Grokking new iMovie

Posted on September 9, 2007 by Steve Mays

My first brush with the new iMovie was bumpy. I’m looking forward to taking another run at it, after watching the first of a two-part tutorial from from ScreenCasts Online.

ScreenCastsOnline is a weekly video podcast of computer based video tutorials. The video tutorials cover many different topics from week to week but predominantly cover mac related subjects. The video tutorials are in the form of "screencasts" which are basically videos of screen captures demonstrating a particular application or service, with a spoken commentary explaining what is happening on screen.

Don McAllister’s easy-to-follow demo/tour was just what I needed. I’ll still use iMovie HD (the previous version) for a lot of stuff, but when I need to throw something together quickly…

I can’t recommend ScreenCastsOnline highly enough. It’s a free podcasts but I recommend the Extra! membership ($50 a year).

Amazon launches podcast network

Posted on May 10, 2007 by Steve Mays

Amazon.com today officially launched the Amazon Podcasts network, an original podcast offering that features four channels of free content: Amazon BookClips, Music You Should Hear, Significant Seven and
Amazon Wire.

Amazon BookClips – A weekly podcast offering customers a free sneak peek at some of the most popular soon-to-be-released audiobooks.
Music You Should Hear – A free, weekly MP3 podcast whereby customers receive an MP3 recording featuring complete songs from developing and indie artists, selected by Amazon’s music editors.
Significant Seven – A monthly podcast in which book editors from Amazon.com talk about seven of the most exciting upcoming books before they are released.
Amazon Wire – An exclusive, biweekly podcast featuring interviews with some of today’s hottest authors, actors, directors and musicians.

All of these sound like something I would listen to regularly. Will the typical podcaster get rich? No. Will companies like Amazon find creative and profitable ways to use podcasting? Wait, wait… I know this one… [via Podcasting News]

NASA intros offbeat video podcast

Posted on May 4, 2007 by Steve Mays

Podcasting News: “NASA has launched a new video podcast, NASA EDGE, that provides an offbeat look at the nation’s aerospace program. The hosts of NASA EDGE offer an unscripted take on the latest events at NASA.”

How easy it would have been for a big old gov’ment agency like NASA to do a boring, lame-ass video podcast. Real easy. I don’t know if this will catch on but somebody gets it.

BusinessWeek: Don’t quit your day job, podcasters

Posted on April 4, 2007 by Steve Mays

Good article in Business Week about how difficult it is to make a living as a podcaster. Seems I am one of about 35,000 daily listeners to Keith and the Girl:

“Keith Malley and Chemda Khalili, the couple behind Keith and the Girl, an engaging, sometimes raunchy Howard Stern-like podcast, have cultivated a devoted online audience. (Six fans have already had Keith and the Girl tattoos done.) The show, which has 35,000 daily listeners, is just one part of the brand. Just as important to fans are the online forums and MySpace.com (NWS ) pages where they gather to talk about the show and their lives. As a result of this devotion, the audience last year was willing to snap up about $80,000 worth of T-shirts, key chains, and other merchandise.”

Some would argue that $80K ain’t bad for just shooting the shit for an hour a day. But, as a regular listener, sounds to me like they’re working damned hard and earning every penny.

Write for your audience

Posted on March 9, 2007 by Steve Mays

KATG I’m a big fan of the Keith and the Girl podcast. If you have never listened you can skip this post because it probably won’t make any sense. Keith is a sort-of stand-up comic who shoots the shit with his girlfriend, Chemda, for an hour every day. Explicit content. Not for sissies. I love the show.

I finally got around to visiting the “Support” page on their website and discovered some very effective ad copy. For example:

“Blockbuster gives you sissy cuts of movies and claims you didn’t return your film. Netflix gives you the dirtiest version available and gives you the benefit of the doubt. Blockbuster doesn’t believe the holocaust happened. Netflix has all the holocaust movies. Netflix has never let us down. Blockbuster raped my grandmother. (You can rent those tapes through Netflix.)”

I would be very surprised if Keith did not write this copy. Clearly his style. This copy is effective because it is –in the context of their podcast– real. This is the way Keith and Chemda talk. This is what their listeners expect from them. Attitude.

I’m not sure some ad agency wonk could write this. And if they tried, it somehow would not sound legit. And I’ll bet you a hot oil back rub that Keith and Chemda insist on writing the copy. They get that Madison Avenue bullshit would not work on their site.

Running after the Cluetrain

Posted on March 3, 2007 by Steve Mays

I spent a lot of energy in the late 90’s trying to convince people I worked with (and anyone I could get to listen) the Internet was a force to be reckoned with. Something that would touch and change every part of our lives and our business. There was plenty of eye-rolling and rib-nudging. Then, one day, I didn’t have to say another word. Anyone with a functioning cortex understood the Internet wasn’t just happening… it had happened.

Five years ago I started blogging and, a couple of years later, listening to podcasts. Again, I tugged at a few sleeves and suggested these tools would be/could be/should be part of what we do. The reactions were very similar.

As I swill Rocket Fuel and surf away another Saturday morning, I come across story after story about how people, company organizations are blogging and podcasting. Out of habit, I started to forward these to those who would (or should) want to know…and I stopped.

No need. If you don’t get it by now, you won’t. I’ll continue to post on these topics (until even that seems pointless), but I won’t spend every evening tip-toeing up and down the hall, sliding these links under co-worker’s doors.

Whew. Glad that’s over.

Radio Iowa Week in Review

Posted on February 3, 2007 by Steve Mays

RIWIR Radio Iowa reporter Stella Shaffer produces “Radio Iowa: Week In Review” and it’s a nice toe-in-the-podcast-water for the network. She pulls together the top stories of the previous week:

“The old governor’s got a gig teaching law at Drake, the new governor wants a dollar-a-pack increase in the cigarette tax, and an economist tells us what that might cost. The new improved state minimum wage may also have unanticipated consequences, according to HeadStart heads. Bitter cold played a part in the apprehension of an auto-theft suspect, OSHA offered a helping hand to migrant workers while one mayor wants a fulltime cop to bust them, and we mourn two more Iowa soldiers lost.”

Another of our networks began repurposing feature programs as podcasts last year. But RIWIR is our first true podcast (by my definition).

We have some really good reporters working in our newsrooms. Historically, if they came up with a good idea for a new program, it could only fly if we could convince enough affiliate stations to “clear” it.

In the world of podcasts, they are only limited by their imaginations and the hours in the day. I’m hoping to hear some good stuff in the coming year.

Reader’s Digest Podcast

Posted on January 12, 2007 by Steve Mays

J. T. Gerlt reports that your grandpa’s favorite magazine is podcasting:

I never really thought of Reader’s Digest as cutting edge. The outside has basically looked the same forever. They have the same insides too Only in America, Everyday Heroes, Word Power, Humor In Uniform, Quotable Quotes, and etc., but someone there must be pretty progressive thinking. Most of the audio is 3-5 minutes long, the longest I saw was 11 something.

I’m betting Aunt Betty isn’t syncing her iTunes and playing canasta with buds dangling from her ears, but I could see her listening in front of her PC. Which is how a LOT of podcasts are being heard. I’ll check ’em out and report here.

Will your radio station be in every Ford?

Posted on December 31, 2006 by Steve Mays

Ford Motor Company and Microsoft are expected to announce new “Windows Automotive” software called “Sync,” that will make it possible (easier?) to make hands-free cell phone calls and download music or receive email.

“If you can use your car to download music, you can also use it to stream music. And if you can stream music then you can do so from any number of music providers, not just your radio station.”

“What is YOUR group doing to be in front of this trend? What is YOUR group doing to be in every car in every way in 2007 and beyond? What content do you have that every Ford will want to stream?” — Mark Ramsey at Hear 2.0

If I were still a radio station program director, I might grab a program schedule and go through the day asking that question about each programming element. I think there will be lots of stuff folks in my local market will want to hear (news, weather, sports, etc) but they won’t want to make an appointment to listen to it. They’ll want to have it automatically downloaded to their cars so they can hear it when they want it. Podcasts.

smays.com

“We read for the pleasure of thinking another person’s thoughts.” — Sam Harris

Tag Archives: Podcasting