"Embracing Web 2.0 and New Media Communications"

Embracing Web 2.0 and New Media Communications Renee Basick, Interim Director Chicago Media Iniatives Group Aaron Rester , Manager of Electronic Communications University of Chicago Law School

Intro: Chiasmos screen shot “ Really Simple Syndication” = XML Podcast = RSS

In this context, we’ll be using the term to describe audio and video content that is transmitted digitally. What is New Media?

New Media @ CIS

Legal Issues

Podcasting Goes Mainstream

What is a podcast?

Why are we doing this? An organization must carefully consider its goals, and whether a podcast or other new media venture is a good means to reach those goals.
Questions to consider when establishing a New Media program

Why are we doing this?
What will our content be? Know who your audience is, and what kind of content will be effectively “sticky” for them.

What will our content be?
Who will produce, maintain, and distribute our content and what tools will they use? Teamwork, effective delegation, and good organization are key.

Creating the podcast feed

What will our content be?
Who will produce, maintain, and distribute our content and what tools will they use?
How will you track your progress? You need to know whether your efforts are effective.

FeedBurner

What is Web 2.0? Technologies emphasizing collaboration, sharing, and user-generated content. Distributing and promoting your content with Web 2.0 technologies

“ The idea of ‘web presence’ these days extends beyond just hosting a domain on a box and filling it with tools.” - Michael Fienen, Pittsburg State “ T he university has a virtual existence, a virtual reality. In some areas it makes sense to lure visitors into our space, but increasingly it means that the university must exist in other spaces.” - Skip Knox, Boise State Why distribute your content with these technologies?

Content Sharing Sites

Social Networks

Renee L. Basick Interim Director

http://cmig.uchicago.edu

Podcasting and RSS

Automation!

Repository, feed-generator, NO CODE

Format Options How much time/$ do you want to spend producing?
Lecture series, individual commentary, research results, interviews, talk show, tips, news?
Will there be multiple, distinct segments?
3. How many “hosts” (if any)?
4. Frequency of release, consistency?
Length
Audio or video?

The Quality Myth While the internet itself provides no quality control, listener-ship ultimately will. One way to make a podcast distinct among its peers (and authoritative, which is important for an academic podcast), is to produce decent quality media. It doesn’t have to be broadcast quality, but should adhere to some basic standards of professionalism. BAD MEDIA = NO AUDIENCE

Production AUDIO or VIDEO? $45-60 for CMIG to produce one hour lecture, no editing. $340+ for CMIG to produce one hour lecture, no editing.

VIDEO Equipment (On a very, very tight budget)
Wireless mic: AT Pro-88
$150 mic, transmitter + receiver Good for roughly 25-30 ft.
Camera: Panasonic PV-GS320 3 CCD mini DV Camcorder $399 ($629 w/accessories, incl. tripod)
Lights: Smith-Victor K64 3 Light Controlled Quartz Portraiture Kit $445
iMovie (free with your mac)
TOTAL: $994

What CMIG uses:
In the beginning
Panasonic DVX100 $3999.00
Cartoni Action-Pro Tripod $699.95
Audio-Technica wireless mic $560.75
Sony studio headphones $46.50
Smith-Victor Light kit (3) $211.95
Vortex Media WarmCards $91.00
Apple Mac Pro $2,948.00
Final Cut Express HD 3.5 $149.00
TOTAL = $8,706.15
Curently
Panasonic HVX200 $5199.00
Bogen/Manfrotto Tripod & dolly $875.
Bogen/Manfrotto leveling head $61.10
Audio-Technica wireless mic $560.75
Sony studio headphones $78.50
Arri light kit (3) $1,789.95
Vortex Media WarmCards $91.00
Apple Mac Pro $3,783.00
Final Cut Studio $699.00
Sorenson Squeeze $239.00
TOTAL = $13,376.30

AUDIO Equipment (On a fairly tight budget)
Wireless mic: AT Pro-88 transmitter + receiver. Good for roughly 25-30 ft., $150
Wired, lavaliere mic: XtremeMac MemoMic $30
Digital Recorder/storage: iPod nano, 4gb $149
Recording adapter: XtremeMac MicroMemo Digital Voice Recorder for 2nd Generation iPod nano $60
Audacity (free download)
TOTAL: $239-359

WBEZ’s Recommendations (For a range of budgets)
Sony ICD-B500 ($45)
This recorder, and others like it, offers an inexpensive and completely self-contained recording solution. While these units record sound at a lower resolution than 16-bit 44.1 kHz broadcast standard, they are high enough quality to make recordings that can be played over the air.
Sony ICD-BSX57USB ($100)
A step up from the basic all-analog model, these recorders are as just as easy to use, but also have a USB connection to transfer audio to your computer (some recorders of this variety also include their own editing software).
Zoom H2 handy Recorder ($200)
This recorder has a built in mic like the recorders above but records a considerably higher fidelity signal, making it a good choice for speech or music. It operates at broadcast-standard quality (and beyond) recording resolution, and comes with a fairly extensive accessory package.
M-Audio Microtrack 24/96 ($350)
This model has a similar feature set and form factor to the Zoom H2. The primary differences include the M-Audio’s built-in rechargeable battery, independent left and right channel ¼” input jacks, and the use of Compact Flash media cards to store recordings.
Marantz PMD-660 ($500)
This is considered the professional standard among audio journalists, and offers a number of pro-style features such as XLR input jacks, phantom power for condenser microphones, a built in stereo microphone and a built in speaker for playback.
what CMIG uses

WBEZ’s Mic Recommendations (Also for a range of budgets)
Sound Professionals SP-SPSM-1 Stereo ‘T’ ($50)
This is an affordable portable stereo microphone with an 1/8” output jack, making it an ideal accessory for the M-Audio microtrack. The distributor, Sound Professionals, offers a number of similarly-featured and similarly-priced microphones to fit nearly any need or budget. Most are considered ‘full spectrum,’ meaning they have a frequency response of 20Hz-20,000Hz.
Shure VP64 ($75)
This mic is widely used by broadcast professionals in the field as it’s hearty, affordable and comes in a special long-barreled model that is ideal for interview applications. While the top end of the frequency response maxes out at 12,000Hz, this does not prevent it from gathering great recordings. Other features include a water-resistant grill for use in inclement weather.
Shure SM63 ($110)
This mic is nearly identical to the VP64, but has a full spectrum frequency response of 80Hz-20,000Hz (note, the low end “roll off” minimizes wind noise or other handling noise from ending up on your recording). The added top end response makes this mic slightly more accurate when recording music or ambient sounds. The main trade off for higher fidelity, in this case, is a windscreen that offers less protection from the elements than the VP64.
AKG D230 ($165)
This mic is essentially a competing version of the VP64, and features the same tough construction, low handling noise and extra-long barrel option, but captures a broader frequency spectrum of 40Hz-20,000Hz.

Audio Tips Always use external mics. NOT the onboard mic of a camcorder or digital audio recorder. It will sound like you are in a cavernous, bustling sewer pipe.
Recording
Get room tone
Record 3x closer to subject than any “reflective” surface
Use good headphones
Do not peak—keep monitor at -12dB
Editing
Edit out coughs, hic-ups and noise (even when there’s video!)
Use waveforms
Crossfade
Extend abrupt edits with room tone
911 filters

Video Tips
Start high and down-convert to lower qualities
Don’t skimp on equipment if you can afford it (caution: you can shoot bad video with a good camera!)
Top 10 tips for achieving professional-quality video:
Use a tripod
Expose correctly
Never put a speaker against a window. EVER.
Use a microphone and monitor levels
Avoid unmotivated camera movement
Do not edit in jump cuts
Edit sequences using b-roll
Add auditory “white space”
Create simple graphics with large fonts sizes
Tell a story visually and using narrative

Other innovative uses for “Feeds” The Hospital iPod project Silver Plaque in the category of Special Achievement - Innovation 43rd Annual Intercom Awards, 2007 Chicago International Film Festival

Distribution Two questions will guide your strategy:
Do you have a “series” (podcast) or individual, unrelated segments?
Should your target audience be academic or broader?

Distribution Options
Podcasts:
iTunes
Podcasts.yahoo.com
Digg Podcasts
PodcastDirectory.com
Odea.com
Podcastalley.com
Podcast.net
Mefeedia.com
Podfeed.net
Digital Podcast
Individual segments:
Facebook
Myspace
Google Video
YouTube
Others…but is it worth it?

Intellectual Property Should you involve your institution’s legal counsel?
Most web-based services DON’T want to own your media. However…
“ By posting User Content to any part of the Site, you automatically grant, and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant, to the Company an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, publicly perform, publicly display, reformat, translate, excerpt (in whole or in part) and distribute such User Content for any purpose on or in connection with the Site or the promotion thereof, to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into other works, such User Content, and to grant and authorize sublicenses of the foregoing. You may remove your User Content from the Site at any time. If you choose to remove your User Content, the license granted above will automatically expire, however you acknowledge that the Company may retain archived copies of your User Content.”

Intellectual Property Hosted vs. Non-hosted Solutions
One way around granting away
ownership is to decline hosting.
If it lives on your server, you own it.
VS.

Making your media findable Browse, search and “featured” placement METADATA = Visibility http://www.apple.com/itunes/store/podcaststechspecs.html#metadata
Title, author, description, and keywords tags at the <channel> level of your podcast feed
TITLE must be specific! Include your top keywords
<itunes:summary> or <description> tag: Use this to describe topic, format, frequency. TIP: define your keywords and build them into your description.
Choose 12 or less keywords--the most relevant terms will be in your title and description. Include common misspellings.
Include a valid itunes:category to ensure it appears in as many areas as possible.
Create “album art” for your podcast
Choose a reliable host for your podcast

Featured Placement Top 100, New & Notable, other “featured” podcasts
How to “place” your podcast
Noteworthy Top Downloads Highlights (below the fold) Main Highlights

Search Engine
80% of search engine traffic is through Google, Yahoo and MSN*
* Jason Van Orden, PodcastingUnderground.com
And yet, none of them search the content of podcasts.
Metadata
Freekeywords.wordtracker.com
Transcripts!
podzinger.com
podscope.com
castingwords.com (automated podcast transcription)
transcription services ($)

Email lists
Build a captive audience!
Your list is a group that has already indicated they want your content
Sending out an email every time a new episode is published drives traffic and increases listenership
Alternate means of communicating
TIP: Feedblitz.com (Free tool will send list email automatically when you add a new episode.) Wordpress also has plugins to do this.
Email Updates

More information http://cmig.uchicago.edu Renee Basick Interim Director [email_address] 773.834.7955 David Pickett Producer [email_address] 773.402.5071

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"Embracing Web 2.0 and New Media Communications"

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