Written by Mhairi Petrovic, May 01st, 2008
A recent Information Week article asks the question – Is podcasting dead?. The article cites that “there is no easy way to sample podcasts without an excessive and irretrievable investment of time” as the reason that podcasting hasn’t taken off.
Lets look at the numbers to see if podcasting is indeed dying a death. eMarketer estimates that the total US audience for podcasts reached 18.5 million in 2007 and is expected to grow by 251% by 2012. These statistics hardly reflect the death throes of a dying medium but the growth rate isn’t exactly stellar if you compare it to other web 2.0 technologies.
The reason for its slow adoption rate is indeed, as Alexander Wolfe of Information Week suggests, a result of podcast complexity. And this doesn’t only apply to users.
Creating and publishing a podcast is not as seamless or as simple as it should be either. If you’ve read any of my new experiences in podcasting posts you will know of my own frustrations with the technology and I am relatively tech savvy. It seems to me that if you want to podcast you have to be a true propeller head. At this point that is podcasting’s main barrier to entry.
iTunes has tried to streamline the podcast publishing process but even using Garageband to create a podcast on a Mac doesn’t guarantee simple podcast submission.
On the bright side for podcasting, more and more traditional media outlets are using the technology to disseminate audio so that users can listen on the run and users are recognizing the benefits of being able to listen on their terms (coincidentally, one of my first ever blog posts back in 2005 touched on this). Global TV in Vancouver offers video and audio podcasts of its news content.
Podcasting is not dead but its not exactly burgeoning either. As podcasting is promoted more to the mainstream it will become more prevalent (it is slowly gaining popularity, especially in the 35-54 age group) but until producers can create and publish podcasts efficiently and users can access them as easily as turning on the radio, podcasting growth with remain slow.
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, April 08th, 2008
I bet you’ve been dying to find out how I finally managed to get the podcast up last week. It was no easy feat let me tell you….
I got several responses to my request for tips. One very intuitive one was to use iTunes to reduce the size of the file. Choose Preferences and Advanced and Importing (click on custom to set the rate) in iTunes should get you there then Advanced and save as to complete the process. Too simple perhaps – alas the file was too gargantuan.
The final resolution? I ended up using ftp to post the podcast directly on to the website server and then link to it from there. And I claim to not be a propeller head…
Along the way I also learnt that iChat can be very useful for supporting podcasts over the Internet. And received some great tips on how to make the podcast experience better for the user: more juicy stuff for you to look forward to in future New Experiences in Podcasting as I put these suggestions into action (or try to at least).
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, March 27th, 2008
Last month saw our first 2 podcasts and there’s more to come. Wouldn’t you like to share the Podcasting learning process I am going through it so that when its your turn you can learn from my mishaps? This week I recorded the first podcast interview on the hop in a coffee shop near the beach, lots of background noise and all. I was trying out a Belkin plugin for my iPod which worked like a dream. Sound was great, the process to record and upload was all automated and very simple – perfect. Podcasting couldn’t be easier.
I was lulled into a false sense of security however. The problems began when I tried to do some editing with Garageband. Not an easy task as I found out and this isn’t my first time using it either by a long shot. Garageband isn’t as intuitive as I’d like it to be, its slow and cumbersome. And wizard would help – if you’re listening Apple. Now I am trying out Audacity but off course how to import a file from an iPod to Audacity: the fun goes on.
There is another Podcast planned soon this time over Skype which brings more technology to the mix guaranteeing another interesting experience. With any luck the interview recorded this week will finally be published by then. Watch out for the uncut version – coming soon!
My experiences have led me to believe that Podcasting is far from being a medium for the masses. Not yet anyway. Before it can become mainstream, it has to go through a simplification process making it easier for the non tech majority to adopt and enjoy its benefits. In the meantime, if Podcasting is something on your corporate agenda, hire a professional and save yourself some pain.
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, February 18th, 2008
Its a good job Northern Voice is taking place in Vancouver this week. The event, slated as a blogger’s un-conference is a two day whirlwind of blogging and social media information that every company or digerati needs to know, covering everything from wikis to microblogging, widgets to tagging.
Its perfect timing for Out-Smarts. This week we will publish our first podcast. We’re hoping that Northern Voice experts will come to our aid to make this possible for all to enjoy.
The podcast is ready to go (we promised it at the PWN event last week and we’re always good to our word). Using Garageband to create the audio and link to the deck, the creation was relatively painless. Here it is:
Building Valuable Business Relationships in the Virtual World
What was difficult was working out how to publish this so that people like you, and you, and you could easily download and listen. Let us know if/how it works (apologies in advance if it craps out). We’re still playing around with iTunes and hope to publish it in the iTunes store soon: probably sometime after we’ve schmoozed the appropriate people at Northern Voice this week.
Watch this space for developments….
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, April 12th, 2007
I came upon a copy this article by Khemal Dole called “Beginner’s Guide to Internet Marketing” in a MySpace blog of all places. Its a great synopsis of how video marketing and podcasting can be used to increase exposure and to make money for your business. Its longer than my usual blog entry – but well worth it.
Beginner’s Guide to Internet Marketing
Online advertising is exploding. With it has come new technology that turns blogs into the best platform to run an online business. The video stream has been described as a savvy use of a cheap toy for online marketing. In fact, some of the most profitable videos on the Internet today were made on webcams or digital cameras.
The two main purposes of a marketing video are to create awareness of a product or service, or to educate visitors.
The video ad is a virtual commercial that is viewed on a website, or sent through RSS feed to other websites through services like Adbrite and Google. These are short commercials. However, because they are made for a computer screen, a professional can make the video for less than $5,000.00. And, a determined do-it-yourself director can make one for under $400.00.
A web video is created to educate visitors and lead them through your web site’s presentation. It increases sales by educating visitors. This overcomes the main reason why visitors leave a website.
A visitor’s failure to understand instructions, or their refusal to read instructions, is the number one reason for lack of sales. Video forces visitors to pay attention to instructions and stops them from leaving the page.
There are dozens of video companies who will make expensive videos for a web site and then offer hosting. At first this appears to be an easy and effective way to introduce video to your website. Unfortunately, the cost is almost never justified. It is better to make a homemade video, and change it monthly. Once you see how easy it is, and how good the quality, you’ll be sold. If you doubt this, go to MySpace or YouTube and look at all the great quality videos made by amateurs.
YOUTUBE & GOOGLE VIDEO
Sticky websites are the main tool for today’s content site managers. They are finding it more difficult to build an opt-in list. It is difficult to keep visitors connected to the web site until they purchase. They need a real strong hook to keep visitors.
YouTube is a free service that lets webmasters embed their own video, or other video, onto a web site. Imbedding a video clip from a famous author, an industry guru, or even a news clip that relates to an article dramatically increases the impact, and sticky factor of the web page.
YouTube allows users to upload their own video and then embed it, with player, on their web site. This video can instruct, sell to, or build trust between the visitor and the product. In fact, it can become the product.
As for the marketing power of video, YouTub recently surpassed CNN’s hits per day, and MySpace video has surpassed AOL, according to Alexa. No wonder Google recently purchased YouTube for more money than many small countries are worth. This is a mute testament to the power of video.
Each of the three main video hosting sites have their advantages and disadvantages. MySpace is social based. Its ignorance of hard core porn leaves a bad taste in many Social Networking and SEO webmasters. There are very few intellectual videos on MySpace, and there is no way to easily embed them onto your web page. This means that people must leave the site to see them, or the webmaster must embed a video player.
Google video is too complicated. It can take more than twenty minutes to sign up. And then there is a complicated tutorial.
This leaves YouTube, as the leading service for most webmasters. YouTube allows a webmaster to sign up and embed video on their website in less than two minutes.
PODCASTING
Podcasting, or audio streaming, has been around for several years. It ranges from creating a radio station with syndication, or setting up a small web based audio sites, to uploading an audio stream onto your website.
Podcasting is the most cost-effective method of retaining customers, improving sales, and educating visitors. However, it is time consuming. It takes at least 30 hours of streaming, rotated in four hour blocks, to effectively create a 24 hour broadcast. The content should be continually updated. Even tutorials should change every few weeks.
Another setback for podcasting is the bandwidth and storage requirement. While there are cheap $5 a month services, you can find site that offer a complete service with royalty management, few webmasters are utilizing the services properly. Those web sites that are using these services are not scripting and editing, resulting in poor content.
The place where Podcasting excels is in short online tutorials. Many web sites utilize them with a PowerPoint presentation, creating a tutorial. While this is a ‘poor cousin’ to the Macromedia flash tutorials, Powerpoint has the benefit of saving each slide as a .gif, making it easy for amateurs to incorporate on their web sites.
It is easy to imbed an audio stream. Just upload the file, and then hyperlink it to a button on the web page. When the button is clicked, the user’s Media player will play the audio.
An audio file can even be linked to photos. A shopping cart with ten cameras on a page can include separate audio streams discussing the benefits of each. The visitor only needs to click a link and/or the image to start the audio stream.
The internet is tiring of web sites that sell ebook downloads. Instead of writing an ebook think ‘new trend.’ The emerging trend is online tutorials, either audio and PowerPoint, audio and photo, Macromedia flash, or video streaming.
HOW TO PROFIT
Each of these tools are used to create a sticky web site. They are used on blogs, web sites, and in forums. These tools ‘tease’ users. Then, when they are hooked, a full video course can be offered.
Bloggers do this. They offer ‘how to courses’ that span 500 blogs, or, the visitor can purchase the ebook, or download the entire course in an audio file.
Video has one main advantage over ebooks and podcasts. While an ebook may fetch $50 – $100.00, the exact same content packaged in a video course could fetch as much as $1,000.00.
Once you are prepared to profit, it is time to trash your homemade product and create a professional one.
Camtasia is an easy software system that allows video editing. It is moderately priced at $299.99. Camtasia Studio 4.0 makes it easy to publish videos and MP3 files for iPod, or other portable media players. Now your marketing message, screencast, lecture, or training video can reach anyone, anywhere, on the bus, in a coffee shop, or even while they’re jogging. Camtasia is easy to learn, easy to use, and affordably priced.
BRINGING IT TOGETHER
Today’s generation has been acclimatized to video. It is part of everything they do – their work, their education, and definitely their entertainment. They will not easily tire of video and audio streaming.
Webmasters do not need to worry about investing money into these mediums, only to have them go out of vogue like so many other Internet Marketing tools have. And, best of all, video is fun to create, easy to use, and very profitable.
Khemal Dole owns and operates http://www.PaychecksDirect.com, a completely FREE service which helps many first-timers and even experts find their perfect Work At Home job. Visit http://www.paychecksdirect.com right now and see for yourself why so many are flocking to his site.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com?expert=Khemal_Dole
