Tag: Todd Cochrane

Categories
podcast

588- Words do matter — especially PODCAST

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we deliver to you the information that was espoused in Podnews.net newsletters that concerned the etymology of the word “Podcast.” And, of course, since this is not an absolute authority, and I, myself, have also some thoughts and concerns from my own experience within the podosphere since 2005.

In an earlier article delivered in the Podnews.net newsletter, James Cridland gives his views on the history of the world PODCAST. And in this post, there are links and audio players that prove the point of origin of both the eclosure and the word podcast in his experience.

“As Eric Nuzum discusses elsewhere here, the first audio referenced by an enclosure tag in an RSS feed was published on Jan 20, 2001; with Dave Winer placing one song by the Grateful Dead into a post, as a test.

Christopher Lydon is generally held to have the published the first ever original piece of audio referenced by an enclosure tag in an RSS feed on Jul 9, 2003…The first program to automatically grab an audio show like this, originally called RSS2iPod, was launched by Adam Curry on Oct 12, 2003…But these audio shows did not have a name. Yet.”

Next, there is a viewpoint of the word “Podcasting” that takes place, with examples and sound bytes, as well. And it all boiled down to Dave Winer, credited with creating the podcast episode (along with our Podfather, Adam Curry):

The term “is credited by Dave Winer, speaking in Guy Kawasaki’s podcast Remarkable People:

Adam had the initial idea for why this made sense at that particular point in time. This was the first meeting that we had, and this goes back to 2000.

He saw me do it, and then he started doing it. And then, I don’t know, by September of 2004, there were twenty or thirty people doing [it], and we needed a name. And so we had a mail list and I asked people, “What should we call this?” And a guy named Dannie Gregoire said, just call it “podcasting.”

And Adam and I were doing a podcast called Trade Secrets, and on that we discussed it. So let’s just go with podcasting, and that’s it.

Guy Kawasaki: That’s how podcasting got named?!

Dave Winer: What did you think? We hired some kind of a market research firm and they did a focus groups and shit? Come on! That wasn’t how it worked!”

And then Cridland also records the words by Adam Curry about the naming of the word. And a section of the post ends with the first mention of the term “podcast.” And so, the term caught on, as is stated: “The term was quickly taken up. Adam Curry mentioned podcasting on his blog for the first time on Sep 21 2004; Dave Winer blogged ‘what is podcasting?’ on Sep 24 2004, by Doc Searls, who blogged about podcasts on Sep 28 2004, and Dan Gillmor on Sep 28 2004.”

And then some of the earlier podcasters stated the term, as well, in the media: “As an example that the term was already well-embedded, Todd Cochrane posted the first “Geek News Central Podcast” on Oct 9 2004; and, on the same day, Rob Greenlee posted a comment announcing the new name on the Web Talk Radio Show website. Evo Terra followed on Oct 13, 2004.”

The post finally ends with the question of “who invented the term podcast?” And so, the final reply to this inquiry is delivered from the viewpoint of Mr. James Cridland: ”

“Ben Hammersley was the first to use the term in print, in a widely-read publication.

Dannie J Gregoire was the person to make the term popular in the community: and it’s very possible that without Gregoire’s use of the term in Sep 2004 – and its enthusiastic use by Adam Curry and Dave Winer – we’d be calling audio referenced by an enclosure tag in an RSS feed something quite different.”

In my own viewpoint, the term podcasting has meaning for us early podcasters as requiring an RSS feed and adhering to certain criteria — which, today, is being “bastardized” by the younger set that want to define it in their own way, just because they wish to do so.

But for myself, the older meaning and etymology will stand as the true types for the terms. Why? Well, for me, you can pry the term “podcast” from my cold, dead fingers (reciting a pun from an old saying by Charlton Heston of the NRA).

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2021, Matrix Solutions Corporation and michaelandmike.com and James Cridland of podnews.net. All rights reserved.

Categories
podcast

614- BONUS- Preparing for PM Evolutions 2022 conference

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter show, we deliver our plans to check out Podcast Movement Evolutions 2022 conference in Los Angeles, California, in late March, 2022.

Now, I have been an advocate and supporter or the conference since its inception in 2014 by Hall-of-Fame podcaster, Gary Leland. In addition to contributing to the crowdfunding program, I was also a speaker at this Dallas event.

In addition, the last podcast conference in which I did present was in Las Vegas in 2015 at the New Media Expo. My session was about podcasting for service groups and non-profit organizations.

But for this event, I will be taking a page out of the book of Dave Jackson of The School of Podcasting. What he did in 2013 at the New Media Expo was NOT purchase a ticket to be an attendee or presenter; rather, he stood outside the exhibit hall and other areas where you needed a badge to enter. In those days, there were more events that were open to everyone — such as keynotes, speed-interviews, etc., where anyone could attend. So Dave told me in an interview during that show in Las Vegas that he got more out of being a non-presenter or a non-attendee in person. He said that having all this free time enabled him to meet people in the hall and outside the exhibit hall and renew older relationships or generate new relationships, as well as do interviews and get the “buzz” from the attendees that did want to meet him in person.

So I will do the same at this conference, to the extent that it is limited. I do plan to meet with Dave Jackson, as I had scheduled to be with him ahead of time — and we can do an interview in the lobby or the restaurant or coffee shop of the hotel. I hope to schedule the same with pundits such as Paul Colligan, Todd Cochrane, Rob Greenlee, Rob Walch, Gordon Firemark and others. We shall see.

But of all the interviews that I perform, we hope to deliver to you interesting trends and directions of podcasting, as well as new innovations that will be interesting for you, my audience.

Thus, stay tuned for upcoming bonus episodes that will deliver to you the information from the Podcast Movement Evolutions 2022 conference.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2022, Matrix Solutions Corporation and PodcastMovement.com and michaelandmike.com. All rights reserved.

Categories
podcast

494- Suggestions from real pros for the first 2 minutes of your episodes

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we discuss the 10 tips suggested by the blubrry network for the first 2 minutes of your episodes in your show.

In this post called “10 tips for the first 2 minutes of your podcast,” we get some pointers and best practices from real podcast professionals from the blubrry network, headed by Todd Cochrane.

Now, I have known Todd since 2006, and I am a big fan of his work, his business and his contributions to podcasting. He was one of the very first podcasters and the author of the first book on podcasting. His business includes the rawvoice, the blubrry network (from which this post came) and Geek News Central.

Here, he delivers WHY the intro to a podcast episode in your show is so important for success:  “The first two minutes of your podcast are the most important of your show. And even if you don’t agree with that statement, you surely agree that your podcast must quickly achieve the following goals based on these suggestions:”  (and then he gives a short list of three suggestions from experience of the VALUE that your intro can have:

  • Confirm your branding and the ‘feel’ of your show.
  • Let your audience know what to expect with your episode.
  • Make your audience want to listen more.

and then he delivers the ten tips, which you will also get with some detailed explanations. These tips can be a good cornerstone or checklist for your own episodes, because many podcasters can tell you that they are very much like BEST PRACTICES:

  1. Limit your intro music.
  2. Use a brief prerecorded intro to convey the ‘feel’ of your show.
  3. Let your audience hear your voice as soon as possible.
  4. If you use a ‘highlight’ clip from your episode as part of your intro, make it brief.
  5. Share key takeaways that your audience can expect from listening to the episode.
  6. Greet the listener.
  7. Segue into the main part of your show.
  8. Seek the best audio quality.
  9. Validate that your first 120 seconds is connecting with your audience through podcast analytics and statistics.
  10. Do not alter the first 120 seconds frequently. Your listeners like consistency: Do not drastically change the format of the beginning of your show once you have created something both you and your audience like.

I know that I have used many of these practices for improving the quality of my shows and their episodes. And it has paid off big-time for me with more audience growth and downloads. In fact, other shows have taken it upon them to repurpose my episodes, and thus it provided a win-win result.

I hope that your shows can be improved by including some of these best-practices into your podcasts.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2020, Matrix Solutions Corporation and blubrry network. All rights reserved.

Categories
podcast

474- Argument about “just start” a Podcast — just DO NOT do it

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we present the argument from Ben Krueger that the common advice given to “just start” may be the wrong advice for having a successful podcast show. After we see why he says what he does, we bring in my own personal opinion from my own history when I “just got started” into podcasting. And we end up with a thought leader in the Podosphere, Paul Colligan of The Podcast Report show who is a mentor himself and helps aspiring podcasters to be prepared to monetize their shows and business podcasts.

First, let us see what Ben Krueger had stated in his email:

““Just get started!”

That’s the advice I hear all the time given to budding podcasters.


Yes, it’s true that taking action is better than getting stuck in the planning process. But I still think it gets more credit than it deserves.

Why?

First, “just get started” puts you at a huge disadvantage.

These days, everyone can launch their own show. Sometimes with a budget as low as $200.

So if you start a podcast without a clear attack plan…

And you’re just doing it for the sake of “getting your feet wet”…

You end up producing a messy, low-quality show that won’t stand out in the crowded podcasting world.

Second, every episode is important.

“Just get started” may get you published quickly…but it won’t get you recommended.

If your podcast doesn’t leave a good impression, it’ll probably end up in a prospect’s “do not listen” list.

Now, I’m not saying this to discourage you from producing your show.

But the reality is, podcasting isn’t for everyone!

And by doing the upfront work of planning, you’ll save time and potential heartaches in the future.

That’s why I want to invite you to a free consultation call, so we can see if podcasting is the right strategy for your business.”

As you will hear in this brief episode, I myself had “just started” my own podcast show in 2006, but I had the help of tools and courses that were available to me:

  • The School of Podcasting was a program from Dave Jackson that helped me to learn how to prepare a good show and episodes;
  • I took the course from Jason Van Orden about Learn How to Podcast (no longer available) online and understood the rudimentary steps of producing a podcast episode — especially since there were almost no tools available at the time in the podosphere;
  • I leaned from the books available — from Podcasting for Dummies to the book by Todd Cochrane and another from Mr. Geohegen and others.

But thought leaders like Paul Colligan of The Podcast Report now mentors others and consults with them to prepare a podcast that will have business success for monetization.

And I think that the 2 groups of podcasters — one that podcasts as a hobby or for passion, and the other that podcasts for business with monetization in mind — are what podcasters have to determine when they are sprayed with the words “just get started” by many of the podcasting instructors today.

For you, as a podcaster, which is the path you will follow? And which is the mentorship program that you will pursue and follow if you are serious about becoming a professional podcaster who will successfully monetize the podcast within your business?

And this email letter gives food for thought to the aspiring podcaster for a decision that should be made today.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2020, Matrix Solutions Corporation and Ben Krueger. All rights reserved.

Categories
podcast

432- Getting sponsors for Podcasting

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we review some suggestions delivered by several well-known podcasters on the theme of acquiring sponsors for your podcast. These suggestions were delivered in a July, 2020, post specified in email delivered to a distributiion list that was titled “4 Industry Experts On How to Get Podcast Sponsors.” And it was published by Captivate.com. From M. Asquith, “Captivate is a Rebel Base Media platform, made with  in the U.K.”

The four experts cited are:

This article was quite long in its explanation. But for me, hearing from both Evo Terra and Daniel J Lewis interested me. Not only are they long-time associates of mine and podcasters whom I have interviewed over the past 15 years, but their sincerity and their expertise is always acclaimed by myself in promoting them forward.

In fact, sponsorship is a theme for monetization for which they have been dealing and in which they have much experience. But I feel that they left out a key expert in this field from the Blubrry network, namely Todd Cochrane of the New Media Show podcast.

So this article answers the key question of  “How do you get Podcast Sponsors for your show?” as presented to these four individuals.

And so here is a brief list of their responses (and there are a few paragraphs to explain each response):

1. Do… Think About If Podcast Sponsorship Is Right For You
2. Don’t… Forget About Your Listeners
3. Do… Use Social Proof
4. Don’t… Be Afraid To Ask!
5. Do… Prepare Your Podcast Sponsorship Pitch
[Note:  according to the author, this may sound easy, and he says it actually is — with the following items being addressed in his “sponsor kit” — and his final message:
6. Putting It All Together: How to Find
Podcast Sponsors:
“Getting there is simple: keep it relevant, keep it entertaining, and most of all:
be confident that your podcast and audience is valuable.”

Now, Mark Asquith has been a relevant speaker at the Podcast Movement conferences and different events — and I myself saw his presentation at the last inbound Podcast Movement 2020 Evolutions conference. He has had success in gaining notoriety.

And so, from some of the top experts with experience in the field of sponsorship, I would suggest that you consume the content of this post. And if your marketing and sales plans for your business contain the element of sponsorship for monetizing your podcasts, then this may be a gem waiting for your to create elements in your checklist for marketing tactics. And we hope that this will help your podcast become more successful.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2020, Matrix Solutions Corporation and Mark Asquith . All rights reserved.

Categories
podcast

430- Podcasting lessons learned after 100 episodes

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we focus on an article published recently and authored by Denis Murphy called “11 Lessons from 100 Podcast Episodes.”

The link given in the published article is from medium.com.

Now, as I have been podcasting for 15 years, this article interested me, for I have had over 18 podcast shows, and I have had nearly 2 million downloads. And I wanted to compare my lessons learned after some shows that have had nearly 500 episodes (both The Struggling Entrepreneur, as well as my current podcast show of The Podcast Reporter with over 430 episodes).

From this article, the 11 lessons learned are:

  1. Solo episodes;
  2. Reach out to potential guests more than once;
  3. Most podcasts don’t even get past 7 episodes;
  4. Most days you feel like an idiot;
  5. You reconnect with your real voice;
  6. Discover your why;
  7. Other people’s assumptions and experiences;
  8. Treat social media as an ongoing experiment;
  9. You don’t need to earn money;
  10. You don’t need a huge audience;
  11. A personal development vehicle.

And each section contains a couple of paragraphs to explain just what the learned lessons provided as value to Denis Murphy as the podcaster.

However, for this podcaster, I have learned many lessons since 2006 — and I keep on learning lessons from my involvement and participation in the podosphere still today, as well as the future.

In addition, I do take issue from my own experience with several of Murphy’s lessons — in particular, numbers 4, 9 and 10. That is,

  • I have NEVER felt like an idiot when I participated as a podcaster in the podosphere;
  • I have tried to earn money, and I have been successful as a profitable podcaster; and
  • I have grown a large audience in the podosphere, with nearly 2 million downloads.

Thus, if you, as a new or aspiring podcaster, want to get some best practices, I would go to another source to see what some of them are, in spite of Mr. Murphy’s personal lessons learned. One such podcast show that gives a lot of best practices is The Audacity to Podcast from Daniel J Lewis; another is The School of Podcasting from Dave Jackson; and one last show is The New Media Show from Todd Cochrane.

As a matter of fact, this episode is giving me some impetus to prepare and publish an episode in this show for the future that will deliver to my audience MY OWN lessons learned after over 1500 podcast episodes from all my shows. Keep watching this space for any news of this upcoming episode later this year.

We do suggest that you read this article from Mr.  Muphy, but then we recommend that you put together YOUR OWN list of lessons which you yourself have learned in any number of key podcast episodes which can mean value and importance to you.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2020, Matrix Solutions Corporation . All rights reserved.

Categories
podcast

416- Podcasting update with Adam Curry

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode of podcastreporter.com, we focus on a podcast show called NewMediaShow.com with Todd Cochrane — because this show had a special guest, Adam Curry of No Agenda.”

In a recent episode of Todd Cochrane’s podcast show, Adam Curry took a deeper dive into the beginnings of the podosphere and his own role in creating the function of podcasting, along with Dave Winer. So notably called “The Podfather,” Adam recounts his beginnings from 2000 in the world of audio and his frustration at having to wait enormous times for any download over the internet of either audio or video.

In addition, Adam also goes into what a successful podcast show requires (e.g., number one rule is that “you have to have an outstanding product”), and especially the business model for donations that his show, No Agenda, uses from his “producers” (that’s right — no listeners, for all are producers), as well as other resources. This model is called the “Value for Value” model — and Adam spends a great deal of time in the interview to explain this, with some examples.

You can listen to the entire interview in episode number 384 of newmediashow.com (where you can choose to download it or listen to it). I highly encourage you to consume this content, as it brings about the story of podcasting and how it got started, as well as a look into the psyche and personality of Adam Curry — then and now.

We hope that you find this episode in NewMediaShow.com of great value for yourself, as a podcaster in this space.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2020, Matrix Solutions Corporation and NewMediaShow.com and Todd Cochrane. All rights reserved.

Categories
podcast

413- Decision for applying to The Podcast Academy

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we discuss the issue of joining the new organization, The Podcast Academy. The membership application process opened up on 22June2020 online.

I myself have sent an application to join this group recently. And I did this because of a suggestion from Daniel J Lewis of The Audacity to Podcast — for he said that this would be a good way to improve not only our own podcast shows, but also the podosphere. I also received info from Todd Cochrane of The New Media Show with his suggestion to join this group, even though his initial response contained some reservations.

So I did what I had to do, even though I was leery of a requirement to send two letters of reference from other podcasters or people of interest. This mandate, along with the fee ($50 USD for a short time, but then $100 USD after that per year) made me a bit skeptical, as I have seen multiple organizations within the past 15 years create their site, readily request applications to join and even ask for money — but then fail to deliver and finally go out of business thereafter.

I had been listening to a trusted podcast show with both Todd Cochrane and Rob Greenlee of The New Media Show podcast. And since I noticed that Rob Greenlee had been selected to be the leader of this organization, I guess that I would put my trust in him for his leadership and possible correct steering of this group to help the podosphere — including the Indie podcasters.

I would suggest that you may want to consume the episode dated 27May2020 from NewMediaShow.com to understand the nature of this group and get Rob’s comments. In this episode, some of the details that explain the organization and membership are discussed openly.

So, I hope that you consider this group for either joining or supporting — and see if they will do good for the podosphere. And if you do decide to join, I hope that your podcast can be more successful with the hints, tips, and all benefits of this organization.

Thank you for your consideration and attention.

Copyright (c) 2020, Matrix Solutions Corporation and Rob Greenlee and Todd Cochrane and Daniel J Lewis. All rights reserved.

Categories
podcast

349- Possible future of podcasting and big money

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

This episode of PodcastReporter.com focuses on the theme that the podosphere and podcasting may be under the strength of big money, as the latter will try to steer the podcasting platform away from a level playing field — and thus, control the podosphere.

This topic set afire a storm of frustration and resentment from the keynote address by Hernan Lopez of Wondery at the recent Podcast Movement 2020 conference in Los Angeles.

As you will hear in this brief audio episode, a keynote speaker who knows not his audience and is not aware of awards that have been going on for 15 years in the podosphere may have lost his credibility.

So the argument continues from the hobbyist podcasters and indie podcasters that the playing field must remain level (as professed by Todd Cochrane in his New Media Show podcast), and that these “johnny-come-lately media with money” should not decide on the direction and gatekeeping of the podosphere.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2020, Matrix Solutions Corporation. All rights reserved.