Talk It Up!

Testing AudioBoo

AudioBoo is one of the newer tools in the social media storm of late, and some podfaders have gravitated towards it as an easy, on-the-go alternative to the sometimes labor-intensive audio podcast.

Thanks to the likes of Neville Hobson over at For Immediate Release podcast, who has been raving about AudioBoo's ease of use, I downloaded the iPhone app and gave it a try.

What is AudioBoo?
AudioBoo is basically Seesmic for audio recordings, with the added benefit of recording directly from the iPhone via the iPhone app. To get started, download the free app from the App store. The interface is three-button, no-nonsense.

 

Push Record to record an audio message. This could be a Twitter-like comment or something longer, like an interview, with two people speaking into the application. After reviewing your Boo, just hit upload to post the message, and message posts to the public timeline at AudioBoo.fm.

The site works like most other social networking sites, with a public timeline so you can discover friends with similar interests, the ability to tag posts for more discoverability and the ability to friend and follow others.

Another nice added feature is the ability to create different account and link each one to the iPhone app--great for community managers like myself who might want to post from different accounts on behalf of clients.

The big benefit of AudioBoo is its ease of use, hands-down. If you've discovered that you don't have time to orchestrate a full-on podcast but still want to connect orally with friends, fans and followers, AudioBoo can basically act as an easy, three-button, instant podcast. At the next event, try hitting Record to capture an interview with a speaker or attendee immediately after a session and posting right away.

It's the instantaneous nature of Twitter combined with the more personal connectivity of audio via the human voice. This could be powerful. And yes, it's now integrated with Twitter so that you can tweet your Boos, so no worries about having to manage two micromedia platforms simultaneously. For a more detailed explanation, this video is excellent:

Have you tried AudioBoo? What do you think? More importantly, how do you anticipate using it?

The Eight Best Marketing Podcasts for Your Daily Commute

For a busy social media geek like me, travel time is catch-up time; it's the only time a consultant can, in a guilt-free environment, take a breath and take some time to do some self-education. Personally, I don't have a regular commute, but you'd be amazed at how much podcast listening one can squeeze into 10- and 20-minute trips around Chicago. Also, I'm not adverse, as a busy podcast listener, to building up my B-list podcasts and listening to a backlog of shows in one fell swoop, as I did during the 10-hour drive to Saint Louis and back last weekend.

The point is that podcasts are a time-delayed medium; even news-related shows can be informative and educational a few weeks later. Every single show listed here teaches me something I didn't know every time I listen. What's more, they give me a chance to interact with the host every time, too. If you don't already, try programming your favorite show's listener call-in numbers into your cell phone so you can pause the podcast, call in a comment (using your hands-free headset, of course), and then keep right on listening.

(Oh, and if you're new to podcasting, read here to find out how to download and listen to a podcast.)

The first group are knock-down, drag-out, absolutely essential marketing podcasts. If you're an entrepreneur or into social media and not yet listening, go to iTunes and download them now:

For Immediate Release: the Hobson and Holtz Report. This was one of the first podcasts I ever subscribed to, and it's still my A-list first listen. Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson meet twice a week over Skype to discuss online media in the age of digital communication and marketing. And they never disappoint! At one hour twice a week, this might be the only podcast you have time to listen to, but it's worth it--you don't need to set your Google alert for "social media" if you listen to FIR.

Get It Done Guy's Quick and Dirty Tips Stever Robbins, the witty geek who just happens to also give advice on getting things done, gives one great organizational or productivity tip in each five-minute podcast--an easy listen on your way to the store. Helps with productivity, plus if we ever hit a zombie apocalypse, he's right there with advice on training your zombie army.

Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips Mignon Fogarty is the grammar geek among grammar geeks, delightful to listen to and more than happy to get all available information and perspectives on even the trickiest of grammar questions. Hey, ya gotta love a girl who can even cover the adverbial malfunction of the presidential inauguration with ease. Her podcasts are also in the five-minute range, so download and few and listen on your way to the gym.

Managing the Gray I can't imagine anyone who doesn't already listen to C.C. Chapman in some form or another, but there might be a few of you out there who have been living in a cave or who dropped your iPod in the lake a few years back and just never bothered to replace it. Managing the Gray is C.C.'s business podcast, his chance to chat and give observations about social media. Always full of energy and great marketing ideas, C.C. is one of my constant iPhone companions (even though he seems to be able to get iTalk to work for podcasting, whereas it only gives me so-so audio quality).

Marketing Over Coffee Shel Holtz turned me on to this marketing podcast, hosted by Chris Penn of the Financial Aid podcast and John Wall of the M Show. These two social media gurus sit in a Dunkin Donuts and talk social media strategy, news and tools. Again, great new information with each show, and the hosts have a fun and approachable dynamic.

Media Hacks I just started listening to this one, and I'm behind. But Mitch Joel, Chris Brogan, C.C. Chapman, and more? What social media geek wouldn't listen to this show? The audio on the first episode made it unlistenable, but it's much improved since then.

Six Pixels of Separation Mitch Joel's conversational show on new media marketing and communications. Sure, like C.C. Chapman, he talks at the speed of light, but I wouldn't cut time from his show at all--just listen as long and as often as you can.

Trafcom News Podcast Donna Pappacosta podcasts monthly from Canada, branding her show as one for people who love communicating. She's got a great, podcast-heavy focus, with detailed tips on making your podcast interesting, engaging and effective. Plus, it doesn't hurt that her honey-toned voice is the best one in podcasting!

What about you? What are your favorite business podcasts? What is on your A list? Your B list?

DSSP #109: Geeky stuff from MacWorld Expo

Show Notes for Diary of a Shameless Self-Promoter #109: Geeky stuff from MacWorld Expo

Coming up on this week's show: new microphones from Shure; MacSpeech voice recognition software and OmniFocus productivity tool from OmniGroup.

Direct download is here.

00:00 Introduction

Welcome to DSSP! Send comments to OUR COMMENT EMAIL: shamelesscomments@gmail.com, call 206-209-0806 and be sure to check the Talk It Up! blog. Sounders are graciously provided by BuzzCutzAudio.com. If you're interested in podcasting, check out all the free resources at www.podcastingprincess.com.

2:10 Shure's new USB mics

Gino of Shure about the X2u, which will convert any studio mic with XLR to USB as well as the PG27 and PG42 USB mics

8:00 Testing MacSpeech

In the MacSpeech booth, running through the software voice recognition training and testing

15:30 OmniFocus

Personal productivity software from the OmniGroup

18:35 Feedback

Carl writes in; Michael Procopio comments on DSSP #108: Best Practices for Twitter and new listener Clint Arthur comments on early episodes.

Wrap-up

Why not recommend Diary to a friend? Send the link via email and spread the word! Visit us at Blubrry.com; email Heidi at shamelesscomments@gmail.com and don't forget to visit the show blog, Talk It Up! during the week, for articles and updates. Thanks for listening!

Cool Stuff from MacWorld Expo 2009

My favorites so far from Mac World Expo--Shure's revolution X2u, which converts any studio mic to USB (hooray!) as well as their two new USB microphones, the PG27 and the PG42; Kensington's LiquidAUX Deluxe, a wireless steering wheel remote for iPhone; MacSpeech. Also, will MacWorld exist after this year?

Now my iPhone is a recorder!: iTalk review

Big, huge thanks to C.C. Chapman, who mentioned using the iPhone app iTalk on Managing the Gray. Podcasting from my iPhone? I was intrigued! Could it be that the quality could be tolerable, even good?

So I ran home, downloaded the app to the phone and the syncing feature to the laptop. I recorded a short segment in a coffee shop with terrible acoustics--hardwood floors, bare walls, background holiday carols--in short, an echo chamber. When I got home, I turned on the syncing function on the laptop, and the aiff file was Bluetoothed right over. See what you think:
Heidi's iTalk Test
I hear a lot of sibilants on the s's; what do you think? It might do in a pinch, but I'm not convinced I'd podcast this way.

10 Social Media things to try on your lunch break

Following the ever-industrious CC Chapman's latest podcast, 10 Social Media Things in 10 Minutes, I began to wonder--if someone wanted to explore social media just for an hour at lunch, what would the best options be? What would I recommend someone do to dip a toe in the waters without overwhelming her? CC's list is fascinating, and he kicked me in the pants to come up with my own. Some crossover, to be sure--what do you think?

1. Listen to a podcast. Go to iTunes and search for a podcast on your favorite subject. Pick one that sounds promising and listen to it--you might discover a new addiction.
2. Join Twitter. You don't have to Tweet obsessively; just get a free account and listen. Remember listening? Just see what is going on, see what the Twittersphere is commenting on. Don't know who to follow? A few suggestions: @chrisbrogan, @cc_chapman (of course), @jowyang, @skydiver, @astrout, @sgetgood, @mashable
3. Complete your profile on LinkedIn. Yes, I'm assuming that at some point in the last few years, you actually created a profile. But is it complete? Did you link to all your websites and past employers? Did you fill out your summary with your power benefit statement of your biggest passions and accomplishments? Did you link to your past and current colleagues? Did you recommend others? Did you update your status? Join a group? Pick one and tackle it at lunch today.
4. Ask a question on Seesmic. It's free to open an account, and video conversations have a quality that blog comment conversations just don't have. Open up a free account and ask your burning question. For the Knight News Challenge, I asked, "What are the obstacles to innovation?" and the conversation was still going on, two weeks and 40 responses later!
5. Set up a Google alert for your own name. If you haven't already, set up a Google alert for your name, your company's name and for your biggest brand concerns. So search for occurrences of "heidi miller," of course, but also "social media," "podcasting," "twitter," "facebook" and "online communities." Whatever field you serve or service you provide, take five minutes to set up a Google search.
6. Set up an event on Facebook. Got a book club? A social group that meets for wine and cheese? A few buddies that meet over coffee? Set up the event on Facebook and indicate that you are attending. Met real-life friends from online. Remember, nothing beats face time.
7. Sign up for GoodReads or Shelfari. As much as I read online, I still love the feel of a solid book in my hands, and that's the only way I read anything longer than three pages. And I love getting recommendations from other friends and giving my own about my favorite and most useful reads. Just share your thoughts on the last book you read.
8. Record your next customer service call or interview on Skype. Download Skype for free and buy credits to make outgoing calls to phones--I use Call Recorder to automatically record every inbound and outbound Skype call. Use it to improve your own service and phone voice. Or use it to record interviews with reporters to make sure you''re not misquoted--I always record every call and send the recording off to the reporter immediately afterwards.
9. Comment on blogs. You don't have to start a blog yourself; just do a blog search for your favorite topic, click any interesting-sounding entries, and click "comment" at the end of the entry to leave your two cents. Participate in the conversation--you don't have to start your own.
10. Sign up for Facebook and join a group. Just to a search for your favorite topic--knitting, bowling, kayaking, social media, moms, autism, whatever--and click to join a group that interests you.

What about you? How would you suggest someone dip a toe into the social media waters over a lunch break?

Get funding for your great idea BEFORE NOVEMBER 1ST!

We're in the final push time over at the Knight News Challenge and sending out emails and reminders left and right for those with great ideas to submit them before the November 1st deadline. Our podcasting buddies have been great about spreading the word by playing interviews with past winners in the "What's Your Idea?" audio segments (thanks to Shel and Neville of FIR, Mitch of Six Pixels of Separation, Eric of On the Record Online and Craig of the Polymorphic Podcast!)

Curious? Want to enter? There is still time. The reminders we just sent out:

The deadline for the Knight News Challenge is nearly here! This year's contest, giving away $5 million to digital news innovators, closes to all applications in just three days -- at midnight Pacific on November 1st.

You can't win if you don't submit an application! Remember that winning entries must use or create digital, open-source technology; use news and information to serve the public interest; benefit at least one specific geographic community; and be innovative.

If you have created in the Garage, please remember to submit your application officially, via the "Apply Now" link at the top of the News Challenge site at www.newschallenge.org.

APPLICATIONS LEFT IN THE GARAGE
AND NOT OFFICIALLY SUBMITTED
CAN'T BE CONSIDERED!

Last year's winners have already put their great ideas into motion. Make sure your great idea is considered this year.

To apply, visit www.newschallenge.org today.

In short, don't ask, don't get. It doesn't hurt to apply, but you definitely won't get a crack at funding if you don't!

Spiffing up Skype interviews

I'll admit that I've got a bit lazy with my interview audio quality, focusing more on content than on fixing all those little audio glitches that happen during an interview. However, I learned at least three things I didn't know that I suspect will greatly improve the audio quality of my interviews from this in-depth video on recording Skype calls by Doug Kaye and Paul Figgiani. Even if the bulk of the content is too technical for you, you should listen to the first five minutes to hear the difference in audio quality between a microphoned Skype caller and a telephone callee.

| View | Upload your own

I learned far more than I thought I would, and hey, I even skipped the part about reconfiguring my firewall. I highly recommend this if you want to improve the quality of your Skype interview recordings!

Heidi's Five Golden Rules of Podcasting

It's been a while since I've done an overview podcasting class; everything has been more in-depth lately. So I'm excited to be teaching a new class at the local adult education center. It's a fantastic podcasting boot camp idea; we're starting from "what is a podcast?" and ending with recording a 10-minute podcast in the class!

And in the process, I've been finding it difficult to summarize the myriad tips and tricks I've learned over the years (mostly by doing things wrong and/or the hard way a few times before figuring out the best or easy way). Perhaps it was sheer exhaustion or just the fervent desire that no student of mine was going to podfade or have a crappy podcast, goshdarnit!

So a quick summary of my five top Golden Rules of podcasting. And by "Golden Rule" I mean a really good premise to live by, BTW.

1. Have something to say. If you can't shut up about something, that would be the thing you should podcast about. If your friends are sick of hearing about it, that is the thing you should podcast about. If you already belong to several forums, mailing lists and professional or social groups discussing it, that is the thing you should podcast about. Do it for love, not for money.
2. Don't "fill time." Your podcast is as long as you decide it should be, but your subscribers will let you know if it's too long, rambling or boring--by unsubscribing. If your podcast is usually 20 minutes but you only have seven minutes of material this week, do a fabulous seven-minute podcast. Don't put it off for another week, and don't "come up" with filler content. It will sound like filler content, and our time is too valuable to listen to filler.
3. Speak in a real human voice. For more on finding your voice, see my earlier post on a good process to follow. But a lot of beginning podcasters think they need to sound like Wolfman Jack. They try to lower and slow their voices, and they sound ridiculous and fake. Podcasting is a social medium; just talk to us like you talk to your friends. Be real, be enthusiastic, be sarcastic, be annoyed, be honest. We'll like you for who you are. If we don't, you probably didn't want us to listen to you, anyway.
4. Audio is as audio does. That is, your audio only needs to be good enough for your podcast to be basically  listenable. You can upgrade your $100 rig to a $1,000 rig, but do you really need to? Unless you just want to play with new toys from Guitar Center, you probably don't have to. If your listeners complain about audio quality, you might want to look into a better mic or figure out how to do some basic noise reduction. Otherwise, let your content speak for you.
5. Make it social. This is probably the concept that is hardest to get across in a Podcasting 101 seminar in which we're also going through all the technical aspects of creating a podcast. My big fear is that folks will walk away with the knowledge of how to create a podcast but not of how to expand and become part of a larger community, which in my mind is the whole point of becoming a podcaster. So start by listening to other podcasts in your field. Go listen to podcasts not in your field. Call in to the comment lines of your favorite podcasts. Respond on the podcast blogs or forums. Try out the plethora of social networking sites and tools available--Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Jaiku--and invite your listeners to participate there as well. Get into it and get social.

Those are my five golden rules--what are yours? If you could only give five bits of advice to a novice podcaster, what would they be?

Photos from New Media Expo 2007

I didn't go too camera-crazy this year (more conversation-crazy), but a few choice photos from the New Media Expo and all the cool folx who chatted and drank with me:

Flickr New Media Expo 2007 batch

Even though I arrived at the LibSyn/Wizzard Media party just in time to meet C.C. Chapman saying, "It's already busted," I had a great time!

More notes from New Media Expo 2007

A few notes, jotted at the Phoenix airport, which BTW has free wi fi:

Got to see a brief glimpse of the elusive Holtz in his natural habitat--running from a book-signing to an international flight.

One of the benefits of the expo--tons of free iPod-oriented schwag for podcasting geeks. The show floor was actually one of the most beneficial aspects of the expo, surprisingly, simply because the coolest folks tended to gather there. If there was anyone I had been hoping to meet, I would simply walk around the exhibit floor, and somehow, magically, I'd run into the very person I'd wanted to meet!

Veteran Podcasters Talk Podcasting at NME

Tip of the day from the Veteran Podcasters panel: "Never put the word daily or weekly in your podcast title."

Michael Dean, Matt Selznick, Steve Eley and Evo Terra are all talking podcasting. Other notes:

• There is a difference between podfading and opting not to continue your show or just taking a few months off because your content isn't that great. Seriously, if your content isn't that great, do your audience a favor and fade.
• Don't podcast if you enjoy sleep.
• Sound like you're having fun, and your audience will have fun.
• Do audio you can be proud of, whether it's a $20 setup or a $4,000 setup.
• A great recorder for under $200: the Zoom H2. (Sadly, the iRiver iFP is no longer in production)
• Be a part of the world at large, not just the podcasting community. Get out of the studio and into your community, whatever your topic might be.

Less good advice:

• "Server space is cheaper than a therapist." Please make sure your content is beneficial to your audience, not just to you.
• The words "synergy" and "takeaway." And "monetize" and "friendshipize." Silly boyz!

Notes from New Media Expo 2007

Ah, I'm in podcaster's heaven! I'm surrounded by communicators even geekier than I am. I've met Grammar Girl, ninjas, Buffy fans, burlesque dancers, husbands, Mac geeks and more. I even ran across the elusive Shel Holtz for a second and a half in the hall.

My own presentation on interviews went incredibly well. Thanks to Steve Eley of Escape Pod for playing my surprise mystery interview guest (even to me--I had NO IDEA who he would choose to make the subject of the seminar's impromptu interview!) and to Graydancer for helping him with his disguise and timing. That bit worked beautifully, even though I'm an idiot and didn't recognize the Invisible Man right away. Thank goodness I believe that the audience should participate and interact during a session--I let them take over and propose impromptu questions for our surprise guest, and they came up with some rip-roarin' good ones!

Thanks to everyone who showed up, and thanks to everyone who participated by interviewing our surprise guest and by asking questions after the talk. I learned as much from you as you did from me, I'm pretty darn sure.

And yes, I already have an idea about what I want to speak on next year. It will involve the words "monetization" and "who cares?" :-)

Interview techniques discussion

Do you have interview secrets? Flubs? Stuff you really want to know as a podcaster or businessperson about how to get the most out of an interview guest? Worst and Best interview stories?

As I gather info and bullet points (cringe!) for the Killer Interviews that ROCK talk for PME, please answer questions and participate in the discussion to form the session at the PME forum for Interviews that ROCK! You do have to register (for free) to participate in the discussion, but please do let me know what you'd like to hear most in the session. I've got a question posted already!

What can a podcast do for you?

Boy, am I glad that I didn't overschedule today as I normally do!

The past few weeks have been packed with client calls and emails, wrestling with the email program that I hate, downed wireless, preps for cons, client shoots, contracts flying about and podcaster's guilt. The hours seem to fly by, and a great deal of time seems to be spent trying to get things to work the way they were supposed to when I bought them. (Hey, not every product can be Apple and work right out of the box!)

I was delighted when Don Svehla of Exhibit City News gave me a call--he's in town for a few days, and he had a lunch slot free. We went to Klas, charming Czech haunt on the southwest side of Chicago, which was a fair explosion of gingerbread cut-outs, Czech crystal and even a hand of Al Capone's playing cards on display! If you're craving a wurst or some boiled meat, this is the place to come!

We had spoken nearly a year ago about an ECN podcast, and I'd even spoken to some colleagues about the best way to go about providing something listenable for clients, but we didn't quite have a good grip on it at the time.

Now, we do. Don had a great idea, and it's divinely simple and easy to implement immediately. I'm thrilled to be a part of it, and I'm already itching to get started. And I think this goes to show something--sometimes it's best not to embrace new technology the second you hear about it. Sometimes it takes a few months (or a year) to really figure out how the new technology will best serve your clients and your existing marketing. What we came up with last year was a great seed of an idea, but now, the implementation is clear and the benefit to customers is immediately obvious.

I hear Shel Holtz's "it depends" resonating in my ears--do you? Again, I never recommend flatly that all my clients podcast right away. But I do recommend that they begin to consider what they might be able to do with a podcast that they can't do with their existing marketing tools. If a magazine is already reaching its target market, what can a podcast add? (That is a great question to ask, BTW). If you already have a mailing list, what can a podcast add? (Another good one.) That is, what can a podcast do for your clients that they're not already getting from you?