blogging Archive

Fast, free and easy podcasting with Podbean & PodOmatic

Podcasting with PodOmatic and PodbeanThis week, I was speaking about podcasting to a group of social enterprise entrepreneurs. These are the heroes and heroines of our communities, in my opinion, yet even those who knew what a podcast was were nervous that the technology might be beyond them.

So for those I met at the UnLtd/Media Trust event (and maybe a few others), here’s a way to connect your passion with some of the most committed online communities using two simple, free platforms: PodOmatic and Podbean.

First, though, what’s it all about? Podcasts can be audio or video – anything you can imagine on your iPod, really. But let’s keep it simple for now and focus on audio.

OK, so why not just plonk your latest rant, recipe or review on your website as an audio file. You can. And that’s fine. But wouldn’t it be nice if people could listen to your latest masterpiece anywhere, anytime? And how neat would it be if your podcast popped up in iTunes, where people could download it and become regular subscribers?

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SIDE BY SLIDE 2: Creating audio slideshows with Soundslides

Part 2 of a comparison between audio slideshows created with Soundslides, iMovie, Windows Movie Maker and Picasa. Other pages: IntroductioniMovie & Windows Movie Maker, Picasa, the Verdict.

Soundslides ... the benchmark for quality and ease of use

Meet the benchmark for professional quality and ease of use, with a well-earned reputation to match.

Upload a folder of jpeg images and an MP3 file and Soundslides spaces the timing of images to match the audio (in other words, your project is as long as your MP3 file). On export, Soundslides creates a ‘publish to web’ folder which must be uploaded to a server. Armed with the folder’s URL, you then visit the online Soundslides utility, which generates an embed code for your blog or website.

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SIDE BY SLIDE 3: Creating audio slideshows with iMovie and Windows Movie Maker

Part 3 of a comparison between audio slideshows created with Soundslides, iMovie, Windows Movie Maker and Picasa. Other pages: Introduction, Soundslides, Picasa, the Verdict.

iMovie ... easy to use and deceptively-powerful

iMOVIE 09

iMovie 09 is streets ahead of iMovie 08 in my book and a deceptively-powerful editing tool.

To create an audio slideshow just drag images and an MP3  file directly to the project window. It’s then easy to change the order of images, add transitions (one-second dissolve in this case) from the extensive library, and adjust the timing of images. When complete, the slideshow can be exported direct to YouTube.

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