Podcasters' Emporium

Podcasters’ Emporium #036 – Insights from TWiT and Oshkosh

lifestylepodnetwork@gmail.com (James Williams & Dave Gray) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 05:34:47 +0000

Thank you for joining us on episode 36 of Podcasters’ Emporium – we’re speaking with Steve Visscher from Plane Crazy Down Under about his recent trip to the US and the insights he’s gotten from visiting Leo Laporte at the TWiT Brick House.

In the discussion we talk about the value of sponsors and harnessing the support of your audience to take on new initiatives. Steve talks about how the listeners of his show Plane Crazy Down Under helped to support his trip to Wisconson for AirVenture Oshkosh 2011.

As well Steve talks about his recent trip to Petaluma and Leo Laporte’s new studio facilities. He talks about his experience there and what he thinks about the setup. It’s an interesting show for anyone who listens to TWiT or is interested in doing more with their own show.

Don’t forget that our next show is a Listener feedback show, so send us your audio feedback to podcastersemporium@gmail.com

Here’s what we talked about on today’s show:

Be a Part of the Podcasters’ Emporium Community!

Register and be a part of the Podcasters’ Emporium Forum
Please send us your feedback via the Forum or Email
Follow the hosts on twittter: Follow James and Dave
Leave a comment here on the blog or in the Forum
Follow show on Twitter (news and new shows only) Send us a Direct Message when you add us to twitter and let us know that you listen to the show.
Send us Audio Feedback by email recorded at: 128kps at 44.100 khz
Download the Lifestyle PodNetwork App for your device and listen to our other great shows

Podcasters’ Emporium is produced in conjunction with the Lifestyle PodNetwork. You’ll find more great podcasts like this one at lifestylepodnetwork.com

Would you like to host your show on the Lifestyle PodNetwork? We offer free podcast hosting and blogs for committed and professional podcasts and all the benefits of being associated with Australia’s fastest growing podcast network. If you’d like to join the Lifestyle PodNetwork please take a look here to find out more.

Podcasters’ Emporium #035 – Listener Feedback Edition

lifestylepodnetwork@gmail.com (James Williams & Dave Gray) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 12:08:29 +0000

This is our second Listener Feedback Edition of Podcasters’ Emporium dedicated to you, and what you have to say. We cover your feedback and comments and respond on the show. Feel free to comment on the show, using the comment section below. And if you’ve got a burning podcasting question ask it in our forum.

Brisbane Meetup – 10 September 2011

Join us in Brisbane at from 11 on 10 September 2011 at Denim Co. on South Bank for some great coffee and conversation with our listeners from all our Lifestyle PodNetwork Shows. Dave and James will be there, so come along and bring your happy face!

The address details are:

Denim Co.
Shop 9a Little Stanley Street,
South Bank QLD Australia
phone: 07 38440302
email: info@denim.com.au

Podcasters’ Emporium #034 – Podcasting in the Google+ Hangout

lifestylepodnetwork@gmail.com (James Williams & Dave Gray) — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 03:13:51 +0000

Since the launch of Google+, a lot of people as well as James have been talking about how to use the site for podcasting. Well today we decided to do it so you could listen to the results. Episode 34 talks about the features of Google Hangout and how you could use them to podcast.

For people who are curious about how we recorded this show, we recorded the sound using a digital mixer (an Alesis Multimix 8) which behaves like a sound card, and we recorded the output directly to computer.

You can join the discussion on this topic in the forum.
We’re asking the question: Would you use Google+ Hangouts to podcast? Why?

Please tweet that you’re listening to this episode, so others can learn about Podcasters’ Emporium.

Get your invitation to Google+ here

Don’t forget that our next show is a Listener feedback show, so send us your audio feedback to podcastersemporium@gmail.com

Here’s what we talked about on today’s show:

Download the new LPN Shows App

If you’ve got an Apple, Nokia or Android device then you can stream all the latest episodes of our shows, find out where out meetups are, and catch up on all the news from the Lifestyle PodNetwork. Choose the app for your phone.

Be a Part of the Podcasters’ Emporium Community!

Register and be a part of the Podcasters’ Emporium Forum
Please send us your feedback via the Forum or Email
Follow the hosts on twittter: Follow James and Dave
Leave a comment here on the blog or in the Forum
Follow show on Twitter (news and new shows only) Send us a Direct Message when you add us to twitter and let us know that you listen to the show.
Send us Audio Feedback by email recorded at: 128kps at 44.100 khz
Download the Lifestyle PodNetwork App for your device and listen to our other great shows

Podcasters’ Emporium is produced in conjunction with the Lifestyle PodNetwork. You’ll find more great podcasts like this one atLifestylePodNetwork.com.au

Podcasters’ Emporium #033 – Audio Editing 101

lifestylepodnetwork@gmail.com (James Williams & Dave Gray) — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 10:35:44 +0000

In Episode 33 of Podcasters’ Emporium we tackle audio: explaining the terms and showing you the techniques to improve your podcast quality. We lead you to the shortcuts and navigate you around the pitfalls of audio editing as we unravel truly making your podcast sound better.

You may like to listen to Podcasters’ Emporium 11 called Using Gain To Your Advantage prior to taking this crash course in Audio Editing.

Here’s what we talked about in today’s show:

Sound is measured in Decibels
- 0dB is your ‘ceiling’, because it is the highest power without distortion
- Once sound is distorted you cannot retrieve it
- Important to set levels so that your sound remains under 0dB to avoid distortion.
Levels is the amount of power that you deliver to your mixer and recording.
- Set your levels so that it will give you enough ‘headroom’ to accommodate laughing or a raised voice.
- Set your levels and work on an appropriate mic technique.
Noise floor – is the the sum of all noises and unwanted signals
- You can influence the level of noise in your noise floor by reducing your gain (mic sensitivity) on your mixer
- For best results choose a lower gain and get closer to your mic
- Listen to Podcasters’ Emporium 10 – Using Gain to your Advantage
Peak values/Amplitude is the highest level that you can achieve without distortion

And in post production:

Normalisation gives the recording a smooth peak volume
- It means your listeners don’t have to turn the volume up and down
- Normalisation does not affect noise that’s quieter than your peak
- Think of it like a ‘brick’ on your audio
Compression or Dynamic Range Compression reduces the range of an audio signal so that it narrows the difference between high and low audio levels
- compression makes your ‘highs’ lower, and ‘lifts’ your lows
- think of compression like ‘a vice’ that squashes your audio so that all the volumes come up to a similar sounding level
- avoid use of heavy compression on music so the music doesn’t sound dull and lifeless
Amplify increases the apparent loudness of your audio
- should be used sparingly
- should not be required at all if other levels are set correctly
Silence is the lack of audible sound on a track
- there is never a reason to use silence in podcast post production that we can think of
- if you are tempted to use silence, then try copying and pasting some of your noise floor instead
Noise removal
- not good for removing much except for hum and hiss
- if you have too much noise floor or ambient noise in your track, remove it in your recording by adjusting gain, levels and improving your microphone technique
- you may also need to treat your recording place.
Send us your examples… We want to hear short examples of your problem audio, and let us have a go at treating the problems. Get your audio diagnosed, no matter how big or small the problem. Use the email contact details below to send us your audio file.

Download the new LPN Shows App

Be a Part of the Podcasters’ Emporium Community!

Please send us your feedback via Email
Follow the hosts on twittter: Follow James and Dave
Leave a comment here on the blog
Follow show on Twitter (news and new shows only) Send us a Direct Message when you add us to twitter and let us know that you listen to the show.
Send us Audio Feedback by email recorded at: 128kps at 44.100 khz
Download the Lifestyle PodNetwork App for your device and listen to our other great shows

Podcasters’ Emporium is produced in conjunction with the Lifestyle PodNetwork. You’ll find more great podcasts like this one at LifestylePodNetwork.com.au

Podcasters’ Emporium #032 – The Podcast, Blog and New Media Producer’s Legal Survival Guide

lifestylepodnetwork@gmail.com (James Williams & Dave Gray) — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 09:56:39 +0000

Gordon Firemark joins the Podcasters’ Emporium team to talk about his new book called The Podcast, Blog and New Media Producer’s Legal Survival Guide.

Gordon Firemark is a veteran entertainment media lawyer who has written this book to help explain the legal principles, issues and claims that can arise for producers of internet-based media, in terms that even Dave and I understand! Gordon’s 114-page guide is designed to help those who write blogs, host & produce podcasts, or distribute video or other media via the Internet avoid the most common mistakes that lead to threats, recriminations and lawsuits.

What Dave and I particularly like about the book is that it gives you enough information on each topic to be very helpful without getting too bogged down in technical jargon. Gordon’s presentation is very accessible and we believe that this guide is the perfect complement to any podcaster (or budding new media mogul’s) bookshelf.

Even if you’re starting out, you will get great benefit from this book in learning how to setup your show to protect yourself and your show from future claims.

In his e-book, Gordon will teach you about:

DMCA take-down notices and counternotices

Legal requirements for using third-party content

The right of privacy

the right of publicity

Libel & Slander

Contracts

Releases, consents and permissions

Licensing content

Collaborations and co-productions

Partnerships, Corporations, LLC’s and other business structures

Business licenses and tax certificates

Zoning and Land-use restrictions on studio construction

Monetization of your content

Advertising

FTC regulations concerning affiliate ads and endorsements

Solutions to the most common legal problems faced by media producers

What to do if you get a cease-and-desist letter

Special Podcasters’ Emporium Deal: Enter the coupon code of “emporium” at checkout to receive a $5 discount on the purchase price.

Find out more about The Podcast, Blog & New Media Producers’ Legal Survival Guide.

Download the new LPN Shows App

Be a Part of the Podcasters’ Emporium Community!

Please send us your feedback via Email
Follow the hosts on twittter: Follow James and Dave
Leave a comment here on the blog
Follow show on Twitter (news and new shows only) Send us a Direct Message when you add us to twitter and let us know that you listen to the show.
Send us Audio Feedback by email recorded at: 128kps at 44.100 khz
Download the Lifestyle PodNetwork App for your device and listen to our other great shows

Podcasters’ Emporium is produced in conjunction with the Lifestyle PodNetwork. You’ll find more great podcasts like this one at LifestylePodNetwork.com.au

Podcasters’ Emporium #031 – Listener Feedback Show

lifestylepodnetwork@gmail.com (James Williams & Dave Gray) — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 01:00:33 +0000

Welcome to Podcasters’ Emporium Episode 31. This is a very special edition of the show; we are featuring your feedback, questions and comments and audio.

We also look at the reviews on iTunes that are so encouraging. This is where we get to celebrate our community and say thank you for your ongoing and dedicated support of the show!

Download the new LPN iPhone App

If you’ve got an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, give our new iPhone App a try! Stream all the latest episodes of our shows, find out where out meetups are, and catch up on all the news from the Lifestyle PodNetwork. Discover our new app in the iTunes App Store today.

Here’s who we talked to in today’s show:

James’ Williams blogpost: Legal music for your podcast
Russell James’ Video from Brisbane Meet-up
Soundsnap
Stonewashed
Partners In Rhyme
PACDV
GR Sites
Beat Suite
Magnatune

Podcasters’ Emporium #030 – Interview with Plane Crazy Down Under

lifestylepodnetwork@gmail.com (James Williams & Dave Gray) — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 05:57:18 +0000

Today Dave and James speak in depth with Steve Visscher and Grant McHerron from the Plane Crazy Down Under Podcast. Covering all things aviation these Australian podcasters have been listening to podcasts since before they were even recognised a podcasts.

In this interview we talk about their journey: how they got into podcasting, the equipment they use, and they even have some tips for getting sponsors. It’s an interesting episode full of useful information whether you’re just starting to podcast, or you’ve been doing it for a while.

Donate to the Queensland Premier’s Flood Appeal

We’d love you to donate some spare money to those affected in one of Australia’s largest floods affecting a total area the size of France and Germany combined. Many people have lost their homes and their livelihoods and it will take a lot of time, effort and money to help them get back on their feet. Your generous contributions direct to a Government appeal are secure and will be assured to get to those who need your contributions most.

Follow this link to donate directly through a Government donation site.

Download the new LPN iPhone App

If you’ve got an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, give our new iPhone App a try! Stream all the latest episodes of our shows, find out where out meetups are, and catch up on all the news from the Lifestyle PodNetwork. Discover our new app in the iTunes App Store today.

Here’s who we talked to in today’s show:

Plane Crazy Down Under podcast
Follow Grant McHerron on Twitter @falcon124
Follow Steve Visscher on Twitter @stevevisscher
Follow Plane Crazy Down Under podcast on Twitter @pcdu

Be a Part of the Podcasters’ Emporium Community!

Please send us your feedback via Email
Follow the hosts on twittter: Follow James and Dave
Leave a comment here on the blog
Follow show on Twitter (news and new shows only) Send us a Direct Message when you add us to twitter and let us know that you listen to the show.
Send us Audio Feedback by email recorded at: 128kps at 44.100 khz

Podcasters’ Emporium is produced in conjunction with the Lifestyle PodNetwork.

Podcasters’ Emporium #029 – 11 Podcasting Features You Can’t Live Without

lifestylepodnetwork@gmail.com (James Williams & Dave Gray) — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 10:10:21 +0000

We’re starting 2011 afresh and what’s a new year without some new year resolutions. It’s our Podcasters’ Emporium hit list of pet peeves of podcasting, resulting in a list of things that you can do to make your podcast better.

We spend a lot of time with our community and this is a list of things, in general that you might find yourself doing, that you can change to improve the experience for your listeners and make your show more accessible.

If you haven’t yet subscribed to our show, then you can do that by clicking one of the subscription buttons on the right hand side of this website.

Please tweet that you’re listening to the show, by clicking the Tweetmeme link at the start of this article.

Here’s what we discussed in today’s show:

PODCAST PLAYER IN YOUR WEBSITE/BLOG
You need to engage people in the first 15 seconds of visiting your site. You’re not going to do it if they need to wait 1 minute or more to download an episode. A player will start streaming your episode almost immediately.
no excuse for not letting your people listen to an episode on your site
third party players available everywhere!
www.podtrac.com
www.bigcontact.com
pupuplayer – http://www.pupuplatters.com/pupuplayer/
Podcast Pickle Player – Anjuna – podcastpickle.com
There are also a few WordPress Plugins as well:
plugins
Wordpress
powerpress (wordpress installations)
podpress (wordpress installations)
just add a new plugin and search for ‘audio player’
Some Stand Alone Players:
SSG WordPress Google Audio Player
MediaElement.js – HTML5 Video & Audio Player (works on iPad/Phone -)
Oldie but a goodie: Audio Player
Movable press
Podcasting plugin
Blogger
probably going to be using a third party podcast host
try to get one with embed code
might also try a free account at www.archive.org, and then embed their player
Typepad is pretty easy – when you upload it automatically detects mp3 format and creates a player for you.
MAKE YOUR PODCAST VISIBLE ON YOUR BLOG OR SITE
This is sales 101, make your product visible, accessible and easy to find. We’ve seen some shockers, links to home pages and then you have to go drilling down through the website to find the episode. Forget it, you’ve lost me.
Your podcast must be front and centre on your website home page

DO NOT BURY IT UNDER A MENU

Make sure your subscribe buttons and player right on the home page
Make sure any links, especially those you put on social media go directly to your episode
Use colour and branding to make it stand out on the page.
HAVE A CONSISTENT BRAND AND STICK TO IT
Just like your audio quality is what counts when people listen, your podcast visual identity (or brand) is your podcasts’ calling card in the visible world.
Your brand should represent what you do
Get the best advice/help you can afford when it comes to your brand
If your brand is intrinsically linked to you, consider putting your face on the cover
keep the text big, and avoid too much fancyness
Don’t use actual links in the show notes – make them hyper – it looks so much better
Design for 600x600px then reduce to 100×100, can you still see the name? Adjust if you need to. I produce 600px, 300px, 155px and 100px images for different purposes.
Put the album art in your podcast
modifying the ID3 tag
For mac and PC, you can do it in iTunes/Get Info on the item, then drag the file out again before you upload it
You can use software from www.mp3tag.de/en
Get a show twitter account using all or part of your show name (then use a twitter app that can handle multiple accounts!)
Add your contact information to your album info, via ID3 tags. Check the player now for PE and you’ll see what we mean. – why? people aren’t always at their computer, but they can tweet from their iphone, or lookup your website from their ipod touch.
What’s your meme – or strapline – do you know any of these?
“Helping you podcast better”
“Australia’s fastest growing podcast network”
“Bloody awesome tech”
“Netcasts you love from people you trust”
“Nothing is Sacred, Except the Beer!”
Helps people remember who you are, and links the idea to your name.
A PROPERLY CONSTRUCTED AND BURNED RSS FEED
A podcast without an RSS feed is just audio people. Corporates I find are particularly bad at this. People need to be able to subscribe to your podcast, for it to be a podcast.

A podcast (or non-streamed webcast) is a series of digital media files (either audio or video) that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication. The word usurped webcast in common vernacular, due to rising popularity of the iPod and the innovation of web feeds.
source: Wikipedia

Check your feed: http://validator.w3.org/feed/
Don’t jam every episode you’ve ever made into a feed – keep it lite
Recommend the latest 10-20 shows, plus your audio promos
Use a plugin if you’re using wordpress, it will do the hard lifting for you.
Use an RSS Generation software like FeedEdutor from http://www.extralabs.net/
Use a service like feedity – http://feedity.com/ – expensive or www.feedxs.com (free)
downside is they have their own url

BURN YOUR FEED WITH FEEDBURNER – THERE IS NEVER AN EXCEPTION TO THIS RULE – EVER (DID I SAY EVER?)
www.feedburner.com
if you need to move, your peeps stay with you
it’s free, there’s no excuse
I have a post at james-williams.com where people comment all the time about how they’ve got this problem, and that problem, because they didn’t use feedburner.
if you only do one thing this episode, BURN A FEEDBURNER FEED!
BE ABLE TO LEAVE COMMENTS WITHOUT LOGGING IN
Wordpress has options to approve the first comment and from there on, it will auto-approve posts by known people
Use AKISMET to blog spam comments
Defensio is another one
TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR PERSONAL BRAND
This is not your image – it’s the way you present in public (on the Internet)
You are part of your show’s brand, so what you do personally (eg. on your twitter account, on your facebook) all adds to people’s perception of you.
You are not in competition with other podcasters – this is a limiting belief – and will shrink your possibilities.
You have unique perspectives
You deserve to be heard
You don’t have to compete
Just be your best (with what you have), and be generous
Find opportunities to talk about people in your community
Participate on other people’s blogs, play other people’s promos
Find opportunities to participate – (note participate, not spam)
Look for ways to help and be generous with what you know
Control yourself, remember you are on display and everything you do contributes to the way people see you
Get a good reputation
CREATE DIFFERENT PROFILES FOR YOURSELF AND YOUR SHOW
keep your personal email private
allow people to write into the show
using gmail will reduce the amount of spam
pipe it through to your personal email if you need to use forwarding, but it will still chop out the SPAM crap.
Keep your show stuff separate from your personal stuff
Then you can reinforce with your personal account, but keep the information separate
That way your personal followers don’t think you’re spamming them
And you can keep the show conversation separate
It protects your brand
USE A SOCIAL NETWORK OF YOUR CHOICE
Facebook pages
Don’t use your personal profile
Pages create a great opportunity
There are options like RSS tools
A speciality forum (e.g. Mountain Bike Show)
Create your own social community using WordPress and Buddypress
HAVE A BIO WITH MORE
people continue to listen because they like you, so make sure you are personal, and personable in the way you communicate.
reveal who you are in your shows and in your bio
have a bio for each person who regularly appears on your show, make them write it
give your show a bio.. make sure that the about page contains information about your show, and information about the hosts
Speciality shows may want to include a bit more information on what they do and how to do it. EG: Podcasting set up, A beginners guide to…
Make it appealing and personable to your audience, “keep it real”
USE PICTURES
in your posts – keeps things interesting
istockphoto
your own pictures
pictures from your community
in your profile
in your magazine articles (make them available on your website)
pictures help people connect on more than one level
CREATE A MEDIA KIT
30 and 60 second promos
images of hosts
high res images to download for media use
graphics of your show authorised with a creative commons license
testimonials about the show, and/or itunes reviews
what about sensitive information? use a more link, and have people write to you first
things to leave out – listener numbers, stats, hard information
things to put in – broad demographic information, indicative information
we’ll be doing an advertising series a little later this year.

Be a Part of the Podcasters’ Emporium Community!

Please send us your feedback via Email
Follow the hosts on twittter: Follow James and Dave
Leave a comment here on the blog
Follow show on Twitter (news and new shows only) Send us a Direct Message when you add us to twitter and let us know that you listen to the show.
Send us Audio Feedback by email recorded at: 128kps at 44.100 khz

Podcasters’ Emporium is produced in conjunction with the Lifestyle PodNetwork.

Podcasters’ Emporium #028 – Twas the show before Christmas

lifestylepodnetwork@gmail.com (James Williams & Dave Gray) — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 23:00:56 +0000

Welcome to Podcasters’ Emporium Episode 28. It’s a special Christmas edition we recorded especially for you live in Brisbane at the Lifestyle PodNetwork Brisbane meetup in December. This will be our last show of the year, so from both Dave and James we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a terrific year ahead in 2011. Thanks for watching the show and sending us your feedback, and we look forward to bringing you a load of brand new shows in 2011. Watch this episode for a preview of what you can expect!

Here’s who we discussed or you viewed in today’s show:

Russell James – rawfoodbarefoot.com
Coach Jeff Smith – coachjeff.com.au
Ian Kath – yourstorypodcast.com
Lifestyle PodNetwork
Podcast Squared

Watch on Youtube

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Be a Part of the Podcasters’ Emporium Community!

Please send us your feedback via Email
Follow the hosts on twittter: Follow James and Dave
Leave a comment here on the blog
Follow show on Twitter (news and new shows only) Send us a Direct Message when you add us to twitter and let us know that you listen to the show.
Send us Audio Feedback by email recorded at: 128kps at 44.100 khz

Podcasters’ Emporium is produced in conjunction with the Lifestyle PodNetwork.

Podcasters’ Emporium #027 – Gadgets and Geeky Christmas Gifts for the Podcaster

lifestylepodnetwork@gmail.com (James Williams & Dave Gray) — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 11:07:20 +0000

Welcome to Podcasters’ Emporium Episode 27. Well it is the end of another year and Santa is stuffing his sack full of goodies. In this episode James and Dave give you some hand picked goodies to make sure they end up under the tree. We trust that there is something for everyone, as long as you’ve been nice.

Wishlist

Be a Part of the Podcasters’ Emporium Community!

Please send us your feedback via Email
Follow the hosts on twittter: Follow James and Dave
Leave a comment here on the blog
Follow show on Twitter (news and new shows only) Send us a Direct Message when you add us to twitter and let us know that you listen to the show.
Send us Audio Feedback by email recorded at: 128kps at 44.100 khz
Send us your special Christmas promo* for our Christmas show, before 11 December for our show.

Podcasters’ Emporium is produced in conjunction with the Lifestyle PodNetwork. You’ll find more great podcasts like this one at LifestylePodNetwork.com.au