Check Out More Podcasting Tips On O’Reilly Digital Media’s Site

I am proud to announce that I have been selected by O'Reilly Networks to blog for their great Digital Media Site. Check it out here:

http://www.oreillynet.com/digitalmedia/blog/

Since I will primarily cover podcasting, O'Reilly's choice to publish my blog posts recognizes the force that podcasting has become.

As an official O'Reilly Digital Media Weblogger, I'll write at least one blog entry per week. In addition to podcasting, I'll cover digital audio and anything else that I think is cool.

It's an honor to work with O'Reilly. The O'Reilly Digital Media Center is currently ranked by Alexa as the 1700th busiest website in the world. To put that in perspective, O'Reilly gets traffic that compares with big names like MacWorld Magazine, MSNBC.com and RollingStone.com. See you there!

One Minute How – To

I was a guest on George Smyth's great little podcast called the "One Minute How-To." Here's the link:

http://oneminutehowto.com/Shows/Shows.asp?ID=18

George's show is one to watch. He's making the most of the medium. He understands the audience and the unique format of the show, i.e., each guest is interviewed for one minute, is perfect for podcasting.

Thinking in new ways about old ideas is one of my favorite pass times and one of the reasons that I love podcasting. George has proven he can do it. How about you? What new twists can you put on the old ideas surrounding audio communications? How can you implement them in your podcast?

A Review Of Metric Halo ChannelStrip

Sometimes I’m really glad I use GarageBand. If you buy the Full Monte version of MetricHalo’s wonderful AU (Audio Unit) plugin, you have to plop down $350 in US funds. But if you use GarageBand 3.0, you can get a special version of ChannelStrip optimized for Garageband for $89. It only works when running Garageband.

The AU includes Delay, Expander/Gate, Compressor and EQ processing. This is a high-end professional quality tool that has the potential to dramatically improve the ‘basic’ proprietary plugin support offered by Apple.

I first downloaded the demo at the Metric Halo website. I ran the demo for ten days and decided it was worth the money so I paid, got my registration and tore into the program with zeal. The ChannelStrip for GarageBand package includes the GarageBand-specific AU plug-in, more than 115 general purpose ChannelStrip presets, and the GarageBand specific “channel strip file” presets to optimize both software instruments and entire mixes.

If you’re an experienced audio producer, you’ll love the full control software interface that gives you precise control over every aspect of the program. If you have no idea what all those knobs do, don’t worry. Metric Halo includes some amazing presets that will be helpful to musicians and podcasters alike. You can also use the presets to learn how to better shape your sound. Start with a preset and then play with the sliders. Look at and listen to how the AU modifies the sound and then save your own tweaked presets.

ChannelStrip for GarageBand includes online support only. Telephone support for this product is unbundled and will require purchase of a support incident. The company offers bug-fix and compatibility releases for free online.

This is a must have plug-in for any serious musician or podcaster using GarageBand 3.0. I consider it one of the most valuable assets in my audio production library.

Sample Movie From Podcasting With Garageband 3.0

My training series "Podcasting With GarageBand 3.0" available from lynda.com is already drawing considerable interest. I have posted a free movie from the series called "Planning Your Podcast." I decided to select this movie to show off the content since it will help anyone planning a podcast whether or not they use GarageBand as their podcasting platform. You can view the movie here:

bourneplan.mov

To learn more about this series visit lynda.com. I will be posting additional sample movies here over the next few weeks so check back often to get the free content. Also note that I will have a limited number of CD-ROMS containing all 4.75 hours of training available for sale here on the Podcastingtricks.com website. Stay tuned for more information.

Venture Business Models Surround Podcasting

Yodio is a Bellevue, Washington podcasting startup offering "podcasting for dummies." The service taps into several trends in the Web 2.0 arena. The company will rely on individuals to create travel podcasts and then offer them for sale through Yodio. The company — acting as a publisher — plans to take a percentage of the sale.

More and more startups are seeking and receiving venture funding. This is just one more sign that podcasting is here to stay.

Protect Your Investment

Here's a real Twilight Zone scenario for you…

You just spent four weeks getting that superstar to agree to be interviewed on your podcast. You make the call, record the interview, spend four hours in editing and your machine crashes. The star is too busy to call back and you've wasted a bunch of time.

It might be time to consider getting a dedicated computer just for podcasting. No e-mail, IM or chat. . . no games or other programs. Just the files and software you need to podcast. Think about it. What if your disk is corrupted by an error or a virus. Is your stuff backed up?

At the very least, consider investing in an external hard drive that you can use to backup all your podcasting assets and if possible, keep that in a separate place from your main computer. And in a best case scenario, try to dedicate one computer to nothing but audio recording and keep that computer backed up. You'll get better performance and piece of mind.

Update On Podcasting With GarageBand 3.0

Word of my new training title at lynda.com is hitting the streets today and next week I will post some free sample chapters here at podcastingtricks.com for anyone who wants to download them.

If you'd like to read the full press release, it's available here at: PRWEB.