A few weeks ago, Katherine Matthews put up a post in which she decried the use of the term ‘niche’ and how it reflects badly on podcasting (see ding, dong, the niche is dead).  Some raved about her thoughts.  John Meadows suggested her post should form a manifesto of podcasting.

I finally caught up with the discussion this evening.  Here is the comment I posted on her site…

I don’t believe there’s any reason why being considered a niche podcaster should also be a badge of dishonour. On the contrary. I believe one of podcasting’s best qualities is that it caters to us content-hungry types in a way that mainstream media has tried and failed. Why? Because mainstream media tries to be all things to all people and we do it by finding our little spot in the grass and claiming it as our own and inviting others to join us. Podcasting delivers from the heart to the heart.

Subject specific? Niche? They’re the same thing to me. And just because your podcast caters to a specific audience (or niche) on knitting, children’s books, marketing, self discovery, music or obscure German strategy games, you shouldn’t feel pigeon-holed into speaking only on that topic. In fact, niches don’t have to be specifically about your content; they can also be about your format. For example, the only thing that threads any two episodes of Electric Sky together is the format and the interest in learning something new. Otherwise, there is little that connects a retired satellite communications scientist, a vintage war plane collector and a movie store clerk. If your audience is interested in how you share your passion, they’re likely to want to hear what you do and what you have to say about your life — which is another thing that makes podcasting such a great communications channel.

Functioning in a niche makes it easier for people to find you; it makes you and your passion more accessible. You can throw a fresh coat of flashy paint on it if that’s what works for you. Underneath it all, and to the people that need to find you, it’s still a niche.

Andrea and I are on our way home from PodCamp Toronto 2008. It was another great unconference. We had a chance to connect with old friends and make new ones. As is always the case at these events, we didn’t have time to hang out with everyone. We’ll have to continue that at the next event… Podcasters Across Borders anyone?

Congratulations to everyone involved in making PodCamp Toronto 2008 happen!!! According to the PodCamp Toronto website, those people are:

• Connie Crosby - Official Blog & Podcast
• Dave Fleet - PR
• Eden Spodek - Sponsorship
• Jay Moonah - Facilities & Wiki
• Katherine Matthews - Volunteers
• Rob Lee - Finances
• Sean McGaughey - Official Blog & Podcast
• Tommy Vallier - Mentor Lounge

I’ll blog more about PodCamp Toronto in the coming days.

It was a full house in Studio A of Ryerson University when Jay Moonah kicked off PodCamp Toronto 2008 with a direct question: “How many of you are not yet podcasting?”. Well, I can’t remember the exact wording of the question, but it was along those lines. The last time I saw that many hands go up that quickly was when the crowd at the final game of the Ottawa Lynx sent the team off with ‘a wave’.

If I had to guess, 80% of the room was there to learn about becoming a podcaster which is probably why so many stuck around in Studio A for the Zero to Podcasting workshop when the Podcamp sessions began. The room of about 40 people were engaged in the discussion, sharing their thoughts and asking the kinds of questions that podcast veterans forget about all to easily once they establish a rhythm in their recording and production.

Rob Lee and Katherine Matthews (purldiving.com) kicked off the day, leading campfire discussions on picking a topic for your podcast, planning your podcast and selecting technology. Among other things, Sage Tyrtle (Quirky Nomads) offered her experiences on scripting her entire show and explained why she has made a conscious decision to not publish her scripts online. Scarborough Dude showed off his coveted iRiver 795 and explained how he uses it with his ‘pencil mic’ to record DicksnJanes anywhere and anytime.

Following lunch, Bob Goyetche and I led a workshop during which we recorded, edited, mixed and produced a podcast called ‘Hiding in the Closet’. It was not the kind of show the average podcaster would ever produce since the entire room contributed recorded elements including group sound effects (cheers, laughs, scowls, etc…), audio comments and fictitious listener phone calls. One participant was selected as a host who recorded intros for the show and individual segments, and a show extro. Derek Miller’s Fakeout was selected as the theme music for the show and then the entire package was threaded together in front of the room as part of a demonstration of Audacity.

As the show was put together, we repeatedly reminded the room that most shows are recorded and published with very little editing which doesn’t afford much of an opportunity to showcase the amazing things that can be done, easily, with Audacity. In fact, several veteran Audacity users approached us after the workshop to announce that they never knew some of the features that Bob demonstrated with just a keystroke or click during the session — features that could have saved them days of time over the last few years.

Before the day was over, we created a new account on Libsyn, added relevant information about the podcast in the account, uploaded the show that was produced during the workshop, added ID3 tags, created a post, published it to the site and then subscribed to and downloaded the show using iTunes.

As the day wrapped up, the group discussed some of the ways to promote a podcast including directories such as iTunes and CanadaPodcasts.ca. Our brains were all pretty full by that point and we could tell that everyone in the room (ourselves included) needed to shut down for the day.

Zero to Podcasting continues at 10:00am today with the following agenda:

• Owning your online presence (30 min) — Campfire / Circle Discussion
• YourName.com (with GoDaddy) (30 min) — Workshop
• Your own WordPress site with a Libsyn back end (2 parts; 30 min each with break in between) — Workshop
• The Podpress plugin (2 parts; 30 min each with break in between) — Workshop
• Portable recording (30 min) — Campfire / Circle Discussion
• Next steps (2 parts; 30 min each with break in between) — Campfire / Circle Discussion

 

 Hiding in the Closet [1:38m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

A group of ‘veteran’ podcasters are collaborating to deliver a two day workshop called Zero to Podcasting (Z2P) this February as part the PodCamp Toronto program. The sessions will be a mix of campfire/circle discussions and technical presentations aimed at helping everyone, from newcomers to advanced podcasters, start from nothing and then learn and shake up the skills necessary to plan, prepare, produce, publish and promote their podcasts.

Z2P is designed to arm the absolute newcomer with the skills and ideas to start podcasting by the end of day one, and help with additional skills such as portable recording and establishing and owning their Internet presence during day two. Regardless of your level of experience, the program is designed to help establish, strengthen and refresh all of your skills.

The collaborators include Katherine Matthews and Rob Lee (Purl Diving), Sage Tyrtle (Quirky Nomads), Scarborough Dude (DicksNJanes), and Bob Goyetche and Mark Blevis (Canadian Podcast Buffet and many others).

The full Z2P program and schedule will be available on the PodCamp Toronto website. A summary and sequence of the sessions appears here for your information:

DAY ONE: BEGINNER (SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2008)

• Picking a topic and planning the podcast
• Technology selection
• Recording the show
• Editing, mixing and producing the show (using Audacity)
• Getting started with Libsyn (including uploading and publishing your show)
• Directories and promotion

DAY TWO: ADVANCED (SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2008)

• Owning your online presence
• YourName.com (with GoDaddy)
• Your own WordPress site with a Libsyn back end
• The Podpress plugin
• Portable recording
• Next steps

Cross posted on CanadianPodcastBuffet.ca

As many of us have observed over the last two years, the summer is a typically quiet time for podcasts. That is, the listeners seem to disappear in droves (though they do come back in September) and many podcast creators cut down on their production frequency to have some down time.

Before we all scatter to the winds, I thought I’d set three podcast-specific goals for myself to achieve by September.

1) Catch up on my backlog of unplayed podcasts.

2) Pick five of my current subscriptions to replace with podcasts I’ve never subscribed to before.

3) Produce two long overdue documentaries: one on honesty and the other on a local recovery program.

What about you; Marko, Katherine, Vergel, Bryan and Joe?