Start Podcasting Now. Start a podcast by listening to this podcast. Kevin emailed me asking about how to podcast, and I suggested we do a skype call and create a podcast on podcasting!
Creating a podcast consists of:
- Preparing To Record
- Recording the Show
- Editing the Podcast
- Posting the Podcast on a website and/or server
Preparation involves whatever you need to do to set up the recording, schedule guests, research topics, create a discussion list, schedule the recording.
Recording the show can be as simple or complicated as you want it to be. We use Skype to do most of our shows, and we use a plug in by Ecamm called Record A Call to record the skype call.
At this point you can just convert the audio recording into an mp3, or edit the recording to include music, introductions, and remove glitches.
You have to post the show on a server that is connected to the internet. You can use inexpensive hosts like BlueHost or HostGator, you don’t need anything fancy. Keep the site design real simple when you first start. Use the default wordpress template. Simple is Good.
You then need to create an iTunes compliant RSS Feed, here is some info on that from Apple.
We post each audio recording on our WordPress site as a post, and use a podcasting plugin to create the iTunes compatible RSS feed. We have also used Feed For All to create iTunes compliant RSS feeds
You can also use a service like Libsyn, who for a small fee, can take care of most of this for you.
What Equipment is needed to make a podcast?
I suggest you get a good quality USB headset
. Test out the microphone of the headset to see how it records, it might sound fine, it might not.
I use a Blue Snowball USB microphone, which I really like. Kevin, our guest here, is using a Blue Snowball microphone for this show.
For in person recording we use a Zoom ZH1 Portable Digital Recorder
, with a a wind screen, aka dead cat, covering the microphone.
You can use Garage Band or Audacity to edit the audio file.
photo from MorgueFile.
@rhkennerly
Nice show. Kevin has good pipes, and, more importantly, good flow (neither of which grace my speaking voice). He’ll do well.
The show you guys couldn’t recall was The Young Turks. Good show, but I don’t have time for a daily 2 hour speil, so I dropped them. Still, for $10 a month it was an entertainment/information bargain for video. If I were watching a lot of video, I might subscribe but $!0 for audio wasn’t worth it.
Brian Dunning @ Skeptoid talks about a micro-payment system per show, but I couldn’t find it on his site. He does have apps. I hate individual apps and sites that are constantly reminding me they have an app, and making me wait 10 seconds to get to the page I am interested in. Dunning does have some good swag in his store, though.
Dan Carlin asks for “a buck a show, that’s all we ask.” More than worth it. I try to send him $50 every six months, since he does both Common Sense and Hardcore History and I love them both (although he went a little far this last CS).
Audio imperfections: I don’t have the set-up Eric does, so I mask imperfections with a constant loop of running water just barely audible under my voice on the videos. Covers up a bunch of audio sins.
Skype and two guests. A perfect example of needing to “edit Rick…again” happened during the Geek Podcast with Mike on GFR. Mike was talking and I, thoughtlessly, ripped a huge sniff across the microphone. Since we were on the same channel, Eric couldn’t cut it out.
Sniffing is a problem for me on the beekeeping videos particularly. All that smoke. In this case, I’d been out with the bees just before we talked.
@rhkennerly
found that dunning micropayement: http://skeptoid.com/important
Kevin
I had a lot of fun on the show, Eric. Thanks for having me on!
Dave
Eric, I use GoDaddy to host my WordPress site. Can I host my podcast there or is there something special about BlueHost and Host Gator?
Great show. Our mutts say hi to yours!
Dave
Eric Gunnar Rochow
Hi Dave,
as long as you can FTP files to your account on Godaddy, you should be fine.
create a directory for your podcast’s mp3 files. this should be separate from your WP install on your Godaddy account. you can usually use an FTP client software to do that. or probably the admin panel of your godaddy account.
right now i use the blurbrry podcasting plugin for GF Radio, it works fine, but i may change soon. not sure yet.
let me know any other questions.
thx, eric.
jim
Eric,
For a really simple podcast setup that has the itunes setups already done, you might check out the free podcastgen at sourceforge (http://podcastgen.sourceforge.net/download.php). It will run on most servers that have php and is very simple. If your mp3 is small enough you can (as administrator) just have the software upload it from your local computer. If the mp3 is very large you may have to ftp it in and the use the ftp feature to generate the podcast. The program gives a simple configurable webpage with the player and download link already generated. The link for RSS podcast and itunes are also generated and placed on the webpage.
May not be right for everyone, but it is simple and quick for the occasional podcast. (oh, it will also allow video’s!)