Photo by Adam Pengelly

This bizarre condition seems to afflict at least one prominent podcaster or social media pundit every year and has since before the Asylum was founded.

Podcastus Moriturus is easy to diagnose: its primary symptom is the inescapable compulsion to get up and declare “Podcasting Is Dead!” in a public forum. This, in turn, causes the rest of the podcasting community to break out in a rash of scornful denials—all of them repeating the highly contagious and contentious phrase.

Fortunately, Podcastus Moriturus will subside on its own if simply ignored, but it’s guaranteed to break out again.

Here are just a few examples of Podcastus Moriturus in the wild:

• Podcast Alley Forum: Podcasting is DEAD! (2005)
• Marc Freedman, “Podcasting Is Dead! Long Live Podcasting” (2005)
• Chris Coulter, “Why Podcasting Blows” (2006)
• Read/Write Web “Will Podcasting Survive?” (2007)
• Michael Geoghegan, “No More Podcasting in the New Media Expo” (2007)
• Cameron Reilly, “Why Podcasting is Dead in the Water” (2007)
• Alexander Wolfe, “Is Podcasting Dead?” (2008)
• Leesa Barnes: “Unprofitable Podcasters Claim Podcasting Is Dead” (2008)
• Chris Knudsen: “Confirmed: Podcasting Is Dead” (2008)
• Neville Hobson: “Is Business Podcasting Dead?” (2008)
• Joseph Jaffe: “Is Podcasting Dead or Not?” (2008)
• Scott Whitney: “Podcasting Is Dead. Long Live Podcasting?” (2008)
• Michael Geoghegan: “Podango: Bankruptcy Looming?” (2008)
• Leo Laporte, Online News Association 09 Keynote (2009)

Locus Confusus is a serious condition because it prevents people from listening to or sharing podcasts because they don’t know where to find the podcast files on their computers.

Fortunately, it is not usually necessary to hire a private detective. This disease can be cured with a little information. A quick look at the “Preferences” or “Options” in your podcatcher’s menu will reveal the location of the downloaded files, allowing the anxious subscriber to listen at last.

In the course of writing this book, Penny Haynes posed a LinkedIn question asking to talk to business owners who had never used audio or video to market themselves. I was hard put to think of anyone besides my mother. It’s not just that I know a lot of podcasters and vidcasters. I’ve spent my time in industries where people have used audio and video to market themselves for decades.

Back when I was teaching Greek and Roman drama, I made video recordings of all my productions. The first client whose book I helped write gave me audiocassettes with recordings of his class lectures to turn into book chapters. Nearly everyone I’ve worked for since has used some form of video or audio—including the old-fashioned “getting interviewed on radio and TV” format.

The only difference between that and what Penny talks about in this book is that most of the audio and video recordings used as “demo reels” or sold as products before 2004 weren’t digital, and they weren’t online.

The rapid growth in both the tools for creating digital media and the bandwidth for sharing it just mean there more ways to use audio and video for your business. More than 101 of them, in fact. Penny lists 103 and then provides some additional ideas in the Sample Projects section at the end of the book.

I defy anyone who reads it not to think of some way to use these tools for his or her business. And I’d be surprised if those of you already using audio and video don’t discover new applications. My favorite discovery was one Penny also mentioned in a recent interview with Anna Farmery: turning audio into video by adding slides to your audio recording.

I don’t know why I never thought of that. It’s probably because I’ve been too focused on extracting the audio from video files where the visuals add little or nothing, the better to listen to them on my MP3 player while driving. Now I just have to find time in my schedule to go back and do it with some of my presentations.

On the down side, 101 Things could have benefited from the services of a book designer, as there are some odd page breaks and layout issues. Those are only a minor distraction, as the repeated references to the Commercial Creation Center are a minor annoyance.

If you’re a podcaster or a podcasting/media consultant, buy this e-book for your clients—but read it yourself first to help you pitch them.

SRG

Podcastus Overproductus in its most severe form causes show hosts to compound the damage done by the sound clips with a fake DJ voice and a hokey script, resulting in a nightmare cross between a morning zoo radio show and a children’s television program.

One painful example of this syndrome can be found at BASF’s Chemical Reporter podcast. The idea is brilliant: explain the chemistry at work in daily life by answering questions like “Why does salt melt ice?” After only a few episodes, the listener becomes possessed by the desire to bash the podcast host over the head with a blunt object.

Alas, this compulsion to advertise drives away the very listeners the show’s sponsors are paying to reach. When each episode is less than ten minutes long, inserting pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll spots causes hapless listeners to hit the “unsubscribe” button as quickly as possible.

Another form of this pernicious condition includes repeating the same advertisement several times during one episode. Recent studies suggest that the phenomenon is even more maddening in video than in audio, but anyone who has ever listened to Voice America might contest that claim.

If you are an interviewer and you suspect that your guest suffers from Podcastus Desiccatus, there are steps you can take to prevent this disaster. One option is to lubricate the guest with a generous supply of single malt whiskey or Belgian chocolate, thus rendering him or her relaxed and expansive. Another is to bring in a third person to help you create a conversation about the subject, rather than a lecture. (The best person to bring in might be someone who disagrees with your guest.)

You can also do some research and prepare questions that focus the interview on the most interesting material, or that provoke an unrehearsed response. But if you’re interviewing them in person, start with method one.

Thanks to Michele Holtz for suggesting this syndrome at a geek dinner this summer.

While various people claimed in 2007 that podcasting (or at least the word ‘podcast’) was dead, the truth seems to be that podcasting is just now entering business consciousness for everyone except those who pursue every shiny new toy that comes along.

The 2007 podcasts included several episodes on the intersection of new media and publishing, as well as panels on book reviews, US vs. UK publishing, and markets. If you’re a writer of any kind, you’ll want to tune in for these.

The next BEA is at the end of May, 2008, so the series should be starting up again soon. Meanwhile, you can catch up on the archives at http://bookexpocast.com/.

‘The Connected Generation’ itself is not so much an age range (though many episodes do talk about relating to Generation Y) as an attitude. Most podcasters, and many podcast listeners, belong to this group. You might want to recommend it to those who haven’t drunk the social media Kool-Aid.

Listen or subscribe at http://www.reachgroupconsulting.com/blog/.

Production has been a bit irregular as of late (April 2008), but you can cruise the archives for tips on everything from writing to social media to inter-generational relations to finding a job.

Listen or subscribe at http://www.forward-moving.com/blog/category/podcast/.

If you want to know about e-mail marketing, SEO, the importance of your house list, and other tricks of the trade from people who make their living doing this kind of thing, you should definitely have a listen.

And the miracle of podcasting is such that you don’t have to get up at 6 AM to meet them in Dunkin Donuts.

Listen or subscribe at www.marketingovercoffee.com.

And none of that matters. This is a great podcast. For those who haven’t heard of him and his many books, David Maister is a Famous Consultant who has always believed in the value of giving things away. Right now the podcast is a special series of combined audio and PDF files containing excerpts from his latest book, Strategy and the Fat Smoker.

The premise of the book is that most of us (and our consulting clients) already need to know what we do for our businesses, the same way we already know what to do for our health. But we persist in our old habits anyway. I’m convinced this is the business book of the year. (Yes, even as much as I like Seth Godin.)

Run-don’t-walk on over to http://davidmaister.com/podcasts/ and subscribe.

There are many possible causes for Podcastus Interruptus. For instance, the proverbial Person from Porlock could knock at the door and destroy the idea for the episode—or just the mood of the podcaster. Recording software could crash in the middle of an interview, or the podcaster could forget to press the ‘record’ button.

In other instances of Podcastus Interruptus, the podcaster succeeds in making a recording, or even several recordings, but something delays the editing and/or posting of the episode. The culprit could be anything from illness to a sudden onset of billable work—or the need to complete one’s doctoral degree.

New podcasters may find themselves intimidated by the need to learn to use editing software, create a podcast feed, or register with iTunes. Those whose entire future as podcasters is put at risk by such difficulties should consult the Asylum immediately in order to avoid podcast stillbirth.

“The Writing Show provides information and inspiration for writers of all kinds. Whether you write fiction, nonfiction, screenplays, songs, games, manuals, ads, reports, reviews, or poetry, we’re here to entertain, help, and engage you.

Every week or so, we offer a new podcast designed to shed light on some aspect of writing, writers, publishing, and other topics of interest to people who write. We also post articles and other resources to help writers craft their works, get published, market their material, and just feel inspired.”

Recommended by Matthew Wayne Selznick (one of her interviewees).

Listen or subscribe at http://www.writingshow.com/.

I Should be Writing is “The podcast for wanna-be fiction writers, by a wanna-be fiction writer,” where Mur discusses “rejection, cover letters and getting the oomph to keep going.”

Mur’s fans are legion, but it was Matthew Wayne Selznick (also a writer) who recommended her for this list.

Listen or subscribe at http://isbw.murlafferty.com/.

Mignon says, “I always enjoy Emily Bazelon’s commentary. It’s not the same when she’s away.” And it’s true: the dynamics of the group change when it’s just the guys.

Listen or subscribe on the Slate website.

“When not inventing new recipes, researching for the show, and longing for a pair of organic cotton jeans, Tanja moonlights as the host of Freshtopia.net. Not solely a wizard in the kitchen, Tanja is increasingly well versed on issues of sustainability, gardening, composting, and green products. She also serves as the show’s co-producer, co-writer, and walking thesaurus. She hopes to, by example, prove sustainable living is both sane and fun.”

Listen or subscribe at the  Freshtopia website.

“Open yourself to provocative, cutting edge, experimental ideas on loving yourself more, healing relationships, understanding men, attracting what you desire, the new art of seduction and the evolution of love that will radically shift the way you date and relate.”

Recommended by Sandy Shepard.

Listen or subscribe at Personal Life Media.

Recommended by Sandy Shepard.

Listen or suscribe on the Mudra Moments Blog.

“provides short, friendly tips to improve your writing. Covering the grammar rules and word choice guidelines that can confound even the best writers, Grammar Girl makes complex grammar questions simple with memory tricks to help you recall and apply those troublesome grammar rules. Whether English is your first language or second language, Grammar Girl’s punctuation, style, and business tips will make you a better and more successful writer.”

Recommended by Sandy Shepard and Jerry Franklin.

Listen or subcribe at Quick & Dirty Now.

Colette Vogele’s Rules for the Revolution podcast appears only sporadically, but if you want to know how not to fall afoul of the law when podcasting, you should listen. Colette is an intellectual property attorney and one of the authors of the Podcasting Legal Guide.

The podcast addresses such questions as Net Neutrality, Media Insurance, Rights of Publicity and Privacy, Trademarks, and finding music that you can use legally in your podcast.

Recommended by Matthew Wayne Selznick.

Listen or subscribe at rulesfortherevolution.com.

The show is famous and popular enough to require little introduction here, but it’s worth including Justin Simonsen’s tribute to Dawn Miceli:

“My all time favorite female podcaster is Dawn. She is an amazingly beautiful person. I know this by just listening to Dawn&Drew for years but after meeting her in person I have to say she may be the nicest person I’ve ever met. If you ever have a chance to spend time with Dawn and Drew outside the podcast environment I highly recommend it. They are genuinely good people.”

Listen or subscribe on PodShow.

Leesa Barnes, author of Podcasting for Profit, has actually produced several different podcast series. New Media Tycoon is the most recent, launched to accompany the book:

“Here on the NewMediaTycoon podcast, we explore how best you can leverage today’s fast growing world of new media and generate revenue streams in the process.”

You can find previous shows at Cubicle Divas and Podonomics. Most of these shows are recordings of teleseminars.

Leesa is recommended by fellow Canadian voiceover professional Peter O’Connell.

Listen or subscribe at http://www.newmediatycoon.com/.

“There’s a growing body of publications on critical literacy but in my mind none of these truly capture the nuances of real life the way that stories told face to face might. And because I can’t take you with me as I have these face to face conversations I figure this podcast is the next best thing. This really is one of the main reasons for this broadcast. That is to offer you opportunities to hear first hand about critical literacy in different spaces and places from folks who are exploring possibilities for framing their work from this perspective. And I hope that you will contribute your thinking, reflections and musings regarding critical literacy.”

Recommended by Dave Delaney (who is obviously thinking ahead for his kids).

Listen or subscribe at http://www.clippodcast.com/.

Recommended by Dave Delaney, who is gentlemanly  (biased?) enough to choose his wife as his favorite female podcaster.

Listen or subscribe at TwoBoobsandaBaby.com.