Sidepodcast

Apple to Unveil New Product Today, We'll Take Three Please

Sidepodcast has not jumped the shark, I promise. There's a tenuous F1 connection here somewhere.

As we've mentioned several times in the past, the entire Sidepodcast project is built upon the product foundations that Apple have built and we've long since come to the conclusion that it wouldn't be possible to do what we do with anything else.

Later on Wednesday, the entire of the technology world will be looking in the direction of San Francisco, where Apple are holding a media event to launch a new product. The sensible money says it will be a tablet shaped product.

Proceedings kick off at 6pm GMT and we'll be specifically looking for announcements that directly affect what we do including:

• Improvements to video quality - Currently the size and quality of our F1 video podcasts are tied directly to what the iPhone will support. Might we see improvements in this area?
• Podcasts in the cloud - Will the iTunes eco-system see personal content made available online, and if so will that change how media is consumed?
• Tablets everywhere - How portable and affordable will the rumoured device be, and can we make use of one or more of them in a live streaming environment?

Admittedly very little of this is specifically F1 related, but any hardware or software improvements will likely reflect on the kind of Formula 1 coverage Sidepodcast is able to provide this year.

We'll be following the launch via words and pictures on the Endgadget's Live Blog and will keep this post up-to-date with any relevant announcements. If you're interested in joining the fun, we'll be ticking off the rumours with this handy Prediction Score Card and posting updates in the comments too.

How Hard Can It Be?

Guest writer Jon Waldock talks us through the transition from commentator to podcaster, with a quick guide to the pitfalls and the positives of talking out loud.

Earlier this year the opportunity arose to become one of the commentators at the 24 hour 2CV event at Snetterton and after recovering from what was an exhausting weekend I realised that I enjoyed doing things with audio; whether commentating on a pit stop, explaining race procedure or playing jingles, I had fun doing it all. Since I have been a long time Sidepodcast listener/commenter the next step seemed obvious - a podcast. I mentioned this idea on my blog and it got a great response and I was even pointed in the way of a podcasting kit.

"How hard can it be?" I asked myself. The answer was very.

I’d settled on the topic quite easily as there’s only one subject I know a lot about and would feel comfortable talking about knowledgably; junior formulae, and so ‘The Feeder Series’ was created. My podcasting kit arrived with mixer, microphone, headphones and various bits of software. In reality all you need is a microphone and to download Audacity, but as I knew I would need other inputs in the future, I went for the whole kit.

Once I had started playing about with the software and hardware it dawned on me what I had let myself in for. Firstly, I discovered that I don’t read out loud very well and as such the first episode, which was only 6 minutes long, took a good few hours to get right. However it does take time and you can’t expect to be producing professionally sounding recordings first time unless of course you do that kind of thing for a living.

After feedback from the comments I made some changes to the hardware settings and to how I was speaking as well. The thing I have found most hard is trying not to sound monotone and like I’m just reading from a script, but these things don’t happen quickly, and so patience is the key with such a project.

Once I’d finished my first episode I had to find a host. Currently my podcast is hosted by 2 different sites - Podbean hosts my website downloads and RSS subscriptions, whilst my iTunes downloads and subscriptions are hosted by Podcast Machine. It may seem odd to do it that way and I hadn’t planned to do it like that, but as Podcast Machine do not offer a podcast website (but do have the best free bandwidth and storage package), Podbean was the next option.

Now that I’ve got the hang of the equipment I can start to grow the listener base of the podcast; through social networking, setting up interviews with drivers and through word of mouth. Whilst still in its infancy, the podcast is growing and although I might not be on the iTunes top 20 yet, it’s something that I can say I’ve made, that serves a purpose, and that ultimately is fun to do.

Daily: 1st September 2009

A new month is upon us, and this is the month of Sidepodradio. Don't forget to keep your eye on the wiki and get involved. Some new slots have opened up on the schedule, so perhaps you'd like to come up with a show - F1 related or otherwise? They'll be some more blog posts forthcoming about Sidepodradio soon. Meanwhile, here's what we're talking about:

• Jon has been thinking and has a couple of ideas floating around his head - one of which includes jumping headfirst into podcasting. Having commentated on a 24 hour race, podcasting should be easy. We welcome newcomers to the podcasting space, and wish Jon lots of luck (if he chooses to go ahead, which I hope he will!)
• We're trying out something slightly new in terms of daily posts, in that if a big news story breaks, then it will warrant a post of it's own, so that discussion can be easily found afterwards. There was a lot of discussion in the introductory post for this idea, but I don't think it will make too much difference, at least not at first.
• To round off the Spa weekend, all our podcasts are now completed - you can listen to the edited version of the Debrief here, and catch up with all the action from the race in the Digest. Don't forget if you're looking for quick links to any of the racing coverage this year, the 2009 Season page is very useful!

That'll do it for now. It's Tuesday already, which is making my week wonky, as we had Monday off as a Bank Holiday in the UK. Back to work it is, then! I'll see you in the comments.

Daily: 26th December 2008

Boxing Day is traditional for sitting around, eating leftovers, and watching dodgy Xmas television. If you're near to your computer while all that is going on, then Sidepodcast.com is a brilliant place to hang out. Here are some of the things we've been discussing in the absence of F1 news:

• Shameless plug: The Sidepodcast Alternate Christmas Message is now available. A special tribute to a departing driver, with a well known story told a different way. It also spurred on the idea that I look like a Flump. Harrumph!
• We, as podcasters, tend to stick to all things online, and therefore have caused a debate over DVDs and CDs are comparable to mp3s and iTunes. Plus whether we prefer books or a Kindle.
• The above conversation started with the plethora of iPods given as gifts this Christmas. Let us know what you got, if you haven't already, especially if it will help you listen to Sidepodcast more often!
• Steven Roy found a DC quiz, so have a go and let us know your score. I got 3, which is pitiful, and I must do more research.

I've given up with the record for the latest posting of a Daily thread, my guess is that at some point this year, the post will go up minutes before the day runs out! Nevertheless, this one gives us plenty of time to chat, so I'll see you in the comments.

As Heard on Radio 5 Live

Amongst all the chaos of the back-to-back races we've just enjoyed, Christine somehow managed to fit in an interview about Sidepodcast for BBC's Radio Five Live. The show, called For the Love of Pod was broadcast in the UK yesterday (Easter bank holiday Monday) and discussed the world of podcasts and podcasting.

Presented by Radio 1's Colin Murray, and featuring the likes of podcasting stalwarts Ask a Ninja and Adam Curry, the hour long show took a look at how podcasting is changing the way we consume media and how it might shape broadcasting in the future.

Christine managed to take up almost two minutes of prime BBC air time, which is a pretty impressive feat considering who else was on the bill.

Here are some of the the best bits of her interview:

Hopefully we won't get into too much trouble for playing that. To redeem ourselves slightly, might we suggest that the full show can be downloaded as part of the Pod's and Blogs podcast, and we encourage you to listen to the whole thing.

We have to say a massive thank you to FiveLive (really I don't know the correct way of writing that name, can you tell?), although possibly not so much for playing a clip of the very first show we ever recorded - which was honestly quite embarrassing.

If you have chance to listen, feel free to leave us comments and thoughts about the show.