'tw antto be l ock e d into a s pe cific m e dium .
LIVE FREE O R BLO G H ARD AM Jul y 11, 2007 from w e b
I h ave a l aptop th ath as h igh -s pe e d w ire l e s s buil tin, s o it's re al l y s im pl e . Ittak e s m e back to 19 9 5 or 19 9 6, w h e n w e us e d to do l ive w e bcam s from various nigh tcl ubs in San Jos e , Cal ifornia. W e 'd tak e a s naps h otand upl oad itto th e w e b e ve ry 60 s e conds . W e h ad radio m ode m s cal l ed 'ricoch e ts ', s o w e 'd do th ings l ik e go to a cl ub, puta l ittl e piz z a-box M ac on th e s tage or a Pow e rbook 280c and th e n broadcas tth at. Now , it's l ik e 10 ye ars l ate r and l ook w h e re w e are ! It's e as y to do, and th e re 's a l ittl e bitofvide o in th at. So, itjus ts e e m e d to be th e th ing to do. I'm e xtre m e l y cautious aboutitth ough , be caus e w h il e pe opl e are inte re s te d in l ook ing ats om e one driving to th e s tore , you can onl y m il k th atfor s o l ong be fore itis n'tinte re s ting. So I've tak e n a bre ak from l ive cas ting untilI can th ink ofs om e th ing th ath as a l ittl e m ore to it. I w oul dn'tw antto be 24/7. I don'tw antto be atth atde ad h ors e ! cs coop: Do you th ink th is re al -tim e broadcas ting ofa pe rs on's l ife affe cts th e w ay th e y th ink about w h atth e y are doing w ith th e ir l ife ? Doe s itch ange th e w ay th e y inte ractw ith oth e r pe opl e, be caus e th e y are aw are ofcre ating conte ntrath e r th an l iving? e ricrice : I th ink th at's val id, and it's s om e th ing I've notice d w ith bl ogging. I've be e n be h ind th atk e yboard for a l otofye ars , and once you s tartbe com ing aw are th atpe opl e are l is te ning, I th ink you ch ange a l ittl e bit. Es pe cial l y w h e n you m igh tre al iz e W H O m igh t be re ading, or w h o you K NO W is re ading! You s itup a l ittl e s traigh te r w h e n you're on cam e ra, m ak e s ure you're notw ork ing th atfinge r up th e nos e ! (Laugh te r) You're k ind ofl ik e , "h ow 's m y te e th , or is m y h air ok ay?" You jus tare cons cious aboutth at! So I th ink its ve ry s cal abl e acros s m e dium s . I th ink it's th e s am e bas ic patte rn. I've h ad th ath appe n in Se cond Life , w h e re pe opl e are giving tours ofm y l and and I'm l ik e "al righ t, l e tm e m ak e s ure I cl e an up m y m e s s h e re a l ittl e bit!". (Laugh te r) I m e an th at's jus ta m anne rs is s ue , th at's jus ta good m anne rs , I th ink th at's a naturalh um an re s pons e .
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cs coop: H ow do you th ink th is w h ol e m ove m e ntinto a re al -tim e broadcas tparadigm is affe cting podcas ting?
e ricrice cs coop
e ricrice : W ith vide o-bl ogging, w h ich is k ind ofa cous in to podcas ting, w e h ad th is m antra of'W h at you w ant, w h e n you w antit, w h e re you w antit!' be ing abl e to th row iton your iPod and go. Th e n YouTube com e s into In th e future , al lth e data & th e picture and th e publ ic s aid "w e 're inform ation in th e w orl d is h arve s te d in orde r to cre ate a jus tgoing to upl oad to th is pl ace , s ingl e AI w ith th e aggre gate be caus e w e 're s itting on our butts pe rs onal ity ofEarth . 08:54 PM July 09 , be h ind our com pute r anyw ay, w e 're 2007 from w e b notal lje t-s e tte rs !" So pe opl e jus tdid th at, and th ats urge in popul arity of YouTube l e ftus al lw onde ring, "Is th atre al l y notth e m os tim portantth ing w e s h oul d be w orrying about? M aybe it's ok ay to l ock itin th e re and s itin frontofth e com pute r?" Pl e nty ofpe opl e w il ldis agre e w ith th at, butitdoe s n'tch ange w h atjus th appe ne d in h is tory. W ith audio podcas ting, th e ide a of'appointm e nt-bas e d vie w ing' w as now th row n out. A te l e vis ion ne tw ork w oul d give you th e appointm e nt: tune in Fridays ate igh t, and ifyou m is s e d it, you m is s e d it. So th e on-de m and nature ofpodcas ting m ade itl ik e a cabl e ch anne l , or a s ate l l ite te l e vis ion, w h e re you can ge tany s h ow you w antbe caus e it's avail abl e on de m and. Now w e 're m oving into a w orl d w h e re , I h ope , w e 're going to s tarts e e ing s om e tim e -s h ifting tool s,l ik e Tivo is for re al -tim e m e dia, w h e re I can paus e s om e th ing th at's h appe ning righ tnow . I th ink it's going to vary on th e type ofconte nt-cre ator (for l ack ofa be tte r te rm ) and w h at's going to fe e lm ore com fortabl e . Som e pe opl e l ik e confrontation. Th e y w antto s ay s om e th ing rude and offe ns ive and th e n tak e cal l s ! [l augh s ] And th e n th e boxing gl ove s com e on! Th at's a m uch diffe re nt e ne rgy. H ow do you ge tangry, w h e n you're re ading an angry l e tte r, or angry w h e n s om e one is angry atyou l ive , righ tnow ?I th ink itdoe s s om e th ing for th e art. Itcan be ve ry difficul tto ge t be h ind th e m icroph one and s om e pe opl e w il lprobabl y augm e ntw h atth e y are doing;s om e m igh t s w itch com pl e te l y. W e 've al w ays h ad a ce rtain s ocialacce ptance ofce rtain re al -tim e e ve nts , w h e th e r it's ne w s drive n or s om e th ing l ik e Ne w Ye ars Eve , w h e n w e 're al ltie d into th e s am e m om e ntin tim e . Is itgoing to be com e ove rw h e l m ing?You th ink s ubs cribing to a l otofpodcas ts is difficul t?Im agine if th e re 's 47 m il l ion l ive s h ow s al lgoing on atonce . W h atare you going to w atch !?So th e n itbe com e s a m uch diffe re ntrace for e ye bal l s and tim e s pe nt. cs coop: W h at's w rong w ith podcas ting, and w h at's th e curre nth e al th ofth e podcas tpatie nt? e ricrice : I've l ong be e n a be l ie ve r th atats om e point a com m unity die s and it be com e s a s ocie ty, in w h ich w h e re th e re are m any diffe re ntopinions and m any diffe re nt s ch ool s ofth ough ton h ow to do th ings , w ith e ve ryone s pinning offinto th e ir ow n s ch ool s ofth ough t. Te rm inol ogy ch ange s , to w h e re s om e one w il ls ay, "th e vide obl ogging com m unity" and th e s ubte xtis th atth e pe rs on w h o s aid th atw as actual l y re fe rring to th e Yah oo group 'Vide obl ogging Com m unity'.
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I brough tth is up w ith Ch ris Brogan, (PodCam p co-founde r) w h o's a good frie nd ofm ine . W h e n w e firs tm e tI w as tak ing is s ue w ith th e factth ath is Podcam p s aid 'l is te ne r'. Th e re 's a ve ry fine l ine w h e re I s e parate a podcas te r w h o l is te ns to oth e r podcas ts and s om e body w h o jus tw ants to cons um e . W e are s o e ntre nch e d in th e 'm ak ing m e dia' th atw e re je ctand al m os tbe l ittl e th e fact th e re are pe opl e w h o are notin th e m ood to do anyth ing e xce ptcons um e . You can grow your food, pre pare your food, or you can jus ts ay s cre w itand orde r outfor a piz z a! Th at's th e th ing, th e diffe re nts cal e s ofh ow m uch invol ve m e ntpe opl e w ant.
e ricrice cs coop
M os tpe opl e in th is w orl d are going to be cons um e rs . Th atw il ls h ifta l ittl e bit, butI s til lth ink it's going to be ove rw h e l m ingl y cons um e r-drive n. It's l ik e w h e n w e s ay th e w ord 'bl ogos ph e re ' or 'te ch bl ogge rs ' or 'bl ogge r bl ogge rs ph e re s ' - notcom pl e te l y unre l ate d - and of M oralofth e s tory: Th e cours e w e ge tve ry prote ctive ofour turf. So I s e e a l otofth is w ith al lof bl ogos ph e re m ove s fas te r th an th e 's ph e re s ', and I ce rtainl y s e e itin podcas ting. you. It's a m ob and you h ave to m ove FAST. 07:04 AM July 06, 2007 from w e b I've be e n e xtre m e l y conce rne d aboutPodcam ps and podcas te rs w h o fl y around to al lth e s e Podcam ps . I w as re al l y s urpris e d w h e n pe opl e s aid "are you com ing Podcam p NYC?" I s aid, "no, w h y w oul d I do th at?" I'm on th e W e s tCoas t. IfI w ante d to go to a coupl e of Podcam ps , th e re are Podcam ps ove r h e re . So Podcam ps be com e l ik e Expos and pe opl e are fl ying al love r th e pl ace . I'm as k ing, "Is n'tth e ide a ofa Podcam p to h ave s om e th ing l ocal ?" Th at's w h e re th e notion ofPodcam pXLoriginate d. So ifyou l ive in a pl ace th atpe opl e w oul d cons ide r 'po-dunk ' th e n h ave a Podcam p. Bring a non-podcas te r, m aybe s om e body w h o w il ll is te n and no A-l is te rs ;no big nam e s are al l ow e d to im portth e m s e l ve s . cs coop: H ow do w e ge tm ore pe opl e invol ve d in cre ating m e dia? e ricrice : I th ink w e are al lin tim e going to cre ate m e dia in our ow n w ays . I be l ie ve th atth e re are four bas ic audie nce type s : Th os e th atare pas s ive , th os e th atare pas s ive buta l ittl e m ore active , th os e th atare participatory and th os e th atare active -participatory. I us e m y fath e r-in-l aw as an e xam pl e ofth is . O n Fl ick r h e is e xtre m e l y pas s ive . H e jus tl ook s ata ph oto th atI pos tand th at's th e e nd ofit. H e doe s notnottak e ph otos , h e doe s notupl oad th e m , h e doe s nottag th e m or add th e m to s e ts , w h ich w oul d be th e be h avior ofs om e body w h o is active l y participatory. Butw h e re h e is active -participatory is on Craig's Lis t, be caus e in th e San Francis co Bay are a h e 's a Cons e rvative Re publ ican, and th e re 's noting m ore fun for a Cons e rvative Re publ ican in th e San Francis co Bay are a th an th row ing fire bom bs into th e m iddl e ofa Craig's Lis tdis cus s ion. H e track s th e m , h e jus t goe s to tow n, h e 's s o e ngage d. So h e re you've gotone pe rs on w h o h as tw o diffe re ntbe h aviors . Is h e going to m ak e m e dia, or is h e going to cons um e it? Th e re is no one s iz e fits al l . I th ink w e w il le ve ntual l y ge tth e re , butw h ath ave w e done to introduce s om e body brand ne w to th is ?A brand ne w pe rs on is notgoing to s h ow up on th e Yah oo l is t;th e y're notgoing to s h ow up on Podcas tIs l and;th e y're notgoing to s udde nl y w al k into a w e b 2.0 s um m it. You've gotto gotoutth e re and e xpl ain itto th e m and ch ange th e de finition for e ve ry pe rs on you tal k to. I s ol d podcas ting to one guy be caus e I s aid, "H ow w oul d you l ik e to k ick corporate radio in th e nuts !?" Th atw as th e m os tpoe tic and be autifulde finition ofpodcas ting th atI e ve r gave , butI didn't s ay podcas ting and I didn'ts ay RSS. Butth at's notth e s am e de finition th atI gave m y m oth e r-inl aw , w h o I as k e d, "Do you k now h ow de m ocratic podcas ting is ?" Sh e re pl ie d, "O h , re al l y?" ButI h ad to h ol d h e r h and;you can'tjus ts e nd your m oth e r-in-l aw to a top-te n l is t. W h il e Il ove pe opl e l ik e Daw n and Dre w or K e ith and th e Girl , th e y're atth e top te n ofan indicator ofw h at's m os tpopul ar, butnotfor your m oth e r-in-l aw . So you've gotto h ol d pe opl e 's h ands . Invite h e r to a Podcam p, don't invite th e s am e tw e l ve pe opl e th atare ate ve ry s ingl e dam n e ve nt. Th at's h ow w e can do it. I th ink w e can do it, be caus e itis s o im portant. Th os e barrie rs are be ing l ow e re d. Th at's al lve ry im portant, and w e jus th ave to w ork h arde r,.
Page 38 - Issue 19 : August 2007
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e ricrice cs coop
cs coop: W h y can'tw e buy podcas ts on iTune s , Eric? e ricrice : Th is is one ofth e h arde s tth ings I've e ve r h ad to tal k about. I fe e ll ik e I h ave to focus pe opl e 's atte ntion on th e actualis s ue ath and be caus e , w e ge tve ry dis tracte d by our ow n pe rs onal ide ol ogie s . W h e n pe opl e are in th atl ittl e e conom ic pl ace cal l e d iTune s m us ic s tore , th e y are pre vie w ing and purch as ing individualunits , or col l e ctions , or a s e rie s , an e pis ode , a s e as on, w h ate ve r you w antto cal lit. Th ate xis ts for e ve ry s ingl e m e dia type , th e iTune s Unive rs ity s tuff notw ith s tanding. Eve ryth ing in th e iTune s m us ic s tore is for s al e e xce pt podcas ts . Th e arch ite cture ofw h atw e do is e xactl y th e s am e as a te l e vis ion s h ow , or an al bum , or a s ong. It's an individualunit, it's a col l e ction ofunits . W h y h as th at s w itch notbe e n fl ippe d?So you h ave to ral l y s upport, to m ak e a l otofnois e aboutit. Butth e firs tth ing th at com e s up is "I w oul dn'tpay for for a podcas t!" [l augh s ] Wel l , th at's notth e is s ue ! Th e is s ue is th atth e re are tre m e ndous num be rs ofpe opl e w h o are s pe nding m one y in th e re . I w oul dl ove to s e e a top-te n l is tbas e d on s al es num be rs . Th at's w h e n you s e e th atpe opl e are com m itte d. O fcours e it's fre e , and I be l ie ve in th at h ybrid m ark e tof'fre e m ium ', w h e re s om e s tuffis fre e , s om e s tuffis pay. You can give s om e th ing aw ay for fre e , you can ch arge for ital s o;it's al lgood. I be l ie ve in th atm ode l , I be l ie ve itw ork s , it's be e n prove n to w ork and ye tw e are jus tnote ve n give n th e abil ity to try it. Ifyou w oul dn'tpay for a podcas t, th e n fine , don'tbuy a podcas t. Ifth e re w e re a price tag on a podcas tand s om e body paid you a dol l ar for it, w oul d you s ay no and h and th e m th e ir m one y back ?I don'tk now ;m aybe you w oul d. Th e th ing is , w e don'th ave a ch oice , and a l otofw h atw e be l ie ve in, th e foundation ofbl ogging, podcas ting, vide obl ogging, Se cond Life is al l th e s am e th ing, th is l ow e r barrie r to e ntry. W e al lcan do it- don'tyou te l lm e w h atI can and cannot do - and Appl e is indire ctl y te l l ing us , "w e l l , no!" cs coop: W h at's th e future ofpodcas ting? e ricrice : I w oul d s ay th atth e re 's nota future in podcas ting, butI onl y s ay th atbe caus e I be l ie ve in brand. You're pre s e nting inform ation, you're h aving conve rs ations w ith pe opl e and you h appe n to be us ing a m e dium . W h e n Ew an Spe nce did a s h ow l ive and itw as al s o a podcas tw h atdo you cal l th at?I don'tk now , I w as jus tl is te ning to th is rock s h ow . Ifyou s tartadopting al lth e s e oth e r form s ofde l ive ry, w h atdoe s th atm ak e you?You w antto Eve ryth ing in th e iTune s m us ic l abe lyours e l fand type cas tyours e l fand be ing "oh you're jus ta s tore is for s al e ... e xce ptw h at? podcas te r?" I ne e d s om e th ing m ore th an th at. O H YEAH , podcas ts . h ttp://w w w .e ricrice .com /bl o... 02:43 AM Jul y 03, 2007 from w e b Nobody s ays , "did you l is te n to th e CNN.com h om e page audio th ing?" It w as on CNN, w e don'tk now ifw e 're tal k ing aboutth e TV, th e w e b page , th e podcas t, it's jus tth e re . So, th e future 's re al l y in th e brand, be caus e w e are going to ch ange up m e dia and w e 're going to us e itin w ays w e probabl y h ave n'tfigure d outye t. e ricrice h as l ogge d out cs coop h as l ogge d out
Th e inte rvie w podcast w ith Eric R ice is at h ttp://citiz e ns coop.co.uk
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Review Roulette W ELL, IT'S A ye ar ago w e first starte d th e R e vie w R oul e tte h e re at Podcast Use r M agazine . Th e ide a w as to find a ne w w ay to com e up w ith unusual , inte re sting podcast re vie w s, not th e ordinary sycoph antic re vie w s you'l lfind al love r th e m ost popul ar podcast dire ctorie s. So, w e th ough t w e 'd e nd up w ith som e inte re sting re vie w s of som e off-th e -w al lpodcasts, but w h o w as to k now w e w oul d e nd up e njoying so m any of th e podcasts ch ose n for us by th e random h and of fate ?Th is m onth w e h ave a typicalm ixe d bag of 4 podcasts...
Animal Talk, Naturally
Review ed by Ph il Clark
h ttp://w w w .anim al tal k natural l y.com im age : Anim alTal k , Natural l y
H ol istic h e al th is one of th ose al te rnative ph il osoph ie s th at is incre asingl y gaining popul arity as part of m ainstre am patie nt care . "Anim alTal k, Natural l y"(ATN) e xte nds th at ph il osoph y to th e anim alw orl d, focusing m ainl y on dom e stic pe ts l ik e dogs and cats. Th e h osts for th is se l f-de scribe d 'onl ine radio sh ow ', are anim alnaturalh e al th care pione e rs, Kim Bl oom e r and Je annie Th om ason. Kim Bl oom e r is a naturalpe t care e ducator, profe ssionall e cture r and w rite r on naturalpe t h e al th , co-auth oring th e book "W h ol e H e al th for H appy D ogs." Je annie Th om ason is a NaturalR e aring D og Expe rt, and a form e r l ice nse d ve te rinarian te ch nician, now continuing to study anim alnutrition and h ol istic anim alh usbandry. As you subscribe to th e podcast and l ook back ove r th e ir m any e pisode s - th e y're now w e l linto th e se cond ye ar of broadcasting - you'l lse e th at e ach w e e k l y e pisode cl ock s in at about 50-60 m ins w ith a m ain topic. In addition, it is ve ry com m on for additionalsh ort 5-10 m inute bonus e pisode s to be issue d containing 'afte r sh ow ' conve rsations th at provide adde d val ue to th e m ain topic. Anoth e r fe ature of th e ir sh ow is th at you can join th e m onl ine , for th e l ive re cording of th e ir Page 40 - Issue 19 : August 2007
sh ow , e ach W e dne sday at 230pm Easte rn (h ttp://anim al tal k natural l y.ivocal ize .ne t/?p=0)So und q ual ity and production val ue s are ge ne ral l y good, w ith th e inform ation and topic of th e day be ing th e focus of th e sh ow . Th e y don't w aste tim e ge tting dow n to busine ss, and th e conte nt is jam -pack e d into th e al l otte d tim e . Gue sts on just th e past fe w sh ow s h ave be e n fre q ue nt visitor, D r. Joh n Sym e s, an e xpe rt in Naturopath y, anim alh e al th vide o produce rs, and auth ors of anim al re l ate d book s. Kim and Je annie are pe rsonabl e h osts, ask e xce l l e nt q ue stions, and th rough th e ir obvious k now l e dge and passion for th e topic, pre se nt h igh l y inform ative podcasts. Not be ing a dog or cat ow ne r (I did h ave fe rre ts once ), I w oul dn't subscribe to th e sh ow and l iste n re gul arl y. If I h ad one criticism , m aybe th e y try to pack TO O m uch into one sh ow . ATN is w h at w e b conte nt is al labout - a spe cific nich e topic, inform ative , k now l e dge abl e and re gul arl y produce d. For pe opl e w h o w ant to unde rstand a l ittl e m ore about h ow to care natural l y for th e ir pe ts, and unde rstand h ow th e m ode rn l ife styl e can affe ct th e ir h e al th ,
w w w .podcastusermagaz ine.com th is sh ow is re com m e nde d. Afte r al l , it's com m onpl ace for us to pre fe r organic produce to ge t be tte r fl avor and h e al th , so w h y not give th e sam e conside ration to your pe t?Th e y're a m e m be r of th e fam il y as w e l l ! Conte nt 3.5 out of 5 Production 3.38 out of 5
Jam -pack e d w ith w e l l -re se arch e d inform ation for pe t ow ne rs and anim al l ove rs. M y one gripe is th at it's a bit too US-ce ntric for m e w ith th e h osts m ak ing ze ro e ffort to re m e m be r th e re 's a big w ide w orl d out h e re . Sim pl e th ings l ik e not assum ing al ll iste ne rs are aw are of th e sam e ne w s storie s and e xpl aining acronym s th e y use w oul d m ak e it m ore use fulfor m e .
- Bernadette
Pro Money Talk h ttp://w w w .prom one ytal k .com /
Review ed by H ilary Tyler im age : pro m one y tal k
O ne of th e m ost com m onl y ove rl ook e d are as in l ife is th at of financialm atte rs. Usual l y, th is is due to th e fact th at m any fe e lit is com pl icate d, boring or sim pl y h ope l e ss and m aybe e ve n dow nrigh t de pre ssing! H ow e ve r, th e singl e l arge st m istak e one can m ak e is to do noth ing. So start sim pl e ...tune in to th e Pro M one y Tal k podcast and just l iste n. O n th e oth e r h and, if you h appe n to be one of th e proactive m inority w h o h as your financialpl ans in orde r, th e re is som e th ing h e re for you too.
pow e rfulsh ow is one titl e d "Succe ss Storie s 1: H el ga H ayse ". If you are a fe m al e,l iste n to th is one . If you are a h usband w h o l ove s h is w ife , l iste n to th is one . If you don't th ink you can l iste n to finance ge e k s tal k ing about m one y m atte rs, l iste n to th is one . If you onl yl iste n to one , l iste n to th is one . H e l ga's story is a pow e rful re m inde r th at w e m ust pay atte ntion to our financialh e al th , e spe cial l y if you are not th e one w h o m anage s your ow n m one y.
Pro M one y Tal k is a podcast th at focuse s on financialtopics cove ring inve sting, taxe s, e state pl anning, as w e l las e ducationaland re tire m e nt saving. It is aim e d at a broad audie nce th at incl ude s anyone inte re ste d in th e ir financialh e al th and w e l l -be ing. R e ce nt e pisode s fe ature inte rvie w s w ith financiale xpe rts, book auth ors, a finance ce l e brity (if th e re is such a th ing), as w e l las succe ss storie s from ordinary individual s.
Th e Pro M one y Tal k w e bsite contains h ost bios, sh ow de scription and a prom ine nt first-tim e rs l ink , w h ich l e ads to instructions on h ow to subscribe . Th e re is al so a l ink to dow nl oad past sh ow s, w h ich offe rs a se arch by date and al so, m ore use ful l y, by cate gory. Th e first sh ow w as produce d in June 2005. Audio h e l p w as acq uire d in M ay 2006 and so th e sound q ual ity is ve ry good in sh ow s since . Ne w sh ow s are inte nde d to be de l ive re d m onth l y, th ough th e y h ave be e n m ore sporadic l ate l y due to th e birth of a ch il d for one h ost, Jason Papie r.
Each sh ow cove rs one financialtopic inde pth , ofte n w ith a gue st. O ne fe ature s an inte rvie w w ith Ste ve Forbe s, a form e r US pre side ntialcandidate and e ditor-in-ch ie f of Forbe s busine ss m agazine on Th e Fl at Tax. Im pre ssive ! Th ough m aybe th e m ost
H osts Jason Papie r and Pe te r Joh nson are partne rs w ith PW Joh nson W e al th M anage m e nt, an inde pe nde nt, fe e -onl y Page 41 - Issue 19 : August 2007
w w w .podcastusermagaz ine.com w e al th and financialpl anning firm in Sunnyval e , Cal ifornia. Th e y are both inte l l ige nt and inform ative guide s, and th ough th e y probabl y do th is podcast as a se rvice to th e ir cl ie nts, it is fre e advice for anyone w h o se e k s it. Th e re is no adve rtising and th e y do not profit from th e sh ow . Pro M one y Tal k is a supe rb e ducationalpodcast re com m e nde d for anyone h oping to im prove th e ir financial future .
O nl y an occasionale pisode is re l e vant (or e ve n com pre h e nsibl e ) to anyone l iving outside th e US but for Am e ricans re ady to put som e e ffort into th e ir financial pl anning th is is a podcast ful lof practical inform ation.
-Bernadette
Th e re is l ots of e xce l l e nt inform ation on num e rous financialtopics to be found on th is podcast. I e njoye d th e in-de pth inte rvie w s w ith th e e xpe rt gue sts. Th is one w il lbe staying in m y subscription l ist!
Conte nt 3.83 out of 5 Production 3.5 out of 5
Infected by Martin S argent h ttp://re vis ion3.com /infe cte d
-Marilyn Madsen
Review ed by Bernadette im age : re vis ion3
Each e pisode of th is podcast fe ature s M artin Sarge nt, form e rl y of Te ch TVand curre ntl y of h al f a doze n vide o podcasts, and h is trusty side k ick Gator, offe ring th e ir insigh t into th e th e m e of th e w e e k . As w e l las th e bante r be tw e e n th e tw o h osts th e re are com e dy sk e tch e s, inte rvie w s w ith pe opl e vague l y re l e vant to th e th e m e and random oth e r funnine ss. R e ce nt e pisode s h ave focuse d on a w ide varie ty of th e m e s incl uding 19 85, book s, poop and th e se arch for Bigfoot. Parts of th is sh ow m ade m e l augh ‘tilI h urt w h il e oth e r se gm e nts fail e d to raise e ve n th e h int of a sm il e . Sk its w h ich invol ve d a gue st h aving to de cide if a ph rase w as th e titl e of a bl ack fe m inist book or bl ack -th e m e d porno, th e story of W ayne th e First Com pute r Ge e k and prom os for a ne w M iam i Vice styl e sh ow cal l e d H ot Sh ot and th e Kid w e re dam ne d funny but th e sh ow de vol ve d into se l findul ge nce a l ittl e too ofte n to m aintain m y inte re st. M aybe it’s a girlth ing but poop tal k and re fe re nce s to m asturbation, Page 42 - Issue 19 : August 2007
w h il e occasional l y funny, h ave l im ite d scope for providing be l l yl augh s. Th e sh ow is avail abl e in audio and vide o form at al th ough I’m not sure w h y as th e m ajority of conte nt re q uire s th e visuale l e m e nt for th e h um our and e xce l l e nt production val ue s to be appre ciate d. I l iste ne d to th e audio ve rsion of a coupl e of sh ow s and w as com pl e te l y unde rw h e l m e d. As th e vide o ve rsions of th ose sam e e pisode s w e re far m ore e ngaging I’m curious as to w h y th e y both e r providing th e dualform ats. H ow e ve r, R e vision3 (th e pare nt com pany re sponsibl e for th e sh ow ) are to be congratul ate d for providing e nough dow nl oad and torre nt form ats to suit e ve ry pote ntialconsum e r. For som e one w h o cl aim s to be th e Inte rne t th e sh ow ’s w e b pre se nce is fairl y l im ite d. Th e re are forum s for sh ow fans at R e vision3’s w e bsite but, at l e ast at th e tim e of w riting th is re vie w , Sarge nt’s ow n w e bsite , Sarge w orl d, is unavail abl e and th e re ’s not m uch activity on th e sh ow ’s M ySpace page .
w w w .podcastusermagaz ine.com Th e sh ow is not w ork -safe and unl e ss you’re a particul arl yl ibe ralpare nt you’l l probabl y w ant to save th is one for adul t tim e . In podcast fanatic te rm s th is sh ow score s: w il lw atch again, m aybe not re l igiousl y to e ve ry e pisode . Conte nt 2.83 out of 5 Production 4.33 out of 5
Th is podcast h as good production q ual ity but th e conte nt total l yl e ave s m e col d.W ith th e “F-w ord” use d as an adje ctive five tim e s in th e initialfe w m inute s of th e first e pisode to w h ich I l iste ne d, I de cide d to try anoth e r e pisode w h ich w as about th e sam e . Th is one is de finite l y not m y cup of te a but m ay be e nte rtaining to oth e rs.
-Marilyn Madsen
CO LO NIAL Review ed by Marilyn Madsen W ILLIAMS BU RG: PAS T AND PRES ENT th e subje ct be ing im age : w w w .h is tory.org
h ttp://w w w .h is tory.org
Wel l , th e roul e tte w h e e l se rve d up anoth e r be h ind th e sce ne s podcast for th is re vie w e r. Th e Col onial W il l iam sburg Foundation produce s th is podcast. Th e foundation ope rate s th e w orl d’s l arge st l iving h istory m use um in W il l iam sburg, Virginia – th e re store d 18th ce ntury capitalof Britain’s l arge st, w e al th ie st and m ost popul ous outpost in th e Ne w W orl d. Each w e e k form e r TVcorre sponde nt, Ll oyd D obyns inte rvie w s one of th e m any inte rpre te rs, h istorians and curators th at m ak e th is m use um com e to l ife . From saddl e and h arne ss m ak e rs to tail ors and w ig sh op w ork e rs, th e subje ct m atte r runs th e ful lgam ut of h istoricalprofe ssions. O th e r e pisode s are m ini h istory l e ssons, th e m ost re ce nt be ing about th e M arq uis de Lafaye tte . Each podcast ave rage s fifte e n m inute s in l e ngth w h ich fl y by q uick l y w ith M r. D obyn’s affabl e and dow n h om e inte rvie w ing styl e . W ith a se t ope ning tag fol l ow e d by th e inte rvie w th e sh ow s are consiste nt in form at and sol id audio q ual ity. Th is podcast is avail abl e in standard M P3 form at and al so in an e nh ance d form at in w h ich im age s are poste d to one ’s com pute r to suppl e m e nt
discusse d. H ope ful l y vide o podcasts are in th e ne ar future for th e foundation as th e e nh ance d form at w as found to be static and not ve ry e njoyabl e since one w as l e ft staring at th e sam e picture for q uite som e tim e w h il st th e audio progre sse d.
Th e w e bsite for Col onial W il l iam sburg is q uite e xte nsive . Th e h om e page h as a prom ine nt l ink to th e podcast page . O nce at th e page , a good job is done of e xpl aining w h at a podcast is and h ow to dow nl oad. Th e R SS fe e d is e asy to find and th e arch ive s are navigate d w ith e ase . H aving be e n in production since M ay of 2005 th e re are num e rous e pisode s to pe ruse for th ose w h o are h istory buffs. O ne pe rk w as th e abil ity to sort th e e pisode s in th e arch ive by date and cate gory. M ost of m y l iste ning w as done at w ork w ith a co-w ork e r al so pre se nt. Afte r h e aring th re e e pisode s h e r com m e nt w as: “ I w ant to go to W il l iam sburg!” Inde e d th at is w h at th is inform ative and w e l l produce d podcast m ak e s one w ant to do… ..
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Conte nt 3.0 out of 5 Production 3.17 out of 5
Th e be h ind th e sce ne s inte rvie w s w ith th ose w h o w ork at th e Col onial W il l iam sburg l iving h istory m use um are surprisingl y e ngaging and ve ry inform ative . H ow e ve r both th e podcast and th e associate d w e bsite se e m to assum e th at e ve ryone h as a ce rtain l e ve l of prior k now l e dge of US h istory. Link s to re l e vant source s for th ose of us w ith out th at k now l e dge w oul d be m uch appre ciate d.
-Bernadette
Th is m onth 's podcasts w e re random l y ch ose n from : PodcastAl l e y.com (h ttp://podcas tal l e y.com /) and PodcastPick l e .com (h ttp://podcas tpick l e .com /)
Th e ratings give n are th e ave rage of th e score s give n by our te am of re vie w e rs. Th e y w e re re vie w e d by: Be rnade tte - h ttp://podcas tfanatic.com H il ary Tyl e r - h ttp://tpn.th e podcas tne tw ork .com M aril yn M adse n - m ads e nm @ e arth l ink .ne t Ph ilCl ark - h ttp://w w w .th e britandyank e e .com
Note : Jane t Park inson is on vacation th is m onth . Gl obalVoice s w il lre turn in th e Se pte m be r issue of Podcast Use r M agazine .
Podsafe indie m usic pre se nte d by Gabor Kovacs
h ttp://w w w .e l e ctrical l anguage .co.uk /podcas t.h tm l
Your back stage pass to th e Fringe w ith Ew an Spe nce
h ttp://e dinburgh fringe .th e podcas tne tw ork .com /
Quick and painl e ss m e dicalinform ation.
h ttp://w w w .m e dical m inute podcas t.com /
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A h usband and w ife te am sh aring storie s and e xpe rie nce s w ith te ch nol ogy h ttp://w w w .th e fl as h ing12.com
Sh ow casing som e of th e be st in inde pe nde nt m usic
h ttp://podcas t.indie l aunch pad.com /
TotalPodCastroph e British - Am e rican h um our and m ore pangol ins th an you can sh ak e a stick at! h ttp://w w w .total podcas troph e .com /
w w w .podcastusermagaz ine.com
Album Review
Doomsday Afternoon by
Ph ideaux
Text by Grant Mason TH E M OM ENT H AS arrive d at l ast, afte r a l ife tim e of w aiting. For Ph ide aux Xavie r and h is band Ph ide aux, th e ir ne w CD - D oom sday Afte rnoon - is out in th e ope n and fe aturing an orch e stra to suppl e m e nt th e ir m ode rn art-rock sound. Th e use of re alstrings and h orns is som e th ing th at Ph ide aux h as al w ays dre am e d of since h e aring th e bands of h is youth using th e m , and at l ast h e h as h is ch ance . Th e al bum is th e se cond contains m ore cl assic prog part of a pl anne d tril ogy synth sounds th an R ick th at be gan in 2006 w ith W ak e m an coul d find up one Th e Gre at Le ap, and it's a of h is w izard's sl e e ve s;AR P conce pt al bum ful lof String Ense m bl e s, bom bastic fury and q uie t m inim oogs, M e l l otrons, M oog anguish as Ph ide aux rail s Voyage rs and a varie ty of against th e h orrors and th e organs to nam e but a fe w . e nvironm e ntaldisaste rs of Th e re 's e ve n a cam e o th e m ode rn w orl d in h is appe arance on k e ys by IQ's se l f-titl e d 'e co-disaste r M artin O rford during pl ay', as w e l las tak ing a 'Form al de h yde ', as h e 's l ong sh ot at th e al l -pow e rful be e n adm ire d by Ph ide aux for im age courte s y Invocal auth ority th at's asse rting its e ve rh is w ork . Not onl y th at, but fans of th e tigh te ning grip on our dail yl ive s and l ate 70s British progste rs UK w il ladore m anipul ating our th ough ts and M atth e w Parm e nte r's soaring viol in sol os be h aviours. Ch e e ry stuff inde e d, but you w h ich w e ave in and out of track s, onl y ne e d to part th e curtains and stare occasional l y due l l ing in th e sol o stak e s out be yond th e CCTVcam e ras w atch ing w ith th e l e ad guitar parts, e ch oing th e our e ve ry m ove to se e th at th e w orl d is cl assic fiddl ing of Eddy Jobson at h is pe ak h e ading tow ards h e l lin a h andcart and (and I'm using th e Scottish se nse of Ph ide aux's l yrics are a re fl e ction of th is fiddl ing h e re to m e an pl aying 'th e fiddl e ', and a pre diction of w h e re w e 'l le nd up. so no snigge ring up th e back th e re ). Unl e ss w e ope n our e ye s, it is inde e d a D oom sday Afte rnoon m ade re al . Th e al bum is a conce pt pie ce , be st l iste ne d to in one com pl e te sitting. M ul tiM usical l y, th e al bum is a pow e rful l aye re d and com pl e x in its arrange m e nt, re m inde r of tw o facts th e re 's no w ay to do it any k ind of justice w ith out l iste ning to it yourse l f. Tak e a trip 1. prog isn't de ad al ong to Ph ide aux's M ySpace page at 2. inde pe nde nt artists can produce w w w .m yspace .com /ph ide aux, w h e re - at al bum s of such stunning q ual ity th at th e ir th e tim e of w riting - you can sam pl e an com m e rcialcounte rparts sh oul d be e dit of M icrode ath Softstar and h anging th e ir h e ads in sh am e and Form al de h yde . M icrode ath ope ns w ith an h anging up th e ir instrum e nts fore ve r insiste nt be at, toppe d w ith l ush strings and h orns l e ading to a m al e /fe m al e vocal It's 10 songs and 66 m inute s 59 se conds due t inte rspe rse d w ith th e (th e y coul dn't q uite w ork out a w ay to ge t afore m e ntione d viol in and prog k e yboard 66 m inute s and 60 se conds dow n pre se ts. Th e track itse l f w as de scribe d to ge ddit?) of raw e m otionalpow e r and m e by Ph ide aux as th e al bum 's "final Page 45 - Issue 19 : August 2007
w w w .podcastusermagaz ine.com fre ak out- th e one w h e re w e th row e ve ry m usicalth e m e into th e air and sl ice th e m up l ik e Edw ard Scissorh ands". You can al m ost fe e lth e e ne rgy radiate d by th e m usicians as th e y cre ate d th is m aste rpie ce - it crack l e s outw ards from your spe ak e rs, grabbing you by th e scruff of th e ne ck and sh ak ing you untilyou appre ciate th e craftsm ansh ip th at th e y brough t to it.It m ay surprise l iste ne rs th at it w as, in fact, tw o ye ars in th e m ak ing; th e originalsh e l lof th e al bum w as re corde d at th e sam e tim e as Th e Gre at Le ap. Ph ide aux insists th at th e tim e w as "w h at it took to ripe n, l ik e th at fl ow e r th at onl y ope ns up once e ve ry te n ye ars..."It is, in e ffe ct, a fine w ine al bum . It sh oul d be appre ciate d and re ve re d;sam pl ed l ovingl y and sl uice d around th e m outh w h il st you appre ciate its de pth s and fl avours. W ith e ve ry gl ass, you find anoth e r ne w note in its bouq ue t to savour, and it continue s to im prove w ith age . Ye t you don't h ave to sh e l lout th ousands for th e e xpe rie nce . For l e ss th an th e price of th e m ajority of m ainstre am l abe l s' CD s, you too can tre at yourse l f to an al bum th at w il ll ive w ith you fore ve r. It's a m ode rn m aste rpie ce of th e ge nre , com pl e te w ith incre dibl e and siniste r artw ork from band m e m be r M ol l y Ruttan w h ich continue s th e dark im age ry th e m e th at be gan in th e first al bum of th e tril ogy. I guarante e you th at it's q uite probabl y th e be st fe w q uid you'l le ve r spe nd. In th e be ginning Ph ide aux w orrie d th at "e ith e r [h e w as]de l ude d and it suck s, or righ t and it's gre at, but e ith e r w ay I just h ope pe opl e w il lgive it a ch ance ."Th e re are no de l usions h e re . H e W AS righ t. Now it's your ch ance to confirm h is h ope s.
Ph ide aux h ttp://w w w .bl oodfis h .com h ttp://w w w .m ys pace .com /ph ide aux Grant M ason h ttp://w w w .th re e from l e ith .com Page 46 - Issue 19 : August 2007
A fun, sm art l ook at our w orl d, pop cul ture and ne w s from M arv h ttp://m rnice guy.org/
Th e D an Kl ass Sh ow : Exam inations of l ife from a stay-ath om e dad/sh ut-in. h ttp://w w w .th e bitte re s tpil l .com /
D oug R apson's Fortuitous Finds from th e W orl dw ide Web
h ttp://w w w .ge e k acre s .info/
Jak e 's h um orous l ook at l ife in Sal t Lak e City, UT
h ttp://notrigh tpodcas t.com /
A dail y th re e m inute fak e ne w s broadcast from com e dian Ste ve Tath am h ttp://w w w .th e ointm e nt.com /
JM Soul Connoisse ur focuse s on th e m id te m po side of Soul , sh ow casing al lth e h ot inde pe nde nt soultal e nts h ttp://w w w .jm s oul .com /
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Album Review s
Junk and Th e Bads
Review s of tw o old favourite podsafe albums Text by Gabor Kovacs AS A M USIC podcaste r, I find th at I spe nd a l ot of tim e l iste ning to ne w m usic as I try to find m ate rialfor th e podcast. I w il ll iste n to an al bum se ve raltim e s ove r a pe riod of a fe w w e e k s, and th e n it ge ts put to one side and forgotte n. And th at is a sh am e . So I h ave de l ibe rate l y spe nt a fe w days l iste ning again to a coupl e of al bum s th at I pl aye d a l ot l ast sum m e r. I am pl e ase d to say th at th e y stil lsound ve ry good.
Th e Last S tand O f Th e Conspiracy Cow boy - Junk distance be tw e e n m e dia output and ordinary pe opl e ’s l ive s (“sw itch e d off m y tvtoday, got re al ity, don’t ne e d any m ore ”), and W oul dn’t Ge t O ut O f Be d (For Anyone But You).Joh n can al so w rite and pe rform songs w ith a h arde r e dge . Tak e track 4, Al lH ailTh e Arm age ddon Kid. Th is is m ore of a rock song, im age courte s y Junk and, unl e ss I am Th e Last Stand of th e m istak e n, give s us th e pe rform e r’s tak e Conspiracy Cow boy sh ow s th at Joh n is an on th e m oral ity of w ar, w ith particul ar accom pl ish e d guitarist and songw rite r. ve nom dire cte d at th e Iraq w ar and th e Th e al bum starts w ith one of th ose songs pol iticians w h o took us to w ar. th at you fe e lm ay be a pe rsonal m anife sto. Th e Idiot’s Ch ant be gins w ith None of th e pl aying or w riting is cl ich e d. a strong drum be at and k e yboard sounds Unl ik e m uch ch art out put , t h e re is th at are h igh l y re m inisce nt of Japan or scarce l y a w e ak song on th e al bum , and Pe te r Gabrie l . Th e be at drive s th at song so I can re com m e nd Th e Last Stand O f forw ard as it de ve l ops into strong guitars Th e Conspiracy Cow boy as a strong and vocal s. Th e song is re prise d at th e al bum by a tal e nte d artist. Th e al bum can e nd of th e al bum . be purch ase d via scotl oads.co.uk for £4.9 9 ;e xce l l e nt val ue for 11 strong track s. In be tw e e n com e a num be r of songs th at And th e good ne w s is th at Joh n Sm ith is sh ow case Sm ith ’s abil ity. Th e se incl ude now w ork ing w ith an unnam e d “nam e ” h al f a doze n m id-te m po songs, guitarproduce r in Ne w York , on a proje ct th at base d and w ith a strong h ook . Th e se w il lprobabl y incl ude re w ork ings of som e songs are al lw e l l -w ritte n, and sh ow Joh n of th e songs from Th e Last Stand O f Th e Sm ith to be a strong vocal ist and Conspiracy Cow boy. proficie nt guitarist. Stand out track s incl ude Nobody Pe opl e , a song about th e Joh n Sm ith , ak a Junk , is anoth e r e xam pl e of th e m any artists w h o ch oose to go it al one w h e n it com e s to re cording and prom oting th e ir w ork . Th e Last Stand O f Th e Conspiracy Cow boy w as re l e ase d in June 2006. I h ad be e n w aiting for th e al bum since Autum n 2005, h aving be e n se nt som e pre vie w track s.
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Earth From S pace - Th e Bads
ALSO IN JUNE 2006, I w as introduce d by a l iste ne r from Ne w Z e al and to th e w ork of Auck l and band Th e Bads. I pl aye d a coupl e of songs on th e e l e ctricall anguage podcast, and th e n discove re d I coul d onl y buy th e al bum from Ne w Z e al and. NZ $40 odd incl uding postage se e m e d a l ot, but I cal m e d dow n w h e n I ch e ck e d th e e xch ange rate , it w as re asonabl e val ue . Th e n cam e a fortnigh t’s w ait for th e CD , but it w as w orth w aiting for. Th e Bads are D ianne Sw ann and Bre tt Adam s. D ianne and Bre tt spe nt a num be r of ye ars in th e UK, w h e re th e y ach ie ve d som e succe ss w ith a num be r of bands;D ianne al so sang back ing vocal s on a R adioh e ad song or tw o and joine d th e m on tour. Afte r re turning to Ne w Z e al and, th e y be cam e th e Bads. Th e ir 2005 re l e ase Earth From Space is th e ir first offe ring.
th is al bum , th e first song O ff Th e R ail s h as dark e r ch ords l urk ing be h ind th e m e l odie s. Th e dark e r tone is ofte n al so provide d by th e w ay th at Bre tt sings h is h arm onie s to D ianne ’s l e ad vocal . Th e l yrics al so strik e a note th at pe rh aps jars w ith th e m el ody. For e xam pl e,m y favourite song Bit By Bit is a catch y pop song im age courte s y Th e Bads w ith a gre at h ook . As far as I am conce rne d it’s an obvious h it, but Th e al bum contains 11 songs. Th e form at in it D ianne be gins by singing “If I didn’t is boy/girlm e l odic guitar base d pop, and l ove you, I’d be nice r to you, w oul dn’t l et again Bre tt Adam s is a tal e nte d guitar you se e m y dark side ”, and it carrie s on pl aye r. Som e of th e songs, such as Fe e l s from th e re . Lik e R ain and D on’t Go Losing, re m ind m e of l ate 19 80’s Eve ryth ing But Th e Girl . Bre tt Adam s tak e s th e l e ad vocal s on tw o Som e of th e songs h ave an al m ost country songs th at are som e w h at diffe re nt in fe e l . But th e re is a troubl e d e dge l urk ing ch aracte r, w ith a gre ate r rock fe e lto be h ind th e m e l odie s and h arm onie s. It is th e m . Troubl e R ide s A Fast H orse th is e dge th at m ak e s th is al bum diffe re nt re m inds m e of th ose Joe W al sh songs on and not just anoth e r col l e ction of catch y Eagl e s al bum s in th e w ay th at th e h arde r tune s. It give s gre ate r de pth to th e songs. rock contrasts w ith th e m ore m e l odic nature of th e oth e r songs. Again, a good For e xam pl e , in a styl e th at is typicalof se t of songs and an al bum w orth ge tting h ol d of. Junk –Th e Last StandO f Th e Conspiracy Cow boy Band W e bsite : h ttp://w w w .th e junk -yard.com Buy th e m usic: h ttp://w w w .s cotl oads .co.uk Th e Bads –Earth From Space Band W e bsite : h ttp://w w w .th e bads .com Buty th e m usic: h ttp://w w w .am pl ifie r.co.nz Gabor Kovacs –th e e l e ctricall anguage podcast h ttp://w w w .e l e ctrical l anguage .co.uk /podcas t.h tm l Page 48 - Issue 19 : August 2007
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Your Podcast Probabl y S ucks Text by Patrick Melton
ph oto courte s y Patrick M e l ton
AS I’M W RITING th is, th e re are ove r 33,000 podcasts l iste d on Podcast Al l e y. I’m using Podcast Al l e y as a re fe re nce point for th e num be r of e xisting podcasts be cause oth e r dire ctorie s, particul arl y Podcast Pick l e , m ak e m e w ant to punch som e one in th e face w ith th e ir 'l e t’s h ug it out' se nse of com m unity. I th ink I h e ard som e one say th at th e re are ne arl y 100,000 podcasts total(h ow ’s th at for citing re fe re nce s?), but I’l lbe fair and e stim ate th e totalnum be r of podcasts at a conse rvative 50,000. Th at am ounts to m il l ions of h ours of fre e 'e nte rtainm e nt'. Th e probl e m is m ost of it suck s. Ch ance s are , if you’re re ading th is, and you h ave a sh ow , it’s h orribl e. “But Patrick , you don’t k now m e or m y sh ow . H ow can you possibl y k now it’s h orribl e ?” I’m just using th e l aw of ave rage s. W h e n it com e s to podcasts, finding som e th ing you can tol e rate is al m ost im possibl e . In a se a of aw ful -to-m e diocre audio, ch ance s are you’re going to com e up disappointe d tim e afte r tim e . H e re ’s a fun e xpe rim e nt: Brow se to any cate gory in your favorite dire ctory for podcasts, and go dow n to th e num be r sixrate d sh ow . Th at sh ow you just found – th e sixth be st rate d sh ow in its cate gory – is virtual l y unl iste nabl e . I’m w il l ing to be t
m one y on it. It doe sn’t m atte r if it’s an accom pl ish e d busine ssm an re com m e nding stock s, or a bore d h ouse w ife te l l ing you h ow to ge t your k ids to sl e e p faste r. Th e bottom l ine it’s a dry and boring e xpe rie nce , usual l y w ith onl y one pe rson and a cacoph ony of back ground noise and distractions. I’m sick of h e aring about h ow podcasting is for e ve ryone , h ow it give s us al la voice . “H e l l–anyone w ith a com pute r and a m icroph one can h ave a sh ow !” No. Th e y can’t. Th e re ’s a re ason m ost pe opl e didn’t h ave a voice be fore podcasting, and th e re ’s a re ason you sh oul dn’t now . Just be cause you CAN put out a re cording about your l ate st m utton ste w re cipe doe sn’t m e an you sh oul d. Page 49 - Issue 19 : August 2007
w w w .podcastusermagaz ine.com I don’t e xpe ct e ve ryone to h ave som e h uge l y succe ssfulsh ow w ith te ns of th ousands of l iste ne rs. W e can’t al lbe m e . I k now th at. It w oul d be unfair of m e to assum e you coul d produce a sh ow as w e l l as I can or as popul ar. I’m one -of-a-k ind, fol k s. But th e re are som e tips I can give you. If you’re w il l ing to l iste n, and not just w rite m e off as som e bag of h ot air th at ge ts off putting you and your sil l y e xcuse for a sh ow dow n, I th ink you’l lgain som e th ing from th is. And if you don’t, you can continue dow n th e m e aningl e ss path you’re curre ntl y on, and I w il lbe none th e w ise r. If you’re stil lre ading, you’re e ith e r w il l ing to l e arn or you just w ant som e m ore tal k ing points for th e angry l e tte r you’re going to pe n about m e th e m inute I w rap th is up. R e gardl e ss, I’ve just prove n m y first tip w ork s: SAY SOM ETH ING INTERESTING. It doe sn’t h ave to be e arth -sh atte ring. Just m ak e it e nte rtaining at th e l e ast. Tal k about a book or m ovie . Tal k about a h obby or e xpe rie nce . Tal k about anyth ing be side s your 19 cats and e xce ssive l y offe nsive body odor. It doe sn’t m atte r if pe opl e l iste n be cause th e y l ove you or h ate you, as l ong as th e y l iste n. No one care s if you’re a truck e r and you podcast from stops al ong your trip. Th at’s boring. Th ink w h at you w ant, but I’m te l l ing you –it’s boring. D rive your truck off an e m bank m e nt and m aybe I’l ltune in. A re cording of you w ate ring your pl ants is boring. You fish ing for som e th ing to tal k about it boring. Your k ids are boring. Unl e ss you’re a com pe l l ing pe rson (and you are n’t), you can’t m ak e th e m undane e nte rtaining. It’s just m undane . So pl an your sh ow be fore you start, and tal k about som e th ing inte re sting to your audie nce . K NOW YOUR AUD IENCE. Your stupid frie nds and fam il y are sh e e p. Th e y are n’t going to give you an h one st opinion about your sh ow . If you’re not ge tting a w ide Page 50 - Issue 19 : August 2007
varie ty of fe e dback on your sh ow , you h ave a boring sh ow w ith l ittl e to no audie nce oth e r th an th e se ve n pe opl e you IM e d th e l ink to th is m orning. Th e y tol d m e to te l lyou th at th e y h ate you and your stupid sh ow , and if th e y th ough t you w oul dn’t com m it suicide m om e nts l ate r, th e y’d bl ock you from e ve r contacting th e m again. If you’ve be e n doing your sh ow for any substantialam ount of tim e and are n’t constantl y se e ing l iste ne r grow th (both in q uantity and q ual ity), th e n stop or re toolyour sh ow . If th e onl y pe opl e th at l iste n are your fam il y or your stupid frie nds and ne igh bors, th e n stop podcasting and pick up a ph one . You don’t ne e d an R SS fe e d to tal k to th e m . BE CONSISTENT. I’ve se e n sh ow s re l e ase one sh ow a w e e k , one sh ow a m onth , and one sh ow a q uarte r. I’ve se e n sh ow s re l e ase th re e th is w e e k , four ne xt m onth , and th e n noth ing for th re e m onth s. W h at th e h e l lare you doing? Figure it out. No one h as tim e for your fl ak y pe rsonal ity in re all ife , and w e sure as h e l lare n’t going to put up w ith it on th e inte rne t. Th e m ost succe ssfulsh ow s are consiste nt in q ual ity and sch e dul ing. I e ve n re spe ct som e of th e se sil l y H arry Potte r podcasts (as m uch as I can re spe ct adul ts w h o e njoy re ading about pre pube sce nt boys riding pol e s and casting spe l l s) be cause th e y are constantl y rate d h igh and re l e ase sh ow s th at are ve ry consiste nt. D o yourse l f a favor and com m it to putting out a sh ow re gul arl y or q uit. In fact, just do m e a favor and q uit – odds are your sh ow re al l y is w orth l e ss. No doubt som e of th is is h ard to sw al l ow . If you’re m ad at m e righ t now , it’s be cause th is h its a l ittl e cl ose to h om e for you. I ge t it. W h o am I to te l lyou w h at to do and h ow ?You’re an adul t. You’l ldo w h at you w ant. You’re righ t. Your sh ow is just fine h ow it is. Patrick M e l ton h ttp://w w w .nobodyl ik e s onions .com
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Your Podcast is Probably Just Fine
Text by Judith H utch inson, M.D.
Th e re are a l ot of pod casts out th e re .A l ot.If you are l ook ing for som e th ing th at e nte rtains or inform s you, you’re prob ab l y going to h ave to d o a l ot of d igging to find w h at you’re l ook ing for. ARE YOU LOOK ING for th e sam e th ings I am ?O n som e l e ve l s, ye s. You w ant a podcast th at spe ak s to you, and provide s som e k ind of conne ction w ith th e podcaste r. You w ant a podcast th at h as re asonabl e q ual ity and doe sn’t m ak e you w ince e ve ry tim e you h e ar a w ord th at starts w ith th e l e tte r “P”. You al so w ant som e th ing th at th e traditionalm e dia isn’t providing. Podcasts appe alto nich e audie nce s. It doe sn’t tak e m uch re se arch to discove r th at th e re are a l ot of nich e s out th e re . Sh ow s about k nitting are not l ik e l y to be e m brace d by bodybuil de rs, but k nitte rs se e m to l ik e th e m . Th ose k nitte rs are not l ik e l y to w ant to tune into th e l ate st ne w s about com pe titive bodybuil ding. A sh ow de vote d to pangol ins - scal y ante ate rs isn’t l ik e l y to garne r any audie nce at al l . Th at’s h ow podcasting w ork s. W e tak e w h at w e w ant and l e ave th e re st be h ind. If you’re a podcaste r, you’re m ost l ik e l y producing your sh ow as a h obby. Sure , th e re are a fe w fol k s m ak ing a l iving at podcasting, but not m any of us. (I’m k e e ping m y day job!) It’s l ik e gol f. Th e re are a fe w profe ssionalgol fe rs w h o m ak e th e ir l iving h itting a l ittl e w h ite bal linto a h ol e . Th e re are m il l ions of pe opl e who spe nd th e ir w e e k e nds doing th e sam e th ing. D oe s th at fact th at th e am ate ur gol fe rs w il lne ve r be abl e to com pe te w ith Tige r W oods pre cl ude th e m from e njoying th e sport?Sh oul d w e tak e aw ay th e ir cl ubs and ban th e m from gol f course s be cause th e y can’t pl ay as w e l las th e profe ssional s?O f course not.
W H Y ARE YOU POD CASTING?If you th ink it’s th e w ay to a l ife of fam e and rich e s, th e n you are probabl y going to be disappointe d. D o you th ink you h ave som e th ing of val ue to sh are ?Eve n if onl y a h andfulof pe opl e agre e s th at you do, th e n your e ffort is w orth w h il e. W H AT ARE YOU GETTING OUT OF IT? D oe s your sh ow se rve as a cre ative outl et for you?D oe s it l e t you ve nt your frustrations, or conne ct w ith l ik e -m inde d individual s?D oe s it give you a se nse of accom pl ish m e nt?If it doe sn’t give you som e th ing, you w on’t be doing it for l ong. W h ate ve r you ge t out of it is im portant to you, and th at’s w h at m atte rs. D O YOU ENJOY YOUR H OBBY?If so, th e n far be it from m e , or anyone e l se , to te l lyou not to do it. I’m not going to w al k onto m y l ocalgol f course and start te l l ing am ate ur gol fe rs to go h om e . Lik e w ise , I’m not going to te l lany podcaste r to stop cre ating conte nt. I don’t h ave to l iste n to anyth ing th at I don’t l ik e , and ne ith e r do you. Podcasting is not a com pe tition. Th e re is room for e ve rybody. Podcast w h at you w ant, w h e n you w ant. If poor q ual ity or inconsiste nt production sch e dul e s cost you l iste ne rs, th e n th at’s th e price you pay. Som e sh ow s w il lbe popul ar, and oth e rs w on’t, but th at doe sn’t m ak e th e m any l e ss val uabl e. Enough of th is. 'Th is W e e k in Pangol ins' h as just publ ish e d anoth e r e pisode , and I can’t ge t e nough of th ose African scal y ante ate r h ijink s.
Judith H utch inson, M .D . h ttp://w w w .m e dical m inute podcas t.com Page 51 - Issue 19 : August 2007
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NexTier Bank Podcasting Case S tudy Text by Mark Juliano
im age : Ne xTie r
NEXTIER IS A re gionalbank w ith 15 com m unity branch e s north of Pittsburgh , a private bank in R adnor, Pe nnsyl vania, and a l oan production office in Scottsdal e , Arizona. Th e bank cate rs to both sm al l -to-m e dium size d busine sse s as w e l las consum e rs. Th e y h ave be e n in busine ss for ove r 128 ye ars, w ith de e p roots in th e com m unity. W ith re spe ct to podcasting, it h as ch ange d th e w ay th e y do m ark e ting. “W e th ink w e ’re diffe re nt in our approach to a busine ss ow ne r and h is busine ss,” says Patty Pe rh acs, Jr. Vice Pre side nt and M ark e ting D ire ctor w ith Ne xTie r. “Anyone w h o h as be e n cal l e d on by a bank probabl y h as a sim il ar e xpe rie nce : Th e bank e r com e s in, h e sits dow n, introduce s h im se l f, and th e n starts tal k ing about rate s, and products, and se rvice s, and basical l y says to th e busine ss ow ne r - W h at are you paying? W e 'l lse e if w e can be at your rate s.” “Ne xTie r is diffe re nt, and our approach is uniq ue in th at w e are ve ry consul tative . W e do re se arch and spe nd tim e unde rstanding w h at's going on in th e ir busine ss today and th e ch al l e nge s th e y face . W e w ork w ith our e xpe rts from our various busine ss l ine s, to re al l y put toge th e r a com pre h e nsive sol ution for th at particul ar busine ss ow ne r's ne e ds.” Both Ne xTie r and Patty can ce rtainl y be conside re d e arl y pione e rs of corporate podcasting. Spe cifical l y, Patty h as be e n th e podcasting ch am pion w ith in th e bank , and e arl y on sh e re cognize d th e rapid grow th of iPods, M P3 pl aye rs, and iTune s, and saw th e opportunity for podcasting as a ne w m e dium to conve y its m ark e ting m e ssage s and diffe re ntiate th e bank . “As you k now , it's re al l y tough out th e re . W e at Ne xTie r pride ourse l ve s on our innovation. I w as ve ry e xcite d to Page 52 - Issue 19 : August 2007
e m brace th is ne w m e dium th rough out our e nte rprise .” Th e bank ’s consul tative approach is e vide nce d in th e ir use of podcasting, im age : Ne xTie r w h ich be gan in January 2007. Curre ntl y, Ne xTie r use s podcasting prim aril y as an e ducationaltooland in turn use s th e e ducationaltoolfor m ark e ting. Be fore podcasting, Ne xTie r h e l d an inpe rson se m inar-styl e Busine ss Le arning Se rie s. Th e bank ’s e m pl oye e s w oul d com e toge th e r w ith private busine ss ow ne rs to discuss re l e vant topics. “Initial l y, w e th ough t it w oul d be gre at to h ave a re cording of th e e ve nt for al lth ose pe opl e w h o coul dn’t atte nd. W e coul d push out an e m ailof th e podcast to custom e rs and prospe cts.” R e cording of e ve nts is typicalas an initialusage of podcasting by com panie s, and it is re com m e nde d be cause of its re l ative sim pl icity. Subse q ue ntl y, Ne xTie r be gan doing l ive podcasting (tal k casting) using se rvice s provide d by Tal k Sh oe (w w w .tal k sh oe .com ). Th e bank h ol ds a l ive podcast on th e inte rne t once a m onth , w h e re onl ine participants can tal k and te xt-ch at w ith bank e xpe rts. Tal k Sh oe e nabl e s th e podcast h ost to controlth e conve rsation via m uting, se e -w h o’stal k ing indication, and re q ue st-to-tal k
w w w .podcastusermagaz ine.com q ue uing. Th e onl ine se ssions are al so broadcast l ive (stre am e d), and re corde d as a podcast. “Tal k casting is just gre at be cause it's l ive , and it can be inte ractive and w h at's e ve n nice r, you h ave som e th ing to sh ow for your tim e th at you can sh are w ith oth e r busine ss ow ne rs and custom e rs,” says Patty. Ne xTie r h as al so be gun to buil d an onl ine podcast and re source l ibrary, w h e re visitors w il lbe abl e to se l e ct diffe re nt podcast topics off th e sh e l f. “W e ’re re al l y e xcite d about th e l ibrary. Inste ad of h aving w h ite pape rs, w e ’l lh ave podcasts.”
se nds pe opl e to th e ir w e bsite to h e ar w h at th e ir e xpe rts h ave to say. Sim il arl y, th e ir podcasts point pe opl e back to th e ir w e bsite . Ask e d about w h at advice sh e ’d give oth e r com panie s ve nturing into podcasting, Patty says th at th e com pany sh oul d h ave som e one act in th e rol e of ‘product ch am pion’ w h e n introducing a ne w te ch nol ogy l ik e podcasting. “I te l lyou, I w as a l ittl e appre h e nsive , al th ough I w as th e one l e ading th e ch arge and se l l ing it th rough out th e com pany. I ne e de d to ge t e ve ryone on board, be cause ul tim ate l y, th e y’d be th e one s doing th e podcasts."
im age : Ne xTie r
So w h at h as Ne xTie r gaine d from th e ir podcasting e nde avors?“I'l lte l lyou w h at. W e 've turne d a l ot of h e ads using podcasting,” com m e nts Patty. “W e im pre sse d pe opl e , and th e y said, ‘W ow , l ook at th is! Th e y’re a sm al lcom m unity bank , and l ook at th e type s of th ings th e y're doing. W h o is th is Ne xTie r and h ow can th e y h e l p m e ?'” “Podcasting and e ducating give s us a l ot m ore cre dibil ity. I th ink it al so h e l ps us buil d our brand. I'm just finding th at th e re are m ore and m ore w ays to util ize it. Th e re are e arl y adopte r custom e rs out th e re . Th e y're innovators. Th e y're th e k ind of pe opl e th at can appre ciate w h at Ne xTie r can do for th e m , so it's re al l ya w in-w in for e ve rybody.” Ne xTie r w e ave s podcasting into th e fabric of th e ir ove ral lm ark e ting strate gy to se nd a consiste nt m e ssage . For e xam pl e , th e y prom ote th e ir podcasts and tal k casts th rough th e ir traditionaladve rtising, dire ct m ailand pe rsonalse l l ing, w h ich
Patty al so says th at w h il e podcasting is a re l ative l y ne w te ch nol ogy, in m any w ays, it’s just l ik e any oth e r m ark e ting ve h icl e. “You just h ave to th ink th rough w h at it is you h ave to say, and w h at's your m e ssage . H ow do you w ant to h e l p your custom e rs or prospe cts?” For Ne xTie r and oth e r corporate use rs, it com e s dow n to ask ing th e cl assic m ark e ting q ue stions: W h o's your targe t audie nce ?W h at are your com pany’s be ne fits?W h at's your m e ssage ?And so forth . Final l y, Patty says, “Go to our w e bsite , w w w .th e bank .com , and l iste n to our re corde d podcasts. And jum p in on our l ive Tal k Sh oe tal k casts. Th at's th e e asie st w ay to pl ay w ith it.” Al l -in-al l , it’s cl e ar th at Ne xTie r h as h ad a good e xpe rie nce w ith podcasting and h igh l y re com m e nds th at oth e r com panie s start to e xpl ore th e te ch nol ogy. Ne xTie r h ttp://w w w .th e bank .com M ark Jul iano h ttp://w w w .tal k s h oe .com Page 53 - Issue 19 : August 2007
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Reveal Yourself Text by Marilyn Madsen &
Grant Mason
EACH M ONTH W E ask an artist to suppl y th e ir answ e rs to a scie ntifical l y se l e cte d se t of q ue stions (w e l l , O K –w e l ie d –th e y w e re se l e cte d by re side nt PUM boffins Grant M ason and M aril yn M adse n), in th e h ope th at th e ir re sponse s cast a l ittl e m ore l igh t on w h at m ak e s th e m tick ...
Amestory
M OST TREASURED POSSESSION? M y 83’ Vol vo station w agon
W H O ARE YOU? M ik e Russe l l W H AT D O YOU D O? I pl ay guitar and sing in Am e story H OW LONG H AVE YOU D ONE IT? I be gan w riting songs about 5 ye ars ago D O YOU H AVE A H ID D EN TALENT? googl ing th ings
ph oto courte s y Am e s tory's M ySpace
STEREO OR IPOD ? Ste re o for sure . I can go w ith out a song w h il e I’m in th e supe rm ark e t
M OST D OG-EARED BOOK ? M ad Cow boy by H ow ard Lym an. I ge t m ade fun of for e ating h e al th y. Th at’s l ik e m ak ing fun of som e one for ge tting A’s in sch ool .
BRAND OF COFFEE? Th e ch e ape st stuff FOOD YOU CAN'T LIVE W ITH OUT? Burritos!
W H AT RINGTONE IS ON YOUR M OBILE PH ONE? Vibrate !
FAVOURITE LABOUR-SAVING D EVICE? I cal lit be ing singl e
FAVOURITE ARTIST? Pink Fl oyd
W H AT M OTTO D O YOU LIVE BY? Th e Gol de n Rul e
FAVOURITE ALBUM ? Pe t Sounds
W H O IS YOUR FICTIONALH ERO OR H EROINE? Larry D avid.
FAVOURITE TRACK ? Th e re Is a Ligh t Th at Ne ve r Goe s O ut, by Th e Sm ith s. BIGGEST INFLUENCE? Pink Fl oyd W H AT ALBUM D O YOU W ISH YOU'D NEVER BOUGH T? M ariah Care y’s “Butte rfl y.” Page 54 - Issue 19 : August 2007
W H AT'S TH E BEST AD VICE YOU W ERE EVER GIVEN? Th ink for yourse l f. H EALTH AND H APPINESS OR FAM E AND FORTUNE? H e al th and h appine ss h ttp://w w w .m ys pace .com /am e s tory h ttp://w w w .am e s tory.com
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L etters to PU M - Dear Podcast U ser Magaz ine In th e com m e ntary, Fre e Spe e ch in H um or: Am e rica's Ne w Sl ippe ry Sl ope (PUM # 18, Jul y 2007, p.39 -41), Patrick M e l ton use s th e aspe cts of com pl e te l y diffe re nt situations to justify h is concl usion th at h e h as th e righ t to offe nd m e . Th is l oose k nit string of se e m ingl y com m on se nse argum e nts com e s unrave l e d w h e n one com e s to re al ize th e situations h e is trying to bring toge th e r h ave noth ing to do w ith one anoth e r. H is pre m ise be gins w ith a l am e nt for th e de parture of D on Im us. As w e al lk now , M r. Im us w as give n h is w al k ing pape rs w h e n h e re fe rre d to a group of w om e n ath l e te s w h o w e re e ngage d in th e ir atte m pt to gain th e h igh e st ach ie ve m e nt in th e ir sport, a bunch of w h ore s, and ye s, h e w as sure to toss a raciale pith e t into th e m ix. Th e brunt of Patrick 's rant is to bl am e th e offe nde d and fe e l s th at w e aving th e nam e s of th e typicalsuspe cts w h o tak e advantage of th e se situations into h is argum e nt give s it an air of l ogic. Patrick is just a bit younge r th an I, so I w oul dl ik e th e opportunity to som e day sit dow n w ith h im and e xpl ain a l ittl e h istory. I re m e m be r se gre gation, I re m e m be r th e assassination of M artin Luth e r King, I re m e m be r finding out th at be fore th e CivilR igh ts Act be cam e l aw it w oul d h ave be e n il l e galfor our fam il y to se l lour h ouse to som e one w h o w as bl ack . Th e se w e re not good tim e s for e ve ryone , and m any pe opl e w hol ive d th rough th e 60s w ork e d h ard to try to m ak e th is country fre e for e ve ryone . Th e 60s did not stop th e h ate and th e jok e s at th e e xpe nse of th e se pe opl e , but ove r tim e w e h ave grow n and com e to re al ize th at th e se are not th e th ings a civil ize d socie ty tol e rate s. Th is is w h y racist com m e nts are no l onge r an acce ptabl e part of Am e rican l ife . If pe opl e appe ar to be 'ove rl y se nsitive ' to racism , th e n th is is th e re ason. W h e n w e go back to M r. Im us's re m ark s, w e ne e d to unde rstand w h y h e w as dism isse d. H e no l onge r h as h is radio sh ow be cause of th e re action to h is racist com m e nts. Liste ne rs com pl aine d to th e station and took th e m ost e ffe ctive course of action, w h ich w as to com pl ain to th e adve rtise rs. W ith out custom e rs for th e adve rtise rs, th e re are no adve rtise rs for th e sh ow and no sh ow for th e l iste ne rs. Th at's fre e spe e ch in action - tak e your voice to th e l ocation w h e re it w il lfind th e m ost pow e r. H ow e ve r, it appe ars th at Patrick 's re alprobl e m is one h e spe nds q uite a bit of tim e com pl aining about - th e fact th at h e e xpe cte d GoD addy to sponsor h is sh ow and th e y de cl ine d. By h is w ords h e appe ars to fe e lth at th e sponsorsh ip w as h is righ t, and th ose righ ts w e re abuse d by th e com pany's de cision (appare ntl y be cause th e y fe l t th at h is podcast w as inse nsitive , due to a particul ar e pisode brough t to th e ir atte ntion). Is th is re al l y a fre e spe e ch issue ? O f course not. Nobody is te l l ing Patrick th at h e cannot say w h ate ve r h e w ish e s on h is podcast, but GoD addy is e xe rcising th e ir righ t to de cide w h o th e y w il lsponsor. Continue d...
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L etters to PU M - Dear Podcast U ser Magaz ine Continue d... As Patrick m e ntione d, pe rh aps th is w as just as w e l l , since th e incide nt re sul te d in h is sh ow gaining l iste ne rs. Th is is not an unk now n situation;afte r al l , H ow ard Ste rn re cove re d nice l y afte r be ing fire d from h is job in W ash ington, D C. (I re m e m be r th e incide nt - fol l ow ing an airl ine r crash ing just afte r tak e off, h e cal l ed th e carrie r w h il e on air to ask if th e y w oul d be sch e dul ing re gul ar fl igh ts from th e W ash ington NationalAirport to th e 14th Stre e t Bridge , w h ich th e pl ane h ad h it.) Patrick 's m isunde rstanding of fre e spe e ch issue s absol ute l y confuse s th e issue s. D on Im us w as e m pl oye d at th e pl e asure of h is e m pl oye r, and w h e n h is e m pl oye r saw th at h e w as m ore of a l iabil ity th an an asse t, th e n h is e m pl oym e nt e nde d. M r. Im us can stand on a soap box on any stre e t corne r (or for th at m atte r, on th e stage of any com e dy cl ub th at w il ll e t h im - al th ough I k now of at l e ast one com e dy cl ub th at w il lnot e m pl oy M ich ae lR ich ards) and say th e ve ry th ings h e said th at got h im fire d. Th at is fre e spe e ch . Patrick h as th e righ t to say anyth ing h e w ish e s on h is podcast. Th at is al so fre e spe e ch . If th is w e re not th e case , th e n I w oul d be w il l ing to join h ands w ith Patrick and figh t for th e se l ibe rtie s. H ow e ve r, th is is not a fre e spe e ch issue , and h is 'conce rn' h as no re l e vance to podcaste rs. Ch e e rs Ge orge LSm yth First off, gre at issue ! Th e form atting and im age s l ook gre at and th e conte nt is strong. I e spe cial l y concur w ith M r. Spe nce 's position of "w ork ing l ive "(PUM # 17, June 2007, pp. 23-24). W h e n m y sh ow --R adio Ch aos (h ttp://radioch aos.org/rcpc.xm l ) first w e nt l ive , w e w e re doing m ul tipl e tak e s and tons of e diting. It took 10 h ours just to pie ce an h our-l ong sh ow toge th e r. R e sponse s to cl ips w e re e ntire l y "canne d"and th is w as dre adful l y obvious. So I m ade th e e xe cutive de cision th at for good or bad, once th e re cord button w as pre sse d, w e w ork e d just l ik e th e traditionalradio guys--m istak e s incl ude d. As a re sul t, w e h ave be com e be tte r podcaste rs--or, as m y associate produce r cal lus, "broadcaste rs." H e is righ t, w e m ay not be "m ainstre am "but w e are "broadcaste rs." Ul tim ate l y, Ew an is de ad on--th e passion se l l s th e sh ow w h il e th e pre ssure of w ork ing l ive h one s one 's sk il l s. Gre at articl e! NO LA Tre y R adio Ch aos Podcast h ttp://radioch aos.org
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W edge 2.0 by DFRW
h ttp://de anw h itbre ad.com
Page 57 - Issue 19 : August 2007
Back issue s of pod cast use r m agazine are avail abl e at w w w .podcastuse rm agazine .com
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Atte ntion podcaste rs and podcast fans...
pod cast use r m agazine invite s you to Prom ote Your Podcast
Prom ote Your Podcast
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TW IP Th is W e e k In Pangol ins
For pangol ins , th e ir ow ne rs , w oul d-be ow ne rs , th e ir arde ntadm ire rs , or anyone w ith a m arginal l y ps ych otic obs e s s ion w ith ... Pangol ins !
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It's e asy... 1. Em ailyour 300 x 300 pixe ll ogo, accom panying te xt, and podcast UR Lto PodcastUse rM ag@ gm ail .com 2. And w e 'l lse nd you an invoice by e m ail *As avail abl e,l im ite d num be r pe r m onth Le t us k now if you are going to th e Ne w M e dia Expo, and w e 'l lput your prom o on th e 'M e e t M e At Th e Expo' page Page 59 - Issue 19 : August 2007
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More New s From PU M Th e BBC h as re l e ase d a be ta ve rsion of its iPl aye r softw are , w h ich al l ow s UK TVl ice nce paye rs using W indow s to "catch -up"on BBC te l e vision sh ow s from th e pre vious w e e k , for fre e . Unfortunate l y, th e appl ication onl y w ork s on W indow s XP. Th is h as l e d to a fl ood of com pl aints from disgruntl ed Vista, Linux and M ac use rs and an e pe tition w ith 12,000 signature s be ing de l ive re d to 10 D ow ning Stre e t.
New s Editor: Joh n Buckley A re port out th is m onth from te ch nol ogy re se arch consul tancy Yank e e Group sh ow s th at onl ine vide o is continuing its rise as a prom ine nt com pone nt in brand adve rtising. Th e re port e ntitl e d "Th e Ne w Pe rsuade rs: Brand Adve rtising Is th e Ne xt Big O nl ine Th ing"offe rs th e fol l ow ing re asons:
•Vide o conve ys e m otion be tte r th an te xt, im age s and audio. •Non-l ine ar onl ine vide o com bine s th e e m otive pow e r of te l e vision w ith th e inte ractivity and m e asurabil ity of inte rne t adve rtising. A BBC spok e sm an state d th at a M cc •Adve rtising in and around vide o is com patibl e ve rsion is due th is consiste nt w ith e xisting consum e r autum n. In th e m e antim e XP use rs e xpe ctations of adve rtising. m ay sign up at •Targe ting of onl ine vide o w il lcontinue h ttp://w w w .bbc.co.uk /ipl aye rbe ta/to and radical l y e xte nd th e tre nd re ce ive an invitation to join th e be ta e st abl ish e d by th e prol ife ration of cabl e program . ne tw ork Socialne tw ork ing appl ication Face book h as adde d support for ch anne l s th at audio and vide o posts in th e Face book w al lth is m onth . Th e e stabl ish e d nich e appl ication e ntitl e d D ivSh are app al l ow s vide os, M P3s, im age s and audie nce s to any oth e r fil e to be attach e d to a frie nds w al lw ith a fe w sim pl e consum e r brands. cl ick s. Visit h ttp://apps .face book .com /divs h are for m ore de tail s. Sadl y, th e notabl e e ntry of Unsigne d UK band Koopa into th e Top 40 Singl es Ch art in June , m anage d to e scape l arge l y unnotice d from l ast m onth s e dition of PUM . Th e song succe e d partl y th ank s to a prom otionalcam paign util ising th e coordinate d e fforts of UK Podcaste rs. M artin D e vaugh n - be tte r k now n to m any re ade rs of th is m agazine as 'Gre e n D ragon' and th e m an w h o introduce d Koopa to to podcasting w as q uote d as saying:"I th ink th is is a big ach ie ve m e nt, ch arting not just in iTune s, but in a country's nationalch art. It's dire ctl yl e d to th e band supporting INXS th is Th ursday 21st June at th e H am m e rsm ith Apol l o in London." Th e band q uote d on th e ir w e bsite said: "A m assive th ank -you to e ve ryone w h o bough t our l ate st singl e 'Th e O ne off Song For Sum m e r'.As som e of you m ay be aw are , it ch arte d at num be r 21 in th e O fficialUK Top 40 and Num be r 15 in th e O fficialUK D ow nl oad Ch art" M ore info from : h ttp://k oopath e band.com /
Next Month in PU M
W e ge ar up for th e Ne w M e dia Expo, and w e bring you m ore from your favourite w rite rs. And m ore !
Th is w ork is l ice ns e d unde r th e Cre ative Com m ons Attribution - Non Com m e rcial- Sh are Al ik e 2.0 Engl and and W al e s Lice ns e . To vie w a copy ofth is l ice ns e vis ith ttp://cre ative com m ons .org/l ice ns e s /by-nc-s a/2.0/uk / or s e nd a l e tte r to Cre ative Com m ons , 543 H ow ard Stre e t, 5th Fl oor, San Francis co, CA 9 4105, USA
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