Podcaster Training: The Phases of Podcasting - Phase 1 The Basics

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This week we will start another Podcasting 101 Series called “The Phases of Podcasting”. There are 6 phases that we will cover over the next several weeks that will take you from the very basics of podcasting to the more advanced levels, including video and screencasting.

So, let’s get started! This is Phase 1 - The Basics of Podcasting. In this phase of training, we will discuss podcasting from it’s very base form, pre-recorded and hosted. When podcasting first began in the early 2000’s, it was primarily used as a means for small radio stations to send out portions of their programming to listeners. In this way, if a listener was out of range for a station, they could still enjoy some of the programming that station offered.

The term Podcast has always offered several explanations for how it came to be. Originally, the term was said to have come from the words iPod and Broadcast, however, some trademark issues said otherwise. On February 5, 2005, Shae Spencer Management LLC of Fairport, New York filed a trademark application to register the word PODCAST for an ‘online prerecorded radio program over the internet’. On September 9, 2005, the United States Patent and Trademark Office rejected the application. The rejection notice cited Wikipedia’s podcast entry as describing the history of the term.

As of September 19, 2005, known trademarks that capitalize on podcast include: Podcast Realty, GuidePod, PodGizmo, Pod-Casting, MyPod, Podvertiser, Podango, ePodcast, PodCabin, Podcaster, PodShop, PodKitchen, Podgram, GodPod and Podcast.

As of February 2007, there have been 24 attempts to register trademarks containing the word “PODCAST” in United States, but only “PODCAST READY” from Podcast Ready, Inc. was approved.

On September 26, 2006, it was reported that Apple Computer started to crack down on businesses using the acronym ‘POD,’ standing for “Portable on Demand,” in product and company names. Apple sent a cease-and-desist order that week to Podcast Ready, which markets an application known as myPodder. Lawyers for Apple contended allegedly that the term “pod” has been used by the public to refer to Apple’s music player so extensively that it falls under Apple’s trademark cover. It was speculated that such activity was part of a bigger campaign for Apple to expand the scope of its existing iPod trademark, which included trademarking “IPODCAST,” “IPOD,” and “POD.” On November 16, 2006, Apple Trademark Department returned a letter claiming Apple does not object to third party usage of “podcast” to refer to podcasting services and that Apple does not license the term(s).

This slightly changed the term Podcast from iPod Broadcast to Personal On Demand Broadcast.

The first podcasts were pre-recorded and then sent to a podcast host or direct to the listener or subscriber. There were a variety of means used to pre-record the podcast, including tape recorders, and of course, editing was a long, not very easy, method that had to be completed before the actual podcast could go out. Most times, an unedited podcast would go out, if the podcaster felt it was quality enough to be heard as it was recorded, or there wasn’t enough time to do proper editing.

The term podcaster was given to anyone who would produce a podcast. This term still goes on today for anyone who produces a podcast, whether pre-recorded or live.

The first podcasts produced were done on an “as time permitted” basis. Many podcasters simply didn’t have enough time to produce more than one or maybe two podcasts a month because of editing requirements of the time. Today, with the use of PC’s and editing software, podcasts can be produced on a daily, weekly or even monthly basis and editing only takes minutes, compared to the hours spent of days gone by.

Let’s look at pre-recording a podcast. To pre-record a podcast, you will need some basic equipment including a PC with a soundcard, a microphone, a set of headphones or speakers, some basic audio software and of course, the basic knowledge of how these all plugin and work together.

I’m not going to go into a lot of details in this section, as most PC’s setup the same way on their soundcards. Generically speaking, your PC soundcard will have, at the very least, a mic input and a speaker output port. These ports will be identified by either graphics indicating what they are or actual verbage. Locate the proper ports for you microphone and headphones (or speakers) and plug these items in. Don’t worry about testing just yet, we will get to that after the software is installed.

Speaking of software, I recommend a free audio editing software package called Audacity that will allow you to not only record your podcasts, but will give you the capability of editing and adding effects to your podcasts too. You can download a copy of this free software from http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/.

Now, I’m going to assume you already know how to download and install software, so I won’t go into any details about doing that here. If you need help with that, please let me know, and I will be happy to assist you in that area. Go ahead and download and install the Audacity software. Once installed, it will use defaults of setting to your PC’s soundcard for the mic and speakers. You can verify these settings by clicking on EDIT and then PREFERENCES.

Once you have the Audacity up and running, you will find a red dot button at the top on toolbar. This is your record button. Have your mic in front of you and then click on the record button. You will see a line progressing across the screen and as you speak into the mic, you should see a waveform appear and silences will appear as a flat line. Record a few seconds of voice, make sure you see the waveform and then click on the Stop button (looks like a yellow square) and then click the Play button (looks like a green triangle on it’s side, just like your VCR) and you should hear your voice playing back. If everything is hooked up correctly and operational, you should now have the means of recording a podcast. If no sound is heard, you need to make sure you have everything plugged into the proper ports. This should be the first place to begin troubleshooting audio issues like this.

When recording a podcast, you may want to script it out so that you have some material to read from or at least refer to while recording. This will help cut down on your editing time after the fact. To begin, shut down Audacity and restart it again to begin a fresh session. When you are ready, click the record button and record your podcast. When finished, click the Stop button and play it back to listen to your recording. Make notes for yourself of where editing needs to be done and listen to the podcast clear though. This will help you to get used to the sound of your voice on the recording and help you to become, “your own worst critic”.

Ok, that wraps it up for this week. We will continue next week with more of The Basics of Podcasting. Like I said in an earlier post, some of these phases will take multiple weeks to complete.

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