The easiest and cheapest way to do it is to use Skpe, the free Internet phone service
Skype (skype.com) is the popular Internet phone program discussed in the “Internet Phones” section (see page 272). It’s not only a way to make free and cheap phone calls, worldwide, but it’s also a favorite among podcasters for recording phone conversations for their podcasts. To record a conversation, install Skype and set up a new account (see page 272). Each of your guest callers will need Skype too, or you can call them on a regular phone using the Skype out feature, which costs a small fee and doesn’t offer the same audio quality as a PC-to-PC connection. For an annual fee, you can also get a Skype In number that guests can use to call you. Make sure to test the call quality beforehand to make sure that it sounds okay. Your PC- based callers will need a microphone.
The are a number of free recording apps out there, but if you get serious about your podcast you might want to spring for a fullfeatured commercial application. Free apps on the PC side include HotRecorder (hotrecorder.com) and PowerGramo Recorder for Skype (powergramo.com). Both of these have free versions with limited compression and other record options and inexpensive commercial versions for under $20.
Mac users should also check out Audio Hijack Pro, a powerful audio recording program that cost $32 from Rogue Amoeba (rogueamoeba.com). It will capture audio from Skype, iChat, and Gizmo and you can add a number of sound-enhancing effects to the recording. If you’re doing pre-recorder podcasting, you don’t have to deal with the issues of streaming your signal to listeners in real time. But if you do want to create a true live show, there are two great live podcating services: BlogTalkRadio and TalkShoe.
BlogTalkRadio (blogtalkradio.com) offers a one-stop shopping solution for creating “talkradio” style podcasts. When you sign up as a host for the free service, BlogTalkRadio issues you a dedicated phone number that listeners can use to call into the show, as well as a phone number that you use to call into the service to host the show. Up to five other people can talk at one time, and you can monitor a Web page to see the list of the callers on hold.
Once you sign up, you’ll have access to a “Host Dashboard” where you can schedule show segments and control other aspects of your podcasts. BlogTalkRadio automatically records your shows as MP3s and archives them so people can listen anytime. BlogTalkRadio is easy to uses, and the live call-in aspect in a lot of fun, but remember: since it’s live, there’s no editing everything you and your guests utter will be broadcast.
TalkShoe (talkshoe.com) works much like BlogTalkRadio, but it’s designed more like a giant conference call, in which certain people can be designated as talkers and hundreds of others as listeners. To make a live podcast, sign up (it’s free) and click on “Create Public Talkcast.” Unlike BlogTalkRadio, however, TalkShoe requires a Mac, and you have to download the TalkShoe Live! client to use it.
If you want to improve the sound quality and other production values of your podcast, M-Audio (m-audio.com) has a really nice (and cheap!) hardware/software package called Podcast Factory. You get a decent desktop mic, a USB-based audio interface (for connecting microphones or musical instruments to your PC), and a suite of audio recording, mixing, editing, and MIDI software. All for only $180.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Here’s how to create a podcast using Odeo
Here’s how to create a podcast using Odeo.
1. Choose a name for your podcast. After signing up for an account at studio. odeo. com, go to studio. odeo.com/ channel/create/ and create a name for your podcast. This is where you’ll add a description of you podcast alone with keywords so it can be found in a search and the URL of the blog you plant to publicize the podcasts on .(See above.)
2. Record your podcast episode. Next, you’ll want to create the audio of your first podcast episode. If you want to record live audio using your computer, go to tudio.odeo.com/create/studio. (See page 41.)
This browser-based recorder can use your computer’s built-in microphone, or you can connect a microphone to it for better sound quality. (Before recording the episode, check the sound level by recording a 10-second test. You can adjust the sound levels with the slider bar on the right.) Odeo’s recorder limits your recording to 60 minutes, which is more than enough for a podcast. (If you have something longer to record you can break it up into two podcast episodes.)
When finished recording click “Stop” and “Save Recoding.” This will save the audio file to Odeo’s server and bring up a page where you can add a title, a description, and an image to the podcast. This page also provide a snippet of HTML code that you can add to your blog that embeds an Odeo player right into the blog entry. People who visit your blog can play the podcast by clicking the player.
Recording audio directly to the computer is just one way to create a podcast with Odeo. You can also upload audio files that you’ve recorded and edited using an audio application such as GarageBand or link to audio files from Web sites (make sure you have permission from the copyright holder first!).
Be sure you visit the Podcasting Survival Guide (odeo.com/channel/95450/view), which features excellent podcasting tips, including how to pre-produce you podcast, how to record live events, how to get most out of different kinds of microphones, how to publicize your podcast, and more from veteran podcasters such as Dough Kaye from IT Conversations and Franklin McMahon of the CreativeCOW podcast.
3. Add the audio to your podcast. Once you’ve recorded or linked to your podcast episode, you need to place it into your podcast feed. That’s easy. Click on “Saved Audiio” and then click the audio file you want to work with. (See below.) Here, you can add information about the episode and upload a photo that will appear in iTunes and on an iPod when your listeners play the episode. Near the bottom of this window you’ll see a pull-down menu title: “Place in :” Selected the name of the podcast you wish to add the episode to and click “Save.”
4. Publicize your podcast. You can let people know about your podcast in a number of ways. Click on the name of your blog in the “My Podcasts” window. You’ll see something called an “RSS URL” that you can embed as a link on your blog. You can also copy and paste the “Podcast Badge” code into your blog template to add a button that your visitors can click. Odeo also has a nifty Flash player that you can add to your blog so that visitors can listen to your podcast episode right from your blog. Click on “Saved Audio” and copy the HTML code at the bottom of the page, under “Put this Audio on your Web sitte.” Odeo has several different embedded players to choose from. Click the “Try these new player” link at the bottom or the page.
1. Choose a name for your podcast. After signing up for an account at studio. odeo. com, go to studio. odeo.com/ channel/create/ and create a name for your podcast. This is where you’ll add a description of you podcast alone with keywords so it can be found in a search and the URL of the blog you plant to publicize the podcasts on .(See above.)
2. Record your podcast episode. Next, you’ll want to create the audio of your first podcast episode. If you want to record live audio using your computer, go to tudio.odeo.com/create/studio. (See page 41.)
This browser-based recorder can use your computer’s built-in microphone, or you can connect a microphone to it for better sound quality. (Before recording the episode, check the sound level by recording a 10-second test. You can adjust the sound levels with the slider bar on the right.) Odeo’s recorder limits your recording to 60 minutes, which is more than enough for a podcast. (If you have something longer to record you can break it up into two podcast episodes.)
When finished recording click “Stop” and “Save Recoding.” This will save the audio file to Odeo’s server and bring up a page where you can add a title, a description, and an image to the podcast. This page also provide a snippet of HTML code that you can add to your blog that embeds an Odeo player right into the blog entry. People who visit your blog can play the podcast by clicking the player.
Recording audio directly to the computer is just one way to create a podcast with Odeo. You can also upload audio files that you’ve recorded and edited using an audio application such as GarageBand or link to audio files from Web sites (make sure you have permission from the copyright holder first!).
Be sure you visit the Podcasting Survival Guide (odeo.com/channel/95450/view), which features excellent podcasting tips, including how to pre-produce you podcast, how to record live events, how to get most out of different kinds of microphones, how to publicize your podcast, and more from veteran podcasters such as Dough Kaye from IT Conversations and Franklin McMahon of the CreativeCOW podcast.
3. Add the audio to your podcast. Once you’ve recorded or linked to your podcast episode, you need to place it into your podcast feed. That’s easy. Click on “Saved Audiio” and then click the audio file you want to work with. (See below.) Here, you can add information about the episode and upload a photo that will appear in iTunes and on an iPod when your listeners play the episode. Near the bottom of this window you’ll see a pull-down menu title: “Place in :” Selected the name of the podcast you wish to add the episode to and click “Save.”
4. Publicize your podcast. You can let people know about your podcast in a number of ways. Click on the name of your blog in the “My Podcasts” window. You’ll see something called an “RSS URL” that you can embed as a link on your blog. You can also copy and paste the “Podcast Badge” code into your blog template to add a button that your visitors can click. Odeo also has a nifty Flash player that you can add to your blog so that visitors can listen to your podcast episode right from your blog. Click on “Saved Audio” and copy the HTML code at the bottom of the page, under “Put this Audio on your Web sitte.” Odeo has several different embedded players to choose from. Click the “Try these new player” link at the bottom or the page.
CREATING AND SHARING
I think my favorite thing about the Internet is the way it lets anyone with a computer and a $20-a-month connection create and distribute their words, sounds, images, and movies to a potential audience of a billion people. This kind of broadcasting power would have cost millions in equipment fees and licenses twenty years ago. (Thank goodness the Web happened below the government’s radar, or you’d probably need a license to blog now.) Tody, the barriers to entry have been all but obliterated. You no longer need money to have you voice heard by a large audience; you just need to be interesting.
In this section, you’ ll learn how to cheaply and easily set up your own Web site, blog, podcast, video podcast (a.k.a. vodcast), along with tips for getting the most out of them. You’ll also learn how to meet like minded people through social networking services, and how to upload and download files that you want to share with other people.
In this section, you’ ll learn how to cheaply and easily set up your own Web site, blog, podcast, video podcast (a.k.a. vodcast), along with tips for getting the most out of them. You’ll also learn how to meet like minded people through social networking services, and how to upload and download files that you want to share with other people.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Adding a feed to your blog
Most blogging services, such as Blogger, Vox, TypePad, WordPress.and Movable Type, can create RSS or Atom feeds for you.
If you use Vox for blogging, then RSS is on by default. if, for some reason you’ve deactivated RSS and want to switch it back on, click “Design” at the top of the vox.com page, click “Customize you sidebars,” check “Subscribe Module,” then click “Apply.” You’re done.
If you have a Blogger account, log into it at blogger.com, click the “Settings” tab and then click “Site Feed.”
Click the pull-down menu next to “Allow Blog Feed” to choose
“None,” “Short,” or “Full.” If you choose “None” only the headlines will appear in RSS readers (along with a link to the blog entry, of course). If you chose “Short,” feed readers will display the first 255 characters (or first paragraph, whichever is shorter) of each blog entry. “full” will send entire blog entries to feed readers. I highly recommend the “Full” option, because it is a drag for readers to have to click the link to go to a Web site to read the rest of a blog entry. Partial entries ruin the RSS experience.
If you use Vox for blogging, then RSS is on by default. if, for some reason you’ve deactivated RSS and want to switch it back on, click “Design” at the top of the vox.com page, click “Customize you sidebars,” check “Subscribe Module,” then click “Apply.” You’re done.
If you have a Blogger account, log into it at blogger.com, click the “Settings” tab and then click “Site Feed.”
Click the pull-down menu next to “Allow Blog Feed” to choose
“None,” “Short,” or “Full.” If you choose “None” only the headlines will appear in RSS readers (along with a link to the blog entry, of course). If you chose “Short,” feed readers will display the first 255 characters (or first paragraph, whichever is shorter) of each blog entry. “full” will send entire blog entries to feed readers. I highly recommend the “Full” option, because it is a drag for readers to have to click the link to go to a Web site to read the rest of a blog entry. Partial entries ruin the RSS experience.
How Can I Give My Blog an RSS Feed?
Grow your readership by creating an RSS feed for your blog
As more and more people wake up to the advantages of RSS (see previous question, What Is RSS and How Do I Use It?” on page 27), bloggers who don’t offer an RSS feed risk being left behind. I know this, because Boing Boing has 350,000 daily Web site visitors and over 1,000,000 RSS subscribers! It’s clear that people prefer the speed and convenience of RSS over Web-based blogs.
As more and more people wake up to the advantages of RSS (see previous question, What Is RSS and How Do I Use It?” on page 27), bloggers who don’t offer an RSS feed risk being left behind. I know this, because Boing Boing has 350,000 daily Web site visitors and over 1,000,000 RSS subscribers! It’s clear that people prefer the speed and convenience of RSS over Web-based blogs.
How to subscribe to an RSS feed
To subscribe to an RSS feed, you RSS reader needs the feed’s address, which is different from the address of the blog itself. The feed address for Mad Professor is madprofessor.net/index.xml. It looks like an ordinary Web address. If you enter this into you Web browser, however, you’ll probably be greeted with a page of ugly-looking code.
This is because an RSS isn’t designed to be read as a Web page, Your RSS reader knows how to translate this code into a human-readable form.
Most Web sites that offer RSS feeds publicize the fact somewhere on the home page. Unfortunately, there isn’t any one standard way to do it. Some sites have a button (often orange colored) that says “RSS” or “XML” (XML is the language RSS feeds are written in). Some have a button that looks like the one at left. Some have a text link that says “Subscribe to this site.” It’s not always easy to find a feed!
To subscribe to a feed, you can’t just click the feed link-you’ll just bring up the aforementioned ugly-looking page of code. Rightclick the link and select “Copy link location” From the pull-down menu. Then, open your RSS reader application, select the function that lets you subscribe to a feed, and paste the address into it. However, If you’re using Firefox 2.0 or later, you can configure the browser to subscribe to an RSS application when you click on a Web feed. To setup this option in Firefox, go to “Preferences” “feeds” and click “subscribe to feed using:” to choose your RSS reader application. See Page 31.
This is because an RSS isn’t designed to be read as a Web page, Your RSS reader knows how to translate this code into a human-readable form.
Most Web sites that offer RSS feeds publicize the fact somewhere on the home page. Unfortunately, there isn’t any one standard way to do it. Some sites have a button (often orange colored) that says “RSS” or “XML” (XML is the language RSS feeds are written in). Some have a button that looks like the one at left. Some have a text link that says “Subscribe to this site.” It’s not always easy to find a feed!
To subscribe to a feed, you can’t just click the feed link-you’ll just bring up the aforementioned ugly-looking page of code. Rightclick the link and select “Copy link location” From the pull-down menu. Then, open your RSS reader application, select the function that lets you subscribe to a feed, and paste the address into it. However, If you’re using Firefox 2.0 or later, you can configure the browser to subscribe to an RSS application when you click on a Web feed. To setup this option in Firefox, go to “Preferences” “feeds” and click “subscribe to feed using:” to choose your RSS reader application. See Page 31.
What RSS reader should I get?
To use RSS, you need a program called a feed reader or aggregator, you tell the application which Web sites you want to subscribe to, and the program will visit those site on a periodic basis. If it finds new content, it will download the latest entries for you to read at your leisure. In addition to subscribing to non-blog RSS feeds, like FedEx or UPS package tracking updates (see page 132), weather alerts, Flickr photo streams, automated eBay auction search results, and much more.
There are two kinds of RSS readers: standalone and Web-base. I use a standalone reader because it stores the feeds on my hard drive, allowing me to read them offline. But Web-based readers are popular too. The advantage of a Web-based reader is that you can read you feeds from any online computer, not just your own.
Some which RSS reader should you get? For the Mac. I like Shrook (utsire.com/shrook), a free reader that has plenty of bells and whistles, such as the ability to download podcasts and videos. The free FeedDemon for Windows and NetNewsWire for Macs (both at newsgator.com) are very popular. My favorite Web-based RSS reader is Google Reader (google.com/reader), which lets you sub-scribe to and read RSS feeds from the Web.
There are two kinds of RSS readers: standalone and Web-base. I use a standalone reader because it stores the feeds on my hard drive, allowing me to read them offline. But Web-based readers are popular too. The advantage of a Web-based reader is that you can read you feeds from any online computer, not just your own.
Some which RSS reader should you get? For the Mac. I like Shrook (utsire.com/shrook), a free reader that has plenty of bells and whistles, such as the ability to download podcasts and videos. The free FeedDemon for Windows and NetNewsWire for Macs (both at newsgator.com) are very popular. My favorite Web-based RSS reader is Google Reader (google.com/reader), which lets you sub-scribe to and read RSS feeds from the Web.
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