Podcasting: The New Wave for Writers
Melinda Palacio -- August 20, 2005
Podcasting is the latest way for authors to reach new audiences. Humor columnist for the Montecito Journal, Ernie Witham has teamed up with Harold Adams of sblife.com to add his funny bone spin to the site's podcast, or the Santa Barbara Life Online Magazine Radio Show (SBLIFE Radio Show).
A podcast, is an audio file or MP3 and takes its name from the words broadcast and Apple's ipod, the new device that has replaced the walkman and revolutionized the home stereo and how we listen to audio books and radio shows on long car trips. The term podcast and the software to download the information streams came into use only a year ago.
Designer Harold Adams launched in 1995. The website promotes a "best of" Santa Barbara directory and offers a collection of links profiles of businesses and people in the Santa Barbara county. In 2000 Adams added a larger sound bite to his ads with online videos. The 42-year-old entrepreneur and self-taught computer enthusiast says he enjoys simplicity and uses Apple's imovie to make his website's promotional videos. His latest addition is the monthly online radio show SBLIFE Radio Show with Ernie Witham's audio columns and Witham's unofficial position as SBLIFE's "creative advisor." Witham and Adams are old pals from their days working as graphic designers for the Trade Express.
In addition to information about Santa Barbara, SBLIFE Radio Show has interviews, trivia, giveaways, a calendar, and comedy--the show ends with Ernie Witham reading his column. Adams calls Witham the "Andy Rooney" of SB Life Magazine. "He brings a funny element," said Adams. He sees the online radio show as a springboard for several budding ideas.
"This podcasting idea is like Jello we just made. We're barely putting it in the fridge. There could be new things in the podcast."
Adams is uncertain of the vast new directions for podcasting. However, Witham is thrilled about using the media to expand his readership to a new generation.
"The people who are using ipods are a new generation," said the 55-year-old writer. "I see myself in there with Jessica Simpson, Britney Spears, and Ernie's World worldwide."
He and Adams are also jazzed about the quick increases in subscribers to the online radio show. The first day 17 people subscribed, by day five, they had 90 subscribers and their numbers keep growing.
And audio is the new medium for authors to achieve acclaim- -it worked for Ron McLarty, author of the bestseller, The Memory of Running. McLarty wrote the book in 1988. Stephen King heard it on audio tape and declared it "the best book you'll never read" and the rest, along with a $2 million advance and a two-book deal, is history.
Listening to the online radio show is easy and does not require an ipod, simply click on sblife.com's link to the Santa Barbara Life Magazine Online Radio Show. However, users of itunes 4.9 can receive automatic updates of the show by selecting podcasts, travel, and SBLIFE. The advantage of having an ipod is its portability.
Allowing your computer to automatically receive podcast updates is like having unread email. When a file becomes available or there's a new version of a podcast, your computer automatically retrieves it. Subscribing and unsubscribing is only a click away at the itunes store. Users are free to open the file and listen at their leisure, whenever or wherever they'd like.
The next SBLIFE Radio Show profiles Marcia Meier, executive director of the Santa Barbara Writers Conference, and of course, another hilarious column by Ernie Witham, author of the book Ernie's World. Listen to the next podcast at SBLIFE.COM anytime on or after August 26, 2005.