Blogging and Podcasting

Well the blogging has really been suffering since This and That Podcast has been taking off. I've seen others that have been successful at both blogging and podcasting but so far I've not been so skilled. I am still planning on blogging here so keep your syndication software pointed away!

First though, some news on the podcast. We have done 5 shows so far and it's really taken off beyond my wildest expecations. Every week sees more and more downloads and interesting press from different parts of the web. Podcasting is news and it's a blast riding on this 'wave'.

As I write this we are ranked number 30 (of over 1600 podcasts) at Podcast Alley - one of the premier directories right now for finding podcasts. Many thanks to everybody who have voted for us. We would please ask you to consider to continue to vote for us every month (counting starts fresh monthly) as this is really is one of the best ways to get our show heard. I truly believe that once people give us a listen, they will continue to come back for more. I haven't heard any podcast yet where I just thought "wow - these guys are just better, more clever ideas, faster wit, better execution, better production" so I'm pretty happy with our product vis-a-vis the competition at this point - not that we can't improve of course!

If you haven't caught my bit with Terry Gross (host of NPR's "Fresh Air") from the last show, I highly recommend it for a good laugh.
3 minute MP3

OK - time to go back to the 24-hour Terri Schiavo coverage... geez....

Google Maps

I stumbled across Google's new beta version of their mapping function. I really think it's impressive. The little graphic to the right doesn't quite do them justice. As with any mapping application, you can enter an address. What I like about Google's version is three-fold: 1) the maps are HUGE with nicely intuitive panning and zooming controls; 2) easy to map the closest businesses - the graphic shows the Starbucks that are close to me and 3) the quality of the maps are just really nice regardless of the zoom level chose. They also have driving directions as well. Hurrah, Google!

A Lot Of Traffic

The blog at D Magazine (a magazine focused on Dallas) had the following entry for our new podcast. The stunning thing is that at last count (about 4 hours into the mention), traffic has already exceeded 100 new page loads on the podcast page. Absolutely amazing what a little mention can do!

NEW WAYS TO WASTE TIME
From Stupendo Studios in the heart of Dallas comes Jeff and Pat's This And That Podcast.

Hmmm.. not sure what is meant by the term 'waste time' but I'm not sure that's good! But as Irish dramatist Brendan F. Behan said "There is no such thing as bad publicity except your own obituary".

Future of Podcasting

From the Social Customer Manifesto blog comes this about the future of podcasting (which I tend to agree with):

"...Unfortunately, if past history is any judge, podcasting is going to follow the hype curve shown above. Like blogs, we'll likely see many millions of abandoned podcasts in the upcoming couple of years. We'll see a handful of "super podcasts" with huge followings. We'll see an even greater number of niche, long tail podcasts with a handful of subscribers each. But those numbers are just for the consumer-facing ones. What will be hidden (just like blogs) will be the many millions of internal, business-oriented podcasts locked behind the firewall..."