Month: November 2005

Podcasting Research Findings

Post ImageYou might recall that a little over a month ago I mentioned Peter Chen’s very promising survey of podcasters and the preliminary results. I remember getting the email about the final findings, but I must have overlooked it in the chaos that was my November (at least the first two weeks). From the abstract:

Based on a survey of 366 podcasters and videobloggers, this paper examines these emerging cultural practices from aspect of production, with specific interest in producer motivations, production methods, the relationship between formats, and audience numbers. The exploratory research findings – largely limited to English language producers – illustrates a number of interesting features about this area of activity.

I’d go out on a limb and posit that “podcasting” and “audioblogging” are generally accepted to be different practices, and I don’t think that “video podcasting” and “videoblogging” will be any different. That being said, the title of the research as “Podcasting and Videoblogging” is kind of off-putting. Is it really videoblogging, or is it actually video podcasting? It would make a difference if you’re really trying to compare the audio and video guys.

The findings are really quite interesting and basically make me long for even more research. Of course, too much research can be a bad thing in some cases too (today wine will save you, tomorrow it will kill you, etc). The frequency of production, gender, and age of producers are immediately the most interesting, but there is lots of data to grok.

Read: Peter Chen

2005 Canadian Blog Awards

Post ImageIt seems that I have been nominated for the 2005 Canadian Blog Awards in the category of Best Blog, according to my Dad, who has been nominated in the category of Best Photo Blog:

I have been lucky enough to be nominated for the 2005 Canadian Blog Awards in the category of Best Photo Blog. There are many derserving nominations there. Have a look at the awards and give me your vote as the Best Photo Blog if you think that I am deserving.

My son Mack (MasterMaq) has also been nominated in the category of Best Blog. Again, there are many worthy nominations in that category but I think that MasterMaq does an excellent job of giving information and his personal insight on just about anything. While you are over at the Canadian Blog Awards voting for me you might as well vote for him at the same time.

Round one voting is underway now, and round two voting is supposed to start on December 3rd. Even if you don’t want to vote, you should check out the site as you’ll probably discover a great blog you didn’t know existed.

Read: EclecticBlogs

Podcasting and Model Airplanes

Post ImageI have written quite a bit about what I call “Average Joe Podcasting“, or podcasting for normal people who don’t want to turn it into a business. I have also mentioned that I think the most common form of podcasting will indeed be this kind of hobby podcasting, not radio-style business podcasting. Unfortunately, it seems rare that someone else understands this, but today I found another person who does:

Rob Walch, a podcasting consultant and host of the popular 411 interview podcast, says he’s bombarded with questions from people looking to strike gold with podcasts. His advice? “I tell people that over 80% of podcasters will never even break even,” he says. “This is a hobby. You don’t expect to make money from flying model airplanes, and chances are you aren’t going to make money from podcasting.” Still, for trailblazers like Curry who are quickly forging links to one another, it won’t be for a lack of trying.

Well said, and in a way that I think a lot of people will be able to understand. Not that it’s bad for people like Curry to try and make some money from it, every industry needs that, I just feel that it won’t overshadow the rest of podcasting for very much longer.

Read: BusinessWeek

Free wireless for New Orleans!

Post ImageIt appears that New Orleans will be the next city to implement free, city-wide wireless Internet access. Yes, that New Orleans, the one that was completely submerged in water a few months ago courtesy Hurricane Katrina. Seems that the devastation of the city is what brought on the free WiFi:

New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin has announced an unprecedented project wherein the entire city will be blanketed by free WiFi within a year. Due to the almost complete devastation of the city’s infrastructure, the free Internet access is one attempt to turn the city’s stagnant economy into one of growth and independence. Like in most large-scale networks, the New Orleans routers will be placed on top of street lights and provide citizens and businesses with 512 kbps download speeds until the city’s state of emergency has been lifted.

I think it’s sad that it takes the destruction of a city to get something like this off the ground, but I think New Orleans will be much better off for it in the long run. And yes there are probably a lot of other projects that require funding and effort to rebuild the city, but I think it’s good the people in charge there are looking beyond just “rebuilding”.

Read: Engadget

Flash Websites Suck!

I realize that the title of this post is a very wide and sweeping claim, but hear me out – I have quite a few good reasons for why I hate Macromedia Flash-based websites. I don’t think I have always disliked Flash, but lately the hatred has grown. There are just so many things to hate:

  1. Flash websites go against the true nature of the Web! This point will probably be the easiest to disagree with, but it’s also a more subtle point. How does the web work? You basically move along by clicking on hyperlinks, from page to page and site to site. What happens if you want to go back to a certain page? You can enter a URI, you can use a back button, or a bookmark, lots of ways. Flash breaks this functionality! You can’t really link to a “part” of a Flash site. Sure you can click links out of the Flash, but they aren’t standard links either – they are not picked up by link crawlers, and they don’t conform to the display standards set in your browser. You don’t always notice this, but it drives me nuts when you need to actually interact with links in a “normal” fashion.
  2. Flash sites are slow and take forever to load! Basically when I load a Flash website, and see some sort of progress bar or percentage, the website is saying to me “I think I’m so great you’re going to have to wait until I am good and ready to be displayed!” What the heck is that? When I visit a web page, I want the page to load, not the entire site! And Flash sites that show the progress bar just for looks piss me off even more. I have high speed for a reason morons!
  3. Flash sites require you to learn a new interface each time! I admit, this point is also sort of easy to argue against, but think about it. How different are HTML-based websites? Really different? Not really. They typically all have some sort of textual or graphical menu along the top or one of the sides. Almost all of these websites are fairly similar in the way you navigate them. Flash sites on the other hand are completely different! Some sites want to you click different objects in a 3D world, others have pictures with no words. The links are often scattered around the Flash animation which means I have to hunt around. And the most annoying part of Flash navigation is that often times you click a menu item, only to be shown a submenu with no way to get back to the original menu! It’s frustrating to say the least.
  4. Flash sites don’t “fit” my screen! Most websites will resize depending on how big or small my browser is, and how large or small my screen’s resolution is. Not so with Flash sites! Almost every Flash site I have come across has a set size, and too bad if your screen/browser size doesn’t work out.

Those are the main things that bug me about Flash sites – as you can see, they are pretty logical and straightforward. There’s some other minor things that get under my skin too:

  • Lots of Flash sites don’t have a text-only or HTML-only equivalent!
  • Why must every musician or band in the world have a difficult to use Flash site?
  • Most of the time trying to copy text from a Flash animation is impossible.
  • I realize it’s hard to get a browser that doesn’t have Flash, but requiring a user to install a plugin to see any of a website is kind of dumb, Flash or not.
  • Show me the source! Sometimes I like poking around the HTML, CSS or javascript – it’s a useful way to learn from others. I can’t see the source of a Flash site though!

I really don’t care how good you think Flash will make a website look. I’d take usability over looks any day (with very, very few exceptions), and that’s really why I hate Flash sites.

Firefox 1.5 Released

The Mozilla Foundation has released the first major revision to Firefox, version 1.5. I downloaded and installed it tonight on both machines without any problem. In fact, I quite like how simple upgrading the extensions was – much improved over previous installs. Here’s what’s new:

New in the 1.5 version are more sophisticated security and performance features. In addition to a more effective pop-up blocker, the updated browser is designed to ease security updates. The program checks daily for patches, downloads them automatically and then prompts users to install them, said Chris Beard, vice president of products at Mozilla.

Other improvements include “forward” and “backward” browsing buttons designed to load Web pages more quickly. A new drag-and-drop feature for browser “tabs” lets users keep related pages together.

If you’re a Firefox user, definitely download the upgrade!

UPDATE: It seems that all of the engines I had in my search box were removed after upgrading, and now when I try to add them again, they appear as blank entries in the list! Not sure what the deal is with that!

Read: CNET News.com

No more PC gaming?

Post ImageIt used to be that if you wanted the best gaming experience, you’d need to play your games on the computer. There were many reasons for this, including the raw power of computers, the ability to hook up to the Internet, and the ability to upgrade your hardware to play the most cutting edge games. While consoles have always had the advantage of “leveling the playing field” in terms of hardware and thus game performance, many hardcore gamers stuck to the computer.

Since the launch of the Xbox 360, the buzz around the “death of gaming PCs” has gotten much louder. First, from Sottozero:

It’s safe to say the gaming consoles are no longer just gaming consoles — they’re full-blown entertainment hubs. They’ve come of age, and they’ve got an attitude. And they threaten to kick traditional gaming PCs’ collective ass.

The gaming PC upgrade cycle is a rat race, an endless effort. With living room technology coming that’s as powerful as PS3 and Xbox 360 seem to be, it makes less and less sense to hop on the gaming PC carousel, particularly from a financial standpoint.

And second, from Paul Thurrott:

What’s interesting about this to me is that I’m a PC gamer from way back. When I moved to the PC from the Amiga in the mid-1990’s, I had to adapt to keyboard-based gaming and, later, with the advent of Quake and Duke Nukem 3D, to keyboard-and-mouse gaming. I’ve dabbled in video game systems since, but have really been more comfortable with the PC stuff. With Xbox 360 that’s changing. It’s exactly like when I switched from pure keyboard PC gaming.

The Xbox 360 (and the PS3 later next year) boasts raw power far exceeding most home computers for the foreseeable future, and it’s not unreasonable to expect that the next generation of consoles will extend the lead even farther. There’s more to gaming than just power though. Imagine trying to play Team Fortress Classic on the Xbox. I think back to my TFC days and one of the big things that sticks out in my mind is “key bindings”. You basically found a way to use every key on the keyboard – hard to do with a controller that only has a dozen or so buttons. Lots of other games wouldn’t port well to a console either, like World of Warcraft.

On the other hand, I think the fact that Internet connectivity has become so central for gaming consoles opens the door so to speak. I wouldn’t be surprised if consoles do gain the ability to play games like WOW, whether it’s from different controllers (sort of like keyboards) or just unique on-screen interfaces. The fact that Xbox Live is so deeply integrated into the console will definitely make MMO games more likely.

Truth be told, I haven’t really played computer games for a long time now. I have Age of Empires II installed, but it’s been ages since I last played. Maybe Paul is right when he says “I think we’re seeing the beginning of a big transition here.”

The Liberals Are Gone

Post ImageI am listening to 630 CHED and just heard the vote reach 171 in favor of the motion, which means the Liberal government in Canada has fallen. Actually, I have been listening for a couple of hours now, and there seems to be a few common refrains:

  • The coming election will be the dirtiest ever.
  • Southern Ontario will be the main battleground.
  • Canadians have lost faith in the political process in general.
  • All parties were hurt by Adscam.

You might recall that I voted for the Liberals in the last election. It’s pretty safe to say that I won’t be voting for them again this time around. That being said however, I don’t know who I will vote for. I don’t feel as though there is a political party that really represents me. I don’t feel as though any of the party leaders are really intriguing.

And perhaps worst of all, I don’t feel as though the coming election campaigns will be able to change that.

Podcasting – the "teenager" of media

Post ImageI feel very lucky that I’ve been able to watch podcasting grow since the beginning basically, and through that time I’ve noticed a number of things. Such as the fact that the media has to put podcasting (or whatever is new and hot) into a category at every stage of it’s growth. Always comparing, always categorizing. A good example is Jon Fine’s article in BusinessWeek (Nov 28th) entitled “Can Podcasting Do Business?“:

Podcasting is the teenage clique of media. Small enough that its pioneers refer to one another by first names only, young enough that it’s unclear which media model fits it, and brazen enough to believe it can figure it all out by itself. Parents will tell you how stubborn adolescents can be — and how, more annoyingly, adolescents are sometimes right.

Sounds good as a categorization, and in some respects it works, so it gets printed. Good sign of the times we live in too – I very much doubt that similar sorts of things were written about the automobile industry or the software industry when they were starting out (though I don’t know for sure, I’m not that old). We’re at the point that we can monitor the growth of an industry from the start and in a very indepth way, for good or bad.

Note too that a “model which fits it” is still pointed out. That’s another aspect of the growth of podcasting that just won’t go away it seems, that everyone thinks it must have a business model.

Read: BusinessWeek