OK- so what I just did based on the feed back is I changed the name of the book (book is Drupal terminology, not mine, btw) to recommendations instead of reviews.

So really it's to be used to do what Ragan did in his post suggesting those first shows (of many) which he found particularly useful in his dissertation.

Let's keep it uncontroversial and make it not about reviews at all. OK?

Even on xmas devils turn to angels. Drama? HA! Book? HA! Great Idea Madge! How about En(fucking)cyclopedia!

There is consistantly shows who have not let drama go for about 4-5 months. Perhaps this was not the correct thread to put this in.. I will search for a more appropriate one on PodShow.

Happy Gimmie a Gift Day! Lets start the new year off on a positive note.

Marshal Click
Gayborhood Radio: Bringing hardcore queerness to your iPod Mon-Fri!
www.gayborhoodradio.com

This is a pet peeve of mine based on my frugal personality. I've noticed that some podcasts produce huge MP3 files while others are able to produce a show with the same sound quality with a much smaller file.

It boils down to this - is it really neccessary to produce a podcast at a bit rate of 44.1 Hz/128 sample rate in STEREO!! I don't think so. It's like using a bulldozer to dig a flower garden.

Ultimately these huge files just eat up bandwidth and eventually it will raise the cost of podcasting for each of us. Wasn't it just recently that Purecast went under because of bandwidth issues? Now, I am sure there were other reasons for the Purecast meltdown but we should still be aware of this issue.

There is a table on page 76 in Todd Cochranes' book Podcasting: The do-it-yourself guide. This will give you an idea of file size/bit rate/sample rate/sound quality.

I will lay out what I do, and I would be interested in how others prepare their files.

For a 25 min show
1. I record my show at 44.1/128 as a AIFF file = 128 MB.
2. I change the Sample rate to 22.050 = 64 MB
3. I convert this new file to MP3 with AUDION with the following settings:
with the MP3-PMLAME encoder choice
- MONO
- Bit rate 40 kbps
- Quality Normal (5)

The final MP3 ends up at 7.3 MB and the sound quality is very close to the original.

Now as for actual sound quality, one needs to find a good mic. I use a radio shack Dynamic Vocal mic that costs @ 30 bucks. It is a hell of a lot better than the MAC built in mic and is very affordable.

Anyway, this is my 2 cents. Basically - watch your file size for bandwidths sake.

Kentie
The Flatus Show

You can reach me at
kentie@kenstoefflersmusic.com

I do agree with Ragan...speak generally...dont use this as a forum to bash specific people and or specific shows rather a way to focus on problems. Be constructive and if you feel that you really need to point something out to a specific person...then send them a personal email. I've been podcasting long enough now that the evil bitchyness and game playing is not a big deal to me and I can handle it...but it's not fair to all of the new folks trying to get started.

Issues I have with most podcast (esp new shows)-Not enough attention is paid to audio quality. People think "oh...I have a microphone and a computer...wow I should do a podcast...." ..ok...that's fine...but it's not...spend more time (and in this case money) to insure that your audio is of a higher quality than the generic mic or internal mic that you purchased with your mac or pc. Listen to as many podcast as you can stomach and then"Talk" to those podcasters and find out what kind of products and software they are using or would suggest.

When I ask students to do performance critiques of their peers in the classes I teach, I tell them to speak generally. In other words, don't pick on specific people; focus more on problems that emerge salient in many of the performances.

For example, I notice that a lot of podcasters engage in meta talk. I think it's important to do shout outs and promote other shows, but many podcasts would improve if the performers spent less time talking about podcasting and podcasting personalities and more time talking about world events, pop culture, etc. This isn't to say that there isn't a space for meta talk; I've just noticed people using the meta talk as filler. In other words, "I can't think of anything else to say, so I'll talk about podcasting." This talk may be more interesting to podcasting peers than listeners who don't produce shows. If you're looking to spike your listenership, I'd recommend talking about things that a broad range of people can relate to.

if you're confused, this is a new drupal 'book' page. After reading ragan's post, i thought it might be a nice idea to have a book (like our FAQ) so that we can have a place to post our internal reviews. NO drama- this is really intended to help each other and not to be a competetive thing. If you guys think this is a bad idea I'll take it down.