MWGblog

Am I the only guy who has a copy of the first Daily Source Code? August 13th 2004. I wonder if my friend Adam Curry is cool with me posting it? Adam?

Professional Podcasting #1: The Microphone Matters. This should come as no surprise, but your mic(s) are not a place to skimp. When recording audio or video everything starts with the mic. Microphones sound different and you certainly “get what you pay for” in the quality department. However, that doesn’t mean you need to spend an arm and a leg on microphones. The key is to ensure that you purchase microphones appropriate for their intended task. Obviously, the MP3 compression process will degrade your audio, this is why you want the best source file possible. Compression will only exacerbate issues if the source is poorly recorded. With an audio podcast, the quality of your audio is the main determinant of the listener’s first impression. Here is what we use:

Studio Mic: Electro-Voice RE20. This mic is standard equipment in almost every broadcast studio you might visit. It is a dynamic cardioid microphone with an internal pop filter and is a consistent performer. It works well off-axis and is an all around champ. We use these both in my home studio and at our GrapeRadio.com studios. I also have a number of clients who have installed these in their offices. Engineers who spend all day focusing on their station’s broadcast audio keep installing RE20s. There is a reason, trust them. You might also consider the RE-27N/D. If the cost of the Electro-Voice mics is a bit high, take a look at the Shure SM7B. [Podcast Academy article on the SM7B]

Stick Mic: Sennheiser MD-46. For man-on-the-street style interviews, the MD-46 is my go-to microphone. Originally designed for NBC reporters at the Olympics, this unidirectional dynamic microphone breaks all the rules and ends up being an extremely effective mic for avoiding “plosives” and “handling noise.” I like that it is longer than many other mics making it easy to accommodate a mic flag with plenty of room to spare. These are the mics we have used for the last 3 years to produce the official Disneyland Resort Podcast. At Disneyland there is a lot of background noise from the park’s attractions and guests, the MD-46 lets just the right amount of ambient atmosphere sound in while maintaing solid recording of the interview subject(s). We have also used these mics successfully table mounted for roundtable interviews. Another mic we occasionally use is the Electro-Voice RE-50N/D-B (a favorite of Paul Figgiani). When budget is a concern, these mics can serve double duty in your home studio.

Lavaliere Mic: Audio Technica AT-898. If you are going to do sit-down style long format interviews, covering live stage events or doing video, add some lavaliere mics to your kit. There are a lot of choices for lavaliere mics, but I’m pleased with my pair of Audio Technica AT-898s. I have connectors for my various digital recorders and wireless transmitter packs. Another mic to consider is the Countryman E6i (an over-the-ear headset model.) Leo Laporte often endorses these. While I do not own one, they always sound good and I’ve thought of picking one up to take with me to events where I am speaking. Always nice to ensure that at least you sound good.

An investment in quality mics will pay dividends. Good sound is always a plus and the mics I have suggested will deliver. Bottom line, podcasting professionals need a kit of microphones to ensure they have the proper “tool” for the project. Hiring a Podcasting Consultant? Easy test: ask them for a list of their microphones and recording equipment. [Digital recorders will be covered in a future post.]

Additional resources: Transom.org - great info on Mics. Books: Podcast Solutions and Podcast Academy: The Business Podcasting Book

Here’s a 50 minute video of a presentation I gave to a private group of radio and television executives in Minneapolis back in August, 2006. (Yes, I went to First Avenue & 7th St. entry.) It was a good group, focused on how to best play in the “new media” world. While it is almost 18 months old, I am struck by how current it still is. (Podcasters still have some work to do.) I think I might use it as my “demo reel” when people ask about having me speak.

iPod version (121.4 MB)

I’ve had a Twitter account for well over a year, however, up until the last month or so, I’ve not utilized it properly; I’ve only used it for events I’ve attended. February is my MWGblog Twitter month. I’ve ramped up during the last week, customized my Twitter page and purchased the indispensable Twitterrific app. I am ready to go. Bonus is that we are expecting Geoghegan boy #3 any minute so there is even a bit of suspense. If you think I should follow you, let me know. You can follow me here.

A few years ago there was a good deal of talk about Britney vs. Christina. While I heard the chatter, I was a bit too old to care and never knew all the details. I can’t believe I am commenting on this, but tonight as I was doing some computer work, Christina Aguilera: Back to Basics Tour started playing in the background. My Eye TV was tuned to VH1. I don’t know much about Christina, but I am willing to name her the victor. Why? She has an amazing voice, is still singing, performing, employing musicians and dancers and generally speaking, is not a total lunatic. Britney? Not so much. Luckily, out of the two, she is the one I interviewed a few times.

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A fun Saturday afternoon with the boys and Orson.

Many people hold themselves out as podcasting consultants or have decided to spend the extra time and effort to produce a “professional” level podcast. What should one look for in a consultant and what skills and knowledge are required for a “professional” level podcast? Answering these questions are the goal of this series.

Podcasting is an amazing medium that allows anyone to communicate their passions, thoughts and expertise to the world. The fact that the barrier to entry is almost non-existent is a big part of the allure and its power. I think everyone should give podcasting a try. If it is an enthusiast podcast, when starting out focus on the content. However, when you are selling your services as a podcast consultant, or are in pursuit of the best audio/video available for your production there are some tried and true lessons you need to know.

After publishing two books [1 & 2], producing the live Podcast Academy events, 3 years of consulting, creating the 2006 Podcast of The Year winner and giving a good number of presentations on the subject, I get emails all the time asking about the equipment we use, work flow, techniques, contracts etc. I’ve decided to post some of the “Professional Podcast” lessons I’ve gathered over the last few years. I’ll post the answers to the most common questions I receive. Whether you are a podcast consultant, obsessed about quality or are just looking to hire someone to produce your organization’s podcast, I hope you’ll find these posts helpful. My goal is simple: make these short and to the point. These posts will be easy to understand and provide a good starting point for your further investigation.

First post will go up Monday and I’ll link back to this as an overview of the series.

As covered in a press release today and picked up by Paul Colligan, we have sold the rights to run episodes of GrapeRadio on American Airlines starting next month. An assortment of episodes will be available on the in-flight personal entertainment media players in both Business and First Class.

This was a long time coming and we are extremely pleased about our new partnership with America Airlines. I think this is another great example of the kinds of opportunities overlooked by most “podcasters.” As I mentioned in my PNME 2007 presentation, you are more than just a podcaster. Once you stop focusing solely on your RSS feed and start to see yourself as a Digital Media Entrepreneur all sorts of other opportunities for building your brand, your distribution and monetization appear. Congratulations to my partners at GrapeRadio, great job! You can read the press release here.

I was surprised, it took less than 10 minutes to update the sites to be iPhone friendly. I installed the WordPress iWPhone Theme on our blog sites which will automatically spawn when the iPhone Safari browser hits them. [Sample] I also uploaded custom iPhone “WebClip Bookmark” icons for each site. So now you can add, MWGblog, Podcast Academy, Reel Reviews and GigaVox to your iPhone Home Screen. (Yes I know about the error on MWGblog but it does not affect performance and will be fixed with the new blog design.) Obviously, I am experimenting with various iphone solutions. I previously set up Reel Reviews to easily play podcasts via the iPhone. Try it out, it works great. Fun to essentially stream a podcast via the iPhone.

I am curious to see what works out to be the best solution. My thought is a hybrid between the two. Your iPhone Safari browser hits the site and a page with two buttons appears. “Here to read the blog? Here to listen to the podcast?” One spawns the iWPhone blog theme, the other spawns Chris Penn’s terrific Podcaster iPhone Kit. Anyone know how to do that?

I’m still not exactly sure what I will do with them, but I received my set of Nitrozac portraits late last week. I ended up with an assortment of various sized Avatars both as just a “head” and also “head & body,” each with a number of expressions. I also got some larger files suitable for print. Of the two head shots I use: Tie-Guy and Sweater-Guy, I figured Sweater-Guy was the way to go. I’m happy with the results and I received terrific service from them. (You can click the image to enlarge.)

We need to have the current WordPress theme we use on a number of sites, updated and built as a stand-alone theme. Currently it is a highly customized version of K2 that we built with support for 3 columns. All the neat features in K2 are awesome for a single blog where you can constantly fiddle with the design, but deployed on multiple sites it is turning into a waste of time, processing power and generally make updating a P-I-T-A.

I need a blog design that mostly mimics our current one but is a base stand-alone theme that we can easily deploy on our sites. We want to go a bit wider on the “content” column but the others will remain the same, as they are specific sizes for sponsors etc. Basically we are looking to simplify our pages by having a true theme and not something as “integrated” as our custom K2. Also, the current custom development is almost 2 years old now, time to refresh. Of course we have a few ideas we’d like to “borrow” from other sites etc. to bring everything up-to-date. This is a project we are ready to move on immediately. If you can help or have a referral to offer please contact me. Thanks!

You can see some current deployments here:

mwgblog.com, graperadio.com, podcastacademy.com, and reelreviewsradio.com

While she was in town for NAMM, I had the pleasure of catching up with my friend Elisabeth Lewin from Podcasting News. We were able to meet at Disneyland when she and her husband Jim got a break from their reporting at the NAMM show. I’d never met Jim before and we had a great lunch with lots of “podcasting talk.” It is always fun to catch up with her and just more proof that there are some great people at the core of podcasting.

If you are not old enough to recognize these two gentlemen then you are in for a treat with a documentary series running on PBS: Pioneers of Television. (If you do know who they are, then I know you’ll want to see it anyway.) Today I caught the the “variety show” segment, one of 4 total. It is fun to see the people who helped to shape television when it was an emerging medium.

Today, with 200+ channels in our house, there is always “something” on, but even some television is timeless and classic. Need proof? While these two Carol Burnett sketches came towards the end of the variety show era, I remember the first time I saw them as a kid. It is always great when the other seasoned comedians are struggling to control their laughter: dentists and elephants of course…

Most know I love film. I have a particular affinity for Kurosawa Samurai classics. Tonight I got curious about Kendo, the Japanese martial art of fencing (swords). I found an interesting National Geographic documentary focusing on a life-long Kendo practitioner making his 5th attempt at 8 Dan (Hachi-Dan). What is amazing is that less than 1% of those who even attempt it each year succeed. They hold two tests a year in Japan with 700-1400 applicants each; all of whom are already revered practitioners, most having been competition champions and/or instructors. (Also they have been 7 Dan (Nanadan) for at least 8 years.) It is refreshing to see something where the standards have not been “eased” over time, either you succeed or not. No appeals. There are only 200-300 living Hachi-Dans in the world out of 8,000,000 active Kendo practitioners. Talk about elite! The testing process is interesting to watch. What seems physical at first, turns out to be an exhausting mental exercise. [Via YouTube]

Awesome slides that will help anyone to be an iPhone expert.