Customer Reviews

How to Do Everything with Podcasting

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Disclaimer: As a contributor to the authors' podcast, For Immediate Release, I might be expected to have a biased opinion. I do, but I also held the book to the standards of their podcast and their blogs. If it hadn't been good, I would have been seriously disappointed.

But not to worry, it's good.

Naming a book "How to Do Everything with Podcasting" is ambitious, but that was the publisher's choice. They have a whole series of "How to Do Everything" books. And while there might be things you can do with podcasting that aren't covered in the book, it's impressively comprehensive.

I particularly appreciated the details about sound editing in Chapter 9 when I had to assemble the interviews from the iMeme conference. (It helped, but with background noise as bad as that, there's not a lot you can do if you don't use a directional mic in the first place.) The only omission I'm aware of in that section is a reference to the Levelator, an amazing tool every podcaster should have. (It's free, too. Gigavox invented it in self-defense.)

I imagine many people will head straight to Part IV, "Make Money with Your Podcast," but I really appreciated Part V, "Use a Podcast as a Business Communication Tool." These 65 pages are pure gold for any podcast evangelist operating in either the corporate or small-business world. Shel and Neville start by pointing out that creating a podcast is not a business goal. Rather, podcasting is a tool that can serve a purpose in the business' overall strategy. If your company starts podcasting "because everyone else is doing it," the podcast is not likely to be a success.

There's also an appendix about legal considerations for podcasters, one listing podcasting resources, and a podcasting glossary to help you sort out the jargon. And to keep up to date (because things on the Web change so quickly), there's a website for the book at EverythingwithPodcasting.com. You can find Shel's mix-minus instructional video (for recording Skype calls without echoes) and a whole lot of other good stuff--including a long list of links to podcasts.

Three cheers and five stars, guys.

SRG

What can podcasting do for a business? That's the wrong question to ask, say Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson. Like any communication tool, podcasting should be applied as a solution, not as a goal in and of itself. "Podcasting ought to come up in larger discussions about ways to reach audiences, to convey particular messages, or to address specific situations and problems," they advise.
Hobson and Holtz are internationally known business communicators, bloggers, and consultants.
Besides detailing all the technical aspects of podcasting, Hobson and Holtz preach the gospel of strategic planning. Thinking about producing a podcast? First, address the question: What outcomes are you trying to achieve? Would it serve as a marketing vehicle, or to supplement public relations and financial communications, or to enhance customer relations, or to enhance customer support? And how will you measure the success of your efforts?
They offer many examples of podcasting done well. Purina's Animal Advice podcast, for example, provides information pet owners can use; it does not `sell product.' Stanford University podcasts offer faculty lectures, interviews, music, and sports content. Target groups include students and alums. IBM's The Future Of .... Podcast reaches investors and features interviews with engineers, product managers, and others in the trenches--not with PR or marketing staff.

This book was all I needed to get set up for my first podcast. I am one of those types who can't just settle for the basics, which can be an expensive problem. But this book will get anyone who is budget-conscious up and running with less than $100 out of pocket, assuming you at least have a computer.

If you are looking for some expertise about equipment or how to set up your rig in the studio, this is not the book for you. You might want to look for a book about home recording or even professional broadcasting. I have to give these authors big kudos though, this really is everything you need to know about *the basics* of podcasting. If that's what you need to know, you won't go wrong with this book. Oh yeah, it is very well-written and easy to read also.

This is an excellent, valuable, thorough, well-written resource. No reflection on the authors or the book, but I made the mistake of paying for an "Amazon Upgrade" for this title (supposedly enabling online reading and use of the book in addition to the physical book). The text looks like somebody hosed it down (blurry, and the more you zoom, the blurrier it gets). Ditto for the images (text within the images is totally illegible.

This book does everything it says on its cover. It teaches people how to produce, release and promote podcasts. However, it doesn't give away the secret sauce behind the long-running Hobson&Holtz report so readers will have to listen to "For Immediate Release" to discover for themselves what has sustained the authors for more than 250 episodes. FIR deserves accolades as one of the best business podcasts in the world. The book tells how to do everything except sustain yourself on the road to your own 250 episodes.

We will use the book in three separate courses taught in a college creative multimedia degree. Freshmen through seniors (first through fourth year third level students) will find the topics accessible and practical.

While I can appreciate the editorial control mandated by the publisher, I wish the inside artwork incorporated faces from across the community of podcast listeners that Hobson and Holtz have cultivated through the years. As it stands, the repetitive imagery does no credit to the powerful community dynamic fostered through the techniques outlined in this very helpful book.

At the time of this review, How to Do Everything with Podcasting has been on the market for three years (c. 2007). However, the book's information, for the most part, is still relevant and valid.

Does this book teach the novice how to get started with podcasting? Absolutely.

It is irrefutable; podcasting has gone mainstream and is now used by major media entities to expand their existing or pre-existing radio shows and even businesses.

In Chapter 2: Who is Podcasting and Why. The authors site Forrester Research stat that podcasting will see significant growth by 2010 (well 2010 is coming to a close at the time of this review). However, podcasting shows no sign of slowing down. According to eMarketer, they project the growth to continue at least through 2013 and that there will be 37.6 million people downloading podcasts on a monthly basis (from 9% in 2008 to 17% in 2013--more than double, as you can see).

I found the hardware recommendations were good and reliable. I purchased the economical Behringer Eurotrack UB802 mixerBehringer UB802 Eurorack UB802 Mixer (8 Inputs). It was a cost effective mixer versus the Mackie. Also the Audiotechnica AT3035Audio Technica AT3035 Condenser Microphone was a good recommendation.

Audacity is common and a good open source software option for beginning podcasting. There are also additional hosting services such as GoDaddy's Quick Blog that has emerged since the publication of this book.

Some references are outdated as to be expected with any older publication. Minor examples include: PodcastStation is no longer in business. And the Voice Port in-line patch is no longer available for conducting interviews over the phone (at least I can't find it).

In closing, I liked that the authors included a legal section at the conclusion of the book. There are a lot of misinformed individuals on the social web these days that are creating User Generated Content without considering the legal ramifications, some of these individuals have a "free" mentality and think that other people's IP (intellectual property) is "Fair Use" without first seeking legal advice or doing their due diligence. It's a short term gain and will result in a Cease and Desist or worse yet, a lawsuit somewhere down the line... use your head and think outside the book and use common sense when using other people's intellectual property. Get clearance. Get permission. Do it right and produce a good, high-quality podcast.

There should always be a disclaimer with "Everything," in any title since technology constantly evolves, but MOST everything is included in this book and I would recommend it for a primer on podcasting.

Shel and Neville's book should be required reading for anyone who does a podcast, everyone who's thinking about doing a podcast, even for anyone who listens to podcasts.

They cover all the "nuts and bolts" in an easy-to-read, conversational style. They cover all the tech stuff, like hardware and software, making it understandable for even the non-techies among us. They explain the actual recording and editing process as well as how to get your efforts heard.

More important, at least for me, they go into great detail about the reasons WHY to podcast. They discuss podcasting as a business tool and how it fits into the overall communication plan.

If you wonder about Shel and Neville's credentials, check out their "For Immediate Release" podcast. It's produced twice each week (Monday and Thursday) with Shel normally being in California and Neville in England. But, both men travel for their respective businesses, so they're likely to both be in hotel rooms, halfway around the globe from each other. Yet their podcasts come off without a hitch (usually).

I can't imagine anyone getting into podcasting without reading this book.

Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson have published a book providing full coverage of what you need to start your podcast and use it as a stragegic tool for dialogue and communication with your audience, your customers, members, voters, employees, etc.
The title "How to Do Everything with Podcasting (How to Do Everything)" is a little bit of an exaggeration - podcasting does not take care of all your tasks in life, (cleaning, cooking and paperwork) ;-) but it is definitely fun and interesting to do.

These two PR- and communication professionals are the fearless leaders of a lot of their collegues - including me.

Karin Hoegh.[..]

The level of misinformation about hardware alone discredits the entire book. I thought McGraw Hill would have better technical editing.