The "Gigadango" (as I call it) software that creates mp3 files by dynamically taking wav files you've uploaded and "stitches" together will probably not fall off the face of the earth. The great thing is one of these files could be an advertisement. Then if you changed that section of the podcast chain, it would update all your back catalog. It was awesome.

I had an email exchange with Doug from Podango today. He said there are people who are interested in purchasing the technology that Podango originally purchased from Gigavox. He said it would be coming back as a paid service (after some enhancements are done to the system (like making it work - I was on show 62 and was surprised to see the system stopped uploading my shows 18 shows ago).

They are asking current users what they would pay for the system on a monthly basis.This is hard to answer as is this on a per show basis? Can I sign up and have multiple podcasts under one account? They should create a payment structure based on episodes (as I just moved 30 episodes I would pay to NOT have to do that again).

I would pay anywhere from $10-20 a month per show.

In a live call last night with Cliff Ravenscraft Michael Geohegan of Gigavox said they couldn't do anything with the technology as they had indeed sold it to Podango. As he put it, "If you sell someone a car and they go out of business you don't get the car back (Editor's note: I'm paraphrasing). "

The thing that makes me scratch my head and play arm chair quarterback, is if the software had been "enhanced" and Podango charged to use the service, could they have avoided this situation?

For anyone who purchases this technology I say make it Amazon S3 compatible and you will be a no brainer.

If you haven't heard, Podango is gasping for air, and saying the chances of them making it 2009 are slim (so if you have hosting there, they are telling people to move it).  So it is with sadness I watch a podcast network go under. When I went to their site I think I know why. Their content was horrible. Now in the 5 minutes on the site I went to their "Podcast Mastery" channel. Of the 6 shows listed only 2 had one episode published in 2008. Here is the list

Podcast Uderground last published May 2008
Podonomoics last published July 2007
Podcast Planning last published April 2007
Profitable Podcasting last published October 2007
Podcast Tools last published April 2008
Kick My Apps - Mar 2007

The last one (Kick My Apps) had only ONE episode. How does a show get on a network with just one episode? Wasn't the idea to find the best shows, group them together, and the sell advertisements across all of them? Who would advertise where the majority of shows have "Podfaded."

In the meantime I am DEADLY afraid of losing their show builder lite technology (that they they purchased from Gigavox). While the system had its flaws, it was the only one of its type that the average podcaster could afford (free). I've been saying they should've taken that system and CHARGED for it. They were using Amazon S3 for the back end, so it wouldn't take much to turn a profit. My hope is that Gigavox can now bring it back under their name when it used to work), and allow us to use it.

Now is podcasting dead? No. What we learned was:

There is no such thing as free hosting.
You can't stay in business if you don't charge for your service.
Content is king.
If you can't charge for it becuase its broken, fix it so you can.
If you need to sell advertising, you need a sales staff.

It should be interesting as other networks (Mevio) are using the same business model (only slightly adapted to be more slanted towards affiliate marketing instead of actual sales ads). However, in this model if people don't purchase the products, you don't make money.

My best to Lee and Doug - two really nice guys.

2009 should be fun to watch. Podcasting is not dead for those who pay to have their communal house built on good content and communication with their audience. It's still about relationships. You build the relationship with good content.

Looking back at 2008, there were some things that were working and some things that were disappointments

Today I was thinking about the things that didn't go so well. Here are some of the things that went south in 2008.

Podpress was a great plugin. I never used all the features (as they often didn't work). It added alot of versatility to your blog. When the new versions of Wordpress came out, it broke podpress. The good news is between blubrry powerpress and the good old old fashioned "audio player" plugin from 1 pixel I've been able to find satisfactory alternatives. From what I've heard in a few podcasts, Wordpress supplied the code to fix podpress to the people who support it, and they still haven't updated their plugin.  I am actually implementing the 1 pixle player on my "Logical Weight Loss" podcast (www.logicalloss.com) and I am using the plugin to put a "subscribe in itunes" pre roll.

Mevio.  - thats all I can say. I have more potential going into 2009 using the company, but I can't pay my bills with potential. Hopefully these are just growing pains on my way to "quitting my day job."

My deepest disappointment was back in April of 2008 I had mentioned that the Podango Show Builder Lite tool had been broken (from what I understand it was fragile to start with). It works, but the automatic updating of advertising in your podcasts does not. Lee from Podango had commented on the post and I felt better knowing they were working on it. I sent an e-mail to Lee last week, but have not received an update (as its not been fixed).

I believe that this is a tool that some podcasters would pay for. For those that are doing affiliate marketing as an income this is a great tool (and let's face it many of the "big" podcast networks are simply doing affiliate marketing). It would be great if the single podcaster had a tool that could dynamically create podcasts based on "pieces parts" that they upload. Then when one of the pieces parts is updated, the entire back catalog is updated. This was a great system on paper, and darn it I want one for Chritmas.

With systems like Amazon S3 for the back end, I'm not sure why this is not a reality yet. Can Doug Kaye and the folks at gigavox temporarily get in there and fix it? I know if you use Libsyn Pro they have a simliar system (but a little expensive for the average podcaster). There is a need here companies. There is a niche.

Santa, can you please send someone to fill it?

This has been a great past 30-60 days. I've had 3 websites that have been hacked, and this week my gmail for the Musicians Cooler Podcast was hijacked. I've not been able to login. Google is working on it, but its been slow and there is no phone number to call (only email for support).

This is ironic as I recommend that people own their own domain, their own wordpress installation, but I dank the Google Kool-aid and believed that I would be fine. When I first started I announced an email from my domain that forwarded to my gmail account, and later just started announcing my gmail address as my primary email.

If I had continued to use my domain's email account I could've used gmail to check my email. If gmail goes down, I could use outlook, or may other web based systems. However, if there is a problem with Gmail I am at the mercy of google support.

If you are starting a podcast, use your domain's email account (J just made a tutorial that shows how to create email accounts). This way you can stay in control. Amy I complaining? No, after all what are they going to do give me my money back?

Recently I figured out that I wasn't listening to my Satelite Radio in my car that much. I would listen to Howard Stern, but kept finding myself hearing the same 90 minutes over and over. If I wanted to hear the whole thing I would have to listen online, and that didn't work in my house (as I wonder all over). With the economy the way it is, and now saving for a wedding (mine), I decided to make some budgets cuts. I decided after listening to Howard Stern every morning since he first appeared in Cleveland (so at least 20 years), I would cancel my subscription. This is where things get interesting as it took four weeks to cancel.

First I called in, and they couldn't find my account (while my account worked fine to listen online). The phone person told me to call back in a few days as they were having system issues. I did, and that person had the same problem. I even gave them the number off my radio. They could somehow find part of my information, but not enough to cancel my subscription. They gave me  case number 18309227 so I wouldn't have to jump back through the same hoops. Every time I went through this I would be asked to call them back in a few days or a week. I explained that if I was charged again, I would reverse the charges. They said they understood (they did, and I didn't).

Finally this week I called back a little more "cut the crap" forceful. I got someone on the phone who said, "That's weird I found your information right here." He asked why I was canceling, and then passed me over to the cancellation department where I waited on hold for 28 minutes. I was very close to hanging up. Keep in mind I'm only saving 12 bucks a month, and the process of canceling was getting expensive.

The Cancellation Department

When I got on the phone with the cancellation department I explained how I was cutting back. I have no gripes against them and think they put out a good product. However, I basically have it to listen to Howard and I never caught all the show. Then things got interesting.

"How about if we put your account on hold for two months?" (suspend payments). "No Thank you," I said.

"How about if we add two free months (a total of four months then)." "Um, I appreciate the offer but no thank you."

She continued, "OK, Mr Jackson you had said you switched cars and you need a new antenna?" Yes and I don't want to put out the money for the antenna or the installation.

"What if we sent you a new antenna and paid for the installation?" I was surprised. "Um, well…. I do appreciate the offer, but I'm still going to have a monthly payment… so no thank you. " I said.

"What if we gave you a new radio as well?" she asked." "I have a radio already, but what kind of radio? Now you have my attention. Is this one of those portable jobs that works indoors with Wifi? If so, I may have to think about this (as those go for 200 bucks). "No, its for your car." she answered. "In that case no thank you."

So to keep me on board they were willing to give me

4 free months
1 radio
1 antanea
1 paid installation of equipment.

What would've kept me?

A Howard Stern Podcast.

Put me in control of the content. Let me decide to sleep in and listen when I want, where I want. Rush Limbaugh, Jim Rome, Dave Ramsey all are syndicated nationally and all have podcasts that you pay for (some give away portions for free). Sirius should not think of themselves as a "Satellite Radio" company but an "Information" company and deliver the information in whatever way their listeners want it. Are you going to tell me the bandwidth bill would be more than launching a satellite into space?  Mel Karmazin are you listening? There are tools like premiumcast.com that will help you sell your podcast. THis is surprising as Howard is such a brilliant businessman, and really truly understands radio. Howard Stern started a popular genre of podcasting. There would be no Dawn and Drew, no Keith and the Girl, if it wasn't for Howard Stern. He was the first to put it all out there. He talked about his personal life, he let his emotions flow, and he was as real as you can get.

Now the power of a time shifted podcast is putting a squeeze on Sirius as they were willing to pay me at least 200 bucks to stay. I'll miss you Howard. Call me when its time to set up your podcast.

On the School of Podcasting's morning announcements where you Learn how to podcast I talk about the "Round Table" sessions that we have with out members. This week on Thursday 12/4 we have a special guest Dave Moyer of the Wordcast Podcast (one of my favorite wordpress podcasts).  "The Prince of Plugins" (I made that up not Dave) will be joining us at the Beginning of the call (which starts at 9 PM EST). There are only 5 seats available to the public so you better register quick (like NOW). For more information and to register to go http://sop1.eventbrite.com/

I just started listening to a new podcast that I really like… well kind of. It's the Wordcast podcast at www.wordcastpodcast.com I've heard three episodes so far. It has three hosts. One host (Kim Huynh) is really into the bleeding edge of Wordpress (so he talks alot about things that only exist in Beta - which I only use stuff that has been tried and tested). They have one host (Beth) who is a blogger, but knows almost nothing about the technical side. This is good for the newbies who also listen, as Beth probably asks the questions that they are thinking. Beth also is big into themes. Then there is Dave Moyer who is a nice mix between the two, and seems to have Wordpress knowledge coming out of his ears. Beth and Dave go to the same church and have alot of "inside jokes" that I don't get.

The one thing I am listening for is their "Plugin of the week." They have recommended some really great plugins. To this I wish, "I wish their podcast was simply the plugin of the week." Now there may be a plugin of the week podcast, but that is an example of my, "I wish this podcast existed." If it did I would listen religiously. As for now I fast forward through the beta talk, fast forward through the parts where Beth takes them off topic (Hey this plugin has great colors… this website has tops on cooking!), and get right to the plugin of the week section. That is the magic of podcasting (the fast forward button).

What podcast do you wish existed?

I talked about business podcasts in my last podcast. I spoke about how its a great way to build a relationship with your customers. I'm not sure what McDonald's is doing with their podcast. It seems to be served with a side of propaganda. One episode interviews someone who works with the meat packaging plants (but gives no specifics). There is the 2008 Shareholder's meeting which is great for insomniacs. Many of them seem to be generated by a "Corporate Social Responsbility" division of McDonalds.

One episode is "What its like to have a McJob?"  The first year of the McDonalds is the "McDonalds you don't know." These episodes show community work that different owners are doing. These seemed focused, but the podcasts in 2008 seem a bit lost. If nothing else, one can say one of the largest companies in the world has a podcast.  Aside from that, there is not much to listen to.

I have a Podcast Fast Pass client who liked podbean.com but was slightly constrained by the design limitations. He wanted full control of his site, and podbean has some limitations. The nice thing that podbean did for them is it was a way to sell premium content.

The solution?  We obtained our own web host (I like hostgator, great price, and great support, or if you're on a budget try my hosting solution at www.coolerwebsites.com - phenomenal price, with ok service ) and put wordpress on it. Now he has complete control. But what about the premium content?

We are going to use premiumcast.com Originally I thought of just unpublishing his back episodes, and copying and pasting it into premiumcast. Then you lose the google juice (as these episodes would no longer show up on the site). So I looked at what podbean did. They left the post the but restricted the listener (so the google juice was there, the content was not).

You can pull this off by replacing the media file (audio in this case) with a "you can hear this episode along with the entire back catalogue by becoming a premium subscriber, click the button below and become a premium member today" audio file. On that same blog post, have a sign up button from premiumcast. The great thing about premiumcast is the visitor never leaves your site. They sign up at your site, and never know what service your using.

The question we are pondering about selling back issues is should you offer a one time payment for all of them, or offer one episode a week for a monthly fee. The useful thing is in premiumcast you could create both and allow the visitor to choose (one feed with a time release, and one with immediate delivery).

The one tip I can provide is if you originally signed up with podbean, you are going to need to redirect the iTunes feed. You can do this by going into podbean, and under the iTunes settings put <itunes:new-feed-url>the rss to your new blog or feedburner</itunes:new-feed-url> in the box labeled "additional feed entity."

So what do you think is a better way to go, a one time fee for all back episodes (say 50 bucks) or a monthly fee of $5 bucks for 4 episodes?

Just got back from a Love and Respect marriage convention in Chicago. One of the surprising stats was that many men do not wear their wedding ring. I talk about this more on the "Dates From Hell Show" blog. It can be a big boost to her if you wear it. In the meantime, take two seconds to provide an answer to the one question Wedding Ring Poll