Show #39: Podcast production pet peeves with special guest Sallie Goetsch

Whether you’re a podcast producer or a podcast listener, you’ll enjoy this conversation with podcasting expert Sallie Goetsch. We discuss our podcast production pet peeves, which interfere with our ability to enjoy certain shows. Our gripes include missing ID3 tags, unmixed tracks, gratuitous sound effects and more.

You can download this 17-minute, 7MB show right here or subscribe through iTunes.

Here are the show notes:
00:01 Welcome; the Trafcom News Podcast is for people who want to communicate better in person, in print or online
01:30 Introducing Sallie Goetsch, an Author-izer who turns consultants into authors; publisher of the FileSlinger blog and the FileSlinger Backup blog; and co-founder, with Lee Hopkins, of the Podcast Asylum.
04:42 Pet peeve #1: Missing or inaccurate ID3 tags. Who are you and what’s the name of your show?
06:02 Content is indeed king, but poor production values can interfere with the listener’s enjoyment
06:45 Pet peeve #2: Unmixed audio tracks, which leads to podcast stereosis
08:10 Pet peeve #3: Gratuitous or too-loud sound effects
09:23 Pet peeve #4: Music overdose and self-indulgent intros
10:45 Pet peeve #5: Ted Baxter-itis, where the podcaster likes his own voice a little too much
11:23 Pet peeve #6: Too many ads, which are particularly jarring to the non-TV-watching Sallie
12:30 Pet peeve #7: Too much background noise or static
13:55 Pet peeve #8: Daffy Duck Syndrome; is this caused by poor audio quality or non-standard sampling rates?
15:55 Sallie spoke at the Podcast and Portable Media and Podcast Expo in California
16:25 Where to send comments: email to trafcom AT gmail.com, call 646-403-8020 or post a message to the Trafcom News Podcast blog
Look for the Trafcom News Podcast on Blubrry.com
Theme music is “Beneath Your Surface” by the Elisabeth Lohninger Quartet from the Podsafe Music Network

::UPDATE Yes, I see the exquisite irony in the mixing problem in parts of this show. I am trying to resolve it. Sallie, we should tell people this is deliberate!
::UPDATE 2 Problem solved. I've uploaded a new file sans mixing snafus. Apologies to those who may have experienced podcast stereosis listening to the earlier version!

Comments

[Dmitri Bilgere]

I'd like to add a pet Peeve --

EVIL ROBOT VOICE

Almost every podcast I listen to decides that they need to have an "evil robot voice" intro their podcast, or some sub-section of it.

This is the loud, raspy, distorted and roboty voice that says "You're about to hear the [x] of podcasting. . ."

I listen using headphones, and the evil robot hurts me!

I've gotten to the point where I just skip the first 30-60 seconds of every podcast I listen to, just to avoid the evil robot.

Who's with me on this? Down with the Evil Robot Voice! :-)

[Donna Papacosta]

I am with you, Dmitri. Down with the Evil Robot Voice. I must say that the podcasts I listen to usually do pretty nice intros to set the tone of the show.

In fact, I hope Sallie and I weren't too critical. We're just trying to point out ways in which good podcasts can get even better.

Thanks for listening and writing in.

[Steven Lewis]

Donna,

An excellent show.

I get the Daffy Duck voice on The Rules sometimes. It's on my co-host's voice but not mine. Her mic technique needs work because I can't make her get close enough so she's in and out. That means I need to compress her quite hard sometimes to keep her levels even. If I try to write those shows to 64kbps, she goes Daffy on me. I don't know the science behind it, just that hard compression + low bitrate = Daffy.

Re sound effects. When are they ever useful? When Dan Klass says on The Bitterest Pill, "You know what, I was in the market the other day...", he doesn't play the sounds of the market because we know what a market sounds like.

The best advice to anyone thinking of using a sound effect is simply: Don't. Like exclamation marks (or points if you're from that part of the world) they are the refuge only of those who can't be interesting or understood without garish adornment.

Did I just express another overly-strong opinion on one of your blogs? :) Argh.

Steven