Brian Greene and Sinéad Murnane from doop in Dublin, have been making a great success of Talking Voices Ireland. Both join the board of Directors.

Michael Franklin, formerly of TalkSPORT and The Wireless Group joins the board as Financial Director and corporate strategist.

One of the best-known podcasters in the world, Ewan Spence, the man behind the BAFTA-nominated Edinburgh Fringe podcast, presenter of TPN Rock podcast and radio station Leith FM joins Talking Voices. Ewan gives us a UK focus on conference coverage, a sector which has been thriving for us in Ireland.

Janet Parkinson who did so much hard work in establishing Talking Voices has stepped down as Managing Director but remains a stakeholder in the business.

Senior Producer Mark Hunter earlier this year was made an offer he could not refuse - running a Scotland-based company, Podcast Matters, where he takes on the role of MD, and we wish him good luck in his new venture.

And finally, we’re pleased to announce that the company is now operating from fully specified studio premises in Denmark Street, London.

The studio runs a Myriad radio playout system, and has ISDN, internet streaming, audio and video post-production, and very nice views of London’s West End.

This photo of the Talking Voices man on the beach was sent via Kosso, the CTO of Podcast.com

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.

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.

Based just outside Manchester in the north west of England, John is extremely well placed to serve the needs of companies and brands who prefer to work with a local resource. His location furthers Talking Voices aim of geographical diversity, which has worked so well already in Scotland and Ireland.

“John is a welcome addition to the team, bringing with him a great deal of intelligence, enthusiasm, and professional media experience,” said Talking Voices Managing Director Janet Parkinson.

John’s next commission is to produce for BBC Radio 5 Live’s “Pods and Blogs” segment of the “Up All Night” programme.

All tracks are no-DRM and are full length. Read more.

Come and join the conversation

A New Media Event for Businesses and Communities

Talking Voices in conjunction with the Saltire Centre, Glasgow Caledonian University, is hosting a free seminar about podcasting and social media for organisations, communities and businesses in Scotland on 24th May 2007.

Podcasting, Social Media and Web 2.0 are big buzz words currently, but it’s only recently that their potentials within social and business communications are being realised.  Talking Voices has been involved in social media from the beginning and is now spreading the word around the country, promoting the uses of podcasting and social media to give everyone the chance to learn more about their potentials, showing examples of podcast uses, and answering questions that members of the community or businesses may have.

The Talking Voices team are involved in all aspects of podcasting, from the production of podcasts for businesses, to podcasting as a social community tool.  As well as producing our own content, we produce many different kinds of podcasts for clients who include publishers, financial institutions, agencies, charities, radio, and market leaders including Metropolis Studios, the largest recording studios in Europe. We also work for some famous names, such as Radio 1 DJ Rob da Bank and actor and comedian John Cleese.

Present at the event will be members of Talking Voices team, including:

Dean Whitbread:  Chairman of Talking Voices and also Chairman of the UK Podcasters Association.  Dean speaks regularly about podcasting at events, most recently at the Corporate Podcasting Summit, London, BECTU’s Future Distribution, and the Radio Academy’s Production 07.

Mark Hunter:  Senior Producer of Talking Voices, Mark produced the first music podcast from Scotland and has been championing independent Scottish music for nearly three years through his internationally acclaimed “Tartanpodcast”. Mark is also Executive Editor of Podcast User Magazine, the free downloadable magazine about podcasting.

Janet Parkinson:  Managing Director of Talking Voices, Janet has years of experience providing audio services to companies from all sectors of industry, has been involved in podcasting for 2 years and is a co-founder of and regular contributor to Podcast User Magazine.

Places are limited – for availability contact: janet [at] talkingvoices [dot] com
Venue: Saltire Centre, Caledonian University, Glasgow

Date and Time: 24th May 2007, 1.30pm to 4pm

Cost: Free

Click for directions.

Contact: markh [at] talkingvoices [dot] com

Website: www.talkingvoices.com

About Talking Voices: Word of Mouth for the World

Talking Voices is a podcast business, a talented team of podcasters working together with people in new media, radio, television and press. Formed in 2006, Talking Voices works with artists, brands, businesses, institutions, educational establishments, publishers, communities, stations, channels and networks.

We provide podcasting expertise, production, training and advice to businesses or individuals who want to get into podcasting, and support to the wider community. We also recognise that podcasting is not just a market, it’s part of the wider phenomenon of social media, and linked to traditional media.

We offer consultancy on setting up and running a podcast. We produce and run many major podcasts ourselves, and can provide complete technical and editorial solutions.

With our excellent production values, creative approach and sophisticated use of social media tools, we bring a good deal of enterprise and intelligence to the commercial podcast arena.

Talking Voices Ltd,11-15 Betterton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9HP, UK.