Friday, November 10, 2006
Musings on the podcast
I've been playing around with a few ideas over the past several weeks (I actually slipped one into this week's episode but forgot to mention it!) and I wanted to post them to the blog to get some feedback.
I'm fairly sure most people have noticed that each episode of BH101 is completely scripted - I post a transcript to the blog after recording, and it's pretty much verbatim what I've said in the 'cast. I've been considering making the 'cast a bit more...free form, perhaps? Maybe I could just have a general set of show notes and just kind of talk as I make each point, rather than read from a script? I'm really not sure either way, as I know that if I write it all out I'll know exactly what I want to say before I start recording, but then again I really like podcasts that are a bit more relaxed. Now is the time for the listeners of British History 101 to make a change if they want it! Please let me know your thoughts/feelings on this, and email me with them!
For whatever reason, I just now realized that even though I use music in each episode and announce the work and artist, I've never included the whole song! The episode I released last night ended with the work in its entirety, and unless there's sentiment against it I'll probably continue to do so - that way, everyone can hear a bit more of the artist I'm playing and can maybe check them out on Magnatune. (On a side note - in case anyone is wondering, I don't make any money from British History 101, and Magnatune doesn't pay me to include the line at the end. It's part of my agreement with them so I can play music from their collection of artists.)
I'm thinking about perhaps implementing a "guest intro" segment to BH101. How well would that go over? I think it'd be great if each week a listener could send in an audio file with an opening line, introducing who they are and where they are from, before transitioning into the show proper.
Please feel free to email me and let me know what you think!
I'm fairly sure most people have noticed that each episode of BH101 is completely scripted - I post a transcript to the blog after recording, and it's pretty much verbatim what I've said in the 'cast. I've been considering making the 'cast a bit more...free form, perhaps? Maybe I could just have a general set of show notes and just kind of talk as I make each point, rather than read from a script? I'm really not sure either way, as I know that if I write it all out I'll know exactly what I want to say before I start recording, but then again I really like podcasts that are a bit more relaxed. Now is the time for the listeners of British History 101 to make a change if they want it! Please let me know your thoughts/feelings on this, and email me with them!
For whatever reason, I just now realized that even though I use music in each episode and announce the work and artist, I've never included the whole song! The episode I released last night ended with the work in its entirety, and unless there's sentiment against it I'll probably continue to do so - that way, everyone can hear a bit more of the artist I'm playing and can maybe check them out on Magnatune. (On a side note - in case anyone is wondering, I don't make any money from British History 101, and Magnatune doesn't pay me to include the line at the end. It's part of my agreement with them so I can play music from their collection of artists.)
I'm thinking about perhaps implementing a "guest intro" segment to BH101. How well would that go over? I think it'd be great if each week a listener could send in an audio file with an opening line, introducing who they are and where they are from, before transitioning into the show proper.
Please feel free to email me and let me know what you think!
# posted by Michael Anthony @ 10:42 AM 
Comments:
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Hi
First of all, thank you for doing this podcast - I'm finding it really interesting, and it's making my daily commute a whole lot more productive.
I'm a bit behind in listening to shows, so I only just heard this one, but wanted to give my opinions.
Firstly, I hadn't noticed that the blog was scripted. I've listened to some other podcasts where it's really clear that the person is reading from a script, and that's not been the case with you, so whatever way you find comfortable is fine with me.
Secondly, you mentioned somewhere that a reviewer had expressed a preference for a chronological history - my two cents is that I prefer snippets from here and there - it makes it interesting, keeps it from being too much like a college history course, and means that if you come across some interesting facts you can podcast about them without having to wait until you reach that point in history.
One tiny thing - could you possibly allow people without Blogger accounts to comment on here? It would make things easier for me anyway.
Thanks a million, and I look forward to listening to more podcasts from you.
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First of all, thank you for doing this podcast - I'm finding it really interesting, and it's making my daily commute a whole lot more productive.
I'm a bit behind in listening to shows, so I only just heard this one, but wanted to give my opinions.
Firstly, I hadn't noticed that the blog was scripted. I've listened to some other podcasts where it's really clear that the person is reading from a script, and that's not been the case with you, so whatever way you find comfortable is fine with me.
Secondly, you mentioned somewhere that a reviewer had expressed a preference for a chronological history - my two cents is that I prefer snippets from here and there - it makes it interesting, keeps it from being too much like a college history course, and means that if you come across some interesting facts you can podcast about them without having to wait until you reach that point in history.
One tiny thing - could you possibly allow people without Blogger accounts to comment on here? It would make things easier for me anyway.
Thanks a million, and I look forward to listening to more podcasts from you.
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