Church of the Customer: Podcasting archives
March 05, 2009
How to produce a 2-person video blog post
We've produced a handful of bloggingheads video posts the past few months (here, here, here and here), sometimes resulting in polite golf claps.
Afterward, a common question has been: how do you do them? Here's a 9-step tutorial. On a Mac, the technology is pretty simple. If you're on a PC, sorry, we can't help.
1. Download the Mac beta version of Skype (version 2.8.0, free). Skype is your connection engine. The beta version features dramatically improved video and sound capabilities. (We previously used Ooovoo, which has a sweet display of side-by-side videos, but Skype's video and sound quality are vastly better. Plus, Oovoo kept crashing on my Mac, even after a reinstall.)
2. Download Call Recorder ($14.95, demo version available). It plugs into Skype; only one of you needs to have Call Recorder on your machine to record your interview, chat, or debate.
3. Click on the "recording" settings of Skype. In the Preferences menu, here's how we set our options:
- Audio encoding: AAC compression
- Audio quality: High
- Video encoding: H.264
- Video image size: 320x240
- Video frame rate: Maximum
- Record video: Two Track
4. We use the built-in iSight cameras that are standard with most Mac laptops. You can buy add-on software called iGlasses ($9.95) that lets you adjust camera color, brightness and contrast. It also sharpens the picture.
5. We set our cameras at eye level so it doesn't seem as if we're staring down a well. To do that, we perch our laptops on a stack of books. We try to record in early afternoons, when sunlight streams through each of our respective windows, giving us the best light source.
6. Wear earbuds. Both of you. They make it easier to hear the other person better and more importantly, prevents an echo of the other person's voice feeding back into the microphone. We hide the cords behind our necks. (We use the Mac's built-in mic, but a plug-in mic sounds much better. A relatively new variety of USB-driven mics sound great.)
7. We direct-connect both laptops to a broadband source rather than using wi-fi, whose signal can drop out for myriad reasons, causing glitches in sound and/or video.
8. When you're ready to record, push the "record" button in the Call Recorder window. When you're done, run your video through a translation program that comes with Call Recorder, called "Convert for Internet." This takes the two audio tracks and converts them into one. Depending on the length of your video, the conversion can take anywhere from 10-60 minutes.
9. We upload everything to our YouTube account. Translation there is S-L-O-W. Paint the house, or go house shopping while waiting. Not to give YouTube too much good-natured grief, it recently changed its file-size limit from 100MB to 1GB. Nice. To embed the completed video into your blog, copy the "embed" code and paste into your blog post. On Typepad, which we use, you'll have to switch your view from Rich Text to HTML. Remember that your RSS subscribers probably can''t view embedded videos, so include a link to your video on YouTube (or Vimeo or Blip.tv or whichever site you use).
That's it. The easy part is the technology. The hard part is picking an interesting topic, staying relaxed and keeping the video to under five minutes.
Let us know in the comments if you decided to produce a bloggingheads video after this tutorial, then link to it.
January 11, 2006
Podcast: Maker's Mark CEO Bill Samuels Jr.
For our latest podcast, we spent some time with Maker's Mark CEO Bill Samuels Jr., who described how one rather influential person helped launched the bourbon manufacturer into the stratosphere of recognition.
He also discusses the rationale and practice of "marketing without fingerprints" and the rapid growth of its ambassador community.
Download and RSS feed info is our podcast blog.
October 14, 2005
Cupcake bakery has the Big Moo
Our podcasts are back! After taking a hiatus to iron out problems with our feed, we fixed things by creating a new podcast blog and new podcast feed:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/ChurchOfTheCustomerPodcast
From now on, all of our podcasts will be fed from our new podcast blog, so if you want automatic downloads, subscribe to our podcast blog.
We're glad to see Apple has made some much-need improvements to its back-end podcast subscription engine. Here's how to subscribe to our new feed in iTunes:
1. Open iTunes.
2. Click on Advanced in the toolbar.
3. Click on Subscribe to Podcast.
4. Copy and paste the feed URL above into the box and click OK.
* * * * * * * * *
PODCAST: Cupcake bakery has the Big Moo
While in New York City this week, we visited Magnolia Bakery, which is
credited with starting the current national cupcake craze and is known throughout New York for its lines around the block. We asked a few
customers what brought them there and why it's so popular.
Click to listen now:
Show length: 10:49
Show topics
1:00 - Cupcake bakeries in Chicago and New York
2:38 - Interviews with international visitors to Magnolia Bakery in NYC
4:44 - What makes Magnolia Bakery remarkable
9:27 - New podcast feed
Mentions:
Cupcakes bakery in Chicago,
Magnolia Bakery in NYC
Cupcakes bakery in Vancouver
Magnolia Bakery cookbook
Sprinkles Cupcakes in Beverly Hills
Sex and the City
The Big Moo
New York Times review of Magnolia and other NY cupcake bakeries
Show music:
Intro/close: "G.L.S." by Salme Dahlstrom
Break 1: Sweet Blossom" by Robin Stine
Break 2: "Baja Taxi" by Brain Buckit
Podcast hosting provided by Conference Calls Unlimited
September 20, 2005
Audible: A natural fit for podcasting
The smart team at Audible.com has launched a podcast called Earbuds. Besides being a great name for a podcast, it's nicely produced.
For their first show, they interviewed Jackie and I about the art and science of podcasting. Not much science to report. Other than good audio engineering, podcasting is mostly an art form whose quality is open to interpretation. As an art form, I think good podcasting means:
* The time spent planning what you'll talk about should be the equivalent, if not double, of the time you actually spend talking
* Talk about things that make you say "cool!" or "that's unbelievable!"
* Keeping punditry pithy
* Having someone fine you a quarter each time you say "ummm" or "you know"
September 06, 2005
Podcast problems
We haven't podcasted for several weeks. One reason why: iTunes does not recognize our podcast feed anymore. If you subscribe to our podcast in iTunes, you receive a PDF from one of our blog posts, but no podcasts. We realize that's not very helpful.
The very nice team at Feedburner, which syndicates our blog's RSS feed, has been looking into this problem on our behalf. One issue is that our podcasts are embedded in our blog. The Feedburner folks suggest we have separate feeds for our blog and podcast.
But that would mean deleting our podcast from iTunes and resubmitting it, or changing the feed address in the iTunes directory. Yet Apple does not provide any technical support for podcasters. C'mon, Apple, what gives? How about a bulletin board with a support person?
Any fellow podcasters have experience with this type of issue?
UPDATE: Just found a podcasting discussion forum on the Apple web site. Unfortunately, it is for both iPod users who want to download podcasts and people who produce podcasts -- people with very different questions. There seems to be one Apple employee, called iTunes Mike, who is assigned to the forum. But Mike is not very responsive, leaving most of the questions unanswered.
July 22, 2005
Podcast: Measuring word of mouth
In this podcast, we chat with three of the many thought-leaders who presented at the sold-out Measuring Word of Mouth conference in Chicago last week:
* Jon Berry, co-author of "The Influentials" and senior vice president of NOP World, explains the value of measuring word of mouth, a few ideas for getting started in measurement, and what exactly a "WOMUnit" is.
* Pete Blackshaw, chief marketing officer of Intelliseek, dissects the popularity of top 10 blog site Instapundit.com and how it maintains influence. Pete also explains the new features of blog-tracking service BlogPulse.
* Dr. Walter Carl, an assistant professor at Northeastern University who studies the intricacies of word of mouth, offers some surprising information about the influence of women on word of mouth and the differences between word of mouth agents and the general population.
To listen now, click on the podcast icon below.
To subscribe to our podcast, you can do one of two things:
* find us in iTunes Podcast directory under Business and click on the Subscribe button
* paste this URL
(http://feeds.feedburner.com/ChurchOfTheCustomerPodcast) into a podcast
aggregator like iPodder
Note: From now on, all of our podcasts will be fed from our new podcast blog, so if you want automatic downloads, subscribe to our podcast blog.
Show topics
1. Interview with Jon Berry (Begins at 1:00)
2. Interview with Pete Blackshaw (Begins at 9:19)
3. Interview with Dr. Walter Carl (Begins at 20:20)
4. Wrap-up (Begins at 31:18)
Show notes
Links to people, companies, articles, blogs, etc. mentioned in the podcast:
* Jon Berry, senior vice president of NOP World
* WOMunit (PDF)
* The Sopranos
* The Influentials: One American in Ten Tells the Other Nine How to Vote, Where to Eat, and What to Buy
* Bush's grassroots word of mouth campaign
* WOMMA
* Pete Blackshaw, chief marketing officer of Intelliseek
* BlogPulse
* BlogPulse's Author Profile tool
* Instapundit.com's Glenn Reynolds
* Tide
* Technorati
* BlogPulse's Conversation Tracker tool
* Jeff Jarvis complains about Dell
* Dr. Walter Carl, an assistant professor at Northeastern University
* BzzAgent
* Frederick Reichheld's article in the Harvard Business Review, "The One Number You Need to Grow"
* Gary Stein
Show music
Intro/close: "G.L.S." by Salme Dahlstrom
Break 1: "912 Players" by Ernie Lake and Scott P. Schreer
Break 2: "Retro Petro" by Ernie Lake and Scott P. Schreer
Break 3: "Swing" by Ernie Lake and Scott P. Schreer
Show length
37:04
Podcast hosting provided by Conference Calls Unlimited
Tell us what you think! Add a comment below, or send an email to talktous(AT)customerevangelists.com.
Or leave a short voicemail message on our special Podcast Feedback Line: 1-312-896-5095. Follow the prompts and you'll have 3 minutes to leave your audible letter.
Previous podcasts are here.
July 08, 2005
The value of podcasting
John Walkenbach says on his blog "I don't understand podcasts."
He raises a theoretical point: Are podcasts valuable? Referring specifically to our most recent podcast about marketing to women, John says:
Assume for a minute that I actually have an interest in marketing to women. I go to the site, and there's nothing to read. I have to download a 10 Mb MP3 file and devote 23 minutes to listening to it. Had it been a written article, I could have determined if it was worth reading in about five seconds. Then I could have read it all in about five minutes or less.
True. But what podcasts lack in rapid comprehension they make up for in portability, emotional context and overall tone.
A number of commenters to John's post argue that not everyone is like him; people who are unable to read, have reading disabilities or enjoy the multi-tasking ability podcasts provide -- like driving and listening -- outweigh podcasting's limitations, even for delivering information vs. entertainment.
The capabilities of podcasting are just beginning to be imagined. In the next year or so, we'll probably see creative entrepreneurs and smart technologists make it easy for podcasters to create hyperlinks to pre-defined cues in audio files, deliver on-the-fly closed captioning, automatic index creation, or full-text transcripts.
Those innovations will probably change the world of audio books, too. It's always fun to hear from a reader who prefers audio books to
written ones; they say audio books can open just as many doors of
insight and learning as written books do. It's the new-and-improved convergence.
Podcasting is very quickly flattening the broadcasting industry, and technology is sure to rush in and marry the needs of people like John, who want quick comprehension, to those of us who believe that podcasting trumps ASCII text in delivering short bursts of emotional impact and context.
What do you think -- what's the value of an information-driven podcast?
UPDATE: Mark Cuban writes: "Creating your own podcast and trying to make a business out of it is a mistake." Cuban has some experience in online audio content, having co-founded online streaming company Broadcast.com (later bought and shut down by Yahoo).
As in anything new, those who create strong word of mouth and convert it into evangelism typically have better outcomes than those who do not.
June 23, 2005
Podcast: Women's word of mouth; Wanna be a business book author?
In today's podcast, we talk with Andrea Learned, co-author of Don't Think Pink, about word of mouth and women. Tune in for Andrea's advice on how to market to women who influence your male customers. We'll also share our top 10 things we believe you need to know if you want to be a business book author.
To listen now, click on the podcast icon below.
To subscribe to our podcast, you can do one of two things:
* find us in iTunes Podcast directory under Business and click on the Subscribe button
* paste this URL
(http://feeds.feedburner.com/ChurchoftheCustomerPodcast) into a podcast
aggregator like iPodder
Note: From now on, all of our podcasts will be fed from our new podcast blog, so if you want automatic downloads, subscribe to our podcast blog.
Show topics
1. Interview with Andrea Learned, co-author of Don't Think Pink (Begins at 1:00)
2. So you want to be a business book author.... (Begins at 13:00)
Show notes
Links to people, companies, articles, blogs, etc. mentioned in the podcast:
* Andrea Learned, co-author of Don't Think Pink
* 80% of all consumer purchases are made or influenced by women
* "Transparent marketing" to women
* Word of mouth and gender
* Chicago Women in Technology (ChicWIT)
* Tweeter
* Dearborn Publishing
* The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Published
* Brand Autopsy blog
* Robert Scoble
* Shel Israel
* Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers
* Steve Rubel
* Little Red Book of Selling
* Mini, the Wonder Dog
Show music
Intro/close: "G.L.S." by Salme Dahlstrom
Break: "Pink" by Aerosmith
Show length
24:03
Podcast hosting provided by Conference Calls Unlimited
Tell us what you think! Add a comment below, or send an email to talktous(AT)customerevangelists.com.
Or leave a short voicemail message on our special Podcast Feedback Line: 1-312-896-5095. Follow the prompts and you'll have 3 minutes to leave your audible letter.
Previous podcasts are here.
If you find our podcast enjoyable or valuable, vote for us on Podcast Alley here :)
May 25, 2005
Podcast: Are all marketers really liars? A chat with Seth Godin
Today's podcast is a stop on the Business Blog Book Tour for Seth Godin's new book, All Marketers are Liars: The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World.
Next stops on the tour
Metacool (Thursday, May 26)
Brand Mantra (Friday, May 27)
To listen now, click on the podcast icon below.
To subscribe to our podcast, you can do one of two things:
* find us in iTunes Podcast directory under Business and click on the Subscribe button
* paste this URL
(http://feeds.feedburner.com/ChurchoftheCustomerPodcast) into a podcast
aggregator like iPodder
Note: From now on, all of our podcasts will be fed from our new podcast blog, so if you want automatic downloads, subscribe to our podcast blog.
Show topics
1. Interview with Seth Godin about his new book, All Marketers are Liars
2. How customer evangelists defend you in the light of bad reviews
Show notes
Links to people, companies, articles, blogs, etc. mentioned in the podcast:
* All Marketers are Liars and companion blog
* Carnegie Deli
* Soup guy on Seinfeld
* Sripraphai Thai Restaurant
* Manolo Blahnik shoes
* Tom Ford
* Dove body wash on the Apprentice
* Publishers Weekly review of All Marketers are Liars
* Publishers Weekly's comments on Seth's other books
* Technorati search for All Marketers are Liars
* Jack Covert
* Joi Ito
* Ben's iPod blog post (read the comments too)
* Jason Calcanis
* Apple 12" Powerbook
* GM pulls advertising from LA Times
* GM Fastlane blog post on LA Times controversy
* Butler Eagle
* GM's financial problems
* GM vice-chairman Bob Lutz blogs about GM's turn-around strategy
Show music
Intro/close: "G.L.S." by Salme Dahlstrom
Break: "Funked" by Ernie Lake and Scott P. Schreer
Show length
32:18
Interview segment recording provided by Conference Calls Unlimited
Tell us what you think! Add a comment below, or send an email to talktous(AT)customerevangelists.com.
Or leave a short voicemail message
on our special Podcast Feedback Line: 1-312-896-5095. Follow the prompts and you'll have 3 minutes to
leave your audible letter.
Previous podcasts are here.
If you like our podcasts, vote for us on Podcast Alley here : )
April 26, 2005
Podcast: Can't get no satisfaction; creating emotional connections
A new podcast. Finally!
To listen, click on the podcast icon below.
To subscribe to our podcast, you can do one of two things:
* find us in iTunes Podcast directory under Business and click on the Subscribe button
* paste this URL
(http://feeds.feedburner.com/ChurchoftheCustomerPodcast) into a podcast
aggregator like iPodder
Note: From now on, all of our podcasts will be fed from our new podcast blog, so if you want automatic downloads, subscribe to our podcast blog.
Show topics
1. Why customer satisfaction isn't satisfactory
2. How a business drives sales through emotional connections with employees
3. Feedback
Show notes
Links to people, companies, articles, blogs, etc. mentioned in the podcast:
* Home Depot
* Hank Hill
* Home Depot Opinion
* Dictionary definitions of satisfaction
* Lyrics to Satisfaction
* Gallup Management Journal article "Getting Emotional About Brands" (paid subscription req'd)
* Gallup Management Journal article "The Constant Contact" including the CE-11 metric (paid subscription req'd)
* Gallup Management Journal article "Customer Satisfaction is the Wrong Measure" (free)
* Mini Cooper
* XO Communications
* Charlotte Metro Credit Union
* Bank of America
* Wachovia
* Southwest Airlines' "hire for skill, train for skill" philosophy
* Airline on A&E
* Arnold Schwarzenegger
* Holly Powers, The Kevin Eikenberry Group, Indianapolis
* Boris Yankov, Dimitrovgrad, Bulgaria
* Mary Bjorneby, Minneapolis
* Jason Berberich, Grand Forks, ND
* David Hart, Hart & Associates Fine Art, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
* Carl Rogat, Notes4Review, Beaverton, OR
* Ryan Lisbon, Park Avenue of Wayzata, Minneapolis
* Seth Miller, Mostly Muppet blog
* Michael Chaffin, Star in the Margin blog, Pagosa Springs, CO
* Paul Peterson, Medtronic
* TiVo
* Mini the Wonder Dog
Show music
Intro/close: "G.L.S." by Salme Dahlstrom
Breaks 1, 2, 3: "Money" by Zymotic Flow
Break 4: "Alley Kat" by Robin L. Klein and Scott P. Schreer
Show length
32:46
Interview segment recording provided by Conference Calls Unlimited
Tell us what you think! Add a comment below, or send an email to talktous(AT)customerevangelists.com.
Or leave a short voicemail message on our special Podcast Feedback Line: 1-312-896-5095. Follow the prompts (our menu has not recently changed) and you'll have 3 minutes to leave your audible letter.
Find previous podcasts here.
