Podcast Solutions
Adam Curry is accepted by most podcasters as the leader and founder of the podcast movement, and he wrote the introduction to this book. ’Nuff Said.
Ok, I probably should say more than that. The book Podcast Solutions will probably be recorded by future podcasting generations (those in the first half of 2006) as the bible of podcasting.
Author Michael Geoghegan takes you through absolutely every detail of podcasting, with the assumption that the reader has only basic knowledge on the subject. The book’s sections are logically divided into key tasks in creating your own podcasts. The sections are short reads with quality summaries that put each particular task into the overall podcasting picture. Sometimes in technical books, the chapters are so dense and long, you forget exactly what you are reading about! Every aspect of podcasting is covered, from where to find podcasts all the way through publishing and at the end he includes ways of making money via sponsors and affiliate programs.
In most sections,Geoghegan gives you good/better/best suggestions on software and hardware. That approach is very handy, because he gives you a shopping list to start off with, and then gives you the shopping list you need when you out-grow the equipment. When showing examples of a particular concept, the author varies the software and hardware combos he uses and provides ample screen shots to illustrate what he is talking about.
My only major complaint is that Geoghegan does get extremely technical in certain places on how to get the absolute best podcast. It went over my head pretty quickly in some sections, because I didn’t have the advanced software and hardware he was talking about. However, I think you can safely ignore some of his suggestions to start off with and then as you become more serious and spend the money for the professional equipment, you’ll want to know all about “RMS normalization” and “De-esser.”
Best of all, the book includes a CD that contains almost all the software mentioned in the book. Sure you can download the programs from the Internet, but books with a cd (a throwback to an earlier day) when books came with software and software came with manuals is a very nice touch.
Overall, an outstanding book on how to create and distribute a quality, professional podcast.
Pros: Covers every step of podcasting, assuming nothing, and leaves
you absolutely confident you can do this yourself. It comes with a CD too,
a rare find.
Cons: Gets a bit too technical in certain areas, but you can safely skip those parts until you become a serious podcaster.
5 out of 5 dog cows
