It’s funny, you know. I see so many conversations happening about content creation that are focused around written content. It’s seems we are inundated with lessons on the best way to write a blog, and how to best leverage Twitter, 140 characters at a time.

But let’s remember, podcasting has been around for a long time. While it really became popular in around 2005 (before blogging really took off), in fact, some of the earliest podcasts (delivery of syndicated audio content via the Web) date way back to 1998. Yet many people still don’t see the true value in podcasting as a channel. They think producing audio and/or video is too expensive and too time consuming, so they just stick with tweeting and pushing out a blog post once in a while.

But the truth of the matter is, producing podcasts can be tremendous bang for your buck and your time.

A little prep goes a long way
Back in January, I was fortunate to get my first official podcasting gig, with Stefan Halley, co-hosting I Can Haz Podcast, a show about social media and online marketing. At first, I was concerned that prepping for a weekly, one hour show, along with everything else I was doing, might be too much to handle. But I soon learned that, when done right, prepping for the podcast could actually be done very efficiently. Given the topic of the show (social media in all its glory), it was pretty easy for me to incorporate my show prep into my weekly activities. Since I was already immersed in the subject matter, gathering ideas and stories to share is just a part of my week. And by the time Sunday rolls around, Stefan and I have exchanged a few emails and figured out our show. Then, it’s just a matter of sitting for an hour over Skype and cranking it out. Of course, Stefan has some work on the back end to get the show ready to publish too, but barring any technical hiccups that seems to go fairly quickly.

Producing podcasts does not have to be super-time consuming. While I make a 1 hour commitment per day to blogging activities, my ICHP podcast commitment per week is probably a total of 2 hours when all’s said and done. And the reward I get from that 2 hours is significant. First of all, it’s great practice, as I’ve never really been an “in front of the mic” person. Second, it forces me to keep up on what’s happening in my industry so I can pass that on to our listeners. Third, it’s a pile of fun – recording an hour long show each week with a guy in Sweden that I’ve never met in person has been a cool experience…in 6 months we’ve gone from being complete strangers to being friends, all the while building a rapport and chemistry to give the show its own unique personality. Payoff, payoff, payoff.

Batch content generation
We all know that one of the most difficult things about any kind of publishing is delivering consistently. This holds true no matter whether your content is in written form, audio or video. But one of the secrets to consistency is to batch your content production. Get stuff in the can, so you can push it out consistently, and you’re never struggling for content. Now, unless you’re a super obsessed writing nerd like me, doing marathon blog writing sessions may not exactly be your idea of a good time. But what’s cool about podcasting is, depending on the format of your show, it’s far easier to batch produce stuff. I work on another podcast (though we are on hiatus right now) called The Contrarians. There are three of us (my co-conspirators are Bob LeDrew and Joe Boughner), and our goal is to produce a weekly 20 minute podcast around a randomly chosen topic that is loosely related to technology, communication, social media, or, if Joe has his way, hockey. It’s more or less just the three of us spewing our opinions and having a lively discussion, but it’s a hoot and even somewhat entertaining from what our listeners (read: Joe’s Mom) have told us.

Bob, Joe and I are all busy people, so we had to strategize how we were going to manage to achieve a new 20 minute show each and every week. First, we came up with a list of about 20 topics we wanted to cover. Each topic would be thrown into a hat, and at the beginning of the episode one would be chosen for the discussion. That way we don’t have to do immense amounts of show prep. Second, we decided that we’d only get together once a month or so, and in that time we’d crank out 3 or 4 shows (depending on our level of inspiration and how delicious the Beau’s was that day). By batching our content generation, we were able to produce 4 weeks’ worth of material over our lunch break, and nobody was burnt out by the end of it. Again, Bob has a bit of packaging work to do after we record, but in general, it’s not overwhelming for any of us.

Like I said, we are currently on hiatus, but look for The Contrarians; soon to be once again haunting earbuds near you.

So, as you can see, with a little prep, a few inexpensive or free tools, and a list of ideas, you could start podcasting today if you so desired.

Podcasting is really an underrated medium, don’t you think?

(Note that I’ve provided audio examples here, but you could easily do the same thing with video. Come up with 5 ideas. Sit in front of your web cam and do 5 x 2 minute videos on each topic. Presto – 1 weeks’ worth of daily posts, or 5 weeks’ worth of weekly posts, all for about 1/2 hour of work.)

(Oh, one more thing. If you’re interested in learning more about content creation of all kinds, and looking to be inspired by an amazing group of people, consider registering for PAB2011, taking place in Ottawa June 24-26. It’s the best conference for content creators out there, and there’s still spots available! Register here.)

[photo credit: sidehike]

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One area that I’ve never really gotten involved with when it comes to social media has been podcasting. Oh sure, I’ve been a consumer of podcasts for years. There are so many great ones out there – Six Pixels of Separation, Marketing Over Coffee, Night of the Living Podcast – perhaps I was so consumed with listening to what others had to say that it really never occurred to me that I’d have something to say myself!

In the past month, I’ve become involved in two new podcasts, and I’m really excited about both!

The Contrarians

Bob LeDrew, Joe Boughner and I have been friends for a few years. We all met each other on Twitter, and our online friendships have transcended well into the offline world. Bob and Joe are both communications guys, but I don’t hold that against them (much). Well, the three of us got to chatting, and we realized that we had a few things to say about the state of the social web. We realized that we wanted to provide a contrary point of view on social media, that existed outside of the navel gazing bubble in which this online world often spends the majority of its time.

Enter The Contrarians: 3 bloggers  you’ve never heard of sharing opinions you didn’t ask for.

Now, the first thing you should know about me, and Bob, and Joe, is that we don’t take ourselves all that seriously. Sure, we like to have interesting discussions around topics we care about, and if we can do it over a beer at the Elmdale Tavern (which is precisely what we do), then all the better.

I hope you’ll check us out anyway. We’re just having fun, and if we can impart some good information, opinion and humour while we’re doing it, it just might be something worth listening to.

I Can Haz Podcast

The Web works in mysterious ways. My husband Greg and I have been friends with the crew from Night of the Living Podcast for a few years. The friendship evolved out of Greg’s love for their podcast, and we’ve since been down to Ohio and Indiana a few times to visit and attend Horrorhound Weekend (and are planning another trip down there this Spring!). They are a right lovely bunch and I’m thrilled that we are all friends.

Through Greg’s familiarity with NOTLP and some of their podcasting friends, he heard about Stefan Halley. Stefan has been podcasting for many years, and Greg has often listened to some of his previous work.

Well, it so happens that Greg was also listening to Stefan’s latest project, I Can Haz Podcast, a show that helps people understand social media and online marketing, when he discovered that Stefan was looking for a new co-host.

Greg sent me a note and suggested I should maybe apply for the position. Well, I did, and after a few days of chatting with Stefan, who lives in Sweden, I’m happy to announce that I’m going to be joining him as the co-host of the show!

We are recording our first episode this coming Saturday, and I’ll let you know as soon as it goes online.

So guess what…I’m a podcaster now!

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My Grade 12 music teacher, Mr. G., believed that everyone has the ability to sing, they just need to find their voice.

And you know what? The same can be said about blogging, podcasting, tweeting, and, well, just about anything to do with communicating online. When we are first starting out around here, we feel silly, shy, and self conscious. We write or record a bunch of things we never post. We are fearful that people are going to make fun of us, disagree with our opinions, and that we’ll never get any better at it. Sometimes we just give up completely, when what we really need to do is just find our voice.

Breathe.
Mr. G. used to tell us that the reason most people can’t sing is because they don’t know how to breathe. I thought that was an odd statement – isn’t breathing a reflex? But it turns out that singing is all about breathing. Mr. G. would demonstrate this by bringing an unsuspecting soul up to the front of the class, then ask them to sing a note that he played on the piano. What often came out was a throaty squeak. Mr. G. would tell them to keep singing the note, then calmly walk over and push on the person’s diaphragm (located right under the ribcage). Suddenly, the squeak became a beautiful, loud, strong note.

He’s right. We don’t know how to breathe. We drag ourselves out of bed in the morning and jump right into our busy schedules. Suddenly it’s noon and we’re working through lunch. By 5 or 6pm we’ve whizzed through it all, and are feeling guilty because we never got time to exercise or write or record our podcast. Days, weeks, months go by and we have achieved nothing – we’re still 20 pounds overweight, and we still aren’t having all those meaningful conversations we thought we could thanks to the Web.

But the simple act of focusing on breathing – in, and out – gives us that moment, where we can stop, and be clear. Make space in your life to breathe. It only takes 10 minutes to write a short post – web videos can take even less time (I can record, edit and post a 2 minute video using my iPhone 4 in 5 minutes, I’ve timed it). Breathing will help take your voice from weak and quiet to strong and loud.

Practice.
Want to know why some bloggers and podcasters seem to be so popular? They practice. They do it really, really often. Some of my favourite bloggers post every single day – sometimes 2 or 3 times a day. I have a podcasting friend who, at one time, was producing 9 podcasts (and has a family, and a full time job).

Of course it takes practice. It took me 4 days to write the first 1,000 words on my blog. Now I can crank out 1,000 words in about 20 minutes. Writing one blog post every 6 weeks is not going to make you any better at it, just like going for a 5 mile run every 6 weeks isn’t going to make you shed those extra pounds.

Practice. Practice. Then practice some more. Write garbage. Record crap. Scrap it and try again. Don’t be perfectly happy with it, and post it anyway. Eventually, you’ll get your feet under you. Eventually, you’ll find your voice. Trust the wise words of Mr. G. Everyone has a voice.

It’s Your Voice.
Now, when Mr. G. wisely said that everyone has the ability to sing, he didn’t exactly mean that everyone is going to open their mouth and be Celine Dion.

Everyone’s voice is unique. That’s what makes it their voice. And one’s voice is always subject to interpretation. It’s why some people think Bob Dylan can’t sing, but why others thing he has a brilliant and interesting sound.

You’re never going to appeal to everyone, so stop trying to. The fact that you may come up against criticism is no reason to not keep breathing, and practicing, and using your voice. Plenty of people don’t care for Bob Dylan’s music. Heck, I don’t like Celine Dion! But that doesn’t stop either of them from using their voices. And fear of criticism should never stop you from using yours either.

Embrace your uniqueness, and continue to use your voice. Make your voice loud, and strong. Sing from your heart, not your throat. Write and speak from the same place.

Those who want to hear you will.

[Photo credit: majicdolphin on Flickr]

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I know lot of women who are truly geeky, very technology savvy and aware. I have met some online, and some at various meetups around town. But my experience in general with the online communities I’m involved with (mostly web technology, social media and business) is that it is still a very male-dominated area. Most of my Twitter friends are male. Most of the people at the technology meetups and PodCamps I’ve attended are male.

For a long time I’ve wanted to create something that appeals directly to women who are interested in this space. A place where women are encouraged to make a contribution to the community and embrace the power of the Web, technology and social media.

Several weeks ago my good friend Sheri and I were sitting on a sunny patio and we came up with idea to do The GeekGrls Podcast. We are both super-geeky in our own right, and though it would be fun to share some of that geekiness with the world. The show is by women, for women, about the things that women care about when it comes to technology. We’ve posted our first show at www.geekgrls.com. On this show we talk about our vision for the show and a bit about ourselves.

I encourage you to go and subscribe for free, Episode 1 will be available next week. We really want to encourage participation in the show, so if you have suggestions for topics or guests, ideas or just want to drop us a line, we’d really appreciate it.

And even though the show is presented from a female perspective… you boys are allowed too! :-)

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This is a great article from mediacollege.com containing tips and techniques on how to interview people well. A good resource for anyone doing interviews for podcasts, documentaries or other media projects.

If there’s anything I’ve learned after 18 years of producing media in various forms, it’s that a good interview can make or break a piece. I’ve worked with some super-talented on-air people over the years and I learned almost everything I know about interviewing from them. Why? Because they were able to quickly establish a rapport with their subjects and draw out precisely the information that was needed for the piece.

These techniques are not difficult to learn, but they are crucial to the success of your projects.

Anyone have a great interviewing tip they want to share? Please comment!

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