Podcastplayer.org news

I just heard on Paul Figgiani’s excellent The Point Podcast (even though he forgot to put the link in the show notes) about a new bit of podcast creation software. The list of features seems impressive:

# Record segments of your show, whenever you want, in any order you want.
# Import music, sound effects, and spoken-word recordings.
# Rearrange and edit show content for professional results.
# Preview your show on your PC or your portable audio player.
# Publish your show to a website, with full RSS, XML and HTML support.

This seems especially nice, as it matches fairly well with my preferred “non-linear” editing approach, rather than the record-in-real-time route taken by the likes of MixCast Live

My main problem with this is the general lack of information on the web site. I can’t tell if it can do things like ID3 tag manipulation and volume normalization across a whole podcast in one hit, both of which are vital features for a non-linear audio editor such as this. It’s also described as not just Windows-only, but WindowsXP-only, which means that my relatively old Windows 2000 system is no use.

Read more at Propaganda Podcasting Software

I love that there’s a steady stream of fresh ideas in podcasting. It’s cool to get glimpses into people’s lives, but sometimes a bit more structure is appropriate.

So I was glad to be pointed to The Slam Idol Podcast. It’s a poetry podcast, but with a twist. Not just stuff from one poet, but from anyone who sends in a recording. These poetry tracks are then bundled into groups (the first group featured six, with delightfully diverse styles and content, for example), and site visitors are encouraged to vote on the pieces. I guess the audience-voting is why it gets the slightly-specious “idol” in the title.

I’ve missed the first “slam", but I’m seriously thinking about submitting some of my poetry for a later battle. So if you see my name on the site some time, feel free to vote. Nudge, nudge :-)

Read more, listen, and vote at The Slam Idol Podcast.