The panel included Nathalie Schwarz from Channel 4, Matt Wells, Head of Audio from Guardian Unlimited, Sarah Prag from the BBC, and noted independent radio / podcast producers Hermeet Chadha and Karen Pearson. The session covered many issues around podcasting, including definition, production values, regulation, culture, expectations of both listeners and viewers, metrics, and the commercial realities of making podcasting pay.Dean Whitbread from Talking Voices and the UK Podcasters Association takes part in the question and answer session in part two, talking about video and the Association for Downloadable Media initiative.

This podcast is in two parts, encoded at 96kbps, and currently not delivered via RSS, so we thought we’d oblige.

Rob’s twice-monthly, 30 minute podcast is described as ‘an insight into the eclectic world of Rob da Bank, the Radio 1 DJ and Sunday Best supremo’. Catch up on the Bestival with live tracks from XX Teens, Candie Payne and the beatboxing guru Beardyman, enter the quest to find the secrets of the Women’s Institutes Victoria sponge or simply relax to the latest ‘Post-Bestival Chill’ podcast.

Talking Voices has been working with Rob da Bank and his Sunday Best Podcast since April 2007.

London, UK; Melbourne, Australia.
September 28th 2007

John Cleese to release new video series in conjunction with The Podcast Network.

British actor, writer and comedian John Cleese is to release Headcast, a series of online videos, which he describes as “some humorous, some more thoughtful, giving me a chance to sound off in my old age.”

A free version will be made available over the next few months on The Podcast Network, which John says is “rather good, run by Australians, and none the worse for that.”

A premium version of the Headcast will also be made available.

John’s free podcast, produced by UK new media company Funk, has achieved close to 500,000 downloads in 2007.

Dean Whitbread from Funk said:

“John is really forward-looking when it comes to technology. He got into video early and he reaped the benefits. He’s been investing in online media for some years now, and when we started to produce podcasts for him in 2005, we saw a huge take up from the online audience.

John’s podcast has been free since we started, and we’re going to maintain that, but its success to date means we can now explore other options, including more video, and adding premium content.

The Headcast is another example of John embracing new technologies to further his creativity - and although he’s well known for being very funny, this gives him the option to do whatever he wants to do and take it wherever he wants to go.”

Cameron Reilly from The Podcast Network said:

“Having a living legend like John Cleese joining The Podcast Network’s growing roster of talent is a coup for the business and a personal thrill.

“Having grown up watching and listening to John, I am extremely pleased that he will be contributing his new material to our site. I have been a fan of his podcasts over the last year and am excited about bringing the Headcast to a wider international audience. Having someone of John’s caliber producing podcasts is another sign of the increasing legitimacy of the medium.”

The Podcast Network is an privately owned media company in Australia with over 80 audio and video podcasts in production and a monthly international audience of over half a million people.

Funk is a creative new media company based in London and Brighton, UK, comprised of producers Mark Crook and Dean Whitbread. Funk is a part of social media business Talking Voices.

Download / subscribe to the podcast here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/podcasts/pods/

Key players from many sides of the podcasting industry, including Apple Inc., BlogTalkRadio, Kiptronic, Wizzard Media/LibSyn, NPR, Nielsen Online, Personal Life Media, Inc., Podbridge, PodTech, PodShow, Podtrac, Porter Novelli, Rev3 and Vogele & Associates have taken on the task of standardising podcasting, along the lines of “related industry organizations, publishers and agencies such as the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA).”

Five initial committees will be formed immediately to address: advertising standards, measurement, outreach/education, terminology and membership. Membership application is now open on the ADM Web site at www.downloadablemedia.org.

Nominations for the executive seats, advisory board and committee chairs will take place this summer.

“This is a big move towards the establishment of podcast metrics, which interestingly doesn’t include Google, Microsoft, AOL, Yahoo but which is backed by Apple and Wizzard,” said Dean Whitbread, Talking Voices.

On current estimates, Wizzard via LibSyn control about 30% of RSS internet traffic. RSS derived traffic - blogs, podcasts, etc. - now accounts for an estimated 10% of total internet activity.

Still wearing the “just bought by Google” tshirt, popular rival Feedburner’s system controls around 60% of all RSS traffic.

If significant numbers of independent publishers join ADM, it’s more likely that its influence in determining exactly what measurements to apply to podcasting could extend further, with the rest of the industry converging on shared standards.

The theme tune is “Cinema is Burning” from another Talking Voices-associated creative team, Cinema Du Lyon.

“We were considering asking Tartan Media Productions / Talking Voices to get involved with AICR as we were aware of the work Mark Hunter had produced for the Tartan Podcast. However, it was hearing the podcast for Glasgow Caledonian University that persuaded us that he was the right person to partner with. Although we thought we could probably look after some of the technical aspects ourselves, we realised that we needed a Producer who was used to working in this medium to pull everything together and keep the project moving along.

In our business it is too easy for other tasks to take precedence and the podcast may have been put on the back burner. Mark has brought structure, ideas and a relaxed style to what we produce. Many of people who listen to our podcast have questions about cancer symptoms and treatments, and Mark’s calm but clear style definitely helps in getting our message across.”