Podonomics

I got an iPod for Christmas and it’s a formidable portable listening device. While everyone keeps preaching that you don’t need an iPod to listen or view podcasts (and you still don’t), ever since getting one, my podcast consumption has increased 100%.

What I realized is that while I use my computer for work-related tasks, the last thing I want to do is spend my leisure time in front of said computer to listen to podcasts.

Podcasts - no matter the subject - are leisure items to me. When I want to laugh, cry or discover new trends in my industry, I tune into podcasts.

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Now, if you’re struggling to figure out what to buy your favourite podcaster this Christmas, look no further than my handy list below. I own (or have used) all of the products below and can recommend them with 5 stars.

Adobe Audition

Since graduating from Audacity to Audition, I’ve noticed a marked increase in the quality of my audio files. If you’ve been producing podcasts for a while and you’re looking for a more robust audio editing software, get Audition.

I’ll warn you, there’s a steep learning curve as it’s not as intuitive as Audacity, but with the right tutorials and a bit of mucking around, you’ll get the hang of this awesome editing software.

Mac Book Pro

Need I say more? It has everything a podcaster needs. Everything. I touched it. Once. I’ll just wallow in self pity as I count my loonies one-by-one to see if I can finally get my hands on one of these babies.

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What used to take hours in the editing process, now only takes seconds.

I’m preparing a podcast right at this second and there are a variety of voices in the audio. Some come through really loud, others really soft. I rolled my eyes, slumped my shoulders and pursed my lips knowing that it would take me hours to even out all the voices.

In comes the Levelator, a nice little tool made by Gigavox that has a huge impact. If you notice that the levels are off in your recording, in other words, one person sounds really loud, another sounds really soft:

1. Save your recording as a .wav file.
2. Drag and drop your file into the Levelator applet that sits on your desktop.
3. Wait a few seconds as the Levelator, well…levelates.
4. When it’s finished, it say that your file has been levelated.
5. Open up the output file (not the original) in your editing software, listen and you’ll notice that all the voices are at the same level.

This is the missing can from the six pack. The Levelator is a podcast producer’s best friend. Use it to cut down on some of your production time.

What a great niche and what an awesome moniker. Jerry Franklin, the Audacity Guy, led a session at the International Podcasting Expo on basic editing techniques using Audacity.

While I know everything there is to know about Audacity, I did pick up these tips:

• Use the solo button in the track control panel to only listen to one track at a time when you have many tracks open. That way, you don’t have to move things around just to isolate the sound your really want to hear from one track.
• The Audacity Guy warned against editing out every um, ah or what he called “artifact.” It’d take too long, but more importantly, everyone will sound the same. Your goal is to make your guest sound authoritative and you want your podcast to move along, but don’t edit to the point where the personalities are removed.
• Don’t forget to save early and save often.
• The Audacity Guy took us through the envelope tool. Unfortunately, I was distracted by something my mother was saying to me, so I missed it. It appears the envelope tool can help you increase and decrease the volume of a chunk of your audio without having to use the selection tool.

Here’s one of the sessions I was looking forward to all day. It was so good, the session went for close to 90-minutes.

Rich Roszel is a studio designer, audio consultant and live studio engineer who spoke at the International Podcasting Expo on how to upgrade your podcasting equipment.

He suggested:

• One of the most obvious, yet overlooked instant improvements - turn off the A/C, turn off the fans, move your mic away from the noise source, such as a noisy computer, a ticking clock, a bubbling aquarium.
• Not to soundproof your room until you determine whether your room is “live”, meaning your voice echos. You can break up the reflection of your voice against the walls by adding bookcases to your room, clothing or pictures. If you want to pay, Rich mentioned Auralex, Sonex or Clearsonic.
• Rich talked about mics and why he prefers a condenser mic over a dynamic mic.
• And way too much information that I can’t write about only because I was totally engaged and focused on what Rich had to say.

Dave Nelsen spoke about how to use TalkShoe to make your podcasts interactive at the International Podcasting Expo. It’s an interesting service because you can schedule some time to record your podcast in front of a live audience and turn that recording into a podcast.

Listeners can participate by sending a chat message or talking to the host live through a web-based application. Very interesting idea.You can create your own free profile by visiting TalkShoe.

Dick Schiferli introduced a product called Pamela for Skype. Although it was launched close to 2-years ago on February 16, 2005, I never heard of it until now. Pamela is localized in 30 languages and there has been 260,000+ downloads to date.

Pamela is your Skype virtual assistant, in other words, an answering machine for Skype. If someone rings you through Skype and you’re not around, Pamela will pick up and ask the person to leave a message.

From a podcasting standpoint, you could use Pamela as a comment line. People call your Skype id, Pamela records it, then Pamela will save it to your computer or automatically publish the recording directly to your blog.

Some drawbacks?

• It’s a Windows only tool. There’s isn’t a Pamela version for Mac users.
• No multiple feed support. So, if you’re using one blog to host multiple podcast feeds, Pamela won’t know how to publish recordings to your blog using multiple feeds. Pamela is a 1:1 tool.

Despite these 2 drawbacks, I’m going to give Pamela a try. Everyone who attended the International Podcasting Expo gets a complimentary Professional license of Pamela (valued at $24.95), so I have no excuse not to discover all that Pamela has to offer.

My colleague, Jason Van Orden, has released a book today called Promoting Your Podcast. I can fully endorse this book for a number of reasons:

• 1. I got an advanced copy and give it my thumbs up.
• 2. Jason simplifies the process that gives you tips on how to promote your podcast to gain a slew of listeners.
• 3. And he has a couple of podcasts so he really knows his stuff.

Not only do I encourage you to buy his book, but Jason has a few bonuses only available to the first 200 orders. He’s offering a complimentary 1-hour consultation, a weekly promotional checklist and video tutorials that you will find invaluable.

Jason’s book will become a must have for podcasters and podcasting enthusiasts. Grab your copy now.

Technorati Tags: podcasting, jason van orden

I can write and according to some, I write really well. However, I don’t like to write. Unless it’s a quick blog post, an article can take me eons to put together. The stars and moon need to be aligned “just so” before I can bang out a few articles.

It’s the reason why I love podcasting so much. I just open my recording software and start talking into my mic. Match made in heaven.

And as long as I could remember, I’ve always wanted to write a book. I’ve looked at self-publishing, then at finding a literary agent (I’m still looking for one), then self-publishing again. While I haven’t made up my mind as to how I’ll get this book published, I do know that it’s now time for me to start writing my first one.

So, my goal is to use a podcast, transcribe it, then polish up the transcription and turn them into pages of my new best selling book.

Here are some ideas that I have:

1. Podcasting Analogies - Everytime I talk to my friend Jan Janzen, she always reminds me to stop talking like a geek and instead, explain podcasting using comparisons that people can relate to. I’ve built up a ton of analogies that I use to explain what podcasting is, so I’d put them all into a book to help those interested in podcasting really understand it in layman’s terms.
2. Transperancy Through Social Media - This one would be geared to senior executives with examples of their peers who are blogging or podcasting.
3. Corporate Podcasting Case Studies - I think there are now enough corporations podcasting to write a book about it. It would have a global approach and would be a text book for other businesses who want ideas on how to use podcasting as a marketing tool.
4. Online Stars: The Un-natural Development of Internet-based Celebrities - Something fun in which I profile 20 people who have become stars as a result of podcasting.

So, which one should I work on first?

Update: I thought of another one, however, I’ll keep it in my back pocket for now. I think this one will be a winner and I’ll let you know about it after I write up the proposal.

Technorati Tags: podcasting, blogging, Marketing, case studies, social media, publishing

I have a ton of recording to do. I have to do a few bumpers for my clients (details next week) and I have to get my podcasts out the door.

So, I plunked down at my computer to start recording. I launched Audacity, hit the record button and nothing.

Nothing, I say.

Nadda.

I fiddled around with the settings, closed down Skype, double checked that the thing was plugged in, rebooted my box and yet Audacity wasn’t picking up my voice.

Then I plugged in another microphone and guess what? It worked. Which means my Plantronics headset is toast. Now, I’m scrambling to find the bill and the extended warranty that I bought because I’m sure that it’s been almost a year since I bought this thing. And knowing my luck, my extended warranty has already ran out.

If you decide to buy a headset, especially if it’s Plantronics, always buy the extended warranty. It’ll cost you a few extra bucks, but Plantronics isn’t known for its longevity, so it’ll save you a ton in the longrun.

Technorati Tags: podcasting, plantronics