Telepod Is A New High-Quality Call Recording Service For Podcasters

Telepod LogoPodcasters are always looking for simple and reliable ways to record conference calls. Over the years, many solutions have been provided. Some are simple, software-based solutions. Others require multiple pieces of hardware and cables. Often, no matter what system has been employed, the audio quality of the end product can vary wildly, usually due to conditions that are outside of a podcaster’s control. The need for something better has given rise to a bevy of services promising to record calls with an easy, high-quality system.

The latest entrant to this field to make podcasting news is Telepod. The service is currently in an invitation-only beta. On its website, Telepod lists its features as:

  • 48Khz, 300kbps crystal-clear audio that sounds like you’re in the same room.
  • Record their side, your side, or both. Save the recordings as WAV, AIFF, OGG, or MP3.
  • Connect any mic to your computer and you’re set. USB mics, webcams, fancy audio interfaces, all will work with Telepod.
  • Connect across city, across the country, across the hall. Have a remote session with anyone who has a good internet connection.
  • Nothing to install, no plugins. Connect, listen and record using only your web browser. It’s as simple as clicking a link.
  • Your links, your sounds, your recordings, all encrypted and out of harm’s way.

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Women in Podcasting: Interview with Christy from Nerd Out Loud

Nerd Out Loud podcast logo podcasting newsChristy is one of the hosts of the Nerd Out Loud podcast. As you may have guessed from the name of the show, it is a podcast where you can nerd out with the hosts about whatever topics you like to nerd out about. Nerd Out Loud has been podcasting news about space, current events, and glimpses into their day-to-day lives. It is also the first podcast to have its own “drone strikes”!

When did you first start podcasting? What have you been doing in podcasting between then and now?
I started listening to podcasts in Feb of 2009 (The Adam Carolla show). In July I was introduced to a local (Seattle) show, TBTL with a very large listener community. We call ourselves the Tens and have lots of meetups. In 2012 most of my friend group was made-up of Tens. Around November of 2012 my friend and I were both crushing on people that were terrible choices for us and we decided to start a podcast about sex, love, pop culture, sports and everything in between. It was called What Are We Doing after 23 episodes we stopped being friends and the podcast. The producer of WAWD and I began dating and he wanted to a show so that is how Nerd Out Loud was born. We have a small loyal audience and regular guests whom we call Friends of the Show.

What inspired you to become a podcaster?
I love the podcast medium, and the community we have become a part of. I honestly thought no one would listen and it still baffles me that people actually care what we ramble on about in our living room.

What kinds of topics do you cover on Nerd Out Loud?
Anything and everything. The premise was supposed to be interviewing people about what they are passionate about. However we get so much feedback that our listeners (we call them Nerds) would rather hear just us talking. This week we will be talking about gun control as there are two firearm initiatives up for vote in Washington and we are both pretty passionate about the topic. Just as important we will be discussing Halloween candy and conducted a poll online.

What words of wisdom do you have for women who are thinking about starting a podcast?
The best advice I got was when I started I had a very hard time listening to my voice and refused to wear headphones, and wouldn’t listen to the first few episodes. A fellow podcaster told me that I need to just get over it and listen for audio issues and content. The advice I like to give is to have funny or provocative titles because those always get the most downloads. Lastly my motto is: Pod Like No One is Listening.

A Podcaster’s Response To Chris Brogan – PCN Show 006

SociaChris Brogan - podcasting newsl media maven Chris Brogan recently made some podcasting news when he published a blog post called “Dear Podcaster.” In that post, Chris gave some advice to podcasters based on his own experiences in being interviewed on many podcasts. I decided to take a look at this advice and provide some thoughts of my own.

Links mentioned during the podcast:

Chris Brogan: Dear Podcaster

Podcaster News on Twitter

My Twitter profile

Original image from Shawn Collins on Flickr, used under Creative Commons license.

Stitcher Acquired By Deezer

Stitcher RadioPodcast-consumtion app Stitcher has been acquired by European streaming-music service Deezer. From the Deezer blog:

Deezer has acquired award winning radio app Stitcher to provide access to the best in entertainment and talk radio – including NPR, This American Life, Freakonomics, Wall Street Journal, WTF with Marc Maron, Savage Lovecast, BBC, CBC, RTÉ and more.

Stitcher is the leading on-demand internet radio service that features news, entertainment, comedy and sports radio. By giving you access to 35,000 radio shows in addition to 35 million songs, Deezer will bring you the talk as well as the tune.

Next year Stitcher will be integrated into Deezer, so you’ll be able to experience your favourite talk shows and podcasts whenever, wherever. We’ll also make sure to recommend shows that we know you’ll like, helping you to discover more gems like Nerdist, The Moth or Slate.com’s Culture Gabfest.

Stitcher sent two e-mails today in regards to the acquisition. One to listeners and one to partners (Sittcher refers to all podcasters that have provided shows to their directory as “partners”). Both e-mails say pretty much the same things. From the partner e-mail:

Today, we’re pleased to announce we’ve been acquired by Deezer, the first truly worldwide digital music streaming service available in over 180 countries, with 16 million monthly active users. Deezer loves audio as much as we do and strongly believes in our mission to deliver a world class listening experience.

First things first: Stitcher isn’t going anywhere. We will continue to support and improve the app, and your listeners will still be able to hear your show on Stitcher the way they always have. Additionally, it is our goal to help you reach audiences not just on Stitcher, but around the globe as we work with Deezer to introduce spoken audio into their products. We’ll continue to provide you with timely updates as we work on new features and integrations.

Together with Deezer, Stitcher will be able to accelerate the growth of our platform and the audience for your shows. We are dedicated to continuing to work hard to build an industry standard set of tools for our content partners and create the best listening experience in the world.

It looks like little will change in the short term for podcasters who are distributing thru Stitcher. It’s too early to say what this acquisition will mean for the future of Stitcher as a podcasting platform. Presumably, Stitcher will eventually be rolled into Deezer to expand Deezer’s functionality as a streaming-media player.

This acquisition is similar to another transaction that made podcasting news earlier this year, when Apple purchased Swell. But unlike with that deal, no specific terms of the Stitcher acquisition have been made public.

Women in Podcasting: Interview with Lorewalker Mazz’lu

Lorewalkers-Roundtable-Logo-Podcasting-NewsLorewalker Mazz’lu is the woman who started the Lorewalker’s Roundtable podcast. It is a podcast that focuses on the World of Warcraft game and the lore that goes along with it. There are plenty of World of Warcraft players who are podcasting news about upcoming changes in the game. Lorewalker’s Roundtable is different because it is for those who are interested in roleplaying in World of Warcraft.

When did you start podcasting? What’s your experience in podcasting from then until now?
I started back in August of 2013. When I started off, I honestly had no clue what I was doing, the show was very rough and quite horrible to listen to, but luckily I worked through those issues and it sounds pretty good now.

What inspired you to become a podcaster?
A good friend Jules was doing a wonderful podcast and it looked so fun and easy and I wanted to do it too. I felt that it was a good way to get my thoughts out there.

What made you want to make Lorewalker’s Roundtable one that is for World of Warcraft roleplayers?
When we started the show, there wasn’t a lot out there for Roleplayers to go to for questions or networking. I wanted to fill that gap in a bit.

What words of wisdom do you have for women who want get involved with podcasting?
Honestly, just dive on in. Don’t wade into that pool slowly, jump into the deep end. Learn as you go, don’t be afraid to make mistakes, learn from them. We all start off sounding like crap, just go for it. You WILL get better. As long as you are having fun, that’s the important thing.

Speaker Requirements for NMX 2015 Announced

NMX LogoDave Jackson, head of the podcasting track for the 2015 New Media Expo, has released his requirements for those who are interested in making a podcasting-related presentation at the conference.

Dave has broken these requirements down into several different sections. His first requirement is to know your audience:

It always starts with your target audience. We have people who have never recorded a podcast, and we have those who are approaching 10 years of podcasting. Your presentation very rarely will appeal to both sides of that fence. I would prefer a deeper dive on few subjects (with plenty of take always) then to go shallow on a larger number of topics.

Dave then reinforces that the podcasting track is about podcasting, and not things like streaming radio stations. Next, he would like your presentation to be focused. He’s not a fan of, as he puts it, “winging it:”

I see a lot of “Winging it” (especially with panels). In the case of panels it is like those group project in schools where everyone assumes the other people are going to do the work (and then nobody does). When I was on a panel with Daniel J. Lewis and Ray Ortega we met a number of times to first organize our content, and then determine who would deliver what. We timed ourselves so we had an idea if we had enough (or too much) content.

He also states in this section that he will work closely with presenters to make sure their content stays focused and on track but that he’s not going to “tell you” what to present. Also, if you presented at the last NMX, don’t bring the same presentation this time. Dave would like to see new things instead of repeat performances.

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Women in Podcasting: Interview with Xia – PCN Show 005

Screen Shot 2014-10-14 at 7.21.39 PMEpisode Five of the Podcaster News Show was hosted by me, Jen Thorpe. In this episode, I bring you more news about women in podcasting. This episode features Xia, co-host of The Sundering podcast.

She is also involved with World of Podcasts. The second World of Podcasts event will take place in November of 2014.

Links mentioned in this episode:
The Sundering
World of Podcasts
@PodcastingNews

Spreaker Studio App Now Available For Android

Spreaker LogoThere’s always been a noticeable lack of podcast production tools for Android users compared to iOS. But podcast hosting/live-streaming company Spreaker is working to change that with the release of its Spreaker Studio app for Android. From the Spreaker blog:

We’ve punched up our app to include everything you’ve wanted – the ability to add songs and sound effects while you go live, toggle the microphone, and more so that you can take over the entire production of your own podcast or radio show.

Push REC at the top and choose to go live or record and then publish later. Make sure to adjust the microphone and switch it to ON to keep it on the entire time your broadcast, or hold down Push to Talk to only record vocals when you need to. Want to play songs? Tap on Add New Song to start pulling songs from your device, and set them on the decks. Play as you go, or choose Auto DJ to let the playlist run on its own. And don’t forget to tap on any of the sound effects on the right to add extra flair to your content.

When going live, you’ll get a chance to set up your track’s info before you go on the air. When recording offline, your track will instead be placed in your Drafts collection as soon as you choose to publish it.

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Blubrry Asks All Users To Reset Their Passwords

Blubrry LogoOver the weekend, podcast-services provider Blubrry sent an e-mail to all users requesting that they change their passwords. From the Blubrry blog:

To ensure customers’ trust and security on Blubrry.com, we are requiring all Blubrry.com users to change their passwords.

We learned earlier this week that the Blubrry Podcasting Community was the victim of a hacking intrusion. Please be assured that we make every effort to keep our sites secure, but, like everyone who has a presence on the Internet, we are not immune from such attacks. Your security and your confidence in Blubrry is important to us. This is why we wanted to be upfront and let you know that was an anomaly and we’re taking necessary measures to ensure it is unlikely to happen again.

At this time we have no evidence that anyone’s password has been compromised.
However we are aware that this is a possibility so we are reaching out to you to change your passwords. This is especially important if you use the same password for multiple sites on the Internet.

Blubrry also posted some details about the nature of the intrusion and how they’ve responded:

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Livestream Mobile App Now Works with GoPro

Livestream LogoVideo-streaming company Livestream has added a new feature to its mobile producer app. Now, not only can the app use a mobile device’s built-in camera to capture video, but it can also wirelessly stream video from GoPro Hero cameras. From the Livestream blog:

Today, we’re proud to announce the latest update to the Livestream app for iOS. This update includes an exciting new feature that allows you to broadcast live using your GoPro Hero® as a camera source! For the first time ever, you can share your GoPro video live with millions of people worldwide. All you need is your GoPro camera and the Livestream app for iOS!

This is a pretty cool development, as it really extends the potential of producing live video streams. Previously, GoPro cameras had some limited functionality on iOS thru the GoPro app. But that app is used mostly for just controlling the camera and accessing files. With the Livestream update, it’ll now be possible to actually use a GoPro as a video source. This makes me wonder if support for other camera manufacturers will be added in the future, thus opening up the potential for even greater mobile video functionality.

And while I suspect most podcasters would use this new option from the comfort of their home studios, Livestream has teamed up with some extreme-sports enthusiasts to show off the mobile GoPro/Livestream rig in action.