• New template for the HomeTechWeekly.com website
  • Some of the formatting is different so it will take a few weeks to get everything setup before I launch.
• Work on the MyPodcastAdventure.com website
  • Working with the template developer to get the widget sections working properly
    • having issues with the spacing of widget text/images and the separator graphic
  • Support the show
    • Working on this page to include all of the affiliate sponsors that we have for the show
    • Going to add an Amazon click through button – if you are going to purchase anything on Amazon I ask that you click through our website so that we can make a little money to help support the show
    • Most of the links that we have will include a free trial and we actually get paid when you sign up for a free trial, even if you cancel – so help support the show and at least sign up for a trial or two.
• HeadstrongMediaGroup.tv website
  • No big news, I have not done anything on this site other than purchase the template and add the logo
  • I have bee focussing on tweaking the other two websites instead of working on this one
  • Also I just was having trouble deciding on the format of the website
  • I think I have it decided and will start to work on it with the goal to have it “finished” by the end of March
• No new change with the AV manufacturer on their podcast
  • They are still interested and working towards an agreement
  • They are trying to decide if they are going to provide their own host, if I will host, or if we will hire a host
• Stitcher.com
  • Just a reminder that our shows are available on stitcher.com
  • http://www.stitcher.com/PODCASTADVENTURE
  • http://www.stitcher.com/HOMETECH
  • We are now part of the Stitcher Affiliate program so if you download the app and setup a free account you are helping to support this show.
• Using the Roland R-05 digital recorder
  • It works great – extremely simple to use
  • I don’t like it – nothing wrong with the unit, I just was getting used to my process and now my process has changed
  • Added layer to my process
  • Takes longer for the overall process
  • Considering using it as simply a backup device and recording into Audition (still keeping the R-05 connected and recording) and just use the files on the R-05 incase something happens with my direct recording.

• Mic - Heil Sound PR40 one of the things that sold me on Heil Sound was this interview on Triangulation on twit.tv
  • MSRP $325  Online Avg. $300
• Pop filter - Popless VAC-PR40
  • MSRP $77  Online Avg. $65
• Shock mount - Heil Sound SM-2
  • MSRP $105  Online Avg. $100
• Mic boom - Heil Sound HB-1 however I am wishing that I had the Heil Sound PL2T
  • MSRP $70  Online Avg. $65
• I bought a kit from BSW that included the mic, shock mount, and boom
  • $325

AUDIBLE AD:  Today’s episode of My Podcast Adventure is sponsored by Audible.com.  Get a FREE audiobook download & a FREE trial at audible.mypodcastadventure.com - over 100,000- titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or MP3 player - audible.mypodcastadventure.com

Welcome back to another episode of My Podcast Adventure, my name is Dave Kirn.  This is episode number 008 – recorded February 16th 2012.

Today’s show is going to break from the format that I have been doing over the last few shows because something terrible happened on Monday this week….

Social Media Update

This week I did setup accounts for My Podcast Adventure on Google+; Facebook; & Twitter.  If you go to www.mypodcastadventure.com you will see the links to our pages on each of those networks – make sure to Circle, Subscribe, Like, or Follow the show and drop me a quick message saying “hi”

On next weeks show…

I have gotten 2 requests from listeners to do a full breakdown of the equipment that I am using & discuss why I selected the equipment that I purchased.

This has been another episode of My Podcast Adventure, make sure you check out our website at mypodcastadventure.com.  You can find the show notes for this episode by going to the Episode Guide section of our website and searching for Episode #008.  If you have a question on anything that we covered in this show or comments in general, please post a message in the comments section for this episode or you can also email us at podcast@mypodcastadventure.com.

To stay updated with the latest shows make sure that you click subscribe in your favorite podcast software or app.

Also, if you listen to this podcast through iTunes, I would really appreciate it if you would post some positive feedback in iTunes for the show, it will really help our rating in iTunes.  We have gotten some great feedback for HomeTech Weekly, but have not gotten anything for My Podcast Adventure.

Until next time, this is Dave Kirn for My Podcast Adventure.

Updates from the week

• More work done on the website
• Considering making changes to the WordPress template
  • As I get a feel for the way that the shows are developing I am considering a different layout
• Subscriber numbers & show download numbers
  • HomeTech Weekly
    • Subscriber numbers for the Feedburner feed – doubles with each show
    • Show downloads from Libsyn stats – triples + with each show
    • No way to track downloads from other places like Stitcher (Stitcher downloads the file from the stream then compresses the show and then hosts that file directly, therefore it will not show up in my stats)
  • My Podcast Adventure
    • Subscriber numbers for the Feedburner feed – doubles every other show
    • Show downloads from Libsyn stats – doubles every other show
    • No way to track downloads from other places like Stitcher (Stitcher downloads the file from the stream then compresses the show and then hosts that file directly, therefore it will not show up in my stats)
• Contacted from a manufacturer in the AV industry to create a podcast for them
  • Still in the early stages
  • May be acting as the show host
  • May just be producing the show
  • Content creation & content polishing
• Started working on another show (that was originally planned and slated to start before HomeTech Weekly)
  • It is a entire learning site for the AV industry designed for the AV professional
  • Hope to launch within the next 3-6 months
  • A lot of content needs to be created before launch as this is a subscription based site.
  • Podcast will be free and serve as a advertisement or teaser for the subscription site.

1. What platform do you use on your websites? – Jim from London
   1. I use WordPress for all of my websites.  I have used many different things in the past including hand coding a massive 100+ page site with html.  I have also tried all of the new CMS (Content Management System) style of websites and found that I like WordPress the best and it is the easiest to pick up and start learning and creating right from the start – with some others there is a lot of learning involved before you can even get started.  Also I find that the WordPress Templates are easier to install and customize as well as there are a ton of places that sell WordPress templates.  Also the way that WordPress uses widgets to add additional features and that there are a ton of widgets that are developed (as free plugins).  Different ways to use WordPress – hosted by WordPress (WordPress.com) or installed on your site (WordPress.org that you pay for hosting), both options are free and most hosts provide a one click install for WordPress.
2. Where do you host your websites & podcast? – Alex
   1. I host all of my websites with Site5 Hosting.  I have a reseller account that allows me to host all of my sites (along with a unique control panel for each site) for $25 per month and they have hosting that starts at $4.95 per month.  Site5 has the best service that I have ever seen with any web host (and I have been with more hosts than I care to count) – most hosts offer a similar product but what I find is that the huge difference comes when there are any problems (usually something that I did wrong) how they handle them.  I am an affiliate for Site5 so if you are interested in their services click through site5.mypodcastadventure.com.
   2. I host all of my podcast media with Libsyn.com (Liberated Syndication).  If you research most of the podcasters are using Libsyn to host.  I have each show setup on separate accounts (you can host multiple shows with only one account, however that will impact your stats).  I have had one issue with them on an episode that I uploaded but the direct link would not play. I discovered the issue on a Friday morning when I uploaded the file, but figured that it would resolve itself if I gave it a bit of time to post; still had issues that evening & sent an email; did not get a response until mid day on Sunday and was told that their system did not accept the file for some reason and to re-upload the file; still had the issue, had to re-upload again and finally worked; everything was up and running on Monday mid day.  As far as their packages I use the Classic 250 ($15 per month) for My Podcast Adventure and the App 1500 ($75 per month) for HomeTech Weekly with some additional storage.
3. I have found online that you seem to have a few different companies – can you give me more info on what all you do? – Justin from TX
   1. You are correct I have a few things going on – here is a quick breakdown
      1. Headstrong Media Group, LLC
         1. HomeTech Weekly
         2. My Podcast Adventure
         3. Business of AV
      2. k2 Dealer Services, LLC
         1. Consultant for AV companies
         2. System Design & Engineering Services
            1. Dealers
            2. End Users
         3. DataPro – Software & Database that we created for the AV industry.  Monthly subscription basis
      3. Headstrong Software, LLC
         1. Was created for a software application that we were developing for the AV industry – put on hold until market conditions improve.
      4. Kirn Homes, LLC
         1. Custom Home Builder – Started back at the end of the housing boom – on hold right now until market conditions improve.
      5. Dave Kirn, LLC
         1. General business consulting & training
         2. Keynote Speaker
4. What do you use to record & edit your shows – PC or Mac? – Kristen from Australia
   1. I record and edit using Adobe Audition running on a PC.  I use my MacBook Air for the music intros and any pre-recorded audio.  I use the PC simply because it is the most powerful computer that I have as it was built a year ago as a high-end performance machine to run Auto-CAD software.  It is a 6-core AMD Black processor with 32 GB of RAM running Windows 7 & dual 30″ monitors.  I plan on replacing this computer later this year with a new Mac Pro.

• Last weeks happenings for Headstrong Media Group
• Website content & graphics
• 80% of the website is complete – probably enough for 95% of the listeners
• New affiliate sponsors
• Listener projects

• Show prep process & creating show notes
• Evernote
• Notebook application – separate notebooks for different topics
• Google Chrome add-in https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pioclpoplcdbaefihamjohnefbikjilc
• Multiple notebooks in Evernote
• HomeTech Weekly – Notes
• HomeTech Weekly – Show Notes
• HomeTech Weekly
• Use Evernote clip feature to add story info into the “notes” notebook to gather ideas for the show through the week
• I do not look at this notebook at all during the week – just add articles that I found interesting
• The day that I record the show (currently Thursdays) I look at the “notes” notebook first thing in the morning and start to narrow the list
• At least half of the items that are in the notebook are not used in the show
• From the “notes” I start a new file in the “show notes” notebook for the new show
• Start doing research on these items and start to expand the info for each bullet point
• Show Notes
• Extremely detailed show outline
• Limit outline to 4 levels of outline bullets
• Monitor news stories for the day that I am recording to see if there is anything important to add to the show
• Read the notes out loud (sometimes grab the mic and headphones to hear how it sounds)
• Take a break from the notes
• Re-read all items to make sure that everything flows correctly and that all items are aligned correctly
• Press record and record the episode
• Show notes within WordPress are simply copied from the Evernote file

• Get your own Audible sponsorship for your podcast
• http://www.audibletrial.com/Information.aspx

When you listen you can probably hear a little exhaustion in my voice (especially as I stumble on some things and repeat some things a few times as well as referring to this show being Episode #2), well that is due to all the build up for CES 2012 (Consumer Electronics Show) and getting the other show recorded.  I took a podcast that I had been planning for a weekly show to not only producing daily shows but some days actually had up to 4 shows in one day.  Being a member of the press has been a truly overwhelming activity.

Apple iTunes “Big Brother” – I checked iTunes after I recorded the last show just to check to see if this show was showing up in iTunes and found that it was already there – even though I never got an email from iTunes telling me that it was available (like I got when I submitted HomeTech Weekly).

We have an audience! – Without any type of promotion or even telling anyone about it, you have found the show.  We have got a good amount of initial subscribers and I guess that I can say that the show is now “international” since we have 10 subscribers outside of the USA.

Both shows have been submitted to the Zune Marketplace (in addition to iTunes) – rather basic process, you just need to download the Zune software (link to zune marketplace http://social.zune.net/podcasts/) and click on the “submit a podcast” button on the side.  However I did not get anything in response from Zune, and as of the date of recording, nothing was showing up within the search in Zune.

Podcast Directories: Still need to submit both shows to the Blackberry Podcast Directory.  I found a great resource to find a great list of podcast directories – podcast411.com has a list called “Directory of Directories“.  They have listed a bunch of directories complete with some basic description of what type of requirements for getting listed as well as a link to the page to submit your feed.

To start off this first show, I recap the goal of this podcast (and MyPodcastAdventure.com), and discuss my plans for the podcast including an estimate of 15-30 minutes episodes that will be produced most likely weekly depending on what is going on with the other podcasts.

During this episode I also discussed some of the equipment that I have purchased so far and a little bit as to why I selected those individual items and promised links for the various items, so here is the list.

Mixer: Behringer Xenyx X1222USB

Microphone: Heil Sound PR-40

Microphone Boom:  Heil Sound HB-1

Microphone Shock Mount:  Heil Sound SM-2B

Pop Filter:  Popless VAC-PR40

Headphones: Shure SRH440