My Podcast Assignment: Podcasts/Web 2.0

TRANSCRIPT: 

INTRO MUSIC

Hello!

This is Jessica Lerfold and in this recording, I will be briefly talking a bit about what exactly podcasts are and how they fit into Web 2.0. This casting is being recorded for American Military University’s course Web 2.0 Fundamentals – all music is royalty free from Kevin MacLeod, which can be located at Incompetech.

So, what is a podcast you ask? These are audio, or sometimes video recordings of content. There are one or more hosts to the show and more often than not there is collaboration involved in the form of sharing information, interviews, or additional added content within the cast. These recordings are meant to be available for playback on a variety of media – think gaming consoles, personal computers and mobile devices. Here’s a fun fact for you: Did you know where the word podcast comes from? It is the result of a combination of iPod and broadcasting.

MUSIC

Ok, so now that we know the basics of a podcast, let’s talk a bit about how it relates to the term Web 2.0. If you’re unsure about what that is, don’t worry – it’s something you probably are involved in on a daily basis without even realizing. To keep it simple, Web 2.0 is a term used to encompass a variety of the tools and services we use on the web to make content. Have you ever used a social media site, wiki or open source software? Those are examples of what is included in the broad spectrum of components making up this term. If you can contribute or collaborate – it relates to Web 2.0.

If you think about it, podcasts will often have their own website. Users can submit ideas, questions and comments to the host, which they may or may not address during their casts. Mash ups of music, commercials, skits, and various other things are often created and included during an episode; many of these mash ups are a collaboration between the shows host, viewers, and other outside sources.

Sometimes they may record live through a streaming service with video or no video – but they have a chat room to interact with viewers while the show is being recorded. There may be some podcasts that don’t use social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter to promote and interact with the public, but I have yet to listen to one that hasn’t personally.

MUSIC

I’d like to thank everyone for listening today. You can find the written transcript for this cast, as well as credits on my blog: my20path.blogspot.ca. You can also find RSS feeds and reviews for a few other podcasts. The blog contains more Web 2.0 content and discussion, so if that interests you, please make sure to check it out! Have a good one!

OUTRO MUSIC

Starak, Y. (2014). What is a Podcast? Retrieved from https://www.entrepreneurs-journey.com/230/what-is-a-podcast/ 

Podcast & Podcast Alley Websites

If I’m honest, I really disliked using both Podcast.com and Podcastalley.com.  Podcast is probably the better of the two navigation-wise when looking for a podcast to listen to. The biggest downfall to this site are the number of podcasts that are old and outdated. It was a little difficult to find current shows of interest to listen to.

Podcast Alley on the other hand, has plenty of updated shows, but I was basically only able to find ones that were on the front page. Even then, the site directed me to another site with a listing of the podcasts they host, so it was like I wasn’t even using Podcast Alley to begin with.

Both sites contained broadcaster information – tips and tricks, technical articles, podcamps, etc. While I was able to use the sites suggested to complete my assignments this week, I do prefer sites like Stitcher or iTunes when it comes to browsing for shows to listen to. Stitcher has a variety top 100 list, another top 100 list by how much shows are either moving up in the rankings, and a great selection of categories to browse through.

Podcast: The Instance

The last podcast I chose to listen to this week is one that was more familiar to me. It is a World of Warcraft podcast called The Instance. I had stopped listening to Warcraft podcasts for a number of months, as my playtime diminished significantly due to school. It wasn’t a big deal though because it was during the months before the release of the newest expansion for the game. It was good to pick this one back up and feel a sense of familiarity with all of the things they were discussing.

It was a lot of initial thoughts on leveling, zones, graphics, instanced areas, etc. since the expansion had just released. Each person touches on their experience with the expansion in the first 4 days of launch throughout the episode. As always, they listen to voice mails left by listeners and answer any questions that are sent in. (The Instance, 2016)

As a side note, the podcast has their own forum section on their website host, although most of the threads are a bit old – dating back to the winter. They are slightly more active on their Facebook (only really posting episodes), but are the most active on Twitter, as are most similar podcasts I listen to. If you’re looking for Warcraft news and player experiences from seasoned podcasters, give this one a listen!

You can find The Instance and the other Warcraft podcasts I listen to or recommend on my Podcast Twitter list.

The Instance. (2016). The home of Scott Johnson's FrogPants Studios . Retrieved from http://frogpants.com/podcasts/instance/ 

Podcast: Fast Forward

The second podcast I listened to this week for our assignment was the latest episode of Flash Forward, titled “The Witch Who CameFrom Mars.” This podcast generally takes some kind of situation and discusses it as how and why it may happen in the future. The show does seasons of episodes and the hostess (Rose) takes a break in between. This particular episode was special in that it was the last of the second season of episodes. (Eveleth, 2016)

It took a couple tries, but in order to produce this episode, she took all of the scenes (41) she’s had on the show, as well as large parts of scripts from the original Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and The War of the Worlds and had them put into an AI. This AI is programmed to write short stories basically out of the information you give it – the 5-minute result was voice acted by people and included into the episode. (Eveleth, 2016)

It was quite interesting that the AI actually put something together that most of the time made sense – for a far out story that is. She had a few guest clips and they dissected and discussed how this story may have come to be and why things happened the way they did, from scientific and mathematical information as it may relate in the future. (Eveleth, 2016)

Rose takes suggestions from the public on future scenarios to discuss, and throws in fun references for listeners to catch during the show. Those who find them have a chance to win some goodies!

I hadn’t heard of this podcast prior to this assignment, but this episode interested me enough that I may check out a number of the past episodes. I’ll definitely be adding this one to my list of shows to track, and look forward to seeing what happens in November when season three begins!

Eveleth, R. (2016). Flash Forward | Every week a new future. Retrieved from http://www.flashforwardpod.com/

Eveleth, R. (2016). Episode 20: The Witch Who Came From Mars. Retrieved from http://www.flashforwardpod.com/2016/09/05/episode-20-something-martian-witch-way-comes/

Podcast: No Better Than Average

One of three podcasts I chose to talk about for this week is called No Better Than Average.  I chose this podcast as it is right up my ally -nerdy. It is just a couple of guys discussing technology, television & movies, video games and their families, among other geekery.

In the most recent episode I listened to, they had been discussing the controversy about drugs being used in the Olympics. They discussed an interesting theory that in this year’s Olympics the United States only won so many medals because they must be using a drug that is currently undetectable by the testing methods used on the participants. They had a guest on the show who covers medical topics as they relate to sports, who disagreed with this theory. (Jacob & Jeff, 2016)

The episode still had some geekery included, as they discussed Virtual Reality (VR) video games. There’s been a rise in the publicity of such games since more VR devices have been being released. As always, they also briefly touch on what they are fond of at the time. Technology-wise that week were specific earphones and an iOS ad blocker. (Jacob & Jeff, 2016)

If you’re looking for an all around geekery related recorded cast that’s fun and more on the casual side, give this one a shot!

Jacob, & Jeff. (2016). No Better Than Average -. Retrieved from http://nobettershow.com/

Children and Television

The “Did You Know 2.0” video offered the statistic that at least 20,000 hours of television had been watched by people by the age of 21. Within the shifthappens wiki, a topic on Sesame Street had been brought up by the user drewman152. He mentioned that the studio was letting go of 25% of their staff who were not main characters. Later he goes on to state, “Maybe this will give parents an incentive to spend more time with their kids and not rely soley on television programs for educational assistance.” (drewman152, 200) This was not something I thought about often, but I can see how the hours of television we watch as children growing up can look from the outside. (XPLANE, 2007)

As with anything, moderation is going to play an important role moving forward in this type of discussion. Are educational programs bad simply because they are on the television, tablet, phone, etc.? Not necessarily. While they do eliminate the experience of interaction between people, they are still learning when watching the right programs. It is when smaller children are spending more time and watching inappropriate programming for their age that issues may arise. Kids Health warns that watching over 4 hours a day, violent acts on programs, and risky behaviours are the most concerning watching behaviour seen among children and should be avoided.  (KidsHealth, 2016)

Drewman152. (200). Shifthappens – World Education by International Collaboration. Retrieved from http://shifthappens.wikispaces.com/share/view/2001131

KidsHealth. (2016). How TV Affects Your Child. Retrieved from http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/tv-affects-child.html 

XPLANE. (2007). Did You Know 2.0. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMcfrLYDm2U

Studying Abroad

Another contributing shifthappens Wiki member made an interesting argument about studying abroad. Jdmarrs was currently studying in Sweden and commented on how much he had learned about the cultures of the world from a foreign perspective. Normally just receiving an education in your home country, you get that one perspective and that is it. I agree with their suggestion that if more people were able to study abroad temporarily, it would allow for better international relations, compassion and a plethora of educational benefits both during and following their experiences. (Jdmarrs, 2007)

The "Did You Know 2.0" video suggests that the United States has one of the lowest graduation percentages behind the countries of India and China. All of the graduates in India graduate speaking English.  (XPLANE, 2007)

Have you ever had to take a foreign language at an institute of higher education? I know I have had the opportunity, but it is considered an elective, which is easily completed taking another course. In high school a foreign language was pretty much mandatory, but we could only choose from French or Spanish. I did go to a private school, but I know some of the public schools in the area had a few more to choose from. I know that colleges and universities offer much more of a variety, but I don't think many people take them for reasons beyond it being a choice in that section of their requirements. Perhaps schools should be altering their curriculum a bit to create a more positive path to taking these courses as a start. They of course won't give the same feel and experience as actually studying in those countries, but they would at least fair better with the above concern by taking a foreign language. It can only help the individual to be able to speak more than their native language in my opinion. Other countries have excelled here - why should we be lazy and fall behind?

jdmarrs. (2007). Shifthappens – World Education by International Collaboration. Retrieved from http://shifthappens.wikispaces.com/share/view/2001131

XPLANE. (2007). Did You Know 2.0. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMcfrLYDm2U