Well this is a bit of a podcast disaster. The Worst Ever Podcast, to quote Top of the Pods. If that does not put you off, you can still download it here.

I recorded a great interview with Molly E Holzschlag at a Geek Dinner in her honour here in London last night. That’s The Molly, as one of my absolute favourite bloggers whom you can read at Molly.Com. She’s a web developer and guru, but she opens up her life and her personality on her blog, and in real life, she’s just like her blog (wonderful hair and all).

Well I was walking back home along a very frozen Oxford Street with my headphones clamped over my ears to keep them warm. I was listening back to the interview, and thinking it was really great and congratulating myself for recording her so clearly against the very loud noise of the Hoggs Head Pub. But only a little way in - after really just the warm up - the interview conked out.

I was listening to it all the time while recording through my headphones. I know I captured her voice. My best guess is that I didn’t give the Sony Minidisc enough time to save the data. Probably had one too many beers. The Minidisc is fairly idiot proof, but unfortunately it isn’t quite drunk proof.

So apologies, it’s more of a snippet than an interview. And then we give you an update on Storynory.

If this was the BBC, I would just cover my tracks, cut out a few seconds, and tell my boss that I grabbed “a great clip” of Molly. But in the spirit of podcasting, I let the tape run out in mid sentence…..

It’s not often that we can fly the flag for a British Corporate Blog, but we are raising it today for the UK online site, Cheapflights which has launched two blogs, both called “Flight News”, one for ‘over here’ and one for the US.

Cheapflights is an internet phenomenon, which has 4 million unique visitors a month, and last year sold deals worth £525 million through its website. It’s greatly helped by the fact that “cheap flights” is one of the most searched for phrases on the internet, coming not too far behind “sex” and “Harry Potter.” It collects together numerous travel deals for users to compare, and then to click through and buy from travel agents. It gets paid pennies per click, but there are a lot of clicks.

Although it was founded right at the start of the dot.com era, back in 1996, it was done in a fashion that is true to the spirit of blogging these days. Travel journalist John Hatt set it up from his attic, and shunned the temptations of venture capital, Champaign, and caviar, sticking doggedly to his “cheap” but useful formula.

Its current owners have wisely hired British Blogger Craig McGinty, who has featured here on our France Vietnam podcast. Craig is a professional blogger who moved to a French village and set up his“This French Life” blog. He started another blog about low cost airlines, and caught the attention of Cheapflights.

I asked Craig to put some background together in an email. I’m being a bit lazy (and truly, I’m pressed for time today) and I am just quoting him in full. In any case, Craig can say it better than I can:

“I was asked by Cheapflights if I would be interested in helping them set-up their own version covering both the UK/Europe and the US.

“So over the past few months we have been developing the site so that it fits into the ethos of Cheapflights which is to provide up-to-date information about flights so people can make informed decisions.

“Naturally the blog-style site is perfect for this as we keep an eye on new routes and services being launched, interesting news stories and offer travel tips so that people can get the best deals.

“And that is one of the beauties of running the site with blogging software: we are using Typepad, and you can write about deals an airline may only have available for a few days yet it can be on the site within minutes.

“I am hoping that people will also become comfortable with using the comment facility, for example it would be great for readers to tell others about restaurants to visit in Berlin if CheapFlights features a story about new flights to the city.

“I am writing and editing posts as we have people from within Cheapflights and from outside writing the range of stories that are appearing on the site.

“Over time I am keen to feature more travel articles, in-depth news pieces and interviews of people within the industry, maybe offering their own travel tips!”

“So we want the new site to act like an ‘honest broker’ and provide our readers with the latest news, the best deals and a chance for them to help fellow travelers.”

I’m really pleased to see a British company getting into the full swing of blogging, and Craig is an excellent choice to help them do it .

We’re sorry if you’ve been getting a Red Screen of Death today, with a mesage about CPU usage.. Our podcast site, Storynory.com, is on the same sever as this one. We’ve been getting a surge of interest following some links from US blogs, and it’s all too much for the server to cope.

Podcasting has a lot of buzz about it right now, but how big is it really? In the US, the radio consultants Bridge Ratings have come up with some interesting figures. Based on interviews with radio listeners, they reckon that 4.8 million people downloaded a podcast from either a radio station or other source in 2005. iTunes was referrenced as the most often accessed portal for podcast downloads. This 4.8 million estimate is up from 820,000 podcast users in 2004. They reckon the industry will hit critical mass in 2010. By then, they say between 45 and 75 million people will be tuning into podcasts in the US alone. I think that is too far out. One of the interesting points about new media is that tipping points accelerate, and products take-off much faster. than they ever did in the past. Still, regardless of the dates, the podcast universe is set to grow tenfold in the next few years.

The beady-eyed, Adrian Pegg has spotted a very useful little feature for podcasters, provided by Del.ic.ious. It’s one line of Flash that you can put in the header of your blog. Instantly all your links to Mp3s will have a “Play Now” icon. Unlike many other “Play Now” options, it doesn’t make your RSS feed invalid.

The best thing is, it’s very simple and took just about one minute for me to install on Storynory. You only have to do it once, and all your podcasts will have a Flash play now option.

My piece, “What Great podcast content is not”, has received a full and apt reply in the form of a podcast by Top of the Pods, (Nov 21) a daily British show by Jon and Rob.

I am honoured to have supplied this talented duo with some material for their show, but you might think from the rather edgy and defensive way that they discuss the various points that, joking and all, they really believe I was referring to them. For the record, I certainly wasn’t thinking of “Top of the Pods” and, as a matter of fact, I wasn’t thinking of any shows by podcasters from these isles.

As I wrote in my original piece, I believe the Brits have radio/audio in our blood, and can take a lead in this field (unlike blogging). Because we have a strong tradition of radio, there’s a natural feeling among the Brits for structure and format. The BBC has perhaps not pushed the boundaries of radio format recently. British podcasts are showing the way with some great experiments.

I don’t really want to join the Great British podcast love-in, but credit where it’s due. At the same time, there’s definitely room for some constructive discussion and review of where we are all heading. We shouldn’t just heap lovey praise on each other the whole time.

In answer to Jon and Rob, I really can’t see anything in my original post that says you can’t have a two person/voice format. Two people talking aboutnothing in particular is a different matter, especially when punctuated by long pauses and errs.

We will have to disagree about using “too much” post-production on the audio. Even British podcasters could benefit from going easy on it. Natural is best. I’m fairly sure that most people will come round to seeing (hearing) it that way soon, too.

So I hope it heals Jon and Rob’s wounded feelings if I mention that, of course, their show has a strong and original format and structure, and that there is a distinct (if rather finely drawn) line between “nothing in particular” and a celebration of banality, such as “Top Ten More Misconceptions about Canadians.”

So there you are boys. I hope you feel better now.

When I started editing audio - and truly, I’m not talking about pre-World War days - we used quarter inch reel-to-reel magnetic tape, a crayon to mark the spot, and a scarily sharp razor blade to slice the tape. We would then piece it back together with sticky tape. In the digital era, I’ve used a variety of computer based sound programs, and I’m prety confident in my assertion that the best by a mile, is Sony Sound Forge.

Den ganzen Beitrag lesen…

Paul Berger has written an interesting piece in the Online Jounalism Review about why blogs have yet to take off in Britain in anything like the same way they have in the US. He has some interesting statistics. Whereas some of the big American blogs have a 100,000 or more hits a day, none of the British bloggers he knows about manage to get above 2,000 or so. His explanation is that the dullness of much of the American media means there is a hunger for more opinionated writing, and there is certainly some truth in that. But it might also just be that the UK is slower to catch on. The trend towards new media replacing old is just as strong in the UK as in the US - maybe it is just a matter of time.

In his column in the Telegraph this week, he media pundit Roy Greenslade discussed what he called the viagra of free giveaways that all the British papers now seem addicted to. A paper such as The Times can now expect to put on 250,000 copies when it gives away a free DVD. The trouble is, those sales melt away the next day. Greenslade sees this as a problem for the papers, and in that he is undoubtably right. But the other point to make about it is that those 250,000 obviously don’t really want a newspaper at all. They just want a free DVD. As the technology to transmit and burn DVDs over the web becomes more widely available, it may not be long before people don’t need to get a paper for a free DVD. They’ll just get one from the web. Yet when people can get free DVD’s from the internet, what will the newspapers give away then to boost their sales?

It’s good to see that Matt from Citizenspin is back online with a series of posts from the recent Portable Media (podcasting) conference in California. I’m envious because I would have liked to enjoy some California sunshine. Sorry I’m a little late catching up with him. Matt works in the BBC’s training department, by the way. I didn’t know him at the Beeb, but I met him at London’s own Podcastcon earlier this year .

Matt reports that the message from the speakers at the “Woodstock of Podcasting” was “make great content”. Easier said than done, so I will tackle this by telling you a few things that great podcast content is not:

1. Great podcast content is not about putting up the audio of somebody making a presentation at a conference. Presentations do not translate into radio/audio programmes. Speaking to an audience is very different to speaking to a person at home. The latter is far more “one to one” in style. Besides, most presentations are dead boring. People go to conferences for the mixing and networking sessions. The atmosphere and the lively interviews can be captured in between the speeches. How many “new media” businesses think that putting a speech on the web is a podcast? I’ve heard it claimed so many times. At least they save bandwidth costs, because nobody listens to their “podcasts”. As if you are going to use your iPod to go around the house listening to some guy in a suit lose his Powerpoint slides. I mean, it’s pathetic.
2. Great content is not about two people just chatting about nothing in particular.
3. Great content is not about laughing at your own bad jokes like a 1970s DJ
4. Nor about having gimmicky opening sequences that go on for ever
5. Nor is it about getting too hung up about the technicalites of post-production, sound compression, graphic-equalization, etc, as some podcast “experts” tend to suggest. Most of these processes just make the sound worse and worse until it loses all its character. Technically, it’s more about holding the microphone in the right place to capture the sound cleanly (which can be tricky enough, believe me).

I don’t mean to pontificate, but I’m going to all the same. Podcasting is a little more difficult than blogging. Why? Well apart from the technical issues, you can’t rely heavily on what other people are saying, and just add your own spin, which is what a lot of blogging is about. There’s no linking in podcasting. You need to look hard for content.

Blogs are ready-equipped with a strong structure and architecture, with tags, comments, and a series of reverse-chronological posts. In audio, you have to create your own structure to give meaning to what you say. First I will talk about such and such. Then I will talk to so-and so. Then I will play some nice atmosphere…. By all means, ad-lib, but ad-lib within certain predefined limits. Think of rooms in a house. You can roam freely around the rooms, but not through the walls. You have to imagine this house before you begin to build it. It takes practice.

And I can’t understand why there are so many podcast music/chat/joke shows. The airwaves are full of free music already. Why do so many podcasts pad out their material with music? Why don’t they say what they have to say, and then stop. Make it short and sweet, and light to download.

Various efforts by business and the print media to get into broadcasting via podcasting show that “great content” is rather more difficult than just buying a microphone and plugging it into a computer. It requires thought and planning and, above all, a feeling for audio. Look at the iTunes top 10, and it’s dominated by shows made by radio broadcasters, even though, in theory, the net is a level playing field. So you see, it’s not that easy to make a good podcast after all.

I do think the Brits have a great advantage here. We have a great heritage in radio, and many of us grew up listening to Radio 4, which, despite its North London lefty tendencies, does make very high quality programming. So come on us Brits. The English language has belonged to us longer than it has to anyone else. Let’s use it.

In between sound-editing “The Three Little Pigs” and “Little Red Riding Hood” for Storynory, I’ve had a little less time than usual to read “grown-up” books. But I have very much enjoyed, and learned from, “Blog!” by David Kline and Dan Burstein.

Apart from anything, “Blog!” is a great way to travel across the breadth of the blogosphere and familiarise yourself with the leading bloggers. I’ve been blogging since the spring, and during that time, I haven’t been come across half the bloggers interviewed for “Blog!” I suppose a good old fashioned book is still better organised and more convenient to use than the net. Here you can read interviews with Adam Curry, Jonathan Schwartz, Jeff Jarvis, Markos Moulitas Zuniga, Roger L. Simon, Andrew Sullivan, and many, many more. The introductions to the sections and chapters are very perceptive and intelligent.

The most enjoyable interview is with “Wonkette“, the “failed” journalist, Ana Marie Cox, who tells us that she could not hold down a job in journalism. She still earns about as much as a journalist just graduated, but she has great perks writing political gossip that’s not edited. There’s no need to persuade a po-faced editor that her story is amusing. And it’s nice to have people suck up to her, and to meet all the Washington DC types who tell her who is having sex with whom.

Wonkette’s boss, blog entrepreneur, Nick Denton, maintains in his interview for “Blog!” that journalists don’t often make good bloggers. I can see that this is true in the UK, but I suspect that it is even more true in the US .

Here in Britain, surveys have shown for years that journalists are held in huge disregard by the public. We are way down there with drug pushers and politicians. And that’s the way it should be. We are not allowed to take ourselves too seriously. We have long looked with envy at the high salaries and high regard commanded by our fellow hacks in the Land of the First Amendment and the Pulitzer Prize. But all that esteem has been bad for American journalists. They have disappeared up their own behinds, to use a British phrase.

It wasn’t always the case. If you go back to the 1920s and 1930s, American journalism led the world in racy, amusing, gossipy, style.

If I may divert a little bit from “Blog!”, I will quote a little passage from the weekly movie mag, PhotoPlay, from 1927 (I gathered it for another project I was working on earlier this year).

“When in doubt- commit matrimony.

And so on, dripping with irony and above all IRREVERENCE. The passage is not untypical. Much of American journalism of the era was just like Wonkette is now, and even the serious papers were not afraid to slip into the vernacular. Nowadays, the media pays enormous RESPECT to politicians and movie stars, and even more to movies stars who are also politicians. It’s happening here too in the UK with magazines like Hello! and OK! leading the way, and influencing the daily newspapers, but on the whole, British hacks don’t creep to big names, at least, not all the time.

So I think it’s understandable why blogs have taken off in such a big way in the United States where a gaping void needed to be filled. People enjoy lively, bold, opinionated, biased, characterful, amusing, writing - and blogs give it to them. As is clear from this book, Political blogs in the USA are just huge. Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, the former solider who set up the DailyKos, was amazed when his blog had 100 readers a day. Now he has around 500,000 per day, and he makes a reported $48,000 per month from advertising (he admits to five figures per month).

“Blog!” is particularly good on the impact of blogging on US media and politics, but it does not just limit its horizons to America . There’s a fascinating interview with Rebecca MacKinnon, the former CNN reporter turned blogger, who now studies the impact of blogging on North Korea, China, and other Asian countries, where speech is not as free as it might be. The book begins in the French Dordogne, looking at prehistoric cave paintings (the first blogs) but after that Europe doesn’t get much of a look-in. Blogging is big in France, Italy, and Spain. I too don’t know much about what’s happening there. I keep meaning to find out more.

“Blog!” has set me thinking about a number of topics, and I expect to post some more “Blog!” inspired entries soon.

By the way, I came across this book because one its authors, David Kline, commented here. His own blog, Blog Revolt, is well worth following.