Podcasting Experience

So I finally got round to hearing my first set of Podcasts. These were courtesy of Augie De Blick (it’s funny by Augie’s been on the default WP theme for like over a year now, first time I’ve seen him do anything to that site is add that logo of his, which btw is a pretty recent addition, something to be said about simplicity).

I’ve been reading his column Pipeline for the better part of what 4 years now, or something stupid like that. I don’t generally agree with the man, some things I think he’s completely wrong about, but I like his professionalism of delivering his column every week, sometimes more than once a week. He reminds me of the things to look out for in the coming week, and every once in a while he’ll turn my attention to something I hadn’t heard about that I might find interesting.

So seeing as he’s been doing the Podcasting rounds since January. With the addition of podcasting integrated in itunes, I thought that I’d give the man a shot and see what he’s got to say for himself, literally. I was actually pretty excited about the whole thing, since it’s like selective Internet radio about stuff that actually truly interest me. Soo off I went and downloaded the files via the excellent upgrade done to itunes now that has the option to include for Podcasts, and I was away.

The first thing that rubbed me the wrong way, well was Augie’s voice. Well no that’s harsh, it’s actually the delivery that really made me sit up and at times cringe. Augie dude I’m not saying this for any other reason but since you’re the only comic book podcaster with a bit of pedigree and cbr’s backing, you’ve got to expect assholes like me taking pot shots at you. So I’ll try and give a couple of points that I think would enhance the experience considerably.

• Talk faster. You seem to accentuate EVERY SINGLE WORD YOU SAY. I’m not sure if that’s actually how you speak in general, because I’m thinking you’re reading it and as such trying to get everything correct.
• The jokes feel a bit too forced. They might ’sound’ right on paper, but it’s all in the delivery. I’m not asking you to be Bill Hicks in your spontaneity however a little ad libbing wouldn’t go amiss. It would just come out a lot more natural than what you’re doing right now.
• Maybe add some very subtle background music. It’s a small thing that could go a long way to making it a lot more of a complete package.
• After listening to 24 of these, I don’t think I need to ever listen to the first minute anymore as you go through your regular spiel. Dunno some would say it’s necessary, I’m in the camp that thinks, if they’ve downloaded it they know who you are, if not, they should check the website they downloaded it all from.

So this experience actually got me thinking about the whole podcasting thing. I will eventually get round to doing a couple of these (once I get a microphone). I think I’ve got one of the worst voices around there. I can’t be the only person that hates the sound of their voice when they hear a recording,..right? Having said that, I think this podcasting is a pretty cool way of getting thoughts across faster than having them written down.