During this episode of Talkshoe Support LIVE!, we discussed a little known and little used feature called the Instant Call Feature! This is a feature that any host can use to start a show, yes, even an unscheduled one, direct from your phone WITHOUT having to log into a computer and setup the show!

The following video explains how to use this feature. If you have any questions, let us know at support@talkshoe.com and we will be happy to assist you!

Popularity: 1% [?]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Over the past few years, podcasters for both the PC and Mac worlds have had a similar dilemma…how to inject audio into your live podcasts and shows. Many methods have been tried, and likewise, many have failed. To date, the only tried and true method for doing this was to purchase a hardware mixer and then be saddled down with a sometimes huge upfront expense and of course, maintenance, upkeep and eventually, replacement.

Nowadays, using a VOIP or SIP connection for your live podcasts and shows, is becoming the norm. Along with this connection, you have the opportunity to inject audio easily using a product called Vemotion from http://www.voiceemotion.com

Using Skype or XLite (or other SIP/VOIP client) along with Vemotion, enables you to play audio files easily. What this doesn’t enable you to do, is to play your audio, say from Talkshoe, back across another connection, such as uStream. So, when your viewers are listening to your audio on uStream, they will only hear you and no one else or your audio files that you are playing. So, this brings in yet another challenge for the podcaster…how to make THIS happen!

Like I said earlier, the best way was to spend a lot of money and purchase a hardware mixer. This isn’t practical for a lot of hobbyists, so a low cost, software solution had to be found. Introducing The Virtual Audio Cable, a low cost software solution that enables you to simulate a hardware mixer and redirect your audio to other places such as uStream.

The Virtual Audio Cable is for PC only and gives you the capability to redirect your audio using “virtual” devices. Now, just a quick caveat here…this solution is not for the technically challenged. That being said, I am adding a short how-to video on setting this software up and this should allow almost anyone to setup and start using this software in little to no time at all!

As many of you already know, I have had the hardware mixer for quite some time now. This has worked out quite nicely for me, except for when I need to go remote with my laptop and then, well, I can’t be dragging a bunch of extra hardware with me everywhere I go…can I?!? No! So, this is why I began looking into this solution real hard once again. I purchased the Virtual Audio Cable (just runs $29.00 USD) and was able to download it and install it and once the configuration was in place, I was able to start using it! In fact, I “debuted” the use of this solution on my show last night and it worked out great! Here’s a few tips for you to get you going…

To begin with, you can download a free trial version of the Virtual Audio Cable (and I recommend you do this BEFORE buying it) from http://software.muzychenko.net/vac409.zip …You can still use my instructions to use the free trial to make sure this works for you.

Once you have the trial software installed, there are two applications that you will be using, the Audio Repeater and the Virtual Audio Cable app. To begin, start the VAC app. You will need to setup at least one Virtual Cable. Here is a graphic showing you my setup right now:

As you can see in this picture, I have three virtual cables setup. You will have some limitations in the trial version, however, you only need one virtual cable to make this work.

Next, you need to run two applications of the Audio Repeater program. The reason for this is to redirect your audio through the newly created virtual cables. Here is my setup:

As you can see from the picture, I have my microphone on my PC going to Line 2 (a virtual audio cable. Yours may say Line 1) and on the second repeater, Line 2 going to my Speakers on my PC. Now, all audio is being redirected using the Virtual Audio Cable software. Next, click the Start buttons on each repeater program to start the virtual streams. Next, after you fire up uStream (or whatever program you are wanting to send your audio out to) make sure your audio source is your Virtual Audio Cable (for example, mine is Line 2) and then all audio will go to your redirected source. So, when you have people talking in the Talkshoe Chat Room or you are playing audio files using Vemotion, your other source will hear these as well!

I will post a video soon showing this entire process along with links where you can purchase this great product! Take my advice, download the trial version FIRST and then make sure it will work for your application! Watch for the video here soon!

Popularity: 1% [?]

During our premiere episode of Talkshoe Support Live!, we will discuss the various methods for connecting to the Talkshoe Service. Each week, we will discuss another feature or aspect of the Talkshoe Service and will bring the hosts and listeners of Talkshoe a variety of recorded training sessions that will last from 10 to 15 minutes. Immediately following the recorded training sessions, we will open the phone lines up for a Q&A session. All questions, suggestions and comments will be noted by the Talkshoe Support Staff and we will attempt to answer your support issues during each show.

The Talkshoe Support Live! shows will be held at Show ID 875 every Monday Night at 7:00pm EST. Hosted by support reps, Dr. Robert White and Josh Budde. The recorded training sessions will be available at http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/875 as well as playable here with each show notes post.

With regards to connecting to the Talkshoe Service, there are several methods available.

Land Line or Cell Phone by dialing into the (724)444-7444 number
Skype Out dialing into the (724)444-7444 number
Using Shoephone, XLite, SJPhone, Gizmo or other SIP client
Or just simply logging into the chatroom and interacting with the service by chat.

Listen to the recorded session in the player below to get the full details of how to use each of these methods.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Tonight, we will discuss the Basics of the Talkshoe Service. As many of you already know, I am a Support Rep for Talkshoe, so what we are talking about tonight will come, partially from, some of the requests that have come across the support lines.

To begin with, Talkshoe, as you already know, allows you to host and listen to, live, interactive podcasts. Some of you newer hosts may have questions pertaining to the service or how to do certain features, etc. We will attempt to answer all of your questions tonight, so feel free to chime in at anytime and ask, in case we miss something!

Now, to start off, the first thing you want to do, is to register for your free account at Talkshoe. This takes only a couple of minutes and like I said, it’s free! Once you have this done, you are ready to begin listening to shows or even host a show or shows of your own.

Next, let’s walk through the steps to setup a new show on Talkshoe.

To see a visual demonstration of this section of the show, please visit http://www.newmediapro.tv and click on Video On Demand.

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Earlier this week, I announced, by way of a blog post, of changes coming to the format of the show. Tonight, I will be implementing these changes. Even though they aren’t real big changes, they are changes none the less.

First off, for those of you that catch my videocasts each week, I am now streaming live (and recorded) on Mogulus instead of uStream.tv. I have revamped my live page at http://www.newmediapro.tv to reflect these changes to the video streaming.

Now, most of the show will remain as it was, such as the segment hosts will still come in an deliver their segments each week. The main change to the format is in the Main Topic area. I will choose a topic for the episode to discuss, however, the floor will remain open for anyone, and I stress anyone, that wants to come on and discuss other things, like how to use Talkshoe for example. This will allow the new hosts to Talkshoe to come in and to learn, like a hands on approach (thanks to the video) how to do the things they are wanting to learn how to do.

Anyway, the topic for tonight is What is REALLY important to your podcast. Now, since I am a Support Rep for Talkshoe, I see some really strange requests sometimes that are bugging people about the service or their shows, and so I have come up with a list of things that a podcaster should be looking at and not sweating the small stuff.

You can add to this list if you like, as there may be things that you feel is important to your podcast and I may have overlooked. This is NOT an all inclusive list!

Important things to a podcaster:
1. Make sure your equipment is working BEFORE you go live!
This is probably the most important item in the whole list. Now I know, better than anyone, that technical difficulties can happen after you press the Record button. However, it is extremely important that you mak sure your mic is working with your VOIP program (Shoephone, Gizmo, Skype, etc.) and that you know how to use the aformentioned VOIP program to log into Talkshoe to do your show. If you are using a landline or cell phone, again make sure your batteries are charged (like for a cordless phone or cell phone) and that you know the shortcut keys to use in case you need them. Remember, *2*1 to start and stop the recording, *8 to Raise Your Hand (For listeners) and *6 to mute and unmute.

2. Before you start the recording, and if you have someone else in the chat room with you, make sure your audio is functioning properly.
There is nothing worse than to go into your show and then find out that your mic was muted or turned off and that no one can hear you. If you are in doubt, then take an extra minute to double check BEFORE you start your show!

3. Decide how to handle hecklers during your show, BEFORE you begin!
Make sure you know how to mute the chat room users and how to mute the live phone in listeners. When you get that ever present podcrasher, and you will (we all do) be ready to mute them both in the chat and on the phone. To do this, as a host, simply click on the computer icon next to their name to mute/unmute their chatroom and click on the phone icon next to their name to mute/unmute their live conversations. And if you get someone that is being persistant in wanting to be unmuted, think twice unless you know the person and know that they aren’t wanting to disrupt your show.

4. If you are inviting someone in for an interview, make sure they know how to log into Talkshoe on the phone (at the very least) and that they have an account. This way your invited person isn’t coming in as a guest and you are trying to second guess yourself as to who or where they are.

5. After your show is finished, don’t rush right out and “hope” that the recording is there. It most likely won’t be. You may have to wait for up to 30 minutes or more before your recorded show will appear. Also, the recording will not appear until AFTER you have terminated the show and exited your chat room.

6. Going along with number 5, don’t look for the stats to be immediately updated. They most likely won’t be. The stats are usually updated daily and they aren’t updated on the fly. If you want to check your stats, that’s ok, but don’t make this a priority and then generate a support ticket when they aren’t there 10 seconds after your show if finished!! Wait until the next day and check them, if 24 hours have passed and they still haven’t updated, then go to GetSatisfaction and let Talkshoe know. There may be an issue with the Stats Server that needs to be looked at.

7. When scheduling your future shows, take a few minutes to learn how to use this interface. It’s not too complicated and once you learn it, you can schedule a show within a few minutes and send out your invites and be done. Again, don’t just jump out and generate a ticket because you don’t want to take a few minutes to learn how to do it right!

8. Speaking of scheduled shows, once you schedule a future show, make sure you actually show up to do the show! When listeners see you are live and they go into the chatroom and no one is there, especially the host, then they will tend to quickly migrate to another show and not want to come back. Now, I understand that sometimes life can get in the way, so take a second to go out and reschedule the show to another day or time and in this way, you will be able to retain more listeners when you can’t make it.

9. Take some time to update your profiles.
When you are hosting a show, make sure your show profile is updated with a proper name and description. This will help new listeners decide whether or not they want to come in and check you out. If your profile is incomplete or blank, they will most likely keep moving along and won’t stop in. Your personal profile is especially important to make sure you have it updated. There is nothing more frustrating to a host to click on a listeners name to find nothing, just a blank profile. Also, include your proper age. If you are a teenager or pre-teen trying to act like an adult, believe me, adults can tell the difference. The more honest you are in your profile, the more respect you will earn from your fellow hosts and listeners.

10. If you don’t know how to do something, just ask someone!
Whether you are just starting out or have been doing this for a while, you may see something new or hear of something new that you would like to incorporate into your podcast. If you can’t figure it out, don’t get upset just because someone else if making it work, ask someone. Usually the host that is using the new technology will be more than happy to explain what they are doing and how they are doing it. If all else fails, come onto a show like Podcaster Training or submit a support ticket to Talkshoe and ask how to do this. You might be surprised of the amount of information you will get back in return!

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Popularity: 8% [?]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Today, I received an e-mail asking why I chose Talkshoe over BlogTalkRadio for my live podcasting. So, before I responded back to this individual, I decided to check out BlogTalkRadio again so that I could give a decent response to this inquiry.

As most of you already know, I started with Talkshoe more than two years ago. For those not in the know, Talkshoe is a free service that offers live, interactive podcasting, hosting and chat rooms for hosts that want to produce a live podcast with a live audience. BlogTalkRadio does this as well, but more on them later.

When I started podcasting live with Talkshoe, they were a fledgling company and were still having some teething pains with some of the technology. A lot can be overlooked, especially when the service is free of charge! Over time, Talkshoe has grown out of most of their technical issues and have added a lot of great features over the past couple of years.

BlogTalkRadio offers many of the features that Talkshoe offers, however, they have some restrictions that some hosts, myself included, just can’t deal with.

Here is a list of Pros and Cons of both services as I see them. This list is strictly my observations and do not represent the opinions of these individual services.

Talkshoe

1. Free Account Signup for member and host
2. Free hosting and storage of MP3 recordings
3. Unlimited storage for archives of MP3 recordings
4. Up to 5 Hour limit on recording of podcasts
5. No restrictions on time slots to host podcasts
6. Up to 250 people on the chatroom and phone bridge
7. Dedicated phone number and show ID for calling into show
8. No restrictions on advertising placed within your podcasts
9. 15 minute “pre-show” window before starting your podcast
10. Manual or automatic recording option for your podcast
11. Ability to mute chatroom and phone bridge callers
12. Ability to manually start and terminate podcasts
13. Ability to use SIP/VOIP or Phone to call into show
14. No ad revenue sharing for the hosts
15. Ability to schedule future shows for any day or time
16. Easy to use interface on show page
17. Ability to continue streaming before and after recording
18. Recordings available within 30 minutes of termination of show
19. Ability to not use a PC to host a live podcast

BlogTalkRadio

1. Free account signup for member and host
2. Free hosting and storage of MP3 recordings
3. Unlimited storage for archive of MP3 recordings
4. Up to 2 hours of podcast recording
5. No apparent restrictions now on time slots to host podcasts
6. Up to 5 people on the phone bridge at one time
7. Not sure on limit of chat room visitors
8. Dedicated phone number and ID for calling into show
9. Certain restrictions for advertising on your podcasts
10. Voluntary Ad Revenue Sharing program
11. No “pre-show” window for starting your live podcast
12. Automatic start and terminate of your podcast recording
13. Ability to continue streaming after recording is completed
14. Ability to mute chatroom and phone bridge callers
15. No ability to manual start or terminate podcast recordings
16. Ability to use VOIP or phone to call in, no SIP support
17. No ability to go over preset time limit for show recording
18. Ability to schedule future shows up to 30 days in advance
19. Not a user friendly interface for scheduling or show maintenance
20. Unsure as to how long before recordings show up after termination
21. Ability to not use a PC to host a podcast, but not recommended

This list is not complete. Only from the observation point of a show host. As you can see, BlogTalkRadio has more restrictions in place that makes it more difficult for an individual to host a show. BlogTalkRadio has some features that Talkshoe doesn’t, such as the ad revenue sharing program. Talkshoe, at one time, had such a program. However, with no advertising restrictions, Talkshoe allows the host to producing their own advertising dollars.

My response to the individual about why I chose Talkshoe over BlogTalkRadio was honest. In my opinion, Talkshoe still has the better service going between the two. Granted, Talkshoe has it’s share of technical issues still, and the test podcast I ran on BlogTalkRadio today, went smooth and the recording was clear and usable. Again, there will always be differences, but for the money (remember, Talkshoe is still a free service) I will be staying with Talkshoe for the time being and will hope that the technical issues get ironed out soon.

Popularity: 9% [?]

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A few years ago, people having conversations and meetings while they are in different locations means having the conversation over the phone. But today, people can communicate, even conduct live meetings and presentation even if they are half a world away. All you need is a computer, internet access and a downloaded web-based application to communicate effectively over the internet. This technology is called web conferencing.

So, what exactly is web conferencing?

With web conferencing, participants can share audio, video, content or combination of these in real time. This enables people to attend meetings or presentations when they can’t attend them physically. Attendees or participants of web conferencing can have a downloaded application on their computer or they can just access a website or URL to join the group having the meeting or presentation.

Web conferencing enables us to share presentations, documents, videos and multimedia applications. Is also enables us to save money on the costs associated with high bandwidth. You can meet whenever from wherever, as long as you have a personal computer/ laptop and internet access.

Since web conferencing allows users to have business meetings, trainings and conduct presentations and demonstration, it is a requirement that attendees have high-speed internet connection in all user and web sites. Presiding over a session can be passed among the users or the attendees, so that another user can act as the presenter or demonstrator.

Some web conferencing systems or providers include several features in their systems like texting, VoIP (voice over internet protocol) and full- motion video. Audio streaming was also added as an additional feature since web conferencing started in the early 1990s. With audio streaming, attendees can listen to the audio as they view the presentations.

Messaging or sending messages also became more efficient. The leaders can entertain live questions or conduct answer sessions. Attendees can send private messages to the leader, who can answer trough private messages or may publish the message so the entire team or attendees can view the message.

There are attendance rosters which allow the leader and the attendees to view who is currently involved in the conference. There is also a tool for recording. Recording allows for the synching voice and visuals into a permanent record which can be shared with others on a later date.

Whiteboard also allows the leader or the attendees to highlight items in the presentation or can be used to make notes. There are also tools for polls and surveys, allowing the leader to ask questions with multiple choices addressed to the attendees.

Screen sharing is also another feature of web conferencing. With screen sharing or desktop sharing participants can view the screen or whatever is on the screen of the leader. Some screen sharing applications also allow remote desktop control which means participants can take control or manipulate the leader’s desktop or screen. This feature is seldom used.

Of course, there are web conferencing vendors or providers that provide these services of different basis. Some web conferencing providers charge a nominal monthly fee while others may charge for every time the software was used.

Readying up your computer or your personal stuff to be used with web conferencing is really not that complicated. New computers normally would have installed software in them that is necessary for web conferencing, if none, the installation process is relatively easy to accomplish.

Web conferencing provides a great way and venue for short and straightforward business related exchanges like meetings, demonstrations, orientation or even product roll-outs. Web conferencing made it possible for us to have non- physical communication for business meetings and affairs. Technology certainly makes life easier.

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Popularity: 6% [?]