MediaJoltz

Sometimes we aren’t sure what to write or podcast about.  That isn’t a problem for Chris Brogan who gives us a list of things he hopes you talk about in your next post or episode.

Here is a short version of the list:

1 How I Use Facebook
2 Ways I Embrace My Audience
3 Should My Town Use Social Media?
4 A Community I Love
5 Technology That Empowers Me
6 How Flickr Did it Right
7 How Best to Comment on a Corporate Blog
8 Ways to Save a Bad Time at a Conference
9 How I Find Blogging Ideas
10 Somebody Has to Say It
11 My Children Will Do it Differently
12 How Schools Could Use Social Media
13 The Best Parts of Marketing
14 Presentation Skills for a New Conversation
15 How I Find Time to Make Media
16 Empower Your Best Customers
17 After the Event- Carrying the Conversation Forward
18 Just Jump Into Podcasting- Heres How
19 My Community and How You Can Engage It
20 Twitter Jaiku Pownce Facebook- And Then What
21 Making a Miniseries
22 If I Were an Advertiser Today
23 My Mother is On Facebook
24 Does a Big Brand Need You
25 Books I Want to Write

check out Brogan’s site for the rest of the topics!

For the past month I’ve been traveling and giving some seminars on podcasting. To help my audience and you guys, Cammon from CopperRain put together a Step by Step guide to podcasting to help make sure the podcasting experience was as much fun and successful as possible.

Just like we went and explored other blogs, we need to also explore other podcasts to decide what things we like including:

-the length

-the format

-the intro music

And so here is part one of the Step by Step on how to find and listen to podcasts.

When you subscribe to a podcast you are actually subscribing to what is called the RSS feed. RSS stands for “really simple syndication.” What RSS does is attatch a piece of code to your podcast to let the computers belonging to those people who are subscribed to your podcast know that there is a new episode.
Having all the RSS do all the download work for you is great when you have nine or ten or more podcasts that you like to listen to on a regular basis.

The last thing you need in order to listen to a podcast is something that I have
just barely touched on, it’s called a podcatcher. In other words, some kind of program that will read the RSS feed and then allow you to watch or listen to a show after it is downloaded. A favorite seems to be iTunes and it is available on both Mac and PC. One nice feature about iTunes is that it has a built in Podcast directory.
You can go to www.apple.com and downloading iTunes if you don’t already have
it and taking a look at all the podcasts that are ready to be consumed.
Download itunes.

Once you have downloaded iTunes go ahead and open it up. It will ask you a
few questions like “do you want to make this program your media player?” Get past all those options we just want to get to the podcasts.

When the program opens up click on the “iTunes Store” it’s to the left of the
screen.

Next, find the Podcast section just to the right.

You are now ready to start browsing the thousands of podcasts from all over.

You can also browse to find podcasts that interest you:

Or you can search for specific podcasts

So now you can start listening to some of your favorite podcasts and see what you like about them. Write that down. Keep track of how often they produce an episode. Pay attention to the topic and if they stick to it or wonder on the show. How about the quality, is it good, bad, does it bother you if it isn’t radio quality? Start formulating what you like and don’t like and try to implement that into what you want for your own podcast.

Okay well so there are a lot of gadgets like, better and worse than, the Treo. That is not the point. The point of this post is to clue you in on how to be productive wherever you are-and you can turn that productivity on or off.

I have a Treo. I’ve only had it since May. The phone I had before that was a regular Samsong camera phone which did nothing for me but take and send phone calls. And for those of you new to the blog, I really am not a phone person. For some reason I like email way better. And now, I can get email on my phone. If someone calls, I also can just hit “respond through text” button that sends them a text message telling them why I didn’t pick up.

This is a great device-and yes there are lots others out there like it, ie the Blackberry and the iphone, being the biggest two I have heard of. I use this piece of equipment that fits in my pocket as a calendar, a camera, a video camera, my email station, my web browsing device and countless other things. There have been several times where I’m out and about and wanted to get a picture of something and thank goodness I had the camera built into my phone.

Take this picture for example. A homeless man sitting out in front of a Uncle Sam decoration that says “Proud to be an American.” I just couldn’t pass this up:

I even got a picture of a goat in the backseat of a car once, but my phone died and I never got to transfer that picture to a computer before it did.

Anyway, don’t be afraid of a device that can do more than make that phone call. Your life story is being played out everyday-take some pictures and video to remember it!

(What are some of the best situations you were in when you wished you had a camera?)

I don’t have much time today to expand, but I do want all of you to take a look at Christopher Penn’s video on social networking.

Think about when you are podcasting, the people you would otherwise never reach or get to know.

Christopher Penn on social networks

It is Wed. and time for a weekly shout out to someone very cool!

The past few weeks I have gotten to know Thom Allen a little better.  He is an awesome dude with many talents.  He is into NASCAR and Galactica as well as anything technology.  He and I have had some awesome ideas and plans we are meeting to work on.  If you EVER have anything you want some honest positive feedback on, he is the man to ask.

So I’ve really been thinking a lot about podcasting and new media so that I can appropriately translate the excitement and passion to you. Some people get scared with the idea of going online because they feel it is some unknown. The idea behind the world of the online is that it is just another medium-like television, radio or print. It is another way to get your message out there. And just like there are lots of different forms of pritn ie the magazine, the newspaper the newsletter, there are lots of different ways to use online-blogging, podcasting, social networks.
And just like you need all your traditional marketing in place to work with each other, the best way to have success in the online world is to utilize everything out there. It doesn’t mean you have to be DOING everything. I am a member of over 15 different communities online. I only ACTIVELY participate in around 5ish. But I am out there in everything that way I can be found.

I’ve begun reading the very short and very excellent book called “Age of Conversation” by Gavin Heaton and Drew McLellan. In this book they have 100 experts write one page on the topic of conversations. In the book Roger Anderson writes about the message and uses an example I’d like to spin off of the way he presented it.

Have you heard of the telephone game where someone starts with a phrase and then that person whispers it in someone else’s ear and so on. Usually at the end of the game that final phrase is no where near the original. Roger applies this to the listening vs. hearing concept-where it takes effort to actually listen to what is being said. I would like to apply this game a little differently to new media. Through blogging and podcasting and being in these social networks, you are there WITH your audience. They are getting the message directly from you-without you having to sit down and meet with everyone of them. The passion and the message is being directed clearly just as you want it to be.

So you can use new media to get the exact same message out without taking up tons of time. AND unlike a print, television or radio ad-you can actually see who is listening or seeing your message.

Today we are going to start thinking about podcasting. The reason why I say start “thinking” is because there is a lot to decide before you podcast in order to make sure your shows are as tight and seamless as possible for your success.
I have been reading a book called Podcast Solutions by Michael Geoghegan and Dan Klass.

Here are some questions that the authors pose about podcasting to help you begin formulating the proper podcast that you’ll enjoy producing:

Who are you and why should we listen?
You want to talk on a topic that people can connect too. More than no commercials or the quality of the podcast, people say the number one thing they like about the podcasts they listen to is that they can connect with them.

Be straight up with who you are, the intentions of the podcast-don’t try to sell anything on your podcast episode after episode.

While its easy enough to listen to podcasts, it does take some effort-and they are listening to YOU not someone else, so give them some honest information-get to the meat of the matter on your podcast.

What is your podcast about?
You need to decided exactly what your podcast is about. The more niche the better. What are you trying to accomplish with your podcast and make sure each episode stays on that track.
When your listeners download or subscribe to your podcast, its because the liked what they heard in the first few episodes. They expect each episode to be new and fresh but familiar to the previous shows…
Narrowcasting-or making programs that only appeal to a very tight group of people is something that is talked about today. If your show is too general people might subscribe, but are they really loyal. If you have a show on unicycling, you are going to reach a small percentage of the audience, but the impact and appeal of the show to that group is immeasurable

How consistent do you want to be?
When your listeners subscribe, its almost like entering into an agreement-they will download your podcast on a regular basis, in belief that you will be podcasting on a regular basis.
Set a consistent time and stick with it. Inconsistency is one of the points that can kill a podcast listener loyalty quickly. But also keep in mind the law of diminishing returns…everyday might be way too much. I know some that are once a week, others are once every two weeks

How long should your show be?
I like to listen to shows that are 10-20 min long while Cammon listens to some that are an hour and a half… you know the audience you are trying to reach better than I, what are they like, are they busy or do they sit at the computer for long lengths of time able to listen to an hour or so?

Start strong and finish big-no one has to be perfect, but make sure you jump out of the gate with energy and enthusiasm. A floundering presenter has the luxury of being able to bring the audience back, but a podcaster loses his audience for good with a click of a button. Make them feel like they are in good hands right from the beginning. Lead with your strength. Make sure the opening of the show reflects the tone and pace of the rest of the show. Choose an appropriate theme song…Relax and have fun with it, don’t be nervous!