Thoughts on Odeo

Last night, I requested an invite to Odeo, Noah Glass and Evan Williams's new podcasting portal. Shortly after, I received an invitation, and signed up. Odeo claims to offer its users a podcasting holy trinity: "Listen, Sync, Create." On the "Listen" level, Odeo is a user-friendly podcast directory. It's got some nice features: tagging (a la Flickr), audio previews and individual Odeo RSS feeds for each podcast, comments, and personalized subscription lists and queues. I was able to browse podcasts, listen to samples, view past episodes (or "Shows," as Odeo calls them), and add feeds and shows to my subscription list and queue. To actually get content onto my iPod, I had to download the OdeoSyncr. As a podcatching app, the Mac version is pretty bare-bones. There's a big pink "Sync Now" button, and a link to an online settings page. Simple as it was, it performed its stated functions; it connected to Odeo, got a list of my feeds, and downloaded them into iTunes. The About page states that the program is based on iPodder, feedparser, and BitTorrent technology. Downloads seemed a bit slow, so perhaps this client is using some sort of distributed peer-to-peer network to alleviate server strain? Additionally, it would be nice if OdeoSyncr could add ID3 info to content before putting it in iTunes (like iPodderX does). Then I could use my existing iTunes smart playlists to filter content. The "Create" section of the site isn't up and running yet. The page says "We're not ready to open the doors on the Create side of Odeo's "Listen, Sync, Create" just yet, because we want to make sure everything's working well and can handle the demand." But, I successfully added Metro Morning's podcast to the directory, and was able to download content. Frustratingly, only one of the four daily items (the oldest) was automatically added to my download queue. All-in-all, Odeo's not there yet. Promising, though. Then again, if Apple can build some sort of magical tagging system into its podcasting support for iTunes, I'll have no use for Odeo. Technorati tags: podcasting, odeo

Memento pilot

Memento is a show idea I pitched to the CBC Radio Program Development Group earlier this year. Though they didn't want it, I decided to produce a pilot as my senior practicum project for Ryerson. I finally got around to uploading the pilot to PRX.org. It's not 100% yet -- there's still tweaking I'd like (and plan) to do. But in the meantime, please have a listen and let me know what you think.

BBC Podcast Trial

Via the BBC Backstage site, comes news that the "BBC Podcast Trial running throughout 2005 has now got an index page from which you can subscribe to indivdual feeds taken from any one of the radio programmes participating."

Hey, Let's Go Do Something

I just got back to Windsor from Toronto, where I spent a few days graduating from Ryerson. I return with a strong desire to get my new podcast/radio show off the ground. Although I haven't written about it here before, I mentioned it at the TO podcaster meetup, and the idea made its way onto Tod's I Love Radio.org. So here's the basic concept: A weekly 30-minute radio show and podcast called Hey, Let's Go Do Something, in which I learn about my new home (Windsor, Ontario) by doing stuff with locals. I pick a local, and they pick the activity. It might be preparing for a yard sale. It might be painting parking spaces at midnight. Who knows? I've met the staff at CJAM, the University of Windsor's campus/community radio station, and I hope we can talk next week about the possibility of distributing it both online and on-air. Why is this a good idea? Well, if it works,

• I get to learn more about my community
• I have an excuse to talk to strangers
• I get to introduce cool people and activities to others
• By distributing it weekly via CJAM, I have a deadline. I need deadlines.

As I've mentioned, I'd like to get this going before iTunes supports podcasting. With my afternoons free here in Windsor, I've got nothing stopping me but myself. Thoughts? Suggestions? Know anybody in Windsor with whom I can spend half an hour? Let me know.

Toronto Podcaster meetup

Went to Toronto's stop on the Canadian Podcaster Roadshow last night. Kudos to Tod Maffin for organizing everything. I met some cool new people, and saw some familiar faces. I'm not yet podcasting, but very interested, and plan to have something off the ground soon. I'd like to have something up by the time iTunes supports podcasts. I told a few people about my show idea last night, and most were responsive. There's no motivation like the enthusiasm of others.