First Podcast

I’m diving into the wild and wooly world of podcasting, and here is my first “episode.” Expect much experimentation to follow.

23 thoughts on “First Podcast

  1. I just used a little handheld recorder, quality will probably be that bad for at least a couple of weeks. But I hope to keep them pretty short.

  2. All you need is an el-cheapo headset from Radioshack or Best Buy and you’ll hear improvement right away. If you’re planning on doing it a lot, you might want to get a professional microphone with a pop shield.

  3. Matt, try Audacity and even an el cheapo microphone (with specific drivers, if possible, for better control), and you could have good luck.

    When we began testing various setups for a non-profit organization that I am affiliated with, we played with Audacity, as well as Camtasia Studio 4. We had Camtasia for other reasons, but Camtasia v.4 makes direct output in podcast flavors.

    Another good approach, and cheap, is using a cheapie microphone and even Podcast Producer. It looks like a knock-off of Podcast Station, works in a similar manner, and does a fair-to-decent job. On that note, PodcastStation is a good tool, allows you to add in “sound effects” during the actual recording, or later, during editing — right in PodcastStation.

    I didn’t much care for Podifier, and NotePage has a couple of tools, FeedForAll and RecordForAll. They are tools that cost around $40 each, for PC and Mac, and do a decent job. RecordForAll does what it sounds like: It records your content, allows editing and stuff. I prefer Audacity for that part. Then, when you’re done, slap it in FeedForAll, and if you use the Directory Library (a $20 add-on, I believe), you can have FeedForAll automatically upload the podcast. One feature FeedForAll has is one similar to WordPress, which I like: You can record a podcast today and have it go live on the date you want, such as a make a recording for your gal today, but have it go live at 4 p.m. on Valentine’s Day. (Hint, hint)

    One note, though: It is 7:44 a.m. Monday, Feb. 12, 2007, and I got a 404 error for the podcast URL you have linked. I tried in three browsers on two computers. 🙁

  4. I like that you’re into the whole brevity thing but better sound quality is a must. Try out the iPod microphones. They’re a fast and cheap route to decent sound quality and portability.

  5. Hey Matt,

    There are a bunch of little apps for OS X that you could use if you are by your computer when you record. I use an app called Audio Recorder to tape all of my classes. It’s a small app that allows you to record straight to MP3. The built-in microphone on all macs is pretty decent so your recording quality might go up. Also, the app lets you record at almost any quality MP3 you want. Just thought I’d throw it out there.

  6. Hmm – so where’s the XML so I can subscribe? I didn’t find it on iTunes either. Has it been submitted yet? Otherwise, this isn’t a podcast yet, it’s just plain old rich media 🙂

    thanks.

  7. Mmm. Proximity effect. Perhaps take a step back from your microphone be it the one in your computer, or an external one. I’m sure other people have and will recommend checking out one of those cheap USB mics which would probably provide superior audio quality. But hey, I’m excited that you will be podcasting nevertheless.

  8. Very cool. I’m subscribed for sure and will be very interested in what you’ll be planning to do. Quality will get better through living and learning, but just remember to have fun with it.

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