Category: Podcasting

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Guardian Unlimited Podcast: World Cup 2006

Guardian UnlimitedI have been subscribed to the podcast from the Guardian Unlimited[wiki] for the FIFA World Cup 2006 for the last few days(all Guardian Unlimited podcasts can be found here). For some one like myself, this is the perfect companion to everything World Cup. The information about each of the teams is golden, but you also get insights into the world of futbol as well, finding out more about the players, coaches, and officials involved.

It’s highly entertaining as well. In addition to Guardian reporters checking in from nearly every single match to give their reports and opinions, everyone’s personality gets a chance to shine. For instance, Sean Ingle’s adventures as a vegetarian in the heart of German sausage country and surviving a dog attack to his hind quarters has me checking in to see what’s going to happen to him next. You can also post your comments to their blog and call them up on Skype to chime in with your opinions.

The World Cup is getting closer to the half way point, so there’s still plenty of time to check it out. I should also mention that this comes from folks in the U.K., where futbol is a way of life for some. If you’re in the states and craving more World Cup action, this might be worth your time.

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Vancouver video podcast: ThisCityRocks.com

ThisCityRocks.comI read a post[upinontario] some days ago about ThisCityRocks.com and finally got around to watching the first episode today. I have to say that I liked what I heard and saw. The production quality is pretty impressive, and their concept has plenty of material. At least it puts my video podcast work to shame, but I’m not using superb cameras or video editing equipment. There’s a little more talent going on here.

ThisCityRocks is a weekly video magazine, focusing on the music scene in Western Canada and the Vancouver Area. The 5-7 minute magazine-style show features live footage and profiles with musicians, plus a “what’s on” preview for the week ahead. The video podcast is distributed free through iTunes and the Internet. [thiscityrocks]

The hardest thing to do with podcasts is providing timely information. The “what’s on” segment at the end of the episode displays days of the week and not the actual dates of the events they highlight. At the same time, I’m not a person who rushes to each and every podcast that comes in. Watching this episode, all these events have passed. I like getting the info, but tweeking how it’s delivered might help with the “podcast time delay”.

Other than that, I have to say that I dig it. There is plenty of content to choose from within Vancouver alone. They’ve already gone passed their promise of delivering weekly episodes, but all good things come in due time.

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RadioZoom Episode #96

Published and released today, episode #96 of my podcast is out for the world’s listening.

An all World Cup episode with no preperation at all. I won’t claim to know anything about anyone in the tournament, but experiencing it in Vancouver is amazing. I captured some audio of people celebrating Korea’s win this morning from the balcony of the apartment. Otherwise, just some general discussion on what it’s like being in the international city that Vancouver is during such an international event. [radiozoom]

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Podcasting meetup in Ontario: Podcasters Across Borders

Podcasters Across BordersI would love to be able to attend the Podcasters Across Borders conference in Ontario on June 23-24, but the price of transportation, lodging, and admission is out of bounds in terms of our budget right now. I’m late to be mentioning this, but there are a few spots left if you think you want to go. Additionally, this is open to anyone, anywhere in the world, Americans included!

If the Vancouver podcaster meet up told me anything, events like this can be a good time. You get to speak geek with other people that dig podcasting, blogging, technology, and so on. Great ways to make contacts as well, even though I have yet to meet up with a few locals after my several months of being here.

I would love to meet the likes of Scarborough Dude and Andrew from geek.farm.life, both of which will be attending. There should really be something like this on the west coast, being that we’ve got Tod Maffin here in Vancouver and all.

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Oh, whatchamacallit… that pod audio program thing

It’s an old, ongoing argument that I can’t ignore.

Mark Ramsey, president of hear2.0, thinks that podcasting has a bad name, and thinks we should change the name to (drum roll)……………audiomag.

“Podcast is, when you think about it, an absolutely horrible name for the technology,” writes Ramsey. “We don’t watch a TVcast, we watch a TV show. We don’t listen to a Radiocast, it’s a radio show or a radio station. And much of podcast listening isn’t even done on an mp3 player, let alone an iPod.”  [podcastingnews]

Audiomag?  I don’t think so.  If the name is going to change, then it has to be something completely new, not to mention better than a fusing of two words.  Seriously, who does stuff like that?

Google[wiki] is the example I keep coming back to.  We don’t search for anything on the internet now.  Either you “Google it” or “look it up when you get home”.  More often then none, I bet you will Google something before you say you did a search.  That’s the power of a name and a brand.

Podcasting[wiki] is an argued name, but I haven’t heard anything better.  The issue of the word “pod” being linked to the Apple product brand is understandable, but remember that “radio” used to be called “wireless” until some one else came along with something better.  Wireless means something completely different today, but what would we call that if we we still called radio by its maiden name?

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Taking on the PodPress

I just completed an upgrade of PodPress from version 4.4 to 5.8 for my podcast. I should always know better that anytime I have it in my head that something will be pretty easy, it won’t. It took me a while to hammer out all the kinks, but the upgrade completely killed my RSS feed. And for those of you who don’t know, that’s your pipe for getting these little audio buggers out to the world.

With that said, I like what they’ve done in this version. This WordPress plugin is constantly under development, so be on the careful lookout for updates. Read the FAQ’s, visit the support forums, and be confident in your editing skills. This plugin is great once you get it installed. It’s the upgrades that will catch you by surprise.

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RadioZoom Episode #95

Recorded today and ready for downloading, I give you episode #95.

NewsBits, numbers stations, and hockey, oh my! A gorgeous day in Vancouver, B.C., this episode takes a look at a couple of Canadian news items relating back to life on the west coast. I also make good on a promise I made on my blog about highlighting the phenomenon known as “number stations”. We’ll wrap up this episode with some brief HockeyTalk, followed by another installment of Learning Hockey. [radiozoom]

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RadioZoom Episode #94

Episode #94 of the podcasting is up and ready for download.

A packed epsiode that started on the Queen of Coquitlam ferry as we made our way back to Vancouver from the Sunshine Coast. I did some brief soundseeing on the ferry as we came into Horseshoe Bay on that Saturday, but Rebecca and I didn’t finish this episode until Tuesday where we recap the running events we participated in over the weekend. We finish with some Hockey Talk about the Stanley Cup and Memorial Cup. [radiozoom]

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Death Cab For Podsafe Music

Rebecca made a post today about a topic that we’ve discussed between the two of us, but I wasn’t going to make much noise about it, the main reason being that I had a hard time wrapping my head around the point I wanted to make. I’m still not sure if I’m making one, but the comment I was leaving on her blog post was getting too long. I figured that I might as well just make my own post about it.

Let’s have Rebecca bring you up to date with the issue at hand.

Death Cab (For Cutie) was played on DSC w/Adam Curry and since then everyone’s thinkin ‘OOH WOW actual music on a podcast that i recognize!’ to that john and i roll our eyes – there’s a LOT of great artists out there (some well known, some not-so-much) that are available, podsafe, and i’m glad that my husband’s got the keen ear to pick them out and share them with the rest of us.

from what i understand, as long as you have permission (or they’re listed as ‘podsafe’) – you can play the artist on your podcast ie. John’s played Matthew Good with permission. also, other well-known bands (in certain circles) have released tracks that are podsafe, ie. Less Than Jake‘s – Look What Happened (along with other Epitaph artists). so those are all available for your podcasting pleasure – you just have to know where to look. [miss604.com]

Back when I was first starting out and the whole podcasting buzz was most among media and computer, freaks and geeks, I played Death Cab For Cutie[wiki] numerous times. Of course, that was prior to going completely podsafe with the music that I play. I got emails from people saying that they had always heard of them but never listened to them until they caught them on my podcast. I know for a fact that I turned some people on to Death Cab back then, and the cuts that I was playing was all pre-“Transatlanticism”.

Additionally, there are so many people freaking out because Death Cab is this major label artist posting their stuff on the Podsafe Music Network. The reality is, they have only been apart of Atlantic Records for the release of “Plans”. Prior to that, they were on Barsuk Records[wiki], a nice indie label out of Seattle, W.A. They cranked out five records with them since 1998. Atlantic Records obviously wants in on The O.C.[wiki] hype and signed them up since major labels are trying to do everything they can to make a buck these days. Continue reading “Death Cab For Podsafe Music”