Podcasting: An Introduction

Brought to you by Greg Schwartz, host of Uncontrolled Vocabulary, a weekly live interactive roundtable discussion of all things library.

  1. Podcasting: An Introduction
    1. Podcasting: What is it?
    2. Why listen?
    3. LIS-friendly Podcasts
    4. What else is out there?
    5. How to listen
    6. If you're on a site that podcasts
    7. Podcast aggregators (Podcatchers)
    8. Podcast directories
    9. Podcast search (This space has been significantly reduced at the non-enterprise level.)
    10. Why podcast?
    11. What to podcast - a sampler
    12. Libraries that podcast
    13. Libraries that used to podcast well
    14. How to produce a podcast - the old-fashioned way
    15. Podcasting made even easier
    16. Marketing your podcast
    17. Don't forget
    18. Helpful online resources
    19. The future
    20. Thank you!

Podcasting: What is it?

  • The word of the year!
  • A means of distributing audio content using RSS technology
  • Allows end-user to subscribe to a creator's audio content
  • Automatic downloads of new content
  • Time-shifted content - Listen to whatever, whenever, wherever!
  • iPod + Broadcasting = many misconceptions
    • plain old mp3s, no iPod necessary
    • listen on your computer, on your smart phone, on your media player

Why listen?

  • Control
  • Variety
    • Information/News/Keeping Current
    • Entertainment
  • Caveat: Real-time content consumption - it takes a minute to consume a minute

LIS-friendly Podcasts

What else is out there?

How to listen

  • Two needs
    • A way to find podcasts - directories/search
    • A way to download podcasts - aggregators
  • Some products contain both.

If you're on a site that podcasts

  • Look for something like the following:
  • Drag or cut-and-paste the URL into your podcatcher

Podcast aggregators (Podcatchers)

Podcast directories

Podcast search (This space has been significantly reduced at the non-enterprise level.)

Why podcast?

  • Marketing
  • Web presence
  • As part of your overall communications strategy
  • Because your patrons are looking for local content - they'll put you in their audio newspaper!
  • NOT because it's the hot thing that everyone is doing
  • Only if it's right for your organization
  • If you're already producing audio content, this is a no-brainer

What to podcast - a sampler

  • Programming
  • Bibliographic instruction
  • Tours
  • Book Reviews, New Materials
  • Upcoming events
  • Community news
  • Services to the visually impaired
  • Internal Communication?

Libraries that podcast

Find a longer, less selective list at the Library Success wiki.

Libraries that used to podcast well

How to produce a podcast - the old-fashioned way

You will need:

  • A computer
  • A microphone - start cheap!
  • Recording software - use Audacity
  • Server space and a file transfer client (SSH, FTP, etc.)
  • Two ways to get an RSS feed
    • Hand-code it
    • Use blogging software and Feedburner's Smartcast feature

Podcasting made even easier

Marketing your podcast

    • Use your website
    • Podcast directories
      • Think about keywords, descriptions and other metadata
      • Record a promo

Don't forget

Helpful online resources

David Free's library podcasting resources wiki
podcasting @ the university of wisconsin-madison
There's Something in the Air: Podcasting in Education
Ten Tips for Improving Your Podcasts
Transom's Tools for Podcasting
How to Find Podsafe Music
Podcast Academy blog
Podcasting News
Where to Submit Your Podcasts
20 Ideas for a Great Podcast

The future

Screencasts Online

Thank you!

Contact info
E-mail: greg dot schwartz (at) gmail dot com
IM (AOL, Yahoo, MSN): planetneutral
Skype: planetneutral

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