Thing 19: Podcasts

I went through Podcast.com and listened to Book Lust with Nancy Pearl featuring Sherman Alexie.

http://video.seattle.gov:8080/podcasts/BookLust/BL_ShermanAlexie.mp3

It was an half hour program and was very interesting. I am a fan of Mr. Alexie, having greatly enjoyed The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. There was no discussion of this book, but they did talk about his newer title, Flight, and now I want to read it. Now. :)
Podcast.net is down. There are a couple of promising podcasts on Podcast Alley, but the directions look more complex. They are Meet the Author and Teen Librarian. Stay tuned.

Okay, I went back to listen to them and I found out I need to get a Podcast Aggregator before I can hear them. I don't feel comfortable doing that, so never mind. My vote is with Podcast.com.

Yahoo Podcasts searches seem very broad and maybe not worth the effort of winnowing while other searches are available. The Educational Podcast Network looks good. Check back for more.

This requires me to add Windows Media Player. That seems reasonable, but I don't want to add anything to a work computer, so I guess my lesson is done. Podcasts can be valuable. I would most likely personally use them for programs like author interviews, when I want to hear the author's spoken voice. Professionally, you could add them to your website to try to entice teens to read certain books or come to events. It would be one more way to catch their interest.

When I am finished with my Things, I think I will try to make a Podcast, just to learn how it is done.