Friday, July 06, 2007

Look Ma! a Podcast!

I know she'll be proud. I also know she knows a lot about my podcast topic since she helped me in my library for two days straight! Thanks for all the hard work, Momma!
In my podcast I talk about weeding a library collection, plus I got to make "weed" a tag, which could disgruntle some listeners in search of something else.

Hear the work of students in LIS 460, including me!

Weed Wise: Atlases





Enjoy! And this below is my Podcast criteria, based on listening to several and trying my own hand at it. What do you think? Kudos to all those those succeed at this on a regular basis!

Good Podcasts ...

  • are well paced, with little to no dead air
    • if the podcast is too slow, a listener will lose interest
    • if too fast, the listener won't be able to keep up
  • are well edited
    • with few ums, ahs, audible breaths, and/or dead space
    • sections can be moved, shifted, deleted to fit the main idea of the podcast
  • follow a logical progression
    • it's less important that podcasters tell me what they are going to do then that they lead me on a journey in which I become invested
  • stay focused and on topic
  • include voices that are clear and articulate
  • have a conversational manner or other persona
    • allow us all to become This American Life documentarians
    • voices are animated, not monotone
  • engage the listener in some manner
    • podcasters are aware that someone else is listening
  • elicit listener response
    • can make people laugh out loud or shiver or think
  • stay within the allotted time
    • good podcasts edit information to meet the podcast length.
    • Grammar Girl just does ONE lesson in a podcast, one soundbite of information, not several
  • take advantage of the form itself
  • follow the Boy Scout Motto "Be Prepared"
    • even if it is just lose notes, prep and planning is needed before the record button is ever pushed
  • make all aspects of the podcast relevant
    • if music is included it should support the main ideas or goals or tenor of the podcast program

1 comment:

CRI coxswains said...

Hey Kate, I really like your podcast criteria. I like the idea that podcasting makes us all This American Life documentarians. I agree that the best podcasts are ones that flow like a story, that lead you through a conversation because they are aware that you are listening. I just hadn't gotten around to clarifying it that way for myself. Thanks :) Elisabeth