Will Knott

Am I a podcaster? It should be a simple question to answer, but for me, things have gotten complicated.

You see I filled out the podcast listener and producer survey being conducted by Adele McAlear and Donna Papacosta. Actually if you listen to podcasts, go and do the survey yourself. But in the process of filling out the survey, I realised that I might be making podcasts myself.

I should know what a podcast is, goodness knows I love them. Technically, a podcast is a series of digital media files, audio or video, that are downloaded and made available through a syndicated feed, such as RSS.

For the stuffy amongst you, to have your podcast available for iTunes you need to supply iTunes with your RSS feed. The “pod” bit came about thanks to the iPod/ iTunes/ iPhone/iPad phenomena. If you can listen to it online, but can’t download it, then its a stream.

The unsure part of me is thanks to Audioboo. Audioboo is a website, and its an application for my phone. I start the app, record my thought in to the phone, hit a button and it sends the file off to the Audioboo servers. There the audio file is available for download (check one), or streaming and its part of an RSS feed (check two).

The thing is, it does not feel like podcasting. There is no microphone, there is no production (let alone production values). There is a minimum of action, but there is interaction. I follow people on Audioboo.

Its a audio twitter, where business and passion interact. And replies pass through members.

There is also an ambient category. Take out the phone and record where you are. Thanks to GPS info, it could be an audio Foursquare. What am I hearing now?

Its also useful for correspondents. Only temporary files are on the phone. In an “interesting” area you can record your piece and (with iOS4 and Android) upload the audio in the background. If you are stopped and searched, the evidence has already been uploaded to a server outside the jurisdiction. Expect to see it feature in a remake of “The Conversation“.

It is podcasting made easy. So yes, I am a podcaster! My studio lives in my pocket. And right now, I have no idea what to say.

Any ideas?

Well 2007 is on the way out. And as usual in Ireland, all things come to a halt for a while. Christmas is a scary time of the year because, usually, everything gets changed this week. This is probably the reason why resolutions are saved for this time of the year in this part of the world. You’ve just survived one week of changes intact. Why not make more…

For some people, this is a time of the year when they are handed responsibilities that they normally don’t look after. (Some even learned new skills this way). These people (of which I’m one) have their lives thrown a little off kilter for a while. And they have to consider what’s important and what needs to change.

For others everything comes to a stop. Work stops. The life of the office stops (and some people try to hide the evidence of what happened at the office party… ah flickr and facebook) and the news cycle slows. For them this comes as a chance to think. And they have to consider what’s important and what needs to change.

So the adverts change from “buy this” to “stop smoking” or “start a new hobby with this magazine” and of course “sale now on…” since the Christmas stock costs too much to store.

And so the resolutions begin. The “I’ll never rush in to a sale again” is heartfelt but unheeded within a week. So I’ll ignore that one.

Yup… resolutions.

What do I want to do or change? Trust me I’ve had a while to think about these things so…

1) Be master of my own domain…
I don’t mean tidy the house (but now that you mention it, the bathroom mirror does need to b put in the bathroom. I mean it’s time that WillKnott.net and WillKnott.ie actually got used as something more than a redirect. Part of this is to do with changes that seem to be afoot. The “cork” in “cork-host” may need to change.
All advice gratefully accepted.

2) On your bike…
Personally, I need to get out more. I’ve used every excuse not to cycle this year. 2008 will see a saddle put under strain. Regularly. That and go back to Capoeira again. Things sort of stopped over December.

3) Learn (or relearn) a language…
I’ve always been more a OnLamppp man than an AJAX man. So I’m going to refresh and perfect my Perl, python and PHP. I do intend to get Ruby (and maybe rails) in my head. Sort of useful with a domain eh? Somehow I just know that Java will need something more formal than a commitment by me. Any pointer to classes or tutorials would be appreciated.

What, you assumed French? (Actually Portuguese would be useful for Capoeira but that’s another story.)

4) Take time to smell the roses…
Or actually plant them. Simply put, my garden is a mess. Actually that not true. I was careful. My garden is black. Black weed-proof plastic. I need to do some things. Lay a patio. Do “something” with a terrace. I genuinely don’t know what should happen out there. I do know I need the hardscaping finished. Help?

5) Give voice…
This is neither a resolution nor a commitment. But my attendance at PodCamp Ireland and the forthcoming Creative Camp gave me an idea… which I’ll post later.

I think that is enough. You can’t make yourself too many resolutions simply because putting too much pressure on yourself almost guarantees that you won’t do any.

Any resolutions or advice?

take care,
Will Knott

tags : 2007, 2008, change, resolution, domain, WillKnott.net, WillKnott.ie, cycle, capoeira, onlamp, garden, PodCamp, PodCamp Ireland, Creative Camp, podcasting