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Join the Podcast Revolution with Your Phone
Amanda Watlington, Ph.D., A.P.R. Searching for Profit Charleston, MANov 30, 2006 - 5:15:00 PM
Interested in podcasting? Not sure where to begin? You probably have everything right at your desk. Here is what you need:
- A telephone
- Computer to access web pages and/or your blog
- A topic for your podcast
You don't need a special telephone. You can use your cell phone or even VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), if this suits you. You don't even have to be seated at your computer when you do your podcast. If you choose to go on the road and do your podcasts from your mobile phone, you will be "moblogging." You will only need to use your computer to sign up for the "podcatching" service that will capture the recording and make it playable on your web page or blog. You will need either a blog or a webpage so if you don't already have a blog, set one up for free on Blogger (http://www.blogger.com). With a blog, your podcast will be included in your RSS feed, which will make it easy to distribute. Setting up a blog will take just a few minutes, and most of the "podcatching" services integrate nicely with the major blogging platforms.
With all of the heavy equipment (your phone) in hand, here is what you will need to do to prepare the audio. Sign up for a podcatching service such as Hipcast (http://www.hipcast.com), AudBlog (http://www.audblog.com), Gcast (http://www.gcast.com) or Gabcast (http://www.gabcast.com). Be sure to read carefully what each service offers. My personal preference is Hipcast, because it lets me choose how I want to handle the final audio file. I can select which of my blogs/web pages that it will post to, and I can even rework the audio file if I want to -- but that is more advanced than a beginner needs.
Your podcatching service will give you a number to call and provide instructions for how to record and upload your podcast to your blog page. You don't need to record alone. You can even record conference calls if you or your friends and business associates have something you want to share in audio format. Now, you are just a phone call away from your first podcast!
Amanda Watlington, our New Media expert columnist, is the principal of Searching for Profit (www.searchingforprofit.com), Charleston, Massachusetts, a marketing consultancy that focuses on developing business results for clients adopting new marketing strategies.
