I was at about.com and looking at their articles about podcasting. Their expert is radio veteran Corey Deitz. I have respect for radio guys who can be entertaining and creative while having their hands tied behind their backs by program directors who force them to hit time markers. Radio is not easy. However, “radio personality” does not equal podcast guru. Heck this guy graduated from Kent State which is in my back yard. Corey you are killing me dude. Corey with his Radio Partner Jay are a successful morning radio show in Arkansas (voted “Best Morning Show in Little Rock” in 2001 – 11 years ago).  They have audio on their website where you can “listen to their podcast.” By that they mean you can click and listen, but THERE IS NO RSS feed. When I searched for them in iTunes,  I see where all their segments have their own podcast in iTunes and NONE of them have album art (Corey watch my Skank video). You know why? Because this guy may know morning radio in Arkansas, but his advice about podcasting is just crap.

He doesn’t even understand what makes a podcast a podcast.

Here is what he put in an article (I added the boldness).

Podcasts are easy to do whether you DIY with an audio editor and your own website or use a third-party to create it and host it. A Podcast allows you to create a “chunk” of audio programming which can be accessed on-demand. The original idea of subscribing to Podcasts has become diluted. Sure, thousands of podcasts can still be “subscribed” to and the audio is automatically delivered to your computer.

But, now, just placing an audio file online at your website and informing users to “click to listen” to your “Podcast on-demand” is sufficient. Most browsers know how to handle and stream an audio file that is clicked on.

If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck – it’s a duck.

WTF? OK then if this “duck” rule is true: Because I drive on the expressway every day – I’m a Nascar Guru. I drive. I can turn left. I drink Mountain Dew. Therefore I am a nascar driver.

You can buy a B.B. King Guitar, and dress up in a suit to play it. It doesn’t make you B.B. King.

Let us consult the book of Knowledge (Wikipedia).

“A podcast is a type of digital media consisting of an episodic series of files (either audio or video) subscribed to and downloaded through web syndication. ”

When you put audio on a website for people to click and listen to, you have AUDIO ON A WEBSITE. To tell someone, “audio on a website is a podcast” is just wrong. You say, “the original idea of subscribing to Podcasts has become diluted.” If this is true it’s because douche bags like you  are telling people lies. I have players on my site that you can click and stream like a radio station. Do you know why I can create those? Because I have a syndication feed that makes it easy! If you want to make a streaming radio station with advertising, listen to my “More Podcast Money” Podcast. How about this: The original idea of one plus one equals two has been diluted, and I know say it’s four.

Some poor soul is going to put a link to an mp3 file on their website and then wonder why their “podcast” isn’t in iTunes.

He later goes on to recommend Blog Talk Radio, Podbean, and Podmatic. Three services that I’ve made a fair amount of money  helping people leave.

Telling someone, “Placing audio on a website is the same as a podcast” is like giving them the Amazing Chef basket and having them only use it as a pasta strainer when it can be used as a deep fryer, and vegetable steamer and more!

I followed the website link that is listed in iTunes for them, and it took me to a page that DIDN’T HAVE A LINK TO ITUNES.  BUt wait there is more! He is paying myrsscreator.com a monthly fee to create an RSS feed when he could be using WordPress for free. Talk about Head Up Your Ass. myrsscreator.com seems like a fine site. When I clicked on their affiliate link it brought up a bunch of SQL errors. Classy.

All of his episodes have the same name. I understand that its a bit, but why not give me a clue as to which episode has what topic. After all I’m sure tons of people are searching Google for “Head Up Your Ass Headlines Tuesday 5/16.”

When you get done following Corey’s advice please contact me for some coaching sessions and I will help undo all the crap that has been poured into your ears.

If it looks like a douche and quacks like a douche – it’s a douche.

Here’s the latest from a recent Wizard Media Press Release

In the fourth quarter of 2011, the Wizzard Media network averaged over 20 million unique audience members per month. Wizzard Media reached another milestone with an all time high for unique audience count in December 2011. Additionally, substantial growth in download requests continued with the fourth quarter numbers topping October’s all time high. And while Wizzard stopped publishing download request numbers in 2010 due to a change in algorithmic reporting metrics, download requests for 2011 would have clearly exceeded 2010′s total of 1.64 billion.

Wizzard reported ongoing increases in new podcast client account sign-ups and corresponding revenues throughout 2011 with a focus on higher margined monthly accounts. The fourth quarter brought additional all-time highs for average weekly account sign-ups and incremental revenue. That trend continues in 2012 with the first week of the new-year beating out even the best week of 2011 for new account growth and incremental revenue.

“We are thrilled by the upward trends we continue to see and are confident that the hard work of our team and our podcast producers in 2011 will continue to expand the entire podcast ecosystem,” said Laurie Sims, President of Wizzard Media. “Our Q4 results are encouraging with all time highs in our network statistics and greater distribution for our producers with broad support across various app marketplaces and mobile devices. With the popularity of the Kindle Fire and loyalty of iOS users, we are excited about prospects for 2012 expansion.”

The company has been focused on its stated plan of increasing reoccurring revenues by attracting new podcast hosting and App customers. Additionally, marketing and social media efforts to support hosting and audience growth have demonstrated success in 2011 and will be further leveraged in 2012. Wizzard’s full subscription service is expected to launch in the first part of 2012.

Keep in mind that the audience of 20 million in one month is a statistic only ONE podcasting network. The number is actually higher. So the next time someone says, “Podcasting is Dead,” or “It’s a fad,” point out how in 2010 and 2011 the trend is going upward.

I don’t know about you, but I wear headphones a lot. However, I also watch netflix, or other activities where I like to use the speakers on my computer. I have jacks in the front of my PC, it’s not a huge deal. However, there are those days that no matter what I’m doing I always want “the other configuration.” In looking for a USB to 3.5 converter today, I stumbled across a tool from Plantronics where you plug both your headphones and speakers ito it, and then just flip a switch to toggle between the two. It’s less than 20 bucks, so I’m will to part with the cash to quit squinting under my desk.

Podcastclicks.com is a free Podcasting Promotion Site where you place a banner for your podcast on the system, choose what categories of banners you are willing to display on your website, and when you show someone else’s banner, they are showing yours (a banner exchange program strictly for podcasters). I just went over to see how things are going and we are appraochign 300,00 clicks sent to podcaster’s websites this year. This is up from 142,000 in 2010.The service is free. Sign up at www.podcastclicks.com

I have a segment on my podcast called “The Last 5 in 5″ where you list – not your favorite podcast – but the last 5 you listened to (along with a brief description, and their website) in less than 5 minutes. Today I’m looking for something different.

Thinking back to all the podcasts you listened to in 2011, which one was your favorite.

For me this was hard. I get great information from No Agenda. I listen to a lot of podcasts about podcasting (The Podcasters Studio is a good one), I love the stories from The Bitterest Pill. However, the one that made me laugh, while informing me about stuff going on in music, and turning me on to great music, and great interveiws was Micahel Butler’s Rock and Roll Geek Show. It’s the longest running podcast (started in 2004) and the original music podcast.

Its tough (I am subscribed to 43 podcasts at the moment). So what was your favorite podcast of 2011 (THAT’s NOT YOURS), that you were so happy to see come into your podcatcher? Leave a creative and interesting comment below.

Footage Firm is a website that lots of video footage for video podcasters. They also have a lot of great “free” music on CDs. This “Free” music collections have an $8 shipping fee. Well now this week only they have lowered the shipping feed to $5 if you use the footage firm coupon code ENDOFYEAR2011

I’ve been playing with Spreaker to see how it works, etc. It’s a pretty cool service that makes it easy to do a “live” podcast. Now you can use an android phone to record your podcast. This is nothing new (anyone remember the now dead Gcast?). There is a version for iOS as well.

I went over and downloaded the app, and did a quick test. It works. I could see musicians, or any kind of entertainers who want to update things from the road using the feature. It does sound like it was recorded on a phone. In terms of ease of use, it doesn’t get much easier. You can listen to it by clicking on the player below.

The service is free as the place ads on their player when you listen online (and if you download the episode there are ads added to the beginning of the show). If you are looking for a way to ad advertising for those who listen online only (not downloads) check out my latest version of More Podcast Money.

Maybe we should think differently this year…

Jeff Roney just put out a blog post stating how he started a podcast with this wife about a television show called “Once upon a time.” I know nothing about the show (I don’t watch TV), but I know when you start a podcast you’re nt sure if there will be an audience for your topic.

One way to eliminate the “Is there an audience for this” is to start a podcast about a television show. This provides the audience of that show a place to gather while waiting for the next episode. I have done this with the Jillian Michaels Fan Cast.

The “Happy Ending” of this show is that Jeff has landed as a “New and Noteworthy” podcast in iTunes. Actually it’s not the ending, it’s just the beginning. What it does show is that you don’t have to be on NPR or a high-profile comedian to be “New and Noteworthy” in iTunes.

Congrats Jeff! Find out more about this podcast at http://onceuponatimepodcast.com

(sorry I got the URL wrong originally Jeff)

On Monday (tomorrow) Footage Firm will be having a Cyber Monday special where you can get 40% off yoru purchase. This website has Royalty Free Music for $8 a CD. With this special you’re looking at a FULL CD of music for around $5. I use them for primarily music, but they also have video, sound effects and more.

To save 40% you need to use the coupon CYBERMONDAY11

Wizzard Media, the world’s leading podcasting network, today announced it is seeing a 30% increase in average weekly signups in 2011 vs. average weekly signups for 2010. In addition, Wizzard’s premier podcast distribution and monetization platform Libsyn.com has seen average weekly client account revenues increase 29% for 2011 vs. 2010.

The company has been focused on its stated plan of increasing reoccupying revenues by attracting new hosting and App customers. Additionally, marketing and social media efforts to support hosting and audience growth have demonstrated success this year.

Full story

I recently got a notice in my RSS feed, that a podcast that features a reporter following a pizza driver for a day. I’ve always thought about what its like to deliver pizza. Now this podcast let’s me know. My favorite is that the guy has to start his car with a pair of scissors.

If I had some pointers for this “podcast” (this looks more like a “audio” on a website), and there is no way to download this podcast, or play it in a new window (so when I first listened to it, and clicked on another, I lost my website).

Todd Cochrane and the boys at blubrry.com are coming out with a new feature for their powerpress plugin. I love the PowerPress plugin. I realize that PowerPress has a fair amount of features that not everyone uses, but in their latest newsletter they announced a new feature coming called ,”Meta Mark” which to me sounds like a character on a Saturday Night Live Sketch. What this feature will do is allow you to specify certain actions to happen in your media when played on your website. Here are some examples:

Example 1: At 2:33 you Meta Mark the media, so that it pops up a window within the media player asking the listener to comment on that segment of content. When acted on, the comment will get pushed back to you, increasing engagement.

Example 2: At 4:44 seconds you Meta Mark the media so that it pops up a survey window for your listener to respond to. This allows you to embed survey links or simple surveys within your media.

Example 3: At 10:29 seconds you Meta Mark the media at that precise location to insert an advertisement by a third-party partner.

Example 4: At 11:55 you Meta Mark the media to pop up a URL associated with the topic you are discussing. When clicked on, it will launch a new window to that content.

They’e also released the Cuetoo product for selling digital products (which I will be checking out right after I post this ). Special thumbs up to Angelo Mandato who is the main man behind PowerPress.

Back in the day when podcasting was still just a gleam in the eyes of geeks two companies launched to give people the ability to do live radio shows. One was TalkShoe and the other was Blog Talk Radio. I have NOT been a fan of either one for a very simple reason. Their audio blows. I mean it sucks out loud, and by that I mean it’s bad.

If you look at the graphic to the right you will see the details of a file I downloaded from the Blog talk University (so an “official” BTR file) and you will see that the sample rate is 11. The typical CD quality sample rate is 44. Think of it this way, how many times a second do they take a picture of your sound wave. Another great way of thinking of this is by using the analogy of paint. How much paint do they put on their brush? 1/4 of what most people use.

Then you get to the Audio Bit Rate. Back in the day when people were worried about bandwidth (a worry that is almost obsolete) people would publish at

64 Kbps = Am Radio Quality
96 = FM Radio Quality (I still publish at his rate for some of my podcasts)
128 =CD Quality

You can see that after barely putting any “paint” on their paint brush they then publish the audio with HALF of the quality of an AM Radio station.

As I was listening to this show, I thought, “I’m going to write a blog post about it.” I didn’t want to lose my place so I clicked the “Play in a new window” option and well. I’m still waiting. I get this a lot when I go to help people who want to move away from Blog Talk Radio. I finally had to click on pause and start to get the player to work.

With this in mind, as it is my job to know and understand all podcasting tools, I will be using BTR in the future to make sure I know what I’m talking about. If you want to be notified you can follow me on twitter at @learntopodcast and I’ll let you know. Right now I’m set for this Wednesday at 10 AM.

Maybe the thrill of having a live audience will offset the lack of audio quality. I’m also going to pay CLOSE attention as to how and if they submit a feed to iTunes as a “favor” for me.

There may be hope for BTR in the future as I saw this on one of their forums.

I think its time to invest in some video equipment…

I’m not sure what podcast.com was before November 2011, but at this point according to a press release, “Podcast network Wizzard Media and Podcast.com today announced an exclusive partnership to launch a podcast directory designed for existing and potential listeners, with content provided exclusively by Wizzard Media. Podcast.com will feature Wizzard Media’s Libsyn hosting and mobile app products, and it will share in revenue generated from new customers introduced through the site as well as advertising revenues. Wizzard intends to leverage Podcast.com to create greater awareness, content discovery and drive more audiences to Libsyn-hosted podcasts for its producers.”

With more and more people using alternatives to iTunes to manage their podcast subscriptions, I’m curious as to developing another directory, but if nothing else I find this interesting.

Another One Bites the Dust. Remember Podango? Well we can add another free podcast hosting company to the list.

That’s right. Another completely free podcast hosting company is closing its doors. In this case its mypodcast.com. This website offered recording software online (kind of like spreaker.com).

Here is their memo:

Hello MyPodcast.com Broadcasters -

We must regretfully inform you that effective December 1, 2011, MyPodcast.com will cease all operations. Due to the current business climate, our current revenues can no longer cover the operational costs associated with hosting and serving the large amount of podcasts available on the site. We would like to thank all our podcasters and listeners for their years of support in making MyPodcast one of the most popular podcast hosting sites on the web.

Effective December 1, 2011, all podcasts currently hosted on the site will become permanently deleted and unavailable for download. For this reason, we strongly encourage all of our podcasters who do not have locally stored copies of their recordings to please take the time to download and save them from the site. Unfortunately, we will not be able to provide ANY recordings on or after December 1, 2011, as they will have been permanently deleted from our storage servers.

Once again, we would like to thank everyone for using the site over the years, and wish you all the best of luck with your podcasts in the future!

–
Regards, MyPodcast Team

If you are not familiar with mypodcast.com they had a platform where you could record your podcast right online. When I went to their site, here are some of the nuggets that I found:

When describing their service, they explained their benefits with this:

The next problem is hosting. You need server to upload your podcasts on. You have to learn about RSS feeds, webpage updates, FTP, backups. And good software does not come cheap.

MyPodcast.com does EVERYTHING for you at absolutely NO COST. That’s right, everything is FREE. Besides, you can earn some money, even if your podcast is not yet popular.

You will start earning when a first Listener will hear your podcast. As your podcast increases its popularity, each podcast will bring you more and more income. Eventually you will receive advertisements offers from individuals interested in your podcast and you will be able to make some exclusive deals.

Apparently, eventually they didn’t. In my travels you have to go after the advertisers (they don’t come to you).

My favorite is from the FAQ:

Can I turn off the advertisements? I can pay for my podcast bandwidth.

There are plenty of services, which offer podcast hosting for money. The easiest to use is: Mac service from Apple. At the moment we do not provide this kind of subscription.

Maybe they will figure out how to accept money next time.

The company is owned by First Beat Media which (apparently from their website) creates niche dating sites.

Congratulations on showing us that once again a “Free” business plan supported only by advertisements doesn’t work (apparently). I just wonder who is going to be next?

Did Your Free Podcast Hosting Save You Any Money Really?

I tried to find out when mypodcast.com started. The earliest report of it was in 2007. With that, let’s say it was 1/1/2007.  That’s 48 months (4 years). If you had a Libsyn.com account for $15 (the one I use) that would be $720 for four years. As they are going out of business you now decide to do what you should’ve done in the first place, and get a paid  podcast hosting solution (libsyn.com or blubrry.com). If you had produced a show every week over the last four years you would have 208 episodes.  That’s going to take probably an hour to upload all those megabytes of files.  Then you are going to have to go to each of those 208 posts and replace the link to your mypodcast.com file to your Libsyn.com if it takes you 5 minutes to do this for each episode you will spend 17.8 hours (remember, you’ll have to go through all the pages of posts, then edit, then go to your media, copy, paste, save, rather, rinse, repeat). If we combine that with the hour of uploading and we will round things up and say that it’s going to take 19 hours to update your website. This means you are making $37 an hour ($720/19 hours).  This is not a “want to” thing, you have to update your website or your podcast will have no media attached to it (at least any live media). The question is, you just lost an entire Saturday with your family. How much is that worth to you?

Before I start this post, let me say that there is no rule that you have to earn money with your podcast. If you’re doing it as a hobby because you love to talk about your subject that is perfectly fine by me. What makes me upset is when I see people like Pat Cook post things in a ayahoo group like this:

Besides, no offense BUT let’s face facts - NO ONE will make huge amounts of $$$ off a podcast (Be it audio OR video).  Those who think this NEED THEIR HEADS EXAMINED !!!!!  Those who DO make huge wads of $$$ are both EXTREMELY lucky & eventually become media stars (The Young Turks come to mind here)

JMO…..

Cheers
  Pat Cook
HOST – The Political Rewrite Podcast – http://politicalrewritepodcast.blogspot.com/
BLOG – The Political Rewrite – http://politicalrewrite.blogspot.com/

SIDE NOTE: Um…..I can’t help but notice that Pat is using a free hosting service and he has a whole TWO episodes.

My first reply told Pat that my friend Cliff Ravenscraft got a $12,000 donation from a listener. Can you stop a second and think about how you would feel if you opened a piece of mail and found a $12,000 check addressed to YOU?

To this Pat brought more of his opinion:

Yeah……Keyword is DONATION !!!!!  That means someone GAVE him that money.  He didn’t EARN it

Receiving money by donation IS NOT the same as EARNING it.

Not earning it? In the immortal words of Cee Lo Green,  “Ain’t that some Sh*t.”

This seems like an uneducated response so I’m taking this blog post to educate the world on something. I think we can all agree on something. When you go to your job, you provide a service of some sort. The company you work for then GIVES you money in return. This is how most people EARN a living.

Podcasters Sweat For Their Art

I just downloaded Spotify and put it on my computer. WOW. It’s WAAAAY Cool. That’s the good news. The bad news is this is SERIOUS competition in the “attention span” market. There are only so many hours in the day to listen and watch a podcast, and we need to provide quality content or we don’t keep our audience. In the same way that you get to keep your job by providing quality service, only we get to keep our audience. When we provide exceptional content we are rewarded by having the audience tell a friend, write a review, or even – donate, buy, hire, money or services.

I recently did an episode of Weekly Web Tools where I spent time reviewing different scheduling packages for solopreneurs. It took about 90 minutes to create a podcast that was probably about 15 minutes long. If it was Summer out, I’d have to turn off the air conditioning. I’m sure many podcasters follow this practice of turning off the cooling/heating system to provide the quietest environment possible. Finding great content is work. You can use tools like Google alerts (See mine below), and RSS searches but in the end, you still have to READ this stuff and determine if it interests you. It takes about four minutes for every minute of podcast produced (so a 15 minute podcast takes an hour – that’s work).

Marc Maron podcasts out of his garage. He is sweating. He is creating GREAT content.

Value For Value

In my book More Podcast Money I talk about how the No Agenda Show received  $2993.49 from 14 different contributors on their 200th show. Why did the audience GIVE the money? Because they receive a valuable service. The No Agenda Show covers stories American should be caring about instead of Chaz Bono’s beard length. You can’t get this information organized and delivered from a main stream source, so this is why people give a valuable token (money, donations) for the valuable content they receive.

It’s All About Luck – Wrong

In regards to Pat’s comment on all big podcasters are lucky I want to make this point. It’s probably true at first. For example, Cliff Ravenscraft launched a podcast about the TV show Lost right before the television launched the “official” lost podcast. When people looked for the “official” Lost podcast, they found Cliffs. Lucky? Sure. However, Cliff now had to KEEP that audience by delivering great content. Content that moves people. There are just too many options and choices to listen to something that sucks. Why would you listen to mediocre content when there are so many options available? Another example from Cliff is that he was lucky enough to have someone who knew someone who knew someone who knew Dan Miller (famous Author). That’s lucky. Cliff’s TALENT, and work secured Dan as a client and friend.

Back in the day the Mommycast secured one of the first (if not THE first) six figure podcasting advertiser deal. Where they lucky? Sure. But it was their hard work that KEPT that sponsorship for a few more years. If they were not providing a value, the sponsor would not have renewed their contract.

Spome might say I was lucky to have the first podcast about podcasting. It’s easy to be number one against a test pattern, just ask Milton Berle. However, the reason I have people who are listening six years later is because I deliver good content. They ay not all be golden episodes, but for the most part I provide value.

Big Money No Whammies

Quick Glimpse of Dave's Google Reader

The other area that will cause an issue is Pat’s phrase “huge $$$.’ Are we talking four, five, or six figures? I received a $100 donation to one of my podcasts. Right now, I count $100 as huge. If I had more money in the bank, maybe I wouldn’t. My Logical Weight Loss podcast inspired someone (a service) to lose weight. She values my content and wanted to say “thanks.” Do you have to make six figures to consider your podcast a success? I know of a podcaster who had done a music podcast for years. I explained Amazon.com and Linkshare (iTunes) affiliate linking and he now pays for his hosting and then some. What does he consider his true payment? By being able to interview his heroes. It’s not always about the money.

Are there LOTs of podcasters who have quit their day jobs to do this full-time? Lots? Probably not. Some? Sure. Are their people who could make up their hosting fees, and then some? Yep. That’s why I wrote the book.I’m not hear to tell you to quit your day job. I’m here to say quit losing money on your podcast (again – if you want to).

Creating good content is work. That’s why you have to be passionate about your topic. When your job is something you love, every day is a vacation. So when we are scouring through your topics in Google Reader, or watching our television shows with paper and pencil in hand (or iPad), we are “working” with a giant smile on our face.

So Pat I want to tweak your original statement.

let’s face facts

Like the facts I presented today?

- NO ONE will make huge amounts of $$$ off a podcast (Be it audio OR video). 

Wrong.

Those who think this NEED THEIR HEADS EXAMINED !!!!!  Those who DO make huge wads of $$$ are both EXTREMELY lucky & eventually become media stars (The Young Turks come to mind here)

Wait you just said NO ONE makes huge money…

My New Version

let’s face facts – people CAN make amounts of $$$ off a podcast (You get out of it what you put into it).   Those who DO make huge wads of $$$ are both EXTREMELY dedicated, hard working, and talented and more than likely spend just as much time promting their podcast as they do recording it.

I got a message in my in box last night it read:

“It is with much sadness and deliberation that announce the end of
Indie Radio Chattanooga. I’ve had a wonderful time and met tons of
nice people, and made a bunch of friends, but my time has come. It’s
just not fun anymore and it’s time  to move one. Thanks to all of you
who helped me along the way and made such a difference in my life.
Take care and I’ll still be lurking in the shadows, so be good!
-Jimi Lee

Why do you start a podcast? Becuase you have a passion for a topic.

When do you stop a podcast? When you no longer have the passion, and when it’s just not fun anymore.

It’s that simple. If you’re bored, it’s going to show in the show. You can’t fake it forever. I once went to a Sammy hagar concert at a small theater in Akron, Ohio. It was a birthday part for a local radio station. Sammy came out and did his whole set. Then he came out and did a bunch of covers. He did “My Generation,” by the Who. He did, “Whole lotta love” by Led Zepplin.” Sammy is a big talker. Always has stories in between songs (like Spingsteen only interesting). In between these songs he said something crude, but very profound. He said, “If I get bored, we’re all F#cked.” How does he stop from getting bored? After playing all the songs his audience wants to hear, Sammy plays some song He wants to hear. Speaking of Sammy, you can get Sammy’s Audio book “Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock” as a free audio book when you sign up at Audibletrial.com/dave

I ran across a cool Widget to make a donation goal and asked the website owner where he got this cool widget (I had been using chipin.com). The answer? Paypal.

All you have to do is go into your paypal account and in the upper right hand corner type “widgets” in the search box. Eventually you will be taken to a Paypal labs site. Here you can

Choose the color of the widget

The color of the title

Choose an image (100X170)

Choose the color of your progress bar

Set the goal amount

Enter a paragraph about your cause.

Choose if you want people to be able to embed the widget on their website (who would say “no”?).

Then you copy and paste the code.

There is one small issue. If you want to create more than one widget (for those with multiple podcasts) you need to basically log out and log back in to create the second widget. You will see your previous widgets (which makes it easy to update each month).

Here is what the end result looks like:

Alec Baldwin has won awards, has been in movies, broadway, TV, and now podcasting. His first guest is Michael Douglas.

The cool thing is he starts good right out of the gate. I wasn’t sure what to expect, and he told me right up front. He wants to talk to people and learn more about them. If he finds them interesting, they will be on the show.

It’s a conversation. A conversation between two interesting people. He also doesn’t shy away from difficult topics (he talks to Douglas about his son who has had his share of problems), and gets him to share the story of how learning about his cancer.You later hear his daughter come into the room and explain that “Dad makes pancakes” for a living.

Great podcasts give you content you can’t get anywhere else.

I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I really liked this first episode.

You can find more at heresthething.org

With Halloween next week, and the rest of the hholiday season upon us, you may want to add some holiday music to your podcasts. I was just informed that Footage Firm (a place for with great resources for video people) has come out with a new set of production music for the holidays (and their music is quality as well). From Jazz, Country, Pop, etc there are many different flavors (many with sleigh bells in the background) to add that holiday feel to your podcasts.

They say the music is “Free” but you end up paying $8.41 for the shipping. With that said, it’s still a great deal on royalty free music for your podcast. Check it out at footagefirm.com

The 53-year-old Emmy-winning actor, who has made no secret of his New York political aspirations, is working with New York public radio station WNYC on an interview show that will be available via podcast starting Oct. 24.

The first interview posted will be with actor Michael Douglas, who talks about watching “Glee” with his young daughter. Other interviews to follow will be with Republican campaign strategist Ed Rollins, reality-show celebrity Kris Kardashian Jenner, comic Chris Rock, actress Kathleen Turner, author Erica Jong and veteran talk-show host Dick Cavett, WNYC said Thursday.

Baldwin said that he’s been exploring other things to do, knowing that his small-screen life as crazed corporate executive Jack Donaghy on “30 Rock” is heading toward its end.

Baldwin has won Emmys for his comic portrayal of a TV network boss. He said he likes to use his spare time to satisfy the need to do other things.

His mixture of guests on the radio show will take in several fields, although he leans toward fellow entertainers. Baldwin said he’s particularly interested in talking with show-biz veterans about the directions their careers have taken and how they keep the juices flowing.

The Long Island native has long been involved in politics and said earlier this month he would not rule out a run for New York mayor once is TV show has ended.

He’s an admitted “public radio junkie” who has filled in on the air for New York’s WNYC and also helped with fund drives. After his on-air work as a substitute host for Kurt Andersen, both Baldwin and WNYC were interested in doing something more, said Dean Cappello, senior vice president for programming at New York public radio.

His contract on his television show 30 Rock ends next year after its 6th season. My guess is he will stay for one more year (don’t you have to go seven seasons to go into syndication?).

Steve, Steve, and More Steve. Twitter was just amazing tonight.

It’s a shame. My mother died at 58 and that was too soon. 56 is waaay too soon.

His life was very interesting. He had a vision, and persued it to the end. He was himself. He did not compromise.

Music is sold completely different.

The way music is heard is completely different.

The way products are launched is different.

The way movies are created is completely different.

The way movies are watched is compeltely different.

The way we communicate is completely different.

It’s amazing what one one person, with a vision, and determination, can do. He left the world a better place.

Watch this youtube clip.

Now go hug your kids, kiss you wife, and let the small stuff go.

Money doesn’t buy you life.

His autobiography comes out November 11th

Today’s post is not really about podcasting, but I truly belive my readers will benefit from it.

Oh My God I Can’t Find My Phone!

Has this ever happened to you? You just looked in the FREEZER for your phone. Why? because you can’t find it, and you’ve looked everywhere.

OK. I didn’t lose my phone. But I have lost items in the past. I’ve almost lost my phone. It was the worst 3 minutes and 27 seconds of my life. When I found it, I wanted to kiss it. Think about all the information you have in your phone, or laptop, keys, usb drive, etc. We keep making things smaller, and it keeps getting easier to lose this stuff. I know.

Back in2005 the iRiver company had a strong hold with their 899 model. Not only was it a cool mp3 player, but you could use it as a portable recorder. It was awesome. In true, FWA? fashion they discontinued that feature in future models (cause podcasting was a fad…..). I lost mine. The 899 was about the size oy my thumb. I loved that little booger, and I think about it every now and then. I’m hoping some day I’ll put on a pair of dress shows that I haven’t worn in years only to find my 899 stuffed into the toes.

If I had used www.stuffback.com I would’ve had a 70% chance of getting it back.

What is Stuffback?

If you value your electronics, you might want to check this site out. Here are the details:

StuffBak’s provides free lifetime registration for all items and two years free returns for all retail labels, tags and cases. Recovery and shipping fees (if any) are determined by your current service level (the service fee never exceeds $49.00).

You can order StuffBak labels for as little as $7.95 each. Additionally, StuffBak provides quantity discounts and a time-saving label pre-activation option. Stuffbak labels come in several sizes and types, including adhesive, teslin and a highly durable aluminum adhesive.

Finders are motivated to return lost property because StuffBak’s system is simple, convenient, confidential, cost-free, and rewarding. They simply call a toll-free number or go online and report the item’s owner number. StuffBak arranges for a courier pickup or directs them to a nearby drop-off center. They don’t have to pack a box or pay for shipping. Once the property is returned to the owner, finders receive StuffBak’s standard $20-value product reward, plus any cash reward offered by the owner.

For drop-off locations they use all UPS Stores. If there is not a UPS Store location near the finder, StuffBak will arrange for a courier pick up. If the owner is in the same proximity as the finder, and both parties agree to meet, StuffBak will facilitate a face-to-face exchange.

10% off with Dave10

You can get 1o% off your purchase by using the coupon code Dave10 at www.stuffbak.com

Does this sound like a service you would use? Have you ever lost anything?

I received a response today from Podbean:

Dave,

Currently, we don’t have staff available for interview.

Podbean.com was founded in Montreal, Canada. 

We are a group of tech geekers who love to use the  tech solutions to give best low cost service to users.

Regards

David
Podbean Team
www.podbean.com

So they are from Canada, and people who manage podcasting, don’t have 15 minutes to talk to someone who has an audience filledwith people who are interested in podcast hosting.

It’s not an ego thing. Really it’s not. Does anybody else find this weird?

Previous Posts

Podbean Experiment I

Podbean Experiment II – Who Are You?

Zoom has come out with a new version of the popular H2 portable recorder called the H2n. I loved the H2, and I’ve had a few podcasters interview me using that unit and I’m always amazed at the sound.This is one of the most versatile units. It doubles as a USB interface, records in WAV or mp3 formats, has a line/mic input (not 1/4″ or XLR, just 1/8″). The new H2n sells for $199 at Amazon.com

The new H2n unit has some great features:

1. More Microphone options

There are more microphones. You can record from the line in in addition to the built-in mics (and mix them later). You can record with your side mics on (for ambience) and then later determine how much of that to use in the recording.

2. Increased battery Life

The material for the H2n state a battery life of 20 hours. Cool.

3. Increased Display

It never fails, I buy a Roland R-05 because of the big display and Zoom comes out with a new unit with a bigger 1.8″ display. The R-05 has 1.5″

4. One Button Record

In previous units you pushed it once to be in stand by mode, and once again to record. This lead to a few, “Oh man it wasn’t recording” situations I’m sure. Not any more. One big button on the front. Press it once and you’re recording.

5. Data recovery

In the past there was the “Oh many my batteries went dead” is now a thing of the past. You have a data recovery mode. When you put new batteries in, yuor data is safe.

6. Up to 32 Gig SDCard

The unit comes with a 2 Gig card, and can record on a card up to 32 gigs.

7. Flexible Recording Levels

It use to be you had low, medium, and high as far as recording settings. Now you have a conveniently placed dial that you can adjust as you record.

8. It’s Damn Sexy

The thing just looks cool

What You Don’t Get with the Zoom H2n

When you purchased the H2, you got all sort of accessories. This included a windscreen, power cable. a stand, a microphone adapter (for putting it into a microphone stand). At $150 this unit was not only a great unit, it was a great value. With the H2n listing at $199, I was thinking you got all the bells and whistles. This is no longer the case. Now to get a power cord (with 20 hours of battery life do you really need this?), windscreen, remote control, stand, case, etc it’s an additional $39 making the total price around $240.  With this in mind, why not go one step further to the Zoom H4n which is $299 and has all the accessories (not as good a battery life), and the ability to plug in a 1/4″ or XLR microphone right into the bottom of it?

I have said for years, the best way to start a podcast is to use a service to host your websites (like Bluehost or Host Gator) and then get a dedicated Media Host (Like Blubrry.com or Libsyn.com). Blue host will cost you about $7 a month. You have to buy a year in advance (so $84 out of your pocket to get started). I have never personally used them (I’m a Host Gator guy), I have used Blue Host’s control panel when clients use them. I have chatted with their tech support folks, and I have no problem recommending them.

I had a potential client tell me he was going to use them host his audio files. The idea is you are going to save the $15 for a media host. Before I went “That’s not good,” I wanted to triple (quadruple ) check for the thousandth time that this was a  potentially  bad idea. With this in mind, I went over to Blue Host to have a chat.This was about noon on Tuesday 9/27/2011

Here it is:

Daniel H.: [9:47:26 AM] Thank you for contacting sales today. My name is Daniel. Let’s discuss how we can make your website a success!
David Jacks..: [9:47:52 AM] Hi Daniel. What is your shared hosting plan price if I go month by month instead of a year at a time?
Daniel H.: [9:49:24 AM] The shortest plan we offer is the 12 month plan. It is prepaid up front but we do not have any contracts
David Jacks..: [9:49:46 AM] and how much is that a month?
Daniel H.: [9:50:51 AM] Our most current promotion:
1 year for $83.40 (6.95 a month)
2 years for $142.80 (5.95 a month)
3 years for $214.20 (5.95 a month)
Our hosting service is paid in advance. We offer 1, 2 and 3 years but you can cancel within 30 days and get a full refund and it’s prorated any time after that. So you’re not bound in a contract.

David Jacks..: [9:51:19 AM] Also, I have a client who is looking to order hosting for a website that features a podcast. He is wanting to use your service as it has unlimited bandwidth. Does that mean he can host his mp3 files on your hosting? Are there any stipulations for or against podcast files?
Daniel H.: [9:53:31 AM] Yes that is fine as long as it is not copyrighted

David Jacks..: [9:55:27 AM] Just to make sure we are crystal clear. If he puts out an episode once a week, and 25M and it gets downloaded 1000 times in a week, that’s OK? There are people who are stating that others from your company say it’s not allowed.
Daniel H.: [9:56:15 AM] Yes that is fine. There is no reason for that to be a problem.
David Jacks..: [9:56:30 AM] I have a podcast that has been dead for 2 years and it was downloaded 2500 times this month.
[9:57:24 AM] Apparently Jordan (based on another blog post I read).
[9:59:34 AM] I guess what I’m looking for is what would get you “kicked off” (maybe not the right word) for using too much bandwidth.
Daniel H.: [9:59:37 AM] Yes that is talking about 60,000 downloads of a 50MB file every week
[9:59:53 AM] that would use a lot of cpu and likely cause the account to get throttled
David Jacks..: [10:00:04 AM] So there are exceptions…
[10:00:52 AM] I’m just trying to make sure I understand exactly what to expect for my podcasting clients.
Daniel H.: [10:01:10 AM] no, no exceptions, as it grows bigger it will use more cpu, it is not bandwidth related
David Jacks..: [10:02:07 AM] So it’s not the bandwidth it’s that the server is trying to hand out all these mp3 files (as they now have a back catalog) and (for lack of a better phrase) it runs out of hands. Correct?
Daniel H.: [10:03:16 AM] No, in order to maintain stable servers, we limit the amount of cpu available to each account. CPU is used as processes run on your site.
David Jacks..: [10:04:19 AM] So what taxes the CPU in regards to serving an mp3? Is it the management of the request?
Daniel H.: [10:06:16 AM] yes, and the connection of the user to the site and file etc.
David Jacks..: [10:07:02 AM] Awesome. Well that clears it up. Thanks. Any ideas on how many requests are “OK” and when it would become a problem?
Daniel H.: [10:10:11 AM] No, that is very relative, it depends on the frequency of the access and the length of the recording etc.

David Jacks..: [10:11:18 AM] So there is no definitive answer on “You’ll be fine unless..” answer?
Daniel H.: [10:12:06 AM] nope, no way to know that
David Jacks..: [10:12:25 AM] Got it. Case by case basis.
Daniel H.: [10:12:28 AM] a couple thousand a week is fine, tens of thousands are too much
[10:12:40 AM] somewhere in between there
David Jacks..: [10:15:55 AM] Tha’ts where it gets tough. You may only get 700 downloads of a new episode, but the back catalog still sees traffic. Like I said, I have a podcast with 14 episodes and I had 2500 downloads this month. I haven’t had a new episode in two years. That’s basically 180 downloads per episode. If I had 300 episodes it would be 54,000 downloads.
Daniel H.: [10:17:30 AM] yeah, well you can gather an idea though. To have less limits you would need vps hosting
David Jacks..: [10:17:57 AM] Got it. Do you care if I put this chat on a blog?
Daniel H.: [10:20:32 AM] That is fine.
David Jacks..: [10:20:57 AM] Thanks Daniel. have a great day.

You will get the same answer (pretty much) with any Web Hosting provider. One of the reasons I live host Gator is you can pay month by month (you save more if you buy a bunch up front) for around $7 a month. For this “just starting” podcasters, a month by month may be a more sensible way to go until you’re sure this is something you want to do.

Can you host your files to start out? Absolutely. However, if (when) you have a problem it’s because your too popular and now you get to fix your problem if front of a lot more people instead of just doing it right in the first place.

If you go with a web host ($7 a month and media hosting $15) you end up spending $22ish.  I went to Buffalo Wild Wings with my step-son the other night. We played trivia.  We spent $24. Now I’m not saying give up quality time with your family. If you look at how much you spend on fast food, coffee, vending machine snacks there are ways you could afford to do podcasting correctly. People say they don’t want to spend that kind of money on a hobby have no problem spending $40 for a video game. I’ve never won any money playing a video game, but I’ve made money creating a podcast. I’ve made friends with a podcast. I’ve been seen as an expert because of my podcast. Isn’t it time you start a podcast?

I was approached by a company about starting a podcast where the target audience is college students. I explained how I use to do a podcast for students called “Quiet Study Area” that had soft non distracting music to study by, and study tips. The site (ugly and simple) is still there, and I went and check my stats at Mevio and was surprised that even though the Podcast “podfaded” in October 2009, I am still getting 2000+ downloads (and this month isn’t over).

This is why creating “evergreen” content (when possible) is important.

Today I continue my experiment with Podbean. Over the weekend I had 28 downloads of my More Podcast Money podcast (so their stats seem to work) I sent an email about their “no third party advertisements” policy. Here is the conversation:

I’m doing a blog series on Podbean. I see where if I want to run my own advertising using the Podcast (for example) podcaster pro account. I can’t create my own advertising in my podcast and talk about it. Let’s say I wanted to talk about stuffback.com because I’m an affiliate. I can’t talk about it, or is this more about putting affiliate banners on my page at podbean.com?

I would love to interview someone from Podbean for my podcast about podcasting.
–
Dave Jackson
www.schoolofpodcasting.com
Personal Podcast Coaching

Their response:

You may check Affiliate program at
http://www.podbean.com/affiliate/affiliate/

You may email us any issue and we will get back to you shortly.

Should there be any further question, please feel free to contact us.

Regards

Daphne
Podbean Team

To this is replied:

Daphne,
I don’t think you understand. If I want to promote the affiliate program of someone who is not podbean (say for example stuffback.com)
am I allowed to promote those products on my show?

Your website says this
http://faq.podbean.com/2011/04/21/can-i-monetize-my-site/

So I’m contacting you asking if I can talk about other products on my podcast. I’m asking for permission to promote third party items.

Also, can you tell me where I can learn about your company? (Where are you located, the staff, etc). There is only a contact button on the website, but no information about the people behind the company.

Dave Jackson
www.schoolofpodcasting.com

to this they replied:

David,

You may use one of our Business Level plans which allows you to run your own advertisement.

Regards

David
Podbean Team
www.podbean.com

Is anyone else noticing something strange? I’ve asked for an interview. I – a person with 700 – 1500 podcasters a week listening to me – and I can’t get a reply to an interview request? I can’t get a hint about where they are located. I did a WHOIS search and their domain name is registered through domainsbyproxy.com which keeps their information secret. There is no law against having a private domain. Oddly enough when I do the same for Blubrry.com I get the CEO’s name and email. If I do the same search on Libyn, I get complete information. Hosting companies need to realize that they are the blood of a podcast. Podcasters put a ton of trust into who they choose as a podcast host.

Libsyn and Blubrry are podcast hosting companies started by podcasters. Podbean is….

I was hoping to find out. At this point I’m left asking, “Who Are You?“