#24 - Podcast, Podcasts

Today we look at podcasts and podcasting.

If these words are new to you, let me back up - a 'podcast' is a non-music audio or video recording that is distributed over the internet. The distribution is what makes a podcast unique. It's also what makes a podcast powerful - interested listeners or watchers can receive updates through RSS when new content is posted.

Variety

Podcasts come in many shapes and sizes. They can be brief (like those you've seen in Learning 2.0) or considerably longer (interviews, panel discussions, radio shows, etc). They can be slickly produced radio broadcasts or home-grown recordings done with a $30 microphone and free software.

And, despite the name, you don't need an iPod or a MP3 player to listen or watch - all you need is a computer with headphones or speakers.

Find a podcast

iTunes, free software from Apple, is the directory finding service most commonly associated with podcasts. It's tied to their online store but everything is free - you can browse by topic or search by keyword. iTunes also includes an amazing capacity for actually downloading the content you subscribe to automatically. And anyone can submit content for inclusion.

But what if you don't use iTunes? There are plenty of other options.

Podcast.net is one - try a search on 'library.'

Podcastalley.com is another - try a search on 'library 2.0.'

Yahoo Podcasts is still another - try a search on something that has nothing to do with libraries.

Many podcast creators also post links to their podcasts on their websites. The NPR radio show Radio Open Source, for example, just featured an excellent program on web 2.0 tagging, classification schemes, and libraries. I missed the show but downloaded and listened to the podcast.

Be the podcaster

The first thing I noticed when producing the first Learning 2.0 podcast was how remarkably simple it all was - all I needed was a microphone, some free editing software (I've been using Audacity), and a site to host the finished product (I've been using Twango).

Don't believe me? Or do you want to learn more? Take a look at these links solely if you are interested - a Beginner's guide to Podcasts & Creating Podcasts or a 'How to podcast tutorial.'

But now to the doing - today's Discovery Exercise.

1. Take a look at one of the three podcast directories:
   - Podcast.net
   - Podcastalley.com
   - Yahoo Podcasts
   
2. Take a look around
   
3. Locate some interesting library-related podcasts
   
4. Add the RSS feed for the one you like best to your Bloglines account

Did you see any library podcast ideas that would be worth trying at KCLS?

Next up - ebooks, yes, KCLS ebooks...

#23 - Video In The Post-Betamax World

We've come a long way since the Betamax-VHS format wars of the 1980s. It's no longer about the shape of your video cassette. No, it's about how easily you can copy your files to your computer and save them to your preferred video sharing site.

Online video has improved by leaps and bounds in the last few years - there's more of it, for sure, but the quality is much much higher (bigger screen sizes, fewer pauses when watching). This change is largely about improvements in technology - digital video cameras are much more common (including on standard digitial cameras and cell phones), highspeed internet access is much more common (important for watching videos but also for uploading them to the internet), video editing software has become far less expensive (often free online or pre-installed on newly purchased computers), and online storage (server space) has dropped dramatically in price.

That last one, the price of online storage, has been revolutionary - without it, companies like YouTube would not be able to host videos from millions of users without charging them a dime.

The (relative) ease of creating video, uploading it to the web, and storing it in an easy-to-access environment is starting to impact the way our society gets its news. Think about it - anyone with a digital camera can capture a news event on their cell phone video camera and save it to a YouTube account. Anyone remember the 2006 senate race in Virginia? The popular incumbent running for re-election started to lose steam after a YouTube video showed him insulting his oponent's campaign worker. He later lost the election. The video spread like wildfire in large part because of YouTube's video embedding function.

Video Embedding

All YouTube videos offer code that allow you to embed a video (it doesn't have to be yours - you can embed any video you find on YouTube) on your website or blog. Look below where I've embedded an outstanding video on Web 2.0 - click on the play icon to start it up, press pause to make it stop.

Content

Now, please understand that it's not just serious stuff - reporting, politics, web 2.0. There's thousands and thousands of fun, even useless, videos on YouTube for your watching pleasure. Me, I'm big on nostalgia and found some old commercials (Life Cereal, Colgate Toothpaste), local history (anyone remember the Kingdome?), and a bit of classic Seattle hip-hop before I even ate breakfast today.

But what about public libraries?

How about showcasing the opening of new facilities? Or storytimes? Author interviews? There are many opportunities to use video out there. There's even library dominoes...

Social Networking?

YouTube employs many of the social networking components we've seen in previous Learning 2.0 lessons - all videos are tagged (you can't upload a video without adding at least one) and video watchers are able to comment on what they've watched (they can type their comments or leave a video response). YouTube has also introduced an online video editor which is perfect for making simple edits to cell phone videos.

Google. Again.

YouTube is no longer the fresh-faced start-up company it was two years ago - they become part of the Google empire in 2006. Google paid $1.6 billion (yes, billion) for the company. You see, even Google slips up sometimes - they got into the video game too late and decided it was smarter business to acquire their main competitor.

Enough about Google, though. Time to search YouTube.

Discovery Exercise.

1. Look for something that interests you on YouTube - spend a few minutes (and we mean just a few - it can get addictive) exploring.
   
2. Write a blog posting about your experience - what's your take on YouTube? Do you see any other possible uses for YouTube at KCLS?
   
3. Optional Last Step: try embedding the video you found in your blog. You'll need to use Blogger's Edit HTML tab when pasting this code.

That's it for today, everyone, thanks for reading and doing.

Next up - podcasts...