BBC Tweaks Podcast Service: All in One Place

The BBC has refurbished its podcast service and has made all the Beeb's audio content available in one place. The podcast directory is split into two categories: Editor's Pick and Recently Launched. There's also a 'quick find' search bar and the directory is further broken down into radio station or genre.

There are currently around 200 podcasts available to listen to, with content ranging from football to Scott Mills Daily. While each podcast varies in length, most have a file size of are around 3MB, and can be downloaded as an MP3 file. Or, if you don't want to download, you can listen to the content straight from your browser.

Have a look at the BBC podcast directory.

Ricky Gervais' Take on His Successful Podcast

The "Ricky Gervais Show" was downloaded nearly four and a half million times in January.

Why podcast? "Podcasting is perfect for me, because I'm always trying to aim at those things that only have self-censorship. I'm trying to cut out all interference artistically. That's also why stand-up is so exciting. What you say is what is heard. I think Woody Allen said,'The best an idea gets is when it's in your head.' So I've always been conscious of control. The more control you have, the more it can be what you would want to see or hear."

More about his take on podcasting in this months Asylum Magazine.

From the Pentagon to the Weather Bureau, the U.S. Government is podcasting

Don’t have time to catch the morning weather forecast? If you live in the United States. the National Weather Service might have a solution. Get your weather to go in a podcast. People living in the Baltimore-Washington region can already do that. The Weather Service’s Baltimore-Washington regional office in Sterling, Va., started making daily forecasts available about a year ago as a way to experiment with the technology, said Steve Listemaa, an information technology officer in the regional office. “It’s an easier way to get our information out there,” he said.

So far, only three Weather Service offices — Sterling; El Paso, Texas; and Anchorage, Alaska —make weather podcasts available, but those examples are indicative of various agencies’ efforts to explore how they can adapt podcast technology to disseminate information about services or events.

USA.gov lists a range of government podcast topics here. One of the first agencies to move into podcasting was the Defense Department. It began offering audio downloads of programs on the Pentagon Channel — in spring 2005. The channel offers news and documentaries, among other programs. Since then, more than 7.1 million podcasts have been downloaded, said Michael Winnaker, a marketing coordinator for the channel.

Brian Natwick, general manager of the Pentagon Channel, said he got the idea during a trip to Afghanistan in 2005 with the military. As he boarded an aircraft, he noticed about 80 percent of the soldiers on board had whipped out their iPods. “It just kind of hit me that this is another distribution technique that we have to add to our model,” Natwick said.

The podcasts are an easy and inexpensive way to reach deployed troops, Natwick said. “We’re pushing voting right now,” Natwick said. “Overseas voting is really important to us.”

There are about a dozen Pentagon Channel video and audio programs available as podcasts. Among the most popular are daily news roundups and “RECON,” a monthly documentary series on topics such as operations and military history.

This month’s series is about preparing for war at the Joint Readiness Training Center. Also popular is “Fit for Duty,” a half-hour exercise program that offers resistance and strength training and pilates.

The Agriculture Department’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) will launch its first podcast this week and is planning two series: One is targeted to consumers; and another, with information about safety inspections, is meant to reach plant owners, managers and employees. “Different people receive information in different ways,” FSIS spokeswoman Amanda Eamich said. “It’s kind of a no-hassle approach to getting information out there.”

The Federal Aviation Administration is also exploring podcasts as a way to communicate with air traffic controllers, FAA spokeswoman Tammy Jones said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relies on podcasts to reach some public health professionals and health care providers with updates about vaccination issues and news such as E. coli outbreaks, said Fred Smith, a senior technologist with CDC’s Division of e-Health Marketing. He also has discussed the idea of cooperating with the State Department to provide podcasts targeted at overseas travelers. “The idea is to get this set up [so] that if there is a pandemic flu,” the government can more easily deliver vital information, Smith said.

The Coast Guard’s District 13 headquartered in Seattle is eyeing podcasting as a possible recruiting tool.

The office started to offer video podcasts on its Web site in January and has purchased helmet cameras for boat crew members to wear during missions and catch some of the action for later upload, said Paul Roszkowski, an assistant public affairs officer who helped coordinate the project. “What it allows them to do is to show a recruit, or a possible recruit, the different aspects of the job,” Roszkowski said. “It’s new ground for the government.”

UNESCO Video Podcast Series

UNESCO just released a series of 9 video podcasts on "human rights, peace, tolerance and the fight against discrimination".

The videos were selected out of more than one hundred proposals from fifty countries submitted under a project on so called 'ICT-enhanced Public Service Broadcasting'. The podcasts have been released on DVD and through podcasting platforms.

This project aimed at putting ICTs, particularly new formats, at the service of content development on major societal and development issues.

“Public service content is not limited to news formats; it can be provided to people/users through different genres: documentary, fiction, TV magazines, animation, etc. In addition to these traditional audiovisual genres, the last few years have witnessed the emergence of new online formats and mobile distribution platforms that have had a tremendous impact on the type of content being generated and the profile of those generating it. Content produced for small mobile devices - commonly called podcasting - will entail different audiovisual choices than those we may apply to images conceived for a big screen”, said Abdul Waheed Khan, UNESCO’s Assistant Director General for Communication and Information.

For more United Nations related issues, check out the Unicef and
'United Nations Yak' podcasts.

A Bottle of Red. A Bottle of White. And Podcasting.

The Australian wine industry has taken the hi-tech route in its communications strategy by taking the podcast path in order to educate people about its wines. And it seems to have worked. The first podcasts describing Australia's wine regions have been downloaded more than 10,000 times since being launched in April this year.

The Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation (Wine Australia) has benefited from this new media with 15 per cent of website traffic visiting the podcasts, claimed Lucy Anderson, Manager of International Marketing and Communications with the Australian Wine & Brandy Corporation (AWBC).

"Narrated by Australian wine writer Max Allen from his book Crush, Wine Australia's first series of podcasts have proved a popular addition to our marketing efforts," said Lucy, "There's nothing intimidating about it” she continued, “the use of technology in wine education makes it easy and fun for anyone that has an interest in wine and wants to learn. This is an innovation that will benefit all of the Australian wine industry as it quickly and easily facilitates knowledge transfer. "By enabling people to simply download a host of regional information and listen to it on their computer or iPod we've taken Australia's wine regions to the world. The popularity of the podcasts and flexibility of the medium has prompted us to launch a new varietal series and additional episodes of Crush. "There are now 47 episodes available with a new series of vodcasts showcasing the diversity of varietal wines from across Australia. Presented by Ben Glaetzer - one of Australia's own 'Regional Heroes' - Ben comments on how the region dictates the style of wine that ends up in your glass and then talks through the variation you might expect to find between enjoying a Coonawarra, Limestone Coast, Riverland or Margaret River Cabernet, for example."

To access the Wine Australia podcasts or multimedia files visit www.wineaustralia.com (Resources) or go to the iTunes music store and search for 'Wine Australia' or 'Regional Heroes' and subscribe for free

Police podcast too!

The Italian state police, who publish one of the country's most popular podcasts, are no longer alone. In Garner, North Carolina (U.S.), the town's police officers have taken a more interactive approach to warning shoppers of the dangers of shopping online. They now use video podcasts.

The shows are the department's way of getting news out to a new audience. "I think you hit the younger generation more so this way," says Sgt. Joe Binns. "A lot of them get their news from the Internet, and a podcast is a little more interactive than just reading."

For the six-minute piece, the police department educates shoppers on checking out merchants, using secure sites and canceling credit cards in the event of a breach.

The shows are five minutes long and feature crime-prevention tips and news updates. The idea came up as a way to expand on the television show Garner police officials have been doing. "We're reaching an older generation with the show, but we wanted to reach the younger generation as well," Binns said. "Plus, we basically record the show, and we're done. This gives us an opportunity ... to do something a little more creative."

One of the next show, for example, will continue with the safety theme but will take place in a store parking lot. In the future, those receiving the podcasts will also get a glimpse inside the town's "most wanted" list.

Rainer Mueller-Mueffelmann of BASF discusses its corporate podcast with WPF

BASF, headquartered in Germany, is the world’s leading chemical company with more than 150 production sites worldwide. In December 2006, the company launched two podcasts, under the lead of the corporate PR department.

The main reasons behind the podcast project were to develop new target groups, explore new ways in reaching the public, raise brand awareness, and convey the values of the BASF.

The process from conception to launch was rapid, taking only about 4 months, with the bilingual BASF podcast launching in April 2007 (see here and here).

The podcast team is headed by Rainer Mueller-Mueffelmann, the responsible editor, who controls the realization of the podcasts. First, the team conducts research about the topics, then the script is created. Appointments with interview partners are scheduled and the interviews are recorded. The content is new and unique for the podcast, not simply repackaged material.

BASF uses an external production company, and one of the hardest parts of launching the podcast series was to select the best one, as many production companies competed for the business.

The podcast is for external communication purposes and seeks to present interesting BASF topics to the public in an informative and entertaining manner. Two different topic channels are offered: “Chemistry of innovations” in which topics of research and development are covered. “The chemistry reporter", a weekly show, is more entertaining and responds to questions of our “chemistry” everyday life. The show has educational aspects, and listeners can send their questions to a dedicated email address.

A key focus of the podcast is to make BASF more transparent. BASF is a chemical products company. Some people have reservations about such companies and one of the purposes of the podcast is to show how BASF's heavy investment in R&D touches and improves people's lives.

In terms of promotion, the BASF podcast is advertised prominently on the company websites and is registered in places such as iTunes, podcast.de and podster.de.

Listener involvement and participation is important, and BASF maintains direct communication with its listeners via the dedicated email addresses

Philip Der Sahaguian, CNET country manager for France, Discusses Podcasting with WPF

Podcasting at CNET started in the US, and then expanded to France two years ago. As an Internet company, CNET knew it should not stick to written content, but rather needed to add audio and video, given the ability of the Internet to handle all types of content. This demonstrates the CNET vision. Internet is not just another media, but rather a revolution – one that changes the old media landscape. CNET believes that we will no longer talk about radio, television and publishing, but rather audio, video and text. As a result, CNET sites cover text, audio and video on each of its sites

CNET does not differentiate between podcast, video on demand or TV. It's all just content, with CNET trying to find the best way to bring content to its audience.

CNET first decided to create podcasts sensing that its audience would like it. It started with technology news in the US and the response was incredible. From day one, CNET had thousands of users subscribing every day - 20% of which new to CNET.

Internal barriers were few, as innovation is one of CNET's core values. The costs of producing podcasts was not a factor either, nor was there much consideration given to whether the acquisition costs for new users via podcasts was cheaper than other modes of communication. The focus was on delivering the best possible content. Money was secondary.

In France, CNET's podcast activity began with ZDNet and it has been a great success. ZDNet has 75 000 listeners to each episode, which focuses on news technology for companies rather than consumer electronics news.

Where will CNET be in 10 years? It will produce text content when text is most suitable. Subscription will remain a key factor as it allows getting a better qualification of the audience and people don't have problems with subscribing to things which provide them with value

The podcast business model? Clearly advertising, but today, companies, both advertisers and advertising agencies, are not there yet. Podcasting is not popular enough and the companies don't know how to position it in their media mix - is it radio money or Internet money? So today, the ZDNet weekly podcast follows the sponsorship model and the fee charged is enough for ZDNet to cover expenses and show a profit for the activity.

At CNET we think that 2008 will be the year video advertising on the Internet takes off. Video will become a traditional format with good contents and the right context.

IMPALA project discusses higher education podcasting with WPF

Clearly, education is a major niche for podcasting. Podcasting is flourishing in universities and education-related businesses. Driving this is the fact that many of us find ourselves in educational institutions many years, as well as involved in other types of educational experiences. In Italy's iTunes, in number two is a series of professionally-produced historical lectures, with number 4 being a series of Philosophy Lectures. In China, a few of the top twenty podcasts are educational as well, including Lets Learn English.

Universities are proving to be an especially innovative environment for podcasting. With large numbers of students owning mobile media devices, content-rich schools, and innovative teachers and administration, higher education institutes are busy exploring whether and in what form podcasting can add value to the learning experience.

Of the many university projects taking place around the world, the IMPALA project, initiated by the University of Leicester in the UK stands out as being relatively large scale and comprehensive. It has also been run in several academic institutions for quite some time.

Of the several goals of IMPALA, two stand out:

1. Many students own and regularly use iPods and other MP3 devices for entertainment. Would these users be willing to consume educational, non-entertainment content if make available?
2. What are the models for using podcasting within institutions of higher education?

As is not surprising, the university community embraced the project with a passion. Benefiting from the youthful community orientation of the iPod, an innovative environment, good content and audio files being a pleasurable informal experience, the project caught on. Initially one university, the project grew to include several, with hundreds of students, across a diverse range of disciplines, utilizing the new tool and services.

The initial measurables were obtained. Podcast services had a clear positive impact on student retention rates, better test outcomes and student active involvement. Teacher-student relationships were also improved.

Tom Hall of Lonely Planet Discusses its Travel Podcast with WPF

As someone who has traveled a far share in the third world using Lonely Planet travel guides, the idea of an LP podcast sounds great. As country travel guides get updated only once every year or so, podcasting seems like a great way to get updated real-time information to the traveler. Right?

LP has always been tech-savvy, and has looked for ways to leverage its website and on-line communities to enhance user-experience and its business.

Back in May 2005, seeing that podcasting was growing in popularity, the on-line team of LP decided to experiment with bringing the sites and sounds of travel to listeners via a podcast. The first podcast was launched in September 2005 and covered St. Petersburg Russia.

By the second episode, the LP podcast shot up the iTunes charts, catching the team by surprise. But it became immediately clear that while innovation was nice, success required a higher commitment to professionalism in order to attract the user: compelling and suitable content, recording equipment, editing, etc. Working out the correct working relationships with the writers/contributors (who does what) took time as well.

Today, LP employs personnel dedicated to podcasting, whose role is to select stories and commission/handle author relations.

Is podcasting here to stay at LP? One of the barriers that podcasting must overcome is the text-orientation of LP and its customers. LP, like newspapers and other publications, sell text. Thus a major hurdle to overcome is "we sell text so why do audio?" Equally important, travelers use books, and text is more convenient than audio in most travel scenarios.

Thus the key is identifying the scenarios where podcasting is compelling to travelers, and how podcasting can complement LP's business, not replace it. And judging by LP's ability to release great podcasts since 2005, LP has found the sweet spot.

Phil Filleul of Sun Microsystems Discusses its Innovative MiFID Podcast with WPF

The Sun MiFID podcast is one of my favorites. Not because I enjoy listening to it, as it is targeted to a very specific group – business and IT management of banks. Not because the subject matter might interest the general public, as the podcast consists of interviews of bank managers and analysts on the subject of MiFID – a controversial and technical new Banking regulation which European banks must comply with later this year.

However, the innovative way in which podcasting is used has turned the MiFID podcast into an industry standard show, and produced significant direct and indirect ROI for the company behind the podcast - Sun Microsystems. Sun and its MiFID product line are leveraging the podcast to win many multi-million Euro MiFID deals in a very competitive environment.

At Sun, there was and is no corporate podcast or corporate podcast policy. Rather, it was an innovative third party vendor and Phil Filleul of Sun's MiFID product line that initiated the activity with a specific opportunity in mind.

Looking for ways to create quality leads for its MiFID solution, the MiFID marketing division employed several tools and had a budget for generate leads. A creative vendor pitched an interesting idea - rather than use "cold-call" marketing, why not create a MiFID interview-via-podcast series focusing on the controversies and views relating to the new regulation. The target interviewees - decision makers at the major banks who are also the decision makers in the buying process. The goal - use the interview as a way to create quality leads, gain valuable insight into customers, and position Sun as the best supplier.

Time to market was rapid, as the team was wise to identify and comply with internal policies, and use already-available budgets. Also, in order to gain credibility, it was crucial to position the podcast-series as vendor-neutral, and not just a Sun sales tool. Getting the first one or two interviews was a bit difficult, but very quickly the idea quickly caught on in the industry, with high-level management and analysts most willing to be interviewed for a podcast listened to by the industry.

The results by any measurable target were great: cost per lead, cost per quality lead, accumulate valuable customer insights and thoughts, and position Sun's solution as innovative – all this while having fun as well.

The Guardian discusses Podcasting with WPF

An interview with Guardian Unlimited's Neil McIntosh

Talk about getting off on the right foot. The Guardian's first exposure to podcasting in late 2005 was hooking up with Ricky Gervais, which propelled it to first place in iTunes, and brought great exposure to the newspaper and website.

There were several reasons that promoted the Guardian to the podcast domain in earnest. First, readers wanted audio programs and were gradually subscribing to broadband internet, thus enabling them to download the programs. Second, the Guardian realized that they had much of the talent and resources required, with broadcast-experienced journalists around the world who regularly appeared on television and radio.

Persuading the company to enter the domain was not easy. First, being traditionally a text and image based entity, getting management to “do audio” was not simple. Also, BBC cast an imposing shadow, with skeptics at the Guardian questioning the rational, given BBC’s ability to flood the market with audio content. The Guardian took the leap. The decision was slightly easier due to the fact that it is not a purely for-profit company. Owned by Scotts Trust, the Guardian is able to experiment with new ideas, without having “the strict bottom line” serve as the ultimate veto early one.

The results have been very positive, have far exceeded the business case in terms of revenue and profitability. Good news for the Guardian and the industry.

What are the factors behind the success? Most important, develop talent internally. The Guardian did not “throw money at outside third parties”, but rather developed the talent internally. Its podcast team consists of a devoted group of producers and editors who have learned from experience what it takes to produce engaging shows. The Guardian does, however, use an external podcast production company for one of its podcasts.

Is the content unique for the podcasts? In most cases, the content is used in text format for the newspaper and website. However, the podcast can provide much greater detail than is possible in the newspaper and website, where space is limited. Also, the Guardian does produce some podcast-only content, such as the Islamophonic podcast.

How does the Guardian see the future of podcasting? Clearly in the mobile section. To get away from the geek factor and reach the mass market, the Guardian believes that mobile podcasting in crucial.

Monte Silver