In December 2006, I had my first taste of producing a podcast. It was the 17th Annual Humble and Fred Christmas Show, recorded at Dan Duran's house and made available online by yours truly. Over the next five years we'd record more Humble and Fred podcasts until the perfect storm presented itself. The guys are now quickly approaching their 250th episode, still served up fresh daily via my lovingly knit XML and HTML enthused infrastructure.
Part One: Making the Audio Accessible
I've learned a lot about the back end (insert joke here) of podcasting over the years, but getting the MP3 heard on multiple devices in a multitude of ways is only 1/3rd of the equation. My plan was to learn the other 2/3rds, content production and hosting and audio production, and I decided to do that by throwing myself into the ring.
Part Two: Creating Interesting Content and Hosting Your Show
I started my podcast in early September and now have a dozen episodes online. Over these 12 episodes, I've learned so much in terms of hosting a podcast, driving content, scheduling guests and keeping it flowing. With lots of help from Rosie, my wonderful co-host, and Mike Wixson, my audio producer, I actually feel confident owning the mic. Toronto Mike'd has been a blast.
Part Three: Audio Mixing and MP3 Production
Starting with episode 13, which I plan to record tomorrow night assuming my voice returns, I'm going to learn the final third slice of the podcast pie. I'm going to manage the audio elements and learn how to produce the MP3. That's what's next and I'm excited.
Podcasting is more than an XML file and being indexed by iTunes. I'm learning that.
