Professor’s Picks:
Sallie Goetsch
Not producing my own podcast gives me more time to do more listening, so of the three of us Asylum founders, I have the longest list of podcast picks. There are so many podcasts—so many good podcasts—out there these days that even hard-core listeners like me have to be selective. I’m actually subscribed to 72 feeds (subject to change without notice), but I don’t listen to every show of every podcast. There are podcasts I listen to every time, right after I get them, and podcasts I almost always listen to but might postpone for a while or skip an episode of. And there are podcasts I like to check in on from time to time when I’m entirely caught up with my favourite shows.
Podcasts are listed in alphabetical order within each section.
The Never-Miss, Can’t Wait, Best of the Best
Now, obviously, I’m a big fan of both Donna Papacosta’s Trafcom News and Lee Hopkins’ Better Desirable Roasted Communications Cafe, which he produces with his ‘arch-nemesis’ Allan Jenkins. (I was a fan of Lee’s previous solo podcast, Better Communication Results, as well, but I suspect producing a podcast with a co-host is more fun.) After all, we have a mutual admiration society. That’s why we banded together to form the Asylum.
David Maister’s Business Masterclass
David Maister’s podcast is not the kind of listener-driven show I favor. If anyone comments on the podcasts, there’s no mention of it in the show. The style is polished and entirely suited to a presentation to a large group. Indeed, Maister’s ‘voice’ is the same in purpose-recorded podcasts as in clips from public appearances: genuine, but somehow more formal and less personal than most independent podcasters.
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.
Diary of a Shameless Self-Promoter
Okay, I’m biased in favor of this show because Heidi Miller gave my two-second statement such a good review that people I’d never heard of started calling me about work after she aired the show. Her personality (she podcasts in a tiara) is part of what makes me a fan, but I also love the great tips and interviews and the insight into the trade show industry.
www.heidimillerpresents.com/weblog
For Immediate Release: The Hobson and Holtz report
Twice a week Neville Hobson and Shel Holtz provide 60 minutes (trimmed down from 75) of discussion about the intersection of PR, communications, and technology. This is definitely a listener-driven show, and that’s one of the reasons I’m a fan: Shel and Neville listen to their listeners. Plus they’re just really fun guys with great voices.
Grammar Girl’s Quick & Dirty Tips for Better Writing
This first of the QDNow podcasts has achieved astonishing success in a short period of time. It’s no surprise that so many people need help with their grammar, but it’s heartening to discover that they want it, too. The shows are short, charming, and very clear. Host Mignon Fogarty has expanded the QDNow franchise with other shows like ‘Mr Manners’ and ‘Money Girl.’
Inside PR
Where For Immediate Release focuses on the intersection of communication and new media, Terry Fallis and David Jones discuss traditional and timeless themes in public relations “from an agency perspective” (and also a Canadian perspective). I don’t come from a PR background, so it’s really helpful to hear about things like pitching, press conferences, publicity stunts, and client appreciation. There’s also a segment called “Inside Proper English” that corrects common mistakes in usage and warms my pedant’s heart.
Managing the Gray
C.C. Chapman’s energy, insight, and modest show length make this marketing and management podcast a can’t-miss show. And I love the design of the show blog.
Marketing Online Live
I’m almost embarrassed to admit how much I like this show, because I’m not really comfortable with the Alex Mandossian / Paul Colligan style, but despite their relentless (and apparently successful) focus on money, and their use of aggressive online marketing techniques for their various products, they bring up some of the most interesting ideas about business podcasting that I’ve ever heard. Their show has inspired at least one person to start a podcast-related business.
Marketing Over Coffee
I’ve come late to this weekly podcast by Christopher S. Penn and John Wall, of whom I’d heard long before I started listening. (Christopher does the Financial Aid Podcast and is one of the founders of PodCamp; John hosts The M Show every Monday.) The show has been picked up by MarketingProfs, an endorsement it well deserves.
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.
Six Pixels of Separation (The TwistImage Podcast)
Mitch Joel started out as a ubiquitous guest host and interviewee on other podcasts, then started his own marketing podcast, which has gone from good to great. The “Six Points of Separation” segment tells listeners how to make the most of tools like Flickr, Technorati, and del.icio.us, and his “coming to you from beautiful Montreal, Canada” has inspired other podcasters and commenters to find appropriate adjectives for their own locations. (Two examples are “the glorious Adelaide hills” and “the spectacular San Francisco Bay Area.”)
The Engaging Brand
I first heard about this show from Heidi Miller when she was interviewed back around episode 16. I’ve become an active fan of Anna Farmery and her quest to find the best way to keep employees engaged, even though I plan never to have employees. Listening to her early interviews was giving me a bad case of Podcast Stereosis, but once I explained how to mix tracks, she took care of the problem.
The Survival Guide to Writing Fantasy
I was initially hesitant about the military theme of this book marketing podcast, but I’ve come to love Tee Morris’ sense of humor and to value the experience he shares about everything from cold-calling bookstores to moderating panels at conferences. It helps that he’s got an acting background, and it doesn’t hurt that he’s co-author of Podcasting for Dummies.
Wiggly Wigglers
Wiggly Wigglers is a podcast about country life, gardening, and farming in England, produced by ‘a small mail order company based on Lower Blakemere Farm, providing products and ideas to encourage gardening for wildlife.’ Since I don’t even have houseplants, I would never have expected it to be a favorite show, but it’s just so much fun! The Wiggly Team (Heather, Farmer Phil, ‘Ricardo’, Monty, Allison, Rachel, and the rest) argues, laughs, and educates all at the same time.
Still Very Good, But I Might Skip a Show
Book Expo Cast
This show only appears for a couple of months before, during, and after each year’s Book Expo America, and it includes some of the presentations from the event, as well as a number of interviews with authors. I’m not that interested in most of the author interviews (many are with novelists I’ve never heard of), but the material about the publishing industry is gold.
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/.
Brain Storm! Business Podcast
Penny Haynes is a one-woman non-stop idea factory, inspired by everything she reads. Once in a while I just get overwhelmed by the possibilities. Penny also organizes the International Podcasting Expo, which is a virtual trade show/conference.
On the Record…Online
Spinfluencer Eric Schwartzman interviews mainstream media moguls about the effect New Media has on their business. Usually interesting, but often the clips he plays on FIR cover all the highlights. Whether I listen tends to depend on who he’s interviewing.
PR Junction
This new Australian PR podcast from Jon Hoel could easily go from good to great, but at three episodes, it’s just a bit too soon to tell. I’m looking forward to more of the Australian/Pacific Rim perspective.
The Connected Generation
At first, this show was high on production values but suffered a terrible case of Podcastus Inhospitus. The production values have remained good, but Lisa Johnson, Cassie Pruett, and the Reach Group team have made the show more accessible, producing in MP3 format, with a blog for show notes and comments. The shows are very short, often less than 10 minutes long, grouped together in series on different subjects.
‘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/.
The Forward Podcast
The Forward Podcast is aimed at young PR professionals. So what is a forty-year-old podcasting professor doing listening to it? Well, some of it is the charm and humor of the hosts, Paull Young and Luke Armour, and some of it is the fact that many of the topics they cover are of interest to people in other fields, as well.
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/.
The Podcast Sisters
While the Podcast Brothers focus on podcasting (and specifically on making money from your podcast), Podcast Sisters Krishna De, Anna Farmery, and Heather Gorringe set out to explain all of Web 2.0 to “the non-geek.” This is a perfect show for the novice who wants to find out about Twitter, Facebook, social bookmarking, widgets, blogging, podcast interviews, and teleseminars, and all the rest of those hip, hot, social media tools.
Recommended by Robin Matuk. Endorsed by ‘Professor’ Goetsch. And with a special tribute to her sisters from Anna Farmery.
Listen or subscribe at http://www.thepodcastsisters.com.
The Writing Show
Insatiably curious interviewer and former online bookstore owner Paula B talks with writers, publishers, agents, publicists, and anyone who has anything interesting to say about the craft of writing and the publishing industry. I’ve learned something from every episode I’ve heard, but the show hasn’t had much of a “listener-driven” element.
Podcasts About Podcasting
I listen to most episodes of these shows because I want to stay on top of what’s going on in podcasting, but I wait until I’ve listened to my favourites first.
School of Podcasting’s Morning Announcements
Dave Jackson runs the School of Podcasting (“hundreds of
resources and hours of tutorials”) and also produces this free
10-minute podcast every week. In addition to tips on how to podcast,
reviews of products, and occasional short interviews, the show
features a “Last 5 in 5” segment where Dave asks people what the
last five podcasts they listened to were.
Podcast Academy
The Podcast Academy is one of the Gigavox channels. If you can't
make it to Podcast Academy events or other podcast conferences like
the PME or the Corporate Podcasting Summit, you can hear the
recordings here—albeit months later.
The Podcast Brothers
Tim and Emile Bourquin run the Podcast and New Media Expo
(formerly the Podcast and Portable Media Expo, and familiarly just
PME), the largest conference and trade show for podcasters.
They talk about the business of podcasting and podcasting news as
well as their plans for the upcoming Expo.
www.portablemediaexpo.com/audio.htm
Podcasting for Dummies: The Companion Podcast
Another of Tee Morris’ offerings, this one produced at the
behest of Wiley Publishing. This podcast provides tips which expand
on the instructions in Podcasting for Dummies and provide some
auditory examples of how things work. The first series of 20
episodes is complete, but there’ll be a new set of podcasts when the
next book comes out.
Horrible long URL: visit the Yahoo! podcast page.
Mainstream Media Podcasts
These are shows it’s easy to dip into when I have a few minutes free or want to catch up on the news. (Since I stopped reading the newspaper, listening to the radio, and watching TV, podcasts are my major source of news about the world.)
- Slate Magazine
- BusinessWeek Cover Story
- NPR Business Story of the Day
- The Daily Telegraph
- BBC World Today Select
Lost to Podfade
These one-time top picks have frozen in place because their creators gave up on them. But check out the past episodes, because many are still worth listening to. And who knows? Some of them may revive.
Addicted to Race
I’m fast becoming addicted to Carmen Van Kerckhove (rhymes with ‘her stove’)’s podcast about America’s obsession with race. It takes me back to my university days as an honorary member of the black community, getting my eyes opened about things I’d never had to consider as a privileged middle-class white girl. The show suffers some technical difficulties (mostly a need for the Levelator), and I’m not much on the music, but the content is important, thought-provoking, and not to be found elsewhere in the podosphere. www.addictedtorace.com
Return on Intention
This marketing podcast is the brainchild of Reid Givens, a dedicated fan of podcasting and new marketing based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. Episodes have entertaining titles like ‘Wii the People,’ ‘Murky Water,’ and ‘The Backlash Episode.’ I like the multicultural marketing discussions.
The Kickstartnews Revue
The Kickstartnews Revue was a tech podcast aimed at small and home office users. It wasn’t not too geeky, and the banter between Howard Carson and Liane Reiter was entertaining. After listening to a few shows I became a reviewer for the main site, which got me free books and software. To my great disappointment, KSN stopped producing the show in mid-2006:
Some of you may be wondering what happened to the KSN Revue Podcast. After stabilizing at a biweekly download rate of about 11,000 subscribers (Feb through May 2006), subscriber interest began to wane due to heavy competition from literally thousands of other podcasts. We responded by changing our format, tightening the show, introducing harder hitting interviews, producing regular new guest segments and so on. We had a blast and even won a couple of minor awards. But good quality podcasting remains a costly and time consuming sideline with no associated revenue. The last KSN Revue is show #58.
The Marketer’s Podcast
This was one of the first podcasts I ever subscribed to, and even though Alan Stewart and Andrew Winter have only averaged one show every six months for the past year, it’s worth downloading the previous episodess for discussions about timeless marketing topics like how the effectiveness of marketing techniques depends on higher-order brain functions. Plus they invented the word ‘epipod.’ And they’re Australian.
In this case, I suspect the show was a victim of its own success: once Alan and Andrew started getting major corporate clients as a result of their podcast, they had less time to produce the show. www.themarketerspodcast.com
The Secrets: The Podcast for Writers
Science fiction and fantasy author Michael A. Stackpole does a great job of teaching writers the craft of creating good fiction. Since he’s a prolific writer himself, the podcasts appear somewhat erratically, but I always listen to them right away when they appear. It doesn’t hurt that he’s got a wonderful deep voice. Unfortunately, discussions with listeners are limited to a forum—no listener feedback makes its way onto the show. www.stormwolf.com.
As of March 2007, there hasn’t been an episode for several months. I don’t know whether this is a temporary hiatus or a permanent conclusion. But this is definitely a podcast whose material is timeless, so it’s worth downloading the archives.
Venture Voice
Child prodigy (okay, okay, he’s 25) Greg Galant interviews venture capitalists and entrepreneurs about the challenges of starting, running, and selling a business. It’s fascinating even though I’m not planning to create a start-up and pursue VC funding. Where else can you hear both sides of the Digg/Netscape competition?
Professor Goetsch consults her MP3 playlist.
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