Podcasting!

[kimo55]

Re: Podcasting!

Head on over to HawaiiStories.com, my blog community and blog hosting site. Poke around some of the "Tenant" sites. If you're interested in moving in, just drop me a line! This would mean, though, that you'd be joining (tangentially) the ranks of bloggers. The horror!

So yer saying I set up a blog site and THAT is my podcast site? Where people find the mp3's?

[kimo55]

Re: Podcasting!

Right. It looks like Aloha.net offers bare-bones goodies in the form of a CGI site counter and form-mail script, but that's it. Most ISPs won't bother with custom scripts, because they know you're with them for internet access, not web hosting -

wellll, they push web hosting as much as anything else there...

I think they give me 50 mgb

from their site faq:

Do you support Server Side Includes (SSI)?

Yes. You can use SSI by giving your pages a .shtml extension rather than the typical .html or .htm.

You can read more about SSI at apache.org's documentation site or at ApacheWeek.

How about PHP?

Yes. Mahiai hosting offers PHP as a standard part of the service. PHP is a scripting language that can be embedded within HTML code for server side execution. It can easily interface with MySQL databases, use cookies, or parse data from forms. Any pages which need to execute PHP should use .php as the extension. For more information on PHP, check out some tutorials on the Web:

[pzarquon]

Re: Podcasting!

Ah! Mahiai! That's Aloha.net's webhosting service. Cool. The standard user of the ISP (i.e. enrolled just for internet access) gets a tiny bit of space to play with and an address like aloha.net/~user (that's where I got my start), but if you're in a full webhosting plan, that's different. You're on your way!

I see they offer PHP, but not MySQL, at least not in their basic webhosting plan. You should ask 'em about it, as you'll need both for WordPress.

Other CMS like Movable Type can work with only PHP/CGI, but they're a little harder to set up.

Another thing to clarify with them? "Unlimited web transfers." Before podcasting, lots of webhosts advertised "unlimited bandwidth," but that was before users started serving 20MB files to 1,000 users a week. Now they'll put a cap on it that's essentially unlimited for your average Joe Webguy, but it could be easily exceeded if your show became popular.

Umm, wait. 50MB of space for $20 setup, $20 a month? Egads, they're seriously overpriced. My host, Dreamhost, gives you 2400MB for $9/mo. on their most basic plan. Setup is $50, but not if you prepay for a year. And you get more of everything Mahiai is offering (including IMAP on top of POP, shell access, a free domain registration and the ability to host threedomains), oh, plus MySQL. And I can personally vouch for the fact that WordPress runs beautifully.

[helen]

Re: Podcasting!

Ron Moore who is the executive producer of Battlestar Galactica started to do podcasting of the last two epsiodes (and I suspect future ones as well). For the episode that was shown on March 11, 2005, it seems he did it from his home. You could hear birds chirping in the background and at one point a helicopter was flying over which he commented on as it fly over a couple of times around his house.

[pzarquon]

Re: Podcasting!

A few members of the Hawaii Association of Podcasters will be on Hawaii Public Radio's Town Square talk program this afternoon. Tune in at 5 p.m. to KIPO 89.3FM to hear three geeks (and host Beth-Ann Kozlovich) chat about what podcasting is, and what it can do for people, communities, and businesses.

I'll be there, as will podcasting powerhouse Todd "The Geek" Cochrane and Burt "Digital Wonderer" Lum (a.k.a. Quark here on the 'Threads). Other local podcasters will be joining in via telephone. We may very well not get much further than "What Is It?" But you've gotta start somewhere!

[pzarquon]

Re: Podcasting!

In case you're curious, Hawaii's podcasting population jumped by one recently with the entry of Peter Kay. Yes, Peter "YourComputerMinute.com" Kay has started VoteHawaii.com, a local political blog and podcast. It's strange to hear that familiar voice talking about taxes and charter schools instead of cookies and control panels!

[pzarquon]

Re: Podcasting!

Congratulations to a local geek on snagging the first major book deal covering the podcasting phenomenon:

Isle geek writes the book on podcasting

Part radio, part TiVo, literally bringing the voice of the everyman to the world, podcasting is an incredible phenomenon that’s sweeping the globe… and one self-described geek right here in Hawaii has written the first definitive guide. Honolulu resident and veteran podcaster Todd Cochrane was tapped by global publishing powerhouse John Wiley & Sons, Inc. to write “Podcasting: Do It Yourself Guide.”The 300+ page book covers every aspect of podcasts, from finding and listening to them, to creating, improving, and promoting your own audio show. Due out in June, the book will be on store shelves before the podcasting phenomenon itself is barely a year old.

Preorders on the $19.95 book are only $13.95 at Amazon...

[pzarquon]

Re: Podcasting!

Congrats to the local podcasters who were featured in a KHON news segment last night. If you want to watch it, catch the clip in Real Video format here.

FWIW, there is a free lunchtime seminar today at the University of Phoenix. While there will be some introductory material, the focus will be on how podcasting can be applied in the business environment.

[Ty Lee]

Re: Podcasting!

It's going to be a major tool for record company promotions for sure. With all the bickering from local record companies in Hawaii that don't release KDNN or Traditional type music, it's going to give new possabilaties for those who release 808 Pop, Rap, Hip Hop and so on.

This will be fun to watch!

[mel]

Re: Podcasting!

With the advent of podcasting becoming a mainstream link on Apple's iTunes music store, is the genre becoming more homogenized like regular broadcast radio?

Do we all have time to actually listen to the many podcasts available? I tend to download and store several of these with the intention of listening, but often I can't make the time to actually listen.

Kind of like the same syndrome I have with recording TV shows for later viewing, but not watching them. Like I recorded the last episode of "Lost" and have yet to watch it! I even have 2 yet to be seen episodes of the now cancelled NBC TV series, "Hawaii."

[pzarquon]

Re: Podcasting!

With the advent of podcasting becoming a mainstream link on Apple's iTunes music store, is the genre becoming more homogenized like regular broadcast radio?

Not at all. Not unless you think the web is homogenized. Basically, the wide open spaces will be populated by both Big Companies and Little People. The Big Companies might be the most visible, but you will always be able to find a dizzying array of Little People out there, too.

The iTunes launch specifically highlighted mostly Big Companies -- in part because that's what newcomers will find comfortingly familiar, and also I think because Little People don't have the infrastructure to support the kind of traffic the iTunes launch unleashed (last week, several podcasts' servers went belly up with the strain). But the fact of the matter is, iTunes puts the tool in many new hands, and while they might first surf the "channels" they're familiar with -- ABC News, NPR, ESPN -- they're going to find they can tune into 8,000 other channels out there.

Some will suck, some will be brilliant, some will be completely uninteresting, and some will match their interests perfectly. Just like the web.

Do we all have time to actually listen to the many podcasts available? I tend to download and store several of these with the intention of listening, but often I can't make the time to actually listen.

I hear you. My podcast listening time is all in my car -- which I guess is only one upside to a particularly bad traffic day. But you're right, if I keep up with the local shows only in a given week, I'm lucky.

But, well, I don't have the time to visit every website and blog I bookmark, either. My Newsgator aggregator pulls down over 3,000 posts a day, and I'll be lucky if I browse over ten or so feeds -- barely a tenth of that.

What matters is, I like that I have the choice of different sources that I do. That my news aggregator, and that my podcatcher, can bring me some really unusual, unique, and specific stuff, rather than what the Evil Mainstream Media would rather I consume.

[Glen Miyashiro]

Re: Podcasting!

One thing keeps me away from podcasts -- they're audio programs. Unlike text-based web pages, which can be easily and quickly skimmed, an audio program forces you to experience its content at the pace dictated by the creator. It just takes too much time to wade through audio of questionable value, looking for the good stuff.

[scrivener]

Re: Podcasting!

The audio aspect of podcasts is what kept me away for a long time, too. Audio and video stuff on the web is something that I have considered more a nuisance than a blessing. I know I'm not the only one here who considers himself old school, and I try not to turn into a grouch about these things, but I see a lot of these more recent web developments as pains in the okole most of the time. Yes, I really liked Lynx!

But the other night, I was involved in some pretty tedious work at the computer and happened to be somewhere that had a broadband connection (I still have my regular dialup at home and I've only recently acquired a machine that could handle Win98), so I listened to several half-hour podcasts while I got the work done, and I must say that I really, really liked it. I can see how great it would be to listen in the car or on the bus, and it really made that tedium pass tolerably. I have since listened while doing other, non-computer-related chores, such as the mountains of administrative paperwork that make my job unbearable sometimes.

I'm on board. As fan and possibly as participant.

Oh, hey Glen. What's that new avatar of yours? It's cute.

[mel]

Re: Podcasting!

Not at all. Not unless you think the web is homogenized. Basically, the wide open spaces will be populated by both Big Companies and Little People. The Big Companies might be the most visible, but you will always be able to find a dizzying array of Little People out there, too.

True, there are thousands of other podcasts around. But if iTunes becomes the dominant gateway to podcast subscriptions, it will be harder for users to find the little guys as more corporate podcasts jump on the bandwagon.

I also think the podcast is also being used as a testing ground for Apple to someday implement a music subscription option to a future version of iTunes.

Anyway, it will be interesting to revisit this question maybe a year and more out. We'll see if all the little guys are still around or if they all grew up and became corporate entities and media stars themselves.

The iTunes launch specifically highlighted mostly Big Companies -- in part because that's what newcomers will find comfortingly familiar, and also I think because Little People don't have the infrastructure....

I hope all the independent podcasters can survive the onslaught of the corporate giants. Remember not very long ago radio had a lot of little guys working there... it was mostly local, and in some cases had their own unique little formats. All that is gone and we pretty much have the same generic stuff within tight format definitions from one end of the dial to the other.

Will the same thing happen to podcasting as the genre matures? Right now it's still an anything goes thing out there.

Some will suck, some will be brilliant, some will be completely uninteresting, and some will match their interests perfectly. Just like the web.

Yes. I agree with you on this one. I wonder if there already are "porncasting" feeds? I once heard that the porn industry is also the biggest and fastest adopter of new technologies.

My podcast listening time is all in my car -- which I guess is only one upside to a particularly bad traffic day. But you're right, if I keep up with the local shows only in a given week, I'm lucky.

Yep, so far I keep up only with the local podcasts that I found interesting after visiting the HawaiiUP and Hawaii Podcasters sites a few months ago. My commute time to work is very short, so like I don't listen to any podcasts in my car... I take them to the office on either one of my iPods or sometimes on a Sony Memory stick and just play the thing on the PC without loading it into the main drive.

More often than not I listen to most podcasts at home, except your May 27 podcast since that one deals with the last episode of "Lost" that I have yet to see!

But like Tivo the fact that I can download something for listening later or even all over again is pretty neat. I've actually archived several podcasts now to MP3 CDs. Will be interesting to listen to this stuff like 5 to 10 years down the road.

What matters is, I like that I have the choice of different sources that I do.

Yep, I agree on that one.

[shaveice]

Re: Podcasting!

hey pzarquon, thanks for posting this thread. interesting. spent a little time on the web trying it out and it's definitely a hit and miss thing. i mean, out of the hundreds of possible sites, who has the time to check out each one! sigh... i mean, i'm not dismissing it; just saying that it's like walking into a huge library looking for a good read.

i'm sure there must be guides out there so my question to you is, what sites would you recommend to someone like me who's interested in finding sites that stream good blues music?

incidentally, i emailed someone at hawaii public radio (forgot her name) some years ago and suggested that she convert her stories into mp3s so people could download them for later listening. she never did and in general, i don't know why more places don't do it cuz it's so damn easy to convert audio files into mp3 files and it would be a great resource. never made any sense to me that people would make such an effort to produce a good report or story or whatever and then have it die! the better sites have archived files of past interviews, etc. very smart. very cool.

thanks again for raising this topic!