Well if a child gets it...

A new podcast- all of your questions explained! Including this one:

More of the lovely Emily and also the lovely subscribe button over at
http://www.emilyexplainsit.com/

New Podcast Debut: Passages

A good friend of mine, Scott Josephson, has begun a new podcast for your listening pleasure, Passages:

"Passages. Corridors into the soul. Selections from a flowing stream of consciousness. The poetic thorns of thoughtful prose.

"Featuring performances by the hosts of: The AndyCast, Life On Tap, The Love Long and Prosper Podcast, The Truth Seekers Podcast, and a mysterious voice you've never heard before.

"Passages. Available only at podantics.com."

The first episode went live today! I'd also suggest going back in the feed and checking out his Podplay, "Desolate Metropolis."

Enjoy!

Fine. I'll just podcast my show. Take that, radio!

From Podcasting News:

It looks like the Adam Carolla Podcast may do to radio what Nine Inch Nails did to the music industry - make it irrelevant.

On Friday, February 20th, Adam Carolla’s radio show left the airwaves, as part of a format switch.

On Monday, Corolla introduced his new podcast.

Within 24 hours, Carolla had a hit:

I’m overwhelmed by your response to the podcast. In less than 24 hours, the first podcast was downloaded over a quarter of a million times, which is awesome.

This means that we’ll be able move along faster in terms of getting this project up into a new gear, and getting a little more production, more guests, and everything you guys deserve. I’m grateful to have such fantastic fans, and honored at this response.

By the end of the first week of the Adam Corolla Podcast, downloads exceeded the 1 million mark.

Last year, Nine Inch Nails turned the music industry on its head by releasing two free albums onto the Internet and then going on to have both a hit record and tour. In doing so, NIN showed that bands could have hit albums and successful tours without the support of the music industry.

With over a million views in the first week, the Adam Carolla Podcast shows that broadcasters can have hit shows without the support of radio.

To subscribe to the Adam Carolla podcast, add the podcast via iTunes, or add this podcast feed URL to your podcast client:
www://carollaradio.com/feed/

via RyanSpoon

Why Is Podcasting So Underappreciated?

From the Computerworld Blogs:

Podcasting is the most under-appreciated, under-utilized media ever. Some people never try it. And many who do wind up giving it up unimpressed. Too bad. A new study found that students who listen to lectures on podcasts test better than those who listen in class. Podcasting is a powerful educational medium, second only to books, in my opinion. But unlike reading books, you can listen to podcasts while doing the dishes.

I believe the reason people give up on podcasting is that they don't take the time to choose the best podcasts. In that sense, podcasting is no different than other media.

For example, the average book isn't worth reading, and bookstores are filled with garbage. But when you shop for books, you browse and consider many books before choosing the one or two -- out of theoretical millions.

Likewise with TV. Almost all of the shows on TV are a complete waste of time, even for people who love TV. But once you discover that one show and reject 100 shows, you can really enjoy TV.

Radio, magazines -- all media are the same way. Most of the content is lousy, but if you take your time and find what you really love, the media is wonderful.

Trouble is, people don't take the time with podcasting. They try a few podcasts, then give up. And because podcasts are free or nearly free to produce, the ratio of junk to gems is even more extreme. There are a huge number of really bad podcasts out there. And it can also be surprising when a great source of content produces lousy podcasts -- which in fact often turns out to be the case. The New York Times podcasts, for example, are horrible. Great newspaper, lousy podcaster.

Finding the right mix of podcasts, in fact, takes weeks of trial and error. But once you find the best podcasts for you, you're set.

---

More here. I agree with a lot of what he says. I truly can't understand why podcasting hasn't taken off the way many of us podcasters *think* it should. One reason I can think of is too many podcasters use their shows mainly to speak to other podcasters. That probably turns off a new listener coming in for the first time. I know it keeps me from listening to a show for very long. Who wants to listen to a show that is nothing more than inside jokes you needed to hear three shows ago? A show needs to make sense to a listener coming in for the first time, every show.

What do you think could be keeping podcasting from truly becoming the next radio?

~Dani

Free your media!

From Podiobooker:

How free media brought in $4.2 million in sales

by Evo

It’s not a giant leap to draw parallels between indie musicians and authors. To wit; I’d like to introduce you to Corey Smith, a new personal hero of mine. He gives his music away for free on his site. And he sells that music — the very same music — on iTunes. When he takes his free music down, his sales on iTunes go down.

That bears repeating. When he takes his free music down, his sales on iTunes go down.

Cory is now making his living as a musician, resulting in gross receipts of $4.2 million last year. Most of that cash comes from concerts. Tickets to those shows go for $5. As in, five dollars.

So let’s go over this again:

• He gives his music away for free, or you can buy it

He uses no-brainer pricing to make his concerts accessible to just about everyone. And all of their friends

Phase Three: Profit.

Read the story on TechDirt. Then see if you can think of any ways YOU can work in this brave new world. I hope a few authors and publishing houses are paying attention.

---
Scott Sigler goes by this philosophy too, as well as the Monty Python gang. I know personally I find myself more inclined to purchase something even after listening to it for free, if for nothing else to support the artist.

The Dream Realm Update!

Lots of things still happening over at Dream Realm Enterprises. Not only are there new Dr. Who episodes, but they have also been re-releasing the first season of Robotz of the Company, as well as podcasting their Sci-Fi and horror mini-series, The Realm Weaver!

When you need to escape the influx of family during tomorrow's Turkey Day- be thankful for audio cinema! ;-)

What Makes A Podcast A Podcast?

As I was browsing through the reader today I happened upon a great blog post on Podcasting via Radio Drama Revival. It's very in-depth and lengthly, but touches on many points I agree with, and reminded me of exactly why I love podcasting as a medium above all others (I know, like I need reminding?). An excerpt of a part I sorta-kinda agree with:

Podcasts do not Have to be Polished and Professional

This one is non-negotiable. I was horrified and offended at Podcast Michigan by a presenter who spoke about how podcasts have "lowered the playing field." Among his talking points were many words to the effect of "be professional."

I couldn't disagree more. The podcast world is vast, and contains multitudes. "Polish" is code for "make it sound like everyone else does, or we will look down on you." "Professional" is code for "people without a lot of money need not apply." Oh, and also "people who want to record something important and true to them, but that won't fit into a recording studio, or sound just like NPR, need not apply." Really? I love some of what goes down on NPR, but it ought to be obvious that there is an NPR "style," and expecting everyone to conform to it is just as bad as expecting everyone to conform to the commercial FM radio style.

Read the entire entry here:
http://generalpurposepodcast.blogspot.com/2008/11/what-is-podcast.html

Why do I sorta-kinda agree? Well, the thing I love the most about podcasting is there are no boundaries, no limits. Only what you place upon yourself. That being said, in some cases I agree that there is no need to ever have that polished sound, depending on what you're podcasting about. (See the last entry and the audio on reasons your podcast sucks to get more details on that). It really depends on your audience and the reason you are podcasting (i.e. who you are podcasting for). There are also so many inexpensive and free choices out there to record/edit some very decent audio, which definitely can help anyone have a decent show if they are willing to put even a minuscule amount of effort into it.

Of course in special cases, such as a audio cinema podcast, some polishing is certainly necessary, but even then not 100% required. The beauty of it all is there is no one else you need to answer to other than you.

These of course are just my opinions of one part of a big blog post, and I'd love to know what you other audio addicts think!

Discuss! :-)

~Dani

5 Reasons Why Your Podcast Sucks (and on iTunes!)

I'm finally getting around to posting some of the audio/video links to some of the Podcamp AZ goodness!

Podcast AZ was streaming all day both days, and many guests stopped by to partake in the fun. You can watch some clips from the weekend riiiiight..... here. Dan and CJ of the Love Long and Prosper Podcast were amazing taking on the task of running the podcast all weekend.

Unfortunately audio was scarce (and if you have audio from the weekend please post it in the comments!), but a couple of great sessions were headed by Evo Terra. He also had a cool slide show to go along with his sessions. Click and enjoy!

*5 Reasons Why Your Podcast Sucks
*5 Reasons Why Your Podcast Sucks on iTunes

PS, clicky on the photo to get more photos from the weekend courtesy of the talented Sheila Dee!

Audeeoh!

Here's a neat new company to check out from Georgia- Audeeoh!

Actually, they have been around a couple of years now, but are breaking out onto the podcasting scene with original audio dramas, like Butta and the Tower of Bling and The Shyster Club.

Great quality productions and fun in a soap-opera drama sort of way. Check them out!

http://audeeoh.com

SFF Audio Now Podcasting!

Only several years in the making (hehe!) - my friends Jesse and Scott over at the best blog for sci-fi audio news- SFF Audio- have finally been bitten hard enough by the podcast bug!

Here's what they say about this momentous occasion:
"Hey look! We’ve got our own podcast. This is the very first one, which includes SFFaudio founders Scott D. Danielson and Jesse Willis talking about audiobooks, audio drama, and cease and desist orders. We won’t desist podcasting if you won’t cease downloading them - whatever that means."

Why, it means awesome! You can grab the feed right here:

http://www.sffaudio.com/?feed=podcast

National Parks Getting Into Podcasting

Having just returned from 6 weeks of traveling the US and the UK, I took special interest in how the National Parks are jumping on the podcast bandwagon. I found a couple great podcasts to help guide us around England, it's a very useful idea. If you are one who enjoys traveling around, podcasts are the perfect primer. All it takes is a little searching on the Google or iTunes!

From Podcasting News:

The US National Parks Service is getting into podcasting in a big way, and now offers 18 park service podcasts and virtual tours, offering hundreds of audio and video programs that you can get from park websites or iTunes.

The podcasts include:

1. Acadia NP
2. Antietam National Battlefield
3. Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP
4. Canyonlands NP
5. Clara Barton National Historic Site
6. Curecanti National Recreation Area
7. Everglades NP
8. Gettysburg National Military Park
9. Glacier NP
10. Grand Canyon NP
11. Jefferson National Expansion Memorial
    
12. Katmai National Park and Preserve
13. Mississippi National River & Rec. Area
14. Petersburg National Battlefield
15. Richmond National Battlefield
16. Rock Creek Park
17. Yellowstone NP
18. Yosemite N

Many parks offer interpretive podcasts about wildlife, history, and topical issues like climate change and fire management. The most extensive collection of park podcasts is from Yellowstone National Park where they are reaching out to new and nontraditional audiences to spark an interest in visiting the park. The Inside Yellowstone series has more than 50 episodes, which are one to two minutes in length. More episodes are on the way.

“Our podcasts give people from every corner of the earth the chance to fall in love with Yellowstone and become its stewards for the future,” said George Heinz, one of the writers and on-screen personalities for the podcast series. The park has another online series called Yellowstone InDepth that presents mini-documentaries on subjects like volcanoes, invasive species, bears, and wolves.

“While nothing can replace a personal experience in a national park, we think our podcasts will enhance people’s trips or give them the opportunity to learn about a park that they can’t visit,” said Mary A. Bomar, Director of the National Park Service. “Whether people download them to portable devices or watch them on their computers, these free electronic presentations give us another way to serve park enthusiasts of all ages.”

Other National Park Podcasts

Yosemite National Park launched a new monthly podcast called Yosemite Nature Notes. A printed publication of the same name began in the 1920s and existed for five decades. “Just like the earlier version of Nature Notes, our podcasts tell Yosemite’s stories from the perspective of the people who work here,” said Steve Bumgardner, videographer and producer at Yosemite National Park. “I like the idea that we’ve brought this institution back to life and that we use new media to put a personal face on the National Park Service.”

“My favorite podcast about Canyonlands National Park is the one on potholes,” said Carter, an 8-year-old visitor who watched all of the park’s podcasts before his trip. “It was so interesting to learn that tiny creatures are living in a bunch of dirt.” Carter’s sister Brooke, 11, appreciated knowing how to recognize cryptobiotic soils so she didn’t walk on the delicate crust. Their mother, Tiffani, thought the podcasts empowered her kids and said, “they loved being the experts and teaching us ( their parents ) what they learned while we walked around the park.”

At Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, people stop at overlooks along the South Rim Road and watch podcasts about geology, history, life, and recreation at those exact spots. Everglades National Park also has a car tour ( audio only ) that leads listeners on a guided exploration down the main park road. Four civil war battlefields – Gettysburg, Antietam, Petersburg, and Richmond – offer podcasts that allow you to walk or drive along as you listen to an NPS historian talk about decisive and dramatic battles.

Urban parks use podcast tours to reach local residents who may not know much about the parks they pass every day. For example, residents in Minneapolis and St. Paul can listen to information about Mississippi National River and Recreation Area while walking a four-mile loop near the river. Residents of Washington D.C. can download walking tours for Rock Creek Park and people in St. Louis can do the same for Jefferson National Expansion Memorial

Glacier National Park offers videos online about hiking, and rangers say the programs speed up the backcountry permit process. “Rather than having to watch the video at the permit station which is required, more and more visitors have watched it online ahead of time,” said Bill Hayden, Interpretive Specialist.

Other parks help people plan trips with podcasts, too. Visitors can learn about recreational activities at Curecanti National Recreation Area, like fishing, hiking, and camping. Katmai National Park and Preserve has an audio podcast weaving together music, stories, and tips for reaching that remote wilderness area.

Virtual Tours

While not available for download like podcasts, virtual tours are also available. For example, Clara Barton National Historic Site offers a virtual tour of Barton’s home, a building that served as the national headquarters for the American Red Cross. The tour allows visitors to navigate through all three levels of the house and gives access to images, text, and audio clips.

Acadia National Park has an eCruise along the rocky shores of Mount Desert Island and Glacier National Park offers eHikes that take visitors through stunning wilderness areas among glaciers, wildflowers, and bears.

New virtual tours are coming soon:

• Zion National Park will release an eHike for Angel’s Landing;
• Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks will launch eHikes that go through the Sierra Nevada foothills or among the giant sequoias; and
• The Statue of Liberty will provide an eTour covering Liberty Island, the inside of Lady Liberty, and a 360-degree view from her crown.

Some worry that creating podcasts and virtual tours about national parks may keep people, especially children, disconnected from the actual places. “Personally, I don’t think that people are going to give up on the real thing,” said Todd Edgar, Media Specialist at Acadia National Park. “After learning about parks from our online resources, people want to get outside and explore on their own.”

For many other national park podcasts and virtual tours, go to www.nps.gov. If a park unit offers online programs, you will find them by clicking on “Photos and Multimedia” in the left navigation bar of their homepage.

Mark Time/ Ogle Winners!

Yay I can finally spill the beans! (Who said I couldn't keep a secret?) Congratulations to winners of this year's Mark Time Award for Science Fiction Audio, and Ogle Award for Fantasy/Horror Audio productions!

The Mark Time Awards are sponsored by MISFITS, and will be presented at
Convergence on July 3, 2008 in Bloomington, MN.
------------------------------

------------------------------

MARK TIME AWARDS

GOLD
Space Casey
Written & Produced by Christiana Ellis
www.spacecasey.com

SILVER
Androids and You
By Bill Stuart
Adapted & Produced by
David Hinde Chapman
Rattenfanger Radio
members.shaw.ca/ratten

HONORABLE MENTION
Mission Control
By Cynthia McGean
Produced by Sam A. Mowry
Willamette Radio Workshop
www.radiowork.com

OGLE AWARDS

GOLD
The Stuff of Myth
Produced/Written by Roger Gregg
Crazy Dog Audio Theatre
www.crazydogaudiotheatre.com

SILVER
The Dead Girl
Written & Directed by Kyle Hatley
Produced by Robert Arnold
Chatterbox Audio Theater
www.chatterboxtheater.org

and

Something Wicked This Way Comes
Produced by Chris Snyder, Mark Vanderberg, Jerry Robbins
Colonial Radio Theatre
Written by Ray Bradbury
www.colonialradio.com

HONORABLE MENTION
Afterhell, Volume 3: Bloodbath at the Giallo Hotel
Ollin Productions
Produced by Joseph Medina
and Jamie Lawson
www.afterhell.com

---------------------------------------------------------------
Mark Time Awards - http://www.greatnorthernaudio.com/MarkTime/MarkTime.html
MISFITS - http://www.misfit.org/
Convergence - http://www.convergence-con.org/

Congrats to everyone, and thanks everyone who sent in entries. You gave me some awesome audio cinema to listen to!

~Dani

Another Zany Season Of 'Botz Comes To Close

It's been a season of ups and downs, but the last two episodes of Robotz of the Company Season 4 are now available on the podcast feed, as well as on the website!

Do they escape from Grease Monkey mountain? And above all else- what about Bob????

Head over now and listen! It's a nail-biter! ;-)

Obsidian Promo Now Available

Coming May 31st- "When the power fails... chaos reigns."

An audio promo for the new 7th Son podcast, Obsidian, is now available for your listening and distributing pleasure: http://media.libsyn.com/media/jchutchins/7sobsidian_promo.mp3

Some of the most well-known names in the podcasting community are coming together to bring Obsidian to life- I'm excited to hear their views from the big blackout in the 7th Son podnovel. Some of the names include:

• Michael A. Stackpole
• Scott Sigler
• Tee Morris
• Mur Lafferty
• Matt Wallace
• Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff
• Christiana Ellis
• Evo Terra
• Dan Klass
• Wichita Rutherford
• TD-0013
• Soccergirl
• The cast of The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd
• George Hrab

Guaranteed to be a surprise every time! If you have not heard 7th Son yet, or need a refresher, you can get all the subscription information at http://jchutchins.net/site/.

~Dani

New Award For Audio Cinema Excellence

If you are a listener of The Sonic Society, you know they bring a wide range of audio cinema to your ears each week. They have now jumped on the award wagon and are holding nominations for the best of the season, called (what else?) The Unis!

So very much to choose from! Here are the rules:

-review the list they provide at the link of all the audio cinema they've podcast this season.
-under the list you make your nominations (you can choose three)
-click submit!

It's so easy, a Unicorn can do it! Nominations close May 20th, so head over and choose what you think are the best shows SS has put out this season!

It's TV Turnoff Week!

The perfect week to introduce your child to some great podcasts/audio dramas!

* Giddio Audio Adventures for Kids, featuring Billy Brown the Bear.
* Bedtime Stories My Kids Love Podcast, featuring the Adventures of The Man In The Can
* The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd, which most of the readers know is for the kid in ALL of us!

As for you big kids, you're not off the hook either. How are YOU spending TV Turnoff week? (Yes, you can record your favorite TV goodies like The Office- it will be there next week. Besides, that's Thursday so you don't have long to wait.)

I'm going to check out Chasing The Bard, and I've also been catching up on Metamor City too.

Put that remote DOWN!

Interview of SFF Audio's Jesse Willis

UPDATE: I couldn't wait any longer, so I took a break in the midst of audio drama listening heaven to check out the interview. It took all day to listen to (thanks to my never-ending distracted life), and at the last 15 minutes I locked myself in a room and ignored the "Mom? Maaaahmmm!" coming from the other side just so I could finish it!

This was a great interview! Jesse is one intelligent person, and I thoroughly enjoyed his thoughts about the SciFi/Fantasy world, as well as his thoughts on podcasting and audiobooks. What was especially interesting and appreciated, are his thoughts about podiobooks vs. audio dramas. Jesse is not afraid to express his opinions about authors who decide to use sound effects and casts to podcast their books, but he does it with such class and true objectivity that you can't help but respect what he thinks.

Definitely one of the most enjoyable interviews I've heard in a long time. If you haven't listened yet, and have always been curious about the origins of the successful site SFF Audio, then this is a must-listen.

From 3/26:
I heard rumors there was an interview happening! My awesome
audio-blogging colleague Jesse Willis (which I am sure I do not have to tell you is the founder of SFF Audio), has been interviewed by the also awesome Chris Moody of PodioMedia Chat!

I hear it's a great chat, and unfortunately it's down a bit on my listening list, as I'm in the middle of listening to many, many Mark Time/Ogle entries! It shall be consumed by my earholes very soon, but until then all of YOU should go and listen!

http://podiomediachat.chrismoody.net/archives/73

~Dani

Blackout.

BLACKOUT VIDEO - video powered by Metacafe


Yeah, JC knew I'd like this for some reason... ;-)

Go viral, and put this promo on your website of choice!

~Dani

For the Political Audio Addict: Road to Denver

Another reason I've not listened to the previously mentioned interview- I've got my politic on! As I imagine everyone is aware, it's presidential election season here in the USofA, and well, considering I have a political podcast of my own, I'm always searching the series of tubes for decent information that goes a bit beyond finger-pointing and sniper fire. Shelly Brisbin, host of the informative and fun podcast simply named "Shelly's Podcast", has helped in on this front. She is trying to become a delegate to the Democratic National Convention late this summer in Denver. She decided to podcast her journey, and created the podcast "Road to Denver".

Shelly lives in Texas, so it begins with her goals for the show and then goes through her experience with the caucuses, and becoming a delegate for her district. Although it's from one states perspective and guidelines, I have to say I definitely enjoy hearing a personal experience of the process, by someone whose view is clear, balanced, and objective. She's got an excellent voice too!

If politics isn't your thing, then make sure you give a listen to her other show, because either way you will not be disappointed!

~Dani

Dream Realm's Doctor Who series now podcasting!

Attention Doctor Who fans! Due to an increasing demand for their shows, Dream Realm Enterprises has created a podcast feed for their series! Now you can have all the goodness that is DRE and Doctor Who with just a couple clicks, all nestled snug and neat in your podcatcher!

Podcast feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/dredoctorwho

Or as always, just click the subject line to head to the blog page!

There are many wonderful stories by many many groups out there (it's by far the most popular fan audio out there I believe)- leave a link to your Doctor Who fan audio(s) in the comments!

~Dani