Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Today we review the Google at a glance podcast. A podcast about all things Google. You can find it at http://netcaststudio.com/google-glance/ The show is about an hour long (51 minutes) and features two hosts and a guest. They talk about all things Google (gmail, voice, TV, plus, etc) and keep everyone up to date about whats going on about Google.
Their Website
When I first went there I couldn’t find their podcast as I had no idea what “NCS” was (isn’t that on CBS after CSI?). Many people listen to podcasts at work, but there isn’t an easy to figure out way to stream their audio in a new widow. What happens is people will click to listen, and then need to do something work related, and click the back button (thus losing your episode).
They do have links to subscribe in about anyway you want to subscribe, but you have to click a link to see these. If having lots of subscriptions is not a priority, then this is no big deal. I understand with a network it can be hard to have links for every show (as well as players).
It has a clean interface, and once I got to a “show” page, the other shows were obvious. Again, its hard when you have so much information (everything can’t be on the front page).
Content
Their content is good (once they get to it – more on that later). I did learn some things that adobe is not going to develop flash for mobile, and some new stuff about Google voice. I really liked that these are not a bunch of Google fan boys. They are objective, and when it’s needed, critical of Google. That was refreshing.
Out of a courtesy to their guest they ask the same questions every episode. This revolves around what your computer system you’re on, your browser, your phone, etc. This kind of lets me get acquainted with their guest, but in reality I’m here to learn about Google – not their guest. I can see where the spot could be interesting, but I wouldn’t lead with this spot. In this episode, it got the hosts sidetracked and it turned into a giant Apple lovefest that meant that the first mention of Google news came almost 10 minutes into the show.
Production
They start off with 15 second spot (and if you watch youtube, that appears to be the maximum time people will tolerate before they get frustrated). This is a pet peeve of mine. I would go to fiverr.com and hire someone to say “Welcome to Google at a Glance, here are your hosts John and Nicholas” (but that’s me). My point is if there is nothing there for me then why make me listen to it. In this case it’s better than nothing, but my first impression had me waiting for someone to come on and talk – and they never did.
Their audio levels are good. There are some tools in Audacity or Adobe Audition that would suppress the slight noise when nobody is speaking. In reality if I had been listening to this in my car (instead of a quiet room with headphones) I never would’ve noticed it.Their ID3 Tags were good (although I prefer something more descriptive than “Episode 41) and displayed in my player.
The other catch 22 they have is this is a news show. On one hand you want to tell people what is coming down the pipe at Google, but the flip side is as its only in development there aren’t many details. As I’m not a huge Google fan boy, this didn’t interest me a ton, but I can see where it fits the audience.
Summary
Would I listen to another episode? Yes
Did I subscribe to this podcast? Not yet. I typically can’t hang with a podcast that’s longer than 30 minutes unless I’m really into that subject.
If you’re looking to keep up with all thing Google, this podcast will help you do that. While these are obviously people who enjoy technology, they are not “fan boys” of Google and provide an objective point of view.
I would make it easier to stream the podcast in a new window (I worked at a place where everyone listened to podcasts with one ear bud in at work). While I understand there is a button on each post, look into a player like the one at player.podtrac.com, or blubrry.com have free players. If you want a custom player, check out the Wimpy player. I would also make it easier to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes (not that iTunes is all that, but it’s still top dog) – so I would make it so that you don’t have to search for it (again – could be challenging on a network).
Bonus Thought
If I was on a network, I would purchase either the Wimpy Player or the Rave player, and use something liek yahoo Pipes to “Squish” all of the RSS feeds from the different show into one and throw them into the player. Another option would be to create playlists of each show and let them randomly playlist. If you’re worried about taxing the server (not sure if you’re using Libsyn), you could set up a streaming radio on Listen2yradio.com
