Podcasts

Since baseball was on my mind when I started listening to podcasts for this class, my first podcast is the "Baseball History Podcast" by Bob Wright, which is easily found on iTunes. While Bob isn't particularly interesting to listen to in terms of how he speaks, the content is engaging and shows his interest in the topic. Each podcast begins with "this week in baseball history," then Wright goes over one player, one baseball term, and finally, one baseball park. I found that splitting podcasts into segments is nearly essential. One long monologue on baseball would be just as daunting as one huge block of text without paragraphs. Wright's podcast did show me that a lack of character can make a podcast boring even though the content is not.

Another podcast I listened to was "The Economist" from "The Economist Newspaper Limited" which is also easily found on Itunes. I found this podcast entertaining even though there were no bells or whistles. There are no segments or any clear structure; the two men just start speaking on a chosen topic. The podcast is entertaining because the two speaker's conversation is interesting. Though this was the case for Wright, what The Economist speakers do that Wright doesn't is show some character. Like a radio show, they all have their different opinions and style of speaking while Wright simply recited the history. Therefore, the History of Baseball is better for obtaining information but the Economist is better at entertaining, which might be necessary for a subject such as economics.

Castpodding

So I was surfing the net and reeled in a couple good casts and the first one I found using podcast.net was Canine Campus which is a podcast from a dog training company located in Virginia. I thought it was a good example of a podcast that contained some seriously informative material that's delivered in a very informal way. Every podcast presents a back and forth conversational interview type deal. What's interesting to note is that the people speaking are extremely comfortable speaking and there are no interruptions with um's or ah's. The conversation flows very naturally and unless their editing is completely seamless it doesn't seem as though they have edited. I get the impression that these podcasters do not go overboard with the porduction of their podcasts (extensive editing, etc. ) because their sound levels vary considerably from one person speaking to the next. Listening to several of their podcasts it became clear that they were only working with one microphone which was positioned primarily nearest to the "main" speaker. The reason why I bring these small points up is because although they have a few minor aspects that make their podcast sound a little less than professional, they make up for this in their content. I listened to 5 podcasts. Each podcast was roughly 30-40 minutes in length. These podcasters kept my attention for the full amount of time. I believe it was AJ Chop who says in the latest post that effective podcasts have to do with the individual. I agree 100%. I was perfectly content to listen to these lengthy podcasts; my boyfriend on the other hand was not. He preferred the National Geographic, Wild Chronicles, podcast.

Wild Chronicles is a video cast series which offers mini-portraits of mainly animals of the wild but is described as "a voyage of discovery of our natural world." This podcast would not be as effective as it is without the video. I experimented with this by minimizing the video window to see what it would be like. During the podcast there were many moments where the narrator was describing something that did not need video; however, there were moments were there was no narration. All that needs to be said is " a picture's worth a thousand words." In this podcast instance video is necessary. It is also in keeping with the typical National Geographic image and so a subscriber would almost expect to see images of the leopard hunting and ravaging its prey. Anything less would be a disappointment.

So, in my opinion, effectiveness really comes down to audience expectations. Basing a podcast on what originally peaked audience interest is important, if a podcast can be produced to suit expectations then it will generally tend to be most effective.

Over and out, from the body part you can't reach with your tongue.

Two Podcasts

I do a lot with different kinds of computer programs, so I decided to look for computer related podcasts. I found two that are related (at least to me) and that do a really good job describing things on a computer screen with just voice.

The first is called Home Network and Computer Help.
Each episode discusses various computer problems for beginners all the way to advanced PC users. This episode deals with using VMware to run a virtual operating system in your computer and get it set up in 5 minutes. Since I use VMware to run Linux so that I can learn and run a distributed computing program, I can vouch that this is very descriptive as well as accurate. That is the best part that blew me away, the host does a wonderful job at describing how to install an OS and start it up for the first time without any pictures or video.

The second is called Fresh Ubuntu. Ubuntu is one of many distributions of Linux available. I use it with VMware at the same time as Windows Vista. I really enjoy learning everything I can about this particular distribution because I use it and because it really is designed to be better and more accessible than Windows.
This episode covers the latest release (Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon) and all the new features. Unfortunately this does not give a very good description of where things are, such as the podcast on VMware. However, what it does do very well, is describe initial reactions to the new OS and what kind of improvements have been made. This is very easy for me to listen to while doing something else, but still interesting enough so that I can pay attention to something else and still retain everything that gets talked about.

Blog entry describing podcasts

For my podcast description, I choose the Google Developer Podcast available on iTunes. I found this an interesting topic, since I follow new updates to Google products such as Google Maps, and Sketch Up - a 3D modeling program. All of the podcasts are produced by three software engineers, and they normally host and interview on a specific topic, publishing on a rather erratic schedule.

An interesting topic that was discussed in Episode Six is accessibility for disabled users, such as deaf, blind, or physically impaired persons. They discussed how some browers have built in tools for assisting with disabilities, though some websites make this more difficult using "pictograms" for sign-up procedures to help prevent spam-bots.

Some of the topics are rather dry, and might be more interesting to people working at Google, or other software engineers. For a lay-person, some of the episodes provide interesting insights into to workings of hosting an enormous website.

That's all for now.

- BShea

Podcasts

Initially, I thought it was a little weird when a podcast would have a videofeed with it. I was not really sure what the point of a podcast was if it wasn't only sound. My mind has been changed. After viewing/listening to the Ellen podcast, I realized that this was a unique way of allowing her fans to view her show in a short amount of time. Ellen's podcast gives the listener a video of her show on fast forward. It zooms through the show and simply highlights a majority of the funny parts of the program. It is good if you need a quick laugh. It is an effective podcast. The length and content stay true to what the viewer is actually looking for.

After listening and watching several podcasts I feel that most of the time effectiveness has to do with the individual. This thought is particularly geared toward the topic of the podcast. There are so many different podcasts out there that it can be hard to find one that you like, so if you are listening to one you do not enjoy then you probably do not find it effective. For instance, I like listening to the “Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style” podcast on iTunes but that is probably because I love his show—so people who are not interested in his subject field probably will not like his podcast.
In general I have found that podcasts are more effective if the person who is speaking is well versed and enthusiastic about the subject. There are some podcasts where I wonder if the person has any clue as to the topic so it makes listening to them difficult, but if the person is lively and knowledgeable then it is easier to engage yourself into the podcast.
Humor makes a difference in podcasts—especially the audio ones. In order to keep the audience engaged in what is being said rather than doing something else and playing the podcast in the background, a podcast should have some humor. Humor allows the audience to be engaged and want to hear more because honestly, who does not like to laugh?

effective blogs

so far, i have found two effective podcasts. the first is the sports guy's podcast, which works because he writes great articles every week and also talks about gambling on football, both of which i love(it's on espn.com). the second blog i found was iTunes: Meet the Author series. each week, a new famous author reads from their recently released books. They even had stephen colbert.

Culture Catch Podcast

http://www.culturecatch.com/shows/davidkoepp1.mp3

As I am listening to Dusty Wright's Culture Catch, I think this is a very effective podcast. While the culture catch has several podcasts, this particular one is about amateur writing and what producers are looking for. They had screenwriter/director David Koepp talking about his experiences with very popular movies. Although the language isn't always appropriate, it's hilarious. I was going to X out of this podcast until I heard the first 10 seconds. They were advertising for their own podcast. Music was included and they had something like, "Want to hear trends in 21st culture without all that BS? Then listen to Culture Catch!" Also the description was very concise. The only down fall with this podcast is the time. I have no idea how long this podcast is.

Also, when exploring the website http://www.culturecatch.com, it includes video podcasts, audio podcasts, and what a podcast is. The, "what is a podcast", is very helpful and is a great way to attract more listeners.

Description:
The Biggest Screenplay Writer/Director Not Living in LA Today!

Our debut podcast features NYC-based mega-successful screenwriter/director David Koepp. Listen to him wax poetic about working with movie directors Spielberg, Fincher, De Palma as well his experience writing Spiderman, Mission: Impossible, Jurassic Park I & II, Panic Room, War of the Worlds, et al.

Dear O'l Brother

My friends like to think my brother is Dane Cook (personallity wise of course). So I chose his podcast.

http://www.danecast.com/

Weblog Awards

The 2007 Weblog awards, just a little tidbit I found while reading Engadget.


http://2007.weblogawards.org/polls/best-technology-blog-1.php


- Brian