OK– the live blogging thing didn’t work out too well. Mostly because I couldn’t stay connected to the Emory network. Everytime I shut my laptop — it would ask me to re-register. I’m not whining– I’m just explaining… ok… maybe I’m whining a little bit. Anyway, the day was filled with a lot of helpful hints and tips for the newbie and the advanced podcaster. As a newbie, I found the following tidbits helpful:

  1. The average podcast is about 20 minutes long. It is always better to be brief rather than long-winded.
  2. Start podcasting with a minimum set of hardware & software (free if possible) and give yourself a path for upgrading.
  3. There is indeed a minimum leve of sound quality you need and a good $40 USB headset with microphone should be able to get you there.
  4. Audacity or Garage Band are two good tools for editing your audio.
  5. MP3 is the only universal format and good audiofiles have a bit rate of 64kbps-128 kpbs (96 is good) and a sample rate of 44.1khz.
  6. If you don’t have a blog, there are many services that will publish your podcast.
  7. Gabcast will let you record your podcast via a toll free number.
  8. Podcast directories are good for promoting your blog. Good ones include: www.podcast.net, www.podcastdirectory.com, www.podcast411.com, and www.podcastalley.com.
  9. Freevlog.com is a good resource for vlogging.
  10. There are a bunch of helpful folks in the podcasting, blogging and vlogging space. If you are interested and/or need help, don’t be afraid to ask someone. Most are willing to help and give advice.

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