School grants

Olympus is doing something nice to foster podcasting in schools:

For schools looking to explore the frontiers of podcasting, Olympus and education software developer Tool Factory have launched a new grant program specifically for teachers. The program supplies mixing and recording hardware and software valued at $3,000.

Details are here. I've never used any of their equipment, but there are certainly a lot of deserving schools out there that could put some podcast gear to good use!

Podcast expansion

Great article from our friends north of the border on the expansion of podcasting. It begins:

University professors do it, but worry their students will stop coming to class, and politicians hope for a popularity boost because of it. Tourists rely on it to give them directions and prevent them from looking like, well, tourists. Last Christmas was Queen Elizabeth's first time, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration just started doing it to alert the public to drug safety advisories. As of this month, CBC Radio will be doing a lot more of it.

As podcasting becomes more mainstream, will we see early adopters become frustrated, or become excited about the increasing audience? Probably a little of both... even though broadcasters are squeezing a lot of the early indie podcasts off the top 10 charts at iTunes, I think competition is always a good thing. The real question for NPR might be, will people stop listening to their radios and get their programming in a place where the annual pledge drive can't reach them, or is very easy to skip past?

Switching servers

Things might get a little whacky here at the blog over the course of the next 24-48 hours... hopefully the server transition will go smoothly and things will return to normal sooner rather than later.

Good resource: Blogger & Podcaster

I'm surprised I haven't mentioned Blogger & Podcaster magazine before... I find there's a lot of good information in there. You can subscribe to the online and podcast editions for free (registration required) or go old school and pay for the print edition. This month's cover does not feature a supermodel on the cover. I know... shocking!

Footsteps

Remember that Edison Study on podcasting from a few weeks ago? The one that said this:

While awareness of podcasting is up significantly, usage of audio podcasting is only up slightly. Awareness of podcasting has jumped from 22 percent in 2006 to 37 percent in 2007. In that time, those having ever listened to an audio podcast have risen from 11 percent to 13 percent.

Slow growth, according to the study... but something jumped out at me as I read an article detailing the report from the radio industry publication Radio Ink. Note that the report only looked at audio podcasting, totally ignoring the huge growth in video podcasting. Now, it's kind of an apples and oranges thing because the radio industry is far more concerned about audio podcasts, but I think it shows that the Edison Study's numbers are fairly incomplete since it leaves out the entire video platform. Would inclusion of those numbers make a difference? Perhaps, perhaps not... but let's make sure we don't latch onto numbers that provide an incomplete picture of the growth of the overall podcast industry.

Oh, and just in case you don't think the radio industry is getting a bit defensive... this from Bill Rose, senior vice president of marketing at Arbitron (the co-sponsor of the study):

[T]he widely held perception that people who use new digital platforms listen less to over-the-air radio is false. In fact, users of digital radio platforms spend just as much time listening to over-the-air radio as the average consumer.

Translation... this podcasting thing is SO in radio's rearview mirror. Yeah... but it's gaining, sir.

rules for the revolution podcast

I previously mentioned Colette Vogele's great legal guide on podcasting, but I just noticed that her podcast is now featured on iTunes. Something tells me her subscription numbers are going through the roof... great news for a great podcast. Now, if only I could get Continuing Legal Education credits for listening!

Boosting your bottom line

Interesting article in today's Chicago Sun-Times regarding podcasting... this jumped right off the screen:

LaRue Highsmith, veteran producer of educational programming for health professionals, recently began spicing up his online media mix by offering physicians, clinical lab professionals and others the option of downloading his Webcast programs as podcasts...
* * *
He estimates that podcasting increases the audience for his conferences by about 15 percent, which in turn boosts the fees he can charge his clients, such as Abbott Laboratories. Professionals who attend the courses can earn professional education credits.

Hmmm... how would you like to boost your business by 15 percent?

Garageband tip

For podcasters using Garageband as their recording and mixing platform, there's a great tip from MacWorld on how to export your mixdown as an uncompressed AIFF file, rather than in AAC format. Even better, check out the first comment from (it seems) Adam of the MacCast on how to have the best of both worlds... it allows you to maintain the formatting for an enhanced AAC podcast, and also later export the same project as an AIFF for conversion into an MP3. Very cool stuff, if semi-incomprehinsibly delivered in this post!

Windows screencast software

The other day I promised a shout out for Windows-based software for producing screencasts... I found a great piece of free software from CamStudio that looks like a great starter... there are some other higher-end options, but I'm loving the free...

Wireless podcasts. Almost.

You may remember a few months ago in my drooling for the iPhone, there was a brief glimmer of hope that iPhone users would be able to download podcasts wirelessly. As we later found out, that was not to be. It seems to be something that would be a natural fit for a wi-fi enabled music player to be able to reach out and download new episodes with a built in podcatcher.

Today, SanDisk announced the launch of the Sansa Connect, a product that's juuuuuust about there, but seems to fall flat right at the finish line. Seems that the Sansa hooks up with Yahoo! Music Unlimited To Go (hereafter to be forever referred to with an acronym as bad as the name... Y!MUTG), allowing a user to fill their Sansa with all of the tracks they want from the subscription service. Sadly, it seems that Y!MUTG is not cross linked with Yahoo! Podcasts... meaning those of us who dream of having instant access to podcasts as we roam aimlessly away from our computers will still have to wait for some Einstein or Curie (not to be confused with Curry) to deliver...

Screencasts

I just prepared a screencast for a podcast client using SnapzProX, an incredible program from Ambrosia Software, the creators of the indispensible Wiretap Pro. If you're a Mac OS X user, and you are preparing a screencast, give SnapzProX a shot. There is a free trial period with full functionality... the interface was easy to navigate (although I had trouble figuring out how start the recording... just click on the screen!), and the results are stellar.

I'm interested if there are similarly good software packages on the PC side... I'll take a look and report here in a future post.

iPhone taste

For the junkies out there... Apple just sent out another "taste" for you. Notice how I say "you" when I really should say "us."

Anyone who signed up with Apple for information on when the iPhone will be released received this teaser...

Talk to you soon.

Thanks for signing up. You'll be the first to hear the latest about iPhone— coming this June. That gives you just enough time to think of ways to break the news to your current phone.

Absolutely no new information, but I suspect it will get some attention. I'm constantly amazed at how well Apple is able to manage their hype machine. Never before has so much been said when so little is known.

I'm going back and forth on getting the iPhone in June. I hear through the grapevine that there will be some advancements made in short order following the release - not the least of which is enabling 3G web access via Cingular, rather than the slower version enabled on the iPhones shipping in June. Seems to me that deserves waiting... unless these phones are shipping with 3G capabilities and just need a simple update to activate the advanced features... hence my dilemma.

My Treo's looking at me funny... I better go console it.

Podcast Factory review

I posted last week about the HGTV Tech Toys shoot with my client Kimberly Wilson of Hip Tranquil Chick podcast... we recorded the segment with the M-Audio Podcast Factory last Friday morning. The nice thing about being Kimberly's podcast producer is that I got a chance test drive the product she was featuring on the show... here are my thoughts...

I like the Podcast Factory for what it is... a simple, all-in-one unit that works on Windows and Mac operating systems. It comes with a small mixer (really just a digitizer) that hooks up to the computer's USB port, and has an XLR input for a fairly simple dynamic microphone. It also comes with a nice, if not sturdy, folding mic stand. The real treat of the package is its overall size... it fits inside my small messenger bag and has none of the heft of my more typical setup (a Behringer mixer and condenser mics... it takes a suitcase when all is said and done to transport that beast!). The ease of use is another positive... it is a good product for beginners with its plug and play interface.

That being said, I think there are a couple of things going against the Podcast Factory. First, I would not recommend it for podcasters that need multiple mics in their setup or envision it in the future. I tried hooking up a microphone to the line-in in the back of the mixer and the results were fairly disastrous. There was a cycle hum and a clicking that wouldn't go away. Second, I think the price point is a bit high for what you get... a dynamic mic and a small USB interface for $179 seems a bit steep when you can - for less - get a small mixer with multiple channels and a condenser mic. The oft-mentioned Samson USB mic seems to be a better value at around $80 than the Podcast Factory from an ease-of-use perspective.

I tested the Podcast Factory "in the field" to capture a speech for another client. For a dynamic mic in a large open room, I thought it actually did a nice job. Since it's a directional microphone, the room noise didn't pick up quite as much as a condenser mic would have, which made the sound scrubbing in post-production cleaner. You can check out the results here (MP3).

All things considered, the Podcast Factory is a nice package, but I think some podcasters would outgrow it. I see it fitting in as a travel set, but certainly not a replacement for a more robust setup.

Capital Caucus featured on Yahoo Podcasts

Exciting news... Yahoo has just featured Capital Caucus, a show I produce and co-host, on its podcast directory at podcasts.yahoo.com. Congrats to my fellow members of the ragtag gang of the usual suspects!

client adventures in podcasting

A new client of mine has an exciting adventure ahead of him... he'll be spending the next three years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Vanuatu. One of the things that impresses me about his venture is his intent to blog and podcast his experiences. It's absolutely amazing how technology is going to allow his friends and family (and others, if he chooses to make this a public endeavor) to hear the sounds of a far away island in the Pacific the very same day he does. Well... the very same day he can get to Port Vila and find an Internet connection, I suppose...