The Podcast Pedant

(Yeah, it’s been a while. But look! Here I am again! Enough said on that.)

(Further note: I’ll stick URLs in later. It’s late, and I’m too tired to do it now.)

So I just got back from the 2006 Podcast and Portable Media Expo.

I made it a priority to go this year because, frankly, all of the talk about it last year made me jealous. It sounded like I’d missed the podcasting event of the year — and in 2005, I probably did. There was no PodcasterCon, no PodCamp, and very little at Dragon*Con. This year? It wasn’t the only game in town, but I think it was very much worth the expense to go from a business perspective, and it was a hell of a lot of fun.

I went partly to get some business done, and mostly to meet people. I’d call the business part about a 60% success — I’m not going to talk about everything I’ve been involved with, but I had a few important conversations and missed a few others because everyone was busy. No big deal; that’s what e-mail and Skype are about. The biggest accomplishment was the energy behind the Podcast Guild; we got some new gears turning, and it looks like it’s finally on its way to becoming what it needs to be. ¹ More later on that.

The people, though — that was hugely successful. I met most of the people I was hoping to meet, and many more. And it bears out an observation I’ve made from other events: despite our personas online or behind the mic, in person we’re a big circle of friends. I didn’t shake a single hand that wasn’t warm and welcoming. In some cases this surprised me: as much of a smartass as I am much of the time, I expected at least a few cold shoulders or even harsh words, but there were none the entire weekend. Everyone was cool. It was a great vibe.

Was it a deep learning experience? Not to me, though I confess I’m an unfair judge. I don’t know everything, but I know quite a bit already of what was being presented. However, the few program events I sat in on were more slick, corporate-vanilla, and “on the surface” than deep examinations of the issues. I’d even include Evo’s and my own presentation in that. I actually felt better about the panels at PodcasterCon last year, where there was less speechifying and more intimacy between the moderators and the audience. That’s not to say this was a dud; there were some good messages here. I’m just not sure from my own perspective that a session pass would’ve been worth the money, if I hadn’t had a free pass already as a speaker.

The exhibit hall was much the same: a fun place, but little depth and few surprises. Podcast Ready put on a great face as the primary sponsor,² and the Podango mini-conference³ seems to have been a hit. Most of the rest of it was what you’d expect: here’s Shure and M-Audio, there’s LibSyn, over there’s PopCurrent, yonder are a few podcast producers, etc. There were only two gadgets that threw me for a loop:

• Box Populi’s “Podcast in a Box,” a Linux-based recorder that delivers true, no-kidding, automatic podcasting with zero interface. Aimed right now at the university market under the Meedu brand, you don’t even have to push a button: your tech guy either schedules a start and stop time for your lecture and it begins and ends recording (and publishes to their Web host) with no intervention, or you pop in a USB flash key which triggers the recording, and it publishes when you take it out. I have never seen a podcast process with no grunt work before. I think it’s brilliant.

• The iMorphosis “PodcastLink,” a sort of hardware-based podcatcher that will plug directly into your MP3 player (including iPods) and populate it without a computer. ⁴ This reminds me of those old $100 e-mail and Web appliances — the ones they marketed to your grandparents. Like those, it will fail, because it’s a clever solution lacking a problem. Anyone who has the knowledge and desire to listen to a podcast is going to have a computer sitting around. Under what circumstances is it worth real money to avoid plugging your MP3 player into your computer?

What mattered far more than new gizmos was just listening in for the general tone of the Expo. Leo’s keynote, about getting down to business and protecting what we do as a brand and an industry, pretty much set that tone, and I felt it throughout most of the presentations and a lot of the conversations. You had plenty about podcasting for fun, sure, but underneath it, everyone was really focused on success. There was a drive throughout the whole thing. A hunger. I cannot tell you how many times and in how many ways I heard the word “metrics” used, during the day and late into the drunken night. I can’t really criticize — I was saying the same lines as everyone else.

Is attending the Expo important? That’s a complex question. It’s fun to attend regardless of its importance. I’d say it’s moderately important to attend if you’re treating your podcast as a business; and it’s critical to attend if you intend to stake a claim in podcasting beyond your own podcast. Events like this are, in a very real way, the conversation that podcasting has with itself. The sharpest observation I had was that the conversation was entirely about the people and companies who were there. People talked about Podcast Ready. People talked about SwitchPod. People talked about Blubrry and Podcast Pickle, both of whom had successful and fun party suites.

Apple was discussed very little except in regard to the recent fracas with Podcast Ready. And I barely heard Podshow mentioned at all. Even the Podshow podcasters who attended weren’t talking about Podshow. The ridiculous Hummer limo, running guests to their anti-conference or whatever it was, only got rolled eyes. I’m pretty sure they have no idea how much it’s hurting them to detach themselves from podcasting’s conversation. They weren’t there, so they weren’t on the radar. And a company that survives on the creativity of individuals can’t afford that.

Besides, they’re missing the fun.

I didn’t miss the fun. I had lots of it. All businesses, priorities, and importances aside, I’ll be going again next year.

And I hope to see you there.

1. That “industry consortium” Leo mentioned in his keynote speech? He was talking about the Guild. I’d mentioned it to him the night before. ↩
2. I don’t just say that because I work for them. ↩
3. They called it an “unconference,” but they’re wrong by all usual definitions. ↩
4. Except it’s configured from their Web site. For which you need a computer. ↩

I don’t think I’ve mentioned this here yet… I’m going to be a guest at the Balticon science fiction convention this weekend, along with Mur Lafferty, Patrick McLean, and a slate of other excellent podcasters. Paul Fischer of the ADD Cast and (go figure) the Balticon Podcast is the tireless genius who’s putting all this together, and he’s just put the schedule up for panels:

Balticon 40 Podcast Panel Schedule

This puts me on six panels, and I’m also playing the title role in the podcast radio play, “Lancelot Biggs: Spaceman,” adapted from a 1950s novel by Mur Lafferty. Oh, and in case none of this is sufficient proof that I’m insane: my friend Ben has talked me into taking the train up with him.

The train. I’d forgotten that we even still had those.

In any case, it will be fun. There will be much to learn during the day and much to drink at night. If you can, join us there!

Thanks to the superior audacity of Evo Terra, the two of us will be speaking at the 2006 Podcast Expo in September. Our topic will be Podcasting the Written Word, which we’ve described as follows:

Combine the huge popularity of audiobooks and the open access of podcasting, shake well, and you get one of the most successful movements in new media today. Scores of authors are podcasting their work - alone or with talented narrators - to reach new audiences and bring their work alive. Two of the leaders in literary podcasting, Evo Terra of Podiobooks.com and Steve Eley of Escape Pod, discuss the joys and challenges of podcasting prose, specific technical considerations, and lessons from podcasts that have drawn thousands of listeners.

Fun? I think so. If there’s one Achilles heel to our presentation it’s that we’re scheduled at the same time as Paul Figgiani’s session on building a podcast production studio.

But you guys already know how to do that, right? So come and listen to us! I guarantee we’re twice as funny as anyone else on at 3:15 PM Friday, and our hair is better than anybody this side of Geoghegan.

So Apple released the iBook replacement today, predictably named the MacBook. It’s a hell of a machine, actually, for the price. Dual core Intel, wireless goodness, camera and Front Row. And of course Garage Band 3. It’s actually a hell of a podcaster’s machine. They’re even hyping podcasting in their tag line:

Of course, being the perverse sort that I am, I took this as the final bit of information I needed to get a MacBook Pro instead. Why? Because the MacBook has a smallish screen and ridiculously bad integrated graphics, and all accounts are that it’s unlikely to do an acceptable job with Final Cut Studio. Simply because of the display, mind you, not the CPU power. This matters to me because Soundtrack Pro is my podcast production tool of choice, and I have several ideas on the back burner which would require getting involved with the video side of things. So I planned forward and put down the extra cash. Heck, even my wife thought the better-equipped laptop would be worth it, and she’s usually the opposing force when it comes to money flow.

But that’s just me. If your comfort level is at Garage Band, or Peak, or some other dedicated sound editor that doesn’t have higher-end graphic requirements, I can’t really say anything against the MacBook. Especially for the price.

(Unless you pay $200 more just to have it in black. If I’m at a podcast con and I see you pull out your black Apple laptop and look smug about it, I will round up a mob to taunt you.)

You probably already know about this because you read Podcasting News,¹ but in case you haven’t: the Creative Commons foundation has put out the first iteration of a “Podcasting Legal Guide,” summarizing in thirty pages everything you need to know to probably not get sued. It’s intended as an extension of the EFF’s Legal Guide for Bloggers:

When creating your own podcast, it is important to make sure all necessary rights and permissions are secured for the material included in your podcasts. This is relatively easy if you create all of the material that is included in your podcast but can become progressively more complex the more you include material created by other people. If you do not obtain the necessary rights and permissions, you may get into legal trouble for incorporating third party material into your podcast and for also authorizing others to use that material as part of your podcast. The main legal issues that you will likely face that are unique to podcasters are related to copyright, publicity rights and trademark issues.

There’s an online version of the document and a PDF version. I’ve just finished reading it, and disregarding a few typos and grammar flubs, I was impressed. The most complex section is about music, of course. It points in the same general direction everyone else does (to keep things simple, stay podsafe or get permission) but if you do happen to be insane enough to want to play major-label music, it tells you exactly what licenses you need and why.

There’s also a handy section about implied and express licensing, and misconceptions about fair use, and… Well, just read the thing.

And when you’re done, consider putting a Creative Commons blurb at the end of your own podcast. It takes all of ten seconds² and letting your audience know that they’re allowed to copy your podcast and share it with their friends may inspire them to do it.

1. At least twice now I’ve thought seriously about putting together a site or feed specifically to cover news and current events related to podcasting. Then I keep going back to Podcasting News and realizing that I couldn’t do half the job those guys do, so why try? The niche for commentary and sarcasm is far more open. ↩
2. Five if you’re good at tongue twisters. ↩

Yesterday’s Rocketboom has a very solid interview with Russ Holliman about his startup Podcast Ready and the stuff they’re doing to make podcast subscription easier and more portable. A client that lives on your MP3 player, a Web site for anywhere-anytime feeds access and social “friends” sharing, and a client-side one-click button that works on any podcast site are just some of the features. Oh, and the MP3 players with their software pre-loaded are about to go on sale at major retailers.

Since their PR machine is rolling into full swing, I don’t see any reason to keep quiet about it now: these are the guys I’m doing that contract work for. Nothing on the “outside world” side yet — I can’t point to anything on their site and say “Yeah, I built that” — but I’ve been contributing some maintenance utilities, etc. Russ is a great guy, and I’d say that even if he wasn’t giving me opportunities that might soon allow me to work from home and get more done with podcasting.

Because I have a business relationship with them, I don’t expect to talk about them here too much. I know that may sound contrary, but one of my driving intents with this site is to present highly personal but trustworthy opinions and advice. My take on Podcast Ready is very positive, but also biased for reasons other than their product quality. Therefore I wouldn’t expect you to take anything good I said at full face value; and I won’t say anything bad about someone I’m working for.¹

So to offset any future laconicism, I’ll say it now, with spirit fingers: These guys are making cool stuff. Check them out. And if you have friends and family that just Don’t Get the podcasting thingamahoosit, you could do worse than to point them at Podcast Ready.

1. Yeah, I bitch about the day job. But have I named them? No. And I actually have no beef with the company itself; it’s just not the lifestyle I want right now. ↩

…their latest excuse for lousy music is “It’s Elliott Spitzer’s fault.“

Yes, that’s right. They can’t play any good music because they’re not allowed to take bribes. They’re saying that. In public. With straight faces.

Now, I’m not one of these “Podcasting will kill radio” zealots. I honestly don’t think it will.

But somebody should.

Thanks to the ineffable¹ Mur Lafferty for letting me know that she, I, and several other great SF and literary podcasters are in the current issue of Asimov’s Science Fiction, in James Patrick Kelly’s column “On the Net.” Here’s the article online.

Jim Kelly’s a podcaster himself, reading his own fiction, so the article’s a lot more grounded in reality than many podcasting articles. He does find time to be snarky, however:

It’s been my personal experience, alas, that it’s a hell of a lot easier for me to say something stupid than it is to write something stupid; rarely can I listen to an interview I’ve given without cringing. On some podcasts I’ve listened to, the quantity of chatter seems to matter more than the quality of thought. Oftentimes these shows will consist of two or more speakers who seem to be modeling themselves on drivetime shockjocks. They interrupt and insult one another, often in the process losing their train of thought. They crack wise about sex and beer and skiffy flicks and reward each other with guffaws in a kind of grotesque comedic codependency.

Then follows a slightly overURLed summary of the Blogger-to-podcast process, and a list of Jim’s favorite podcasts. Mur, Michael & Evo, Paul Jenkins and Andy Doan get well-deserved props. And he echoes my opinion on Michael Stackpole: a great insider’s view, but sometimes you just want to say “Yes, but…“

Oh, and:

Escape Pod <http://escapepod.org> is one of the most ambitious SF podcasts and probably my current favorite. Produced by Steve Ely, it bills itself as “The Science Fiction Podcast Magazine” and features regular readings of short and flash fiction. Much of what you can hear on Escape Pod are “reprints” previously published in print venues and performed by Steve’s talented stable of readers.

It may be overproud to admit this,² but this is the second time recently I’ve been mentioned in Asimov’s. Jim had a column on online audio fiction in January that also shouted out Escape Pod. He was so nice both times that I don’t think I’ll ever bring myself to tell him how my name is spelled. And does it really matter? He got the URL right. That’s what we should want to tell the world: not who we are, but what we’re creating.

1. You don’t want to eff with her. ‘Cause she’ll eff you up. ↩
2. I.e., “It may be typical of Steve to admit this…” ↩

So the word is that Apple is now shipping the universal binary version of its Final Cut Studio applications. They said they’d have it out in March, and it looks like they made it just under the wire. For those who don’t speak Modern Mac: “universal binary” means it’ll run on the older PowerPC Macs and the new Intel ones.

This is of interest to me because I do my podcast production in Soundtrack Pro on my little Mac Mini in the basement. I have a much nicer dual core Intel iMac¹ but since I haven’t been able to run STP on it, I’ve been using it for everything except podcasting. I’ll still record on the Mini no matter what, but it’d be nice to do some of my editing upstairs where it’s warm and carpeted.

Crossgrade deals are available. The major problem here is, it doesn’t appear that I can get a universal version of just Soundtrack Pro. Instead they’re ditching the standalone applications, and making me an offer to pay two hundred bucks to get the full-blown Final Cut Studio. Now, $200 is a hell of a deal for all those applications. Would I use them? I don’t know. Final Cut would be nice if I ever do video podcasting. Right now I’m neither for nor against that notion. The other programs (3D animation and DVD mastering) just aren’t in my interest set.

So I’m trying to decide. “Crossgrade” or not? I realize this is exactly what Apple’s infamous for — making it very easy for you to spend more money with them to get what you’ve already got — but, well, they do make good stuff. And if I don’t do this, the only way to improve on my current workflow will be to ditch Soundtrack Pro for something else.  I doubt there’s anything for the Mac right now that’s better for fine-grained podcast crafting.

Opinions welcome.

1. Bought it with this year’s tax refund. Hooray for having a baby! ↩

I already talked about this on Escape Pod, but it’s worth pushing everywhere. Mur Lafferty, of Geek Fu Action Grip and many other fine audio thingamapods, has gathered short stories that have been podcast by their authors and collected them into the first podcast fiction anthology. Voices: New Media Fiction is available free from Podiobooks.com and includes work by Cory Doctorow, James Patrick Kelly, Patrick MacLean, Tee Morris, and many others. Like all podiobooks, you can set up a personalized feed and get the stories at whatever pace you choose. Every day, twice a month, whatever works for you.

As a fiction author, I shouldn’t have to tell you how cool I think this is. Of course I’m also jealous because I’m not in it — but that’s my own damn fault for creating a podcast that only narrates other people’s stories. That’s cool, though. There’s always next year. Plenty of time for me to podcast that story about the antisocial young man who keeps getting set up for blind dates by his army of killer robots…