So perhaps you have gotten interested in podcasting. And then, you discover that there is quite a few podcasts out there...so where can you go to read up, and even sample some of the podcasts that are out there?
Well, I've found a couple of good sites worth checking out, that will get you started on your podcasting journey:
First up, The New, New Podcast Review.
The New, New Podcast Review, offers in their words quite simply, "fair and balanced podcast reviews". This much is true, and each review does a good job of fleshing out what the podcast is about, critiquing everything from overall audio quality, to the actual speech and delivery of the host of the podcast. They seem to be quite fixated on whether or not the podcast host offers up track length information for the songs that are played. I am not quite sure what that is all about, but hey, it's all good. I would be interested to know if the site author has broadcast experience, because one of the cool things about his reviews, is that he focuses heavily on production values and other radio-related things that many listeners don't often seem to care about. I am sure there are plenty of folks that do care about such things, you just don't typically encounter them writing for a site like this one, so the fact that the reviews include that kind of stuff, is very cool.
If you are checking out any podcasts at all, The New, New Podcast Review is definitely one to bookmark to help you keep up with what is new out there on the podcast front.
The other site that I have come across while going through my web stats, is Feedcast.com, which takes the "Last 100 Podcasts" list which you can find at Ipodder.org, and dresses it up a bit graphically, and adds in a lot of info that is automatically displayed, including show info, and for the coolest part, if you click on the speaker graphic on the right hand side of each listing, you can actually listen to the podcast to find out quickly if it is something that you will be interested in subscribing to.
One of the other important features that I found, is that Feedcast.com is fully searchable, which means you can type in a show name, and find out exactly how much content has been published for that feed in the past 24 hours. Very helpful stuff if you don't want to subscribe to a podcasting-happy feed that is going to load up your hard drive.
Article comments
1 - Mads Kristiansen
Hi Matt,
There are a couple of things I would like to add to your excellent article. You mention, that feedcast.com takes "the last 100 podcasts" from "audio.weblogs.com" and dresses them up graphically.
It may seem so, because the infos are so alike at times, but Feedcast doesn't actually read anything from audio.weblogs.com. It aggregates the enclosures itself from the original feeds by examining them once in a while and thus has its own set of source feeds from where the enclosures are discovered. No other aggregator feeds are used.
Small detail, that I just wanted to clear up.. :)
As the socalled author of feedcast, I would also like to mention to everyone, that it is still under development, so although it is usable, there may be features that are not working as they should or perhaps not documented properly on the site. Everyone is ofcourse welcome to use the site and have a look. Comments are also very welcome in my mailbox.. ;)
Thanks, Mads Kristiansen
2 - Matt Wardlaw
right on -
I stand corrected....and for the record, your site rocks!
Thanks for offering input into how it all works!
3 - TDavid
Podcasting is great for people who already have audio content and for those who make money from audio content to promote their work.
4 - kinrowan
Hey Matt, thanks for the press.
Two things I wanted to mention; I am a little fixated on the track length thing; in one of my earlier posts on podcastreviews.net I explain why:
in other words, since I have control over the podcast, if I want to skip over a track I don't care for it would be a lot easier to do if I know how far to go. Maybe I do go a little over-board on that.
In answer to your other question, I have a very minimal amount of college broadcast experience. That helps me know what it's like behind a mic, but I don't think that informs my reviews as much as my theatrical audio work and the fact that I know what I like to hear.
Thanks again for the mention, and for something to think about....
kinrowan
5 - Ray Edwards
Matt,
Great post! I look foward to checking out your podcast - and am so gratified that something I wrote "clicked" for you and got you moving. That was the intent. Keep podcasting, and welcome aboard.