« Do you hear what I hear?
Why You Don’t Need a Usability Lab »

WebWord Podcast 18-Oct-2004

I decided to generate a podcast about podcasting and some related topics. The only problem is that PostNuke doesn’t easily support RSS 2.0 with enclosures, so you can’t just subscribe to this podcast, or future podcasts. So, I just recorded an MP3 file and I’m making it available here for you. I hope that you enjoy it. I would appreciate your feedback.

Title: WebWord Podcast 18-Oct-2004.MP3 (Right click, Save Target As…)
Host: John S. Rhodes
File size: 3,814,986 bytes (3.8 MB)
Length: 15:53
Channels: Mono
Frequency: 22050kHz
Bitrate: 32kbps

References…
1. WebWord.com
2. Oristus.com
3. iPodder developers group
4. Whole Wheat Radio
5. Wikipedia entry for blogging
6. Jens of Sweden MP300

This entry was posted on Monday, October 18th, 2004 at 11:15 pm and is filed under Usability. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

4 Responses to “WebWord Podcast 18-Oct-2004”

  1. dszuc Says:
    October 21st, 2004 at 8:37 am

    Cool to hear the persons voice. Adds an interesting dimension to the web site and the user experience in general. Wonder if allowing the customer to listen an article thats been posted would make it easier and/or faster for people to digest the information. Interestingly I am listening to this podcast as I write this. Is there an optimal amount of information people are willing to listen to on a podcast? Should a podcast be the equivalent of an “Andy Rooney”?

  2. Anonymous Says:
    October 22nd, 2004 at 12:54 am

    Some usability/accessibility problems I had with your “podcast”:

    1. Your filename contains spaces which show up as %20 when I download. You should follow
      your own advice       and use dashes!
    2. Your MP3 file is missing an ID tag. MP3s with an ID tag display in a nicer
      format (Artist - Song Title) in my MP3 player, MP3s without one display as a filename. Since ID tags can contain comments, *that* would be another place to place URLs. In my MP3 player, URLs in the ID3 tag are clickable.
    3. You didn’t spell out the word Oristus, but you spelled out your name John. Which one is more likely to be misspelled?
    4. I didn’t see a text transcript. Audio isn’t very searchable (yet?). Neither is audio accessible to deaf users.
    5. What compelling reason did you have for creating this “podcast” over posting a text article? There wasn’t any music or excerpts from another audio source like an interview, radio/tv broadcast, conference speech, etc.

    In my opinion, the number #1 usability problem with “podcasting” is its name! Users are confused because they think it’s only for iPods. I suggest an alternative name: audiologs.

  3. John Says:
    October 24th, 2004 at 11:21 pm

    Thanks! I will now follow my own advice. I produced the previous file before I thought about file name usability. I also added ID3 tag information to this file and other files. Good thinking about “Oristus”. I appreciate the advice. There is no text transscript, but I did include links that are useful and related. Regarding the “why audio” question, the mai reason for recording the podcast is to get better at recording and to try out the format. I need to get a feel for what it is like. It is different and requires different thinking than writing. We’ll see where it goes. Regarding the name “podcasting” well, I think the train has left the station. It is what it is. I call it podcasting and I don’t even have a feed (yet). Thanks again for the feedback.

  4. Anonymous Says:
    October 24th, 2004 at 11:21 pm

    Who Links Here

Leave a Reply