Show from Thu Aug 03 23:55:49 CDT 2006
PCR 2006-08-03 #031Last program description:
Doin’ the show solo today, letting Jeff enjoy his summer, and giving myself a chance to pace myself in this swealtering heat.
From February 8th, 2006 - Merlin Mann posted a great response on the 43 Folders site regarding the Wired article about podfading, and he unknowingly created Podcheck’s new slogan.
Raising the bar for quality, and way lowering the bar for frequency.
So, we have a new slogan/tagline, and we’re going to use it until we get bored with it. Thanks to Merlin!
All of the sissy-slapping after the jump…
Holy crap. 91 degrees in our house last night after our air conditioner quit running. It turns out that you CAN stop a Trane. The Swiss Fletcher Family Robinson slept in the basement in a makeshift wind tunnel created with a series of fans, and I finally fell asleep at 3:30 am in the recliner - The womens’-sized recliner (But That’s a whole ‘nother story).
I was awakened at 6:30am by a Tech Support call from a new customer that is not yet running our software whose emergency that couldn’t wait until 8-frickin’-o’clock was that “she needed to know what kind of database our product uses.” Geeesh.
…so, I am reveling at smiling at life in our little corner of the world.
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Just a note about Wikipedia, and a note about persistence: It took multiple attempts from more than three people to get the word “Podfade” added to the Wikipedia. The Wikipedia police called it “crap” and “pure asked some interesting and valid
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Podfader
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Podfading
…and finally, the word Podfade made it in. Feel free to augment the very short article over at Wikipedia.
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Certainly, not important enought to land me a Nobel Prize:
http://technology.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,1738511,00.html
Back in March, Lennart Carleson, an 80-year-old Swedish academic whose work on the complexities of soundwaves has subsequently been used in the electronic components of iPods, won a Nobel prize for his efforts, as well as 500,000 francs? (What is that little curlie-q L symbol, and why aren’t we all using Euros now?)
In the 1960s Carleson showed that any sound, no matter how complicated, can be represented as a series of sine waves. “That translates in the real world as the idea that any sound can be reproduced using the sound of a tuning fork,” said a University of Oxford mathematician, Marcus du Sautoy. “The sound of a lion roaring can be broken down into just simple tuning forks.”
It is always good to remember that, “If we can see farther, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
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http://www.tekrati.com/research/News.asp?id=7434
Downloading podcast files is on par with publishing blogs and online dating among U.S. adults 18 and older, according to market research by Nielsen//NetRatings. The Internet media researchers report hat 6.6 percent of the U.S. adult online population, or 9.2 million Web users, have recently downloaded an audio podcast. Additionally, 4.0 percent, or 5.6 million Web users, have recently downloaded a video podcast.
The study says that young people between the ages of 18-25 are twice as likely than older people to publish a podcast, but… how old are the hosts of YOUR favorite podcasts? Are the hosts of your favorite podcasts under 25 years old? Is this just another statistic that will be taken out of context? Much like the statistics about younger people being more likely to have sex, completely ignoring the fact that us older people do it better? We must ALWAYS question these statistics and seek out the deeper meaning, beyond simply the “so-and-so ages are more likely” or “less likely” to do something. The full news article is available here: http://www.tekrati.com/research/News.asp?id=7434
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http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/20/scitech/pcanswer/main1819789.shtml
Buzzwords created, even if you don’t agree with them.. According to the CBS story, the term “Mobcasting” refers to a podcast created on a mobile device.
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Dave Gray from the Global Geek Podcast turned me on to a cool website that offers free survey/polls - www.zohopolls.com/
Thee aren’t any Mobcasts nominated for the 2006 Podcast Awards. Voting opens July 28th, 2006 and closes August 28th. Todd Cochrane and crew will then very anticlimatically announce the winners weeks before the Podcast Expo, and everyone will *sigh*
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See my July 30th post for my Miss America rant.
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Apparently, most of the 3,200 podcasts submitted for nominations for he Podcast Awards had really crappy RSS feeds. 4 out of 5 feeds failed the test at FeedValidator.org. Have you tried yours? Also, 2 out of 5 website nominated did not have an RSS button on the home page. 1 out of 16 nominations were not even podcasts! Read the gory details at http://www.podcastconnect.com/archive/2006/07/the_state_of_rss_feeds_in_podc.html
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Much more relevant to a ‘community’: In July, The Mep Report, a podcast about emus, beat out 9,000 others to win Podcast Pickles’ “Cast Wars.” http://www.podcastpickle.com/app/cast_wars/
See, this year they might be uncontested for the award for “Best Podcast About Emus,” but what about next year?
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Holy crap - Rob Walsh wrote some glowing words about me and Podcheck Review in his latest book “Secrets of the Podcasting Masters,” a book that he and Mur Lafferty wrote recently. He mentioned Podcheck Review along with Tim Henson’s Distorted View Daily, Clinton Alvord’s Comedy 4Cast, Bibb and Yaz, and “The Sound of Young America”
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Big milestones for podcasters - Christoph Marquardt reached 150 episodes with Tips from the Top Floor,, Scott Johnson and crew will be at 100 episodes of Extra Life Radio on Saturday, and many other shows are reaching similar milestones. I’ll just be happy if Podcheck makes it to Episode #34.
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Podshow… Podshow… Podshow… all you had to do was ask. - All of the hoopla had died down by the time I returned from vacation. So… nothing to see here, people, move along! I tried out the new Podshow web site, and I must say that it has all of the pizazz of an abacus with none of the pesky hinderences of being particularly innovative or useful to me. Really. It’s main attraction is the fact that it (wait for it)… recommends a handful of ‘approved’ podcasts in a handful of categories, all without considering who I am or to which podcasts I’m already subscribed? Did I miss something? OK, I must have missed something. More about Podshow in a few minutes.
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Blubrry, Blubrry, Blubrry - Al you had to do was ask… and I would have given you a couple of spare vowels I had laying around the house (sound of russling through desk drawer…) Again, ditto on the Podhow comments. The Blurbrry website is so advanced that you have no idea how cool it is or how to use it until you log in, because all it seems to do is list… uh… some podcasts.
So, I logged in and I was about to sign up for the Blubrry service, but decided to read the Terms of Service. Here are some highlights from the Blubrry Terms of Service:
Items 1-3 - Blah blah blah - We’re good people and you are, too.
Item 3.d. They want your raw server log files, and won’t pay you anything until they get them.
Item 4. They want 10 days notice before you yank your podcast out of their system.
Item 4a. They’ll send you a warning e-mail if you don’t put out a podcast at least every 30 days. They might even remove you from Blubrry…
Item 4g. You can say anything you want in your podcast unless it’s hateful or advocates violence.
Item 7. They have two plans - 1. “Second Pont of Presence” and 2.”Complete Hosting Solution” - Plan 1 is free.
Item 7.a.i. You can always refuse an ad campaign that is offered to you.
Item 7a.ii. - You agree to insert a short audio blurb into your podcast that pimps Blubrry. “Blubrry is NOT a directory. It’s a community!”
Item 10. They won’t tell any of your secrets,
Item 11b. They will file an IRS Form 1099 for any income that you receive from them.
Item 16. Any legal disputes will be fought in the State of Nevada.
So, they admit that they are not a “podcast directory,” but their slogans at the top of the page display sayings like “The Mack Daddy of podcast sites” and “Cool as a cucumber.” (Which is a clear dig at the Podcast Pickle. Once you log in, the Blubrry site looks an awful lot like the Podcast Pickle, but Blubrry is not built out nearly as well, nor is it friendly to the casual anonymous visitor. It loks like its built very much for PODCASTERS to pat each other on the ass and sniff each others’ advertising farts, and not at all built for listeners to discover podcasts.
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Everyone just stop and listen. If you are not stealing Dav Slusher’s idea for Amigo Fish ad integrating his collaborative filtering idea into your system, you are wasting your time. If you don’t hae a way of AUTOMATICALLY suggesting podcasts to me based on my current listening habits, your site will e nothing more than a weak-ass version of My Space for podcasts.
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Podshow Pro - Press Release here.
It’s a cross between podcasts, voicemail, blogs, audio newsletters, and other stuff that I can’t think of. They’ve got some major-league buy-in from AOL:
PodShowPRO is also the Podcasting module within AOL’s new AIM® Pro service, which is available free of charge at http://www.aol.com/aimpro.
I had a much simpler, more centralized version of this idea last year, and couldn’t get anyone excited about it. “Podcasting? What the heck’s podcasting?” - So I’m glad to see someone getting some traction with it. It’s a great idea with TONS of room for competition, just as WebEx has a bunch of competitors. I sincerely wish Podshow the best of luck with the idea. (I’m getting to be old to be jealous. It’s a waste of time.)
Of note, there is (as far as I could find) no mention of Podshow retaining distribution rights. Just the following terms of use: http://www.podshow.com/terms/tou.html
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I have signed up as a member of the Podshow community, and I am considering listing the Podcheck Podcast over there. Their Terms of Use and Podcaster Agreement only applies to podcasts submitted while the agreement is in effect, and the Podcheck feed only lists a handful of podcasts back to March of this year. Seeing as how I am no in any agreements with any other networks, I am considering listing my feed at the Podshow system so that I can report to you on the system.
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Meanwhile, PodTech generated a low rumbling noise when they announced they’ll be the podcast provider for two major conferences:
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060803/sfth007.html?.v=62
Calif., Aug. 3 /PRNewswire/ — Dow Jones VentureWire announced today that PodTech, a social media company dedicated to delivering Fresh Voices(TM), has been selected to be the official podcasting company for two upcoming conferences: HealthCare Innovations 2006 and Consumer Technology Ventures 2006.
Funny, I was just looking for a healthcare-related podcast for my day job, and voila! Scoble’s company comes through for me!
I heard Leo over at TWIT say that this last week marked the lowest TV ratings for the major networks… ever. Adjusted for seasonality. The Podcheck subscriber numbers also dip during ths month as people turn off their podcatchers and go on vacations.
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Heaven knows that I’m only watching a few shows on TV, and they are NOT network shows.
My favorite New show - Eureka - also has a podcast.
Clerks II has a director’s commentary from Mr. Smith that you can listen to on your iPod/player in the movie theater NOW.
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Too busy to do anything but doodle! See my doodles at www.mydrawings.com - I even bought a couple of domain names related to Bar Napkin Warfare, but I have no idea what I’m going to do with them yet. See wat some other people have done with THEIR real-life bar napkins at the following links:
http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/Content?oid=oid%3A45853
http://www.flickr.com/photos/40384440@N00/17666545
http://www.dusklounge.com/about.html
Winners of “Napkin Idol” - http://www.dusklounge.com/gpage4.html
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Amanda Congdon of Rocket Boom is going to L.A. Best wishes. I guess that now they can call the show Rocket Bust without worrying about any possible double entendre. Amanda, getting an extension on her 15 minutes of fame, soon to be seen on VH1 Best Week Ever… or the future installment of VH1’s “I Love the Zero-Zeros…
LAME IMITATION BIT: “(I Love the Zero-Zeros!)” “In 2006, Amanda Congdon flapped her jaw and bounced her bazoingas for three minutes every day in an Internet TV show called Rocket Boom. Now, she’s president of PETA and spokesperson for the Green Party.” “Michael Ian Black - Sure, I watched Amanda every day on my iPod, which at the time cost $300. Sure, that would be $2,000 in today’s money but trust me, I spent a lot more on magnifying glasses and Kleenex.” Wanda Sikes - “MMmmmmMM! Dat white grl had talent! Cept she was sitting down behind dat desk all tha time. She wudda tripled her audience if she’d a changed her name to Amandaniqua Condizzle and showed us the junk in her trunk! All da brotha’sd be all ‘Go Amandanique, it’s your birthday, we’re gonna party like you’re not just some white girl with lovely lady lumps on a computer watched by thousands of totally desparate geek boys who are too prude to try a real porn site that they’ll settle for watching you with their pants around their ankles and the sound turned down and pretending that you’re actually talking to them instead of reading that left-wing snarkfest you called a script.”
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Going to the Expo
I’ve reserved my plane ticket, hotel room, and expo pass - so I’m committed now. I have a short list of people that I didn’t meet the last time, like Dan Klass and …. - and a growing list of new people that I want to meet, including Kali Lewis, Scott Johnson, and some others who I dont know if they will be attending… - If you’re going, and you want to know what people look like before you meet them, try this forum thread at the Podcast Pickle:
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I doubt that David Eick will be at the Podcast and Portable Media Expo, but boy, that would be cool to meet the Executive Producer of the new Battlestar Galactica, and the host of the behind the scenes podcast. For anyone interested in the TV show, you should read the recent interview with him over at “Now Playing Magazine” - He talks about the next season, the podcast, and stuff that completely bores my wife to tears.: http://www.nowplayingmag.com/content/view/4175/
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Frappr Map Sightings: Welcome the Brotcast from Oberosterreich (that’s Austria, ya-know), Dominik Mimra from Lagos, Lago - Nigeria. Holy Cow! 59 members of the Podcheck Map, including a fan of “Kilmdt” style paintings. So here’s a shout out to Kansas, The Netherlands, Germany, Australia, and all points in between.
NOte about the Podcheck map. Theirs ME, and then there is the Podcheck GROUP. Be sure to sign up for the GROUP!!! http://www.frapper.com/podcheck
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From Brandon Rosage:
“How did you get the old-time radio sound for the “Yes, We have no Podcheck” song. You mentioned that you removed the bass and the mid using your EQ, but what else did you do?”
I use Sony ACID Music Studio to mix my audio productions. I can usually achieve any audio effect that I want through a series of EQ and distortion filters, combined with multiple layers/tracks. One of my more memorable uses of Sony ACID Music Studio was my re-enactment of an imaginary 2005 Gnomedex speech. See
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Got my Redboy Podcast Refridgerator Magnet in the mail a few weeks ago.
Speaking of inanimate objects related to podcasting - how about an actual PC computer that is shaped like a giant Sure microphone? I saw this over in the Podcast Pickle forums, so thanks to “kev” for the link! Jeffrey Stephenson built this custom PC from scratch. Pictures and some instructions are available at Jeffrey’s web site. http://slipperyskip.com/page20.html
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On a personal note, I wish to publicly issue my condolences to Adam Curry for the passing of his mother several weeks ago. I doubt that Adam listens to The Podcheck Review, but it’s worth mentioning as a reminder to all of us that: you never know what’s happening in a person’s life at any given time. Whether it’s the Currys, the Archers, or the next person that you meet on the street, or the next person that you meet at a party, or in the park, or at the movie theater, or at the gas station, or the next telemarketer that interrupts your dinner, or the next customer service rep that YOU call… you just never know what they might be going through at that very moment. This is a reminder to each of us who have experienced that “hightened focus, oblique serenity, and acute awareness of others” that comes as the result of losing someone close.
Be good to yourselves, and be better to strangers.
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