My Own Podcast
Posted October 19th, 2005 @ 12:20pm by Erik J. Barzeski
I'm interested in starting a weekly podcast. Not for NSLog();, no, but for The Sand Trap. I have several concerns, however:
- How easy is it to create an entry with text (to explain what's in this episode) with an attached .mp3? I'd rather not do things by hand if possible.
- Sand Trap staff members are scattered about the U.S. - what software should we use to record our podcast so that it doesn't sound like, well, like a bunch of people scattered around the U.S. talking into their computer microphones.
- The show will be kept short (10-15 minutes or so), but should it be pretty "whatever's on your mind" or should it have some semi-formal structure?
Those are the primary concerns, of course. I'll worry about bandwidth, getting into iTunes, and a lot of other things later.
Any suggestions? Ideas? Comments?
Donate Life
Posted 19 Oct 2005 at 12:28pm #
To answer your questions:
1. You can include a summary in your RSS feed as well as in your mp3. iTunes, for example, reads these descriptions and shows them on the podcast subscription area so people can see at a glance what the episode is about.
2. I'd use Skype. I've heard a lot of podcasts done that way, and if the people have a somewhat decent microphone, Skype sounds really well. Remember too that you'll be compressing the mp3 somewhat so people may not exactly notice that you're not in the same room.
3. I think a semi-formal structure is good, I think it will help give it some credibility (if you need an intro song or whatever, let me know), especially since it will be affiliated with The Sand Trap.
I've also got a sweet little PHP app I wrote to upload podcasts to a directory, as well as create the RSS Feed with all the iTunes specific tag - let me know, I can share the code.
Posted 19 Oct 2005 at 5:32pm #
Erik, you did have that license for Feeder from that trade we did earlier in the year. That will create the RSS file including the iTunes tags, upload audio files, etc. A lot of podcasters use that.
Posted 19 Oct 2005 at 5:42pm #
Indeed I do, Steve. Thanks! I'll check into it again…
Posted 19 Oct 2005 at 8:26pm #
Thee's also this app called Podcast Maker that'll do chapters with pictures, "enhanced" podcasts (not sure what that is) and all the dirty work for you in a very fluid and cool UI, you only have to provide the audio. It's $30 shareware, and it's here.
Posted 21 Oct 2005 at 12:11pm #
So, I've downloaded and installed Skype. If anyone (that I know) has it and would like to know what my username is, well, just ask. It's not "iacas" as they wouldn't let me use only five letters. 🙁 I'll use...
Posted 29 Oct 2005 at 1:20pm #
Today I published that Podcast I've been talking about. I've also submitted it to iTunes - I wonder how long it will take until it appears? If anyone at Apple wants to push it through quickly, by all means, go...