You know times have changed when a college sends out acceptance letters as a podcast.

[via Wired Campus Blog and Podcast Free America]

Here's a chance to listen to the developers behind some of the tools we use everyday such as Del.icio.us, Google Maps, Flickr, and more.

The Future of Web Apps Conference

I noticed that although these are called podcasts, that there is no feed that you can subscribe to in iTunes. So, I created for myself a quick podcast in Podcast Maker using the external link feature. You too can access it here:

Subscribe to Podcast Feed in iTunes

UPDATE: They took it down and moved it to a different server without setting up any redirects. Feed has been modified. Please update the podcast in iTunes if you are subscribed already. On the upside, it no longer takes 3 hours to download one mp3.

Technorati Tags: futureofwebapps

A click is worth a thousand words.

Click here!

Surprised? I was too when I discovered that iTunes lets you access password protected podcasts.

Oh, by the way, you can use the username guest with the password guest to access that podcast.

Why?

At first, password protecting a podcast might sound counterintuitive, but there are actually many reasons why you might want to do such a thing.

Doogtoons by Doug Bresler is living proof that podcasting can empower the creative individual to be heard and seen in front of a massive audience. While most of the top 100 podcasts at iTunes are based on repurposed materials from big organizations such as ABC and NPR, Doogtoons is just one guy producing the whole shebang and still being ranked up there with the giants. He is also a long time Podcast Maker user. Check out his funny podcast, especially, the very first episode.

Check out Doogtoons

Magnatune is a record label with the motto We Are Not Evil. Based in Berkeley, California, it is the perfect antithesis of the trigger happy lawyer toting RIAA label. It is a strange one, as far as record labels go, but in a very good way. Some of many interesting facts about Magnatune:

• You can preview all of the music in its complete entirety without paying a single dime for as long as you want. In fact, you can use it as an online radio while you work.
• When you do want to buy the music, you can choose the price.
• Half of what you pay goes directly to the artist.
• You can get the music in one of these DRM-free formats: WAV, MP3, OGG, FLAC, AAC, and in a rootkit-free CD.
• Good Music.
• You can podcast their music without paying a cent. Use it as an intro, outro, or segway music.

The last bullet-point is the raison d'être for this post. It may be old news to some of you, but all of the 5487 tracks by 206 different artists under Magnatune are Creative Commons licensed. This is a good deal for both the podcaster and the artist. Magnatune is an underdog in the music industry, but it is a company that totally gets the changes coming with the digital era and this podcast loving attitude is just one example of many.

There is an IT Conversations interview that I recommend with the Magnatune founder John Buckman

here. He explains in depth how Magnatune is different from traditional labels and gives us his insight on how the music industry is changing in this digital era. It was interesting for me because I am also a producer of digital content and his perspective on things is refreshing. I sincerely hope that ventures like his succeed in taking a huge chunk of the business away from the crap pushing greedy cartel of the Big 5 record companies.

At this point I would like to do a shout out. Mr. Jade Leary
is a Magnatune artist and a Podcast Maker user. His album The Lost Art of Human Kindness is the 9th highest valued Magnatune album of all time. So if you are into alt. rock you should definitely listen to Mr. Leary's music
here and check out his podcast
here.


Magnatune -- Podcast Our Music!

You do know about PFA right? PFA, or Podcast Free America, is a great blog on podcasting by Ryan Irelan. It has a bunch of helpful tips for podcasters of all expertise levels, including you. Right now Ryan is doing the ABC of Podcasting, a group of posts on podcasting for each letter of the alphabet. Ryan is also really good about keeping people updated on the latest happenings around the podosphere. It goes without saying that you should jump the mouse right now Bruce Lee style. The kicker is that although I have been reading his blog for quite some time I didn't know he was a user of PM until we did the podcast gallery page.

We met up with Blake Burris of CocoaRadio at the Macworld Expo. Blake gave us these stickers and we wanted to pass out all of them since we love the show so much, but we still have some left. So I'm passing them out here in the blogosphere. CocoaRadio is a podcast that features interviews with various cool Mac software developers. We have been listening to this podcast from day one back when we had to turn up the volume all the way. I heartedly recommend the recent episode with Wil Shipley of Delicious Monster who is a veteran in this industry. I think you will find it fascinating even if you are not a developer.

Justin Valiquette emailed us an excellent question which I will share with everyone.

I have an existing Podcast that is registered with iTunes already. To create this podcast, I used the difficult method of creating a blog, and a feedburner account to create the .xml feed. I want to begin using Podcast Maker from now on. Also, I just purchased new hosting space that I want to transfer all our existing podcasts to, and put all the new ones on.

How can I create new podcasts using Podcast Maker that will register under the same podcast title on iTunes so people don't have to re-subscribe.

I want to point out an exceptionally well done podcast to beginning podcasters. It's called Fly With Me by Joe D'Eon. It is about the ins and outs of the airline industry from the point of view of a pilot. It isn't at all just about the technicalities and information about working in the airline industry. He manages to bring out the earthy qualitites of the people working the skies. The most recent episode is about recognition. It is an entire episode about how getting a pat in the back can mean so much. Joe's podcast is refreshing to listen to since so many podcasts these days are in a talkshow format. It's a wonderful showcase of what a podcast can be with a bit of creativity and hard work.