Presenters: Timothy Keirnan, Design Critique: Products for People; Sarah Swierenga, Michigan State U., Usability & Accessibility Center

Types of Podcasts

1. Academic: distributes classroom recordings or recordings made outside class from lesson plans.
2. Marketing: corporate services, case studies, methods, testimonials, events.
3. Infotainment: shares user-centered concepts and applications in a fun, non-commercial way.
4. Hobby: promotes anything people like to enjoy outside of work.

Why Embrace Podcasting?

- Quick learning: Alternative to radio, audiobooks, books, etc. for exploring and learning content.
- Niche focus: Everyday people talk about topics that would not be popular enough for radio.
- Immediacy: Listeners gain access to new material quickly, rather than waiting for email/hardcopy.
- Versatile: Accommodates casual/curious as well as deep learners.
- Some better than none: Busy professionals who can't stop to write articles can be heard.
- Function as blogs that busy folks can listen to (multitasking).

Phases of Production

1- Pre-Production—Generate ideas, find topics/guests, scripted/unscripted, outline.
2- Recording—Prepare environment, microphones, equipment; test hardware/software.
3- Post-Production—Edit; compress; generate audio file; album art; RSS feed.
4- Creating Show Notes—Write description; hyperlinks to sources; proofread.
5- Publishing— Upload file to host server.

Technical Aspects

- Given a modern computer, you can start a podcast with $100 worth of equipment.
- Beware bandwidth charges for serving MP3 files: consider flat fee hosting services, $5-10/month.
- Newbie mistake: speak too closely/too loudly into a mic and overdrive it with plosives (b, p, k, t).
- Newbie mistake: vary distance between mouth and mic so that volume varies; use headphones/clip-ons.
- Critical: Properly complete metadata tags (artist, file title, file duration, author, art).
- Consistency: ensure episodes line up sequentially, begin each file with same wording/numbering convention.
- Keep audio’s volume consistent via dynamic compression, as hardware (mic plugs into compressor which plugs into recorder) and software (post-production). 
- Keep hiss low via proper gain structures; start with a clean, strong signal and maintain it throughout audio chain.
- Keep topics uniformly focused; don't mix content in one broadcast.
- Always outline: introduction, talking points, discussion questions, wrap-up plan.
- Interviewing: Greetings, small talk, and ask permission to be recorded while the recorder is running.

Accessibility in Podcasting: Transcripts

- Primary means of making podcasts available to all is to provide an accessible transcript.
- Type the transcript and provide a link to an accessible HTML page.
- Shortcut: use Dragon NaturallySpeaking to make the transcript.
- For video podcasts, include captioning (dialogue plus other relevant sounds) in addition to a transcript.

Emerging Trends in Podcasting

- Commercial sites will add podcasts to advertising strategies to highlight products.
- Organizations will use podcasts to disseminate information to staff, partners, constituents, the press, public.
- Staff (technical, sales, marketing) will listen to briefings, product positioning, product information, pricing news.
- Professionals can increase awareness of field and value-add to product design.
- Asynchronicity: Listeners will expect to listen when/where is convenient (portable media players)
- Will become standard to disseminate educational materials (courses, lectures, presentations).

Resources

- http://podcast411.com/page5.html, http://podcast411.com/free/
- "Podcast Solutions: The Complete Guide to Podcasting" by Michael Geoghegan and Dan Klass.
- http://hightech.redwoods.edu/accessibility/podcasting/
- Johnson, Tom. (2007, January). “Podcasting: A new layer of communication”. STC Intercom, 12-16.