Last night I attended a podcasting workshop at Toronto’s lovely Centre for Social Innovation. Sponsored by TechSoup and part of Netsquared’s Net Tuesday Toronto, 50 or so budding audiophiles jammed the room and learned about some very personal and authentic experiences with the medium. From the equipment to the planning to the eventual RSS feed that all your friends, neighbours, and clients will subscribe to – they covered it all. The workshop was fabulous. The presenters were excellent in presenting useful content, and also in soliciting discussion. I ate the last gingerbread sugar cookie (don’t tell my mum).
But more on that later.
Luckily, I found someone I knew in the registration line and we commenced to sit at the back and throw spitballs.
Okay, I jest.
Here are my key takeaways:
- Good equipment is an investment worth making. At SpaceRace, we like the Zoom H2. Easy to use, great sound, and perfect for Jimmy’s soulful rendition of “I Believe I Can Fly”.
- Plan. Plan. Plan. And then plan some more. Write a script. Use powerpoint to create a storyboard. Do a dry run, or several if you’re feeling croaky. If your podcast includes an interview, make sure your subject receives the scripts as well. Give them the time to plan their answers. Plan, and then you can be smooth (like Jimmy).
- Record properly. Set up a designated, quiet, professional space. Avoid places where burps or farts are likely to occur, and put your phone in the mailbox (the outside mailbox). Use a good mic (see #1). Leave gaps for easier editing.
- Editing is easier with a great program like Audacity. It’s free, which is a rather attractive price point. The point at which your Audacity file becomes an mp3 is akin to how you feel when perfectly baked brownies come out of the oven.
- Broadcast for maximum impact. In order to upload your podcast to iTunes and increase availability and outreach exponentially, you’ll have to follow some fairly detailed instructions. You’ll have to have enabled RSS. But it will be worth it, if only for the bragging rights.
Ready to launch your podcast? Let us know if we can help. Let us also know if you’d like to hear Jimmy’s rendition of “I Believe I Can Fly”. It’s out of this world.
