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Tech Soup  

Video killed the radio star? Not so fast

 

Podcastination - Podcasting for Nerds
By Kelowna TV buff and podcast nerd Andrew Buckley

Podcasts? Really? Who listens to podcasts anyway? Actually, millions of people do. Podcasting is one of the most easily obtainable forms of entertainment available today.

So what is it? It’s pretty much whatever you want it to be. Want to hear some guy talk about Batman for hours and hours on end? There’s a podcast for that. Want to hear Darth Vader answer your relationship questions? There’s a podcast for that. Into the supernatural, conspiracy theories, books, animals, sex, movies, celebrities, camels, dragons, game of thrones, comedy, unicorns…the list goes on. Chances are there’s someone podcasting about it. The best way to describe the podcast phenomenon is simply to call it ‘internet radio’.

Comedian Ricky Gervais changed the landscape of podcasting by actually charging money for his content, and quite successfully too. Other pioneers like filmmaker Kevin Smith offer their content for free and use the exposure to create other projects and to simply connect with his fan base.  Anyone can create a podcast. All you need is a microphone and a computer and a complete willingness to talk.

You can find most podcasts (free and otherwise) in the iTunes store and many podcast shows are updated weekly.  Here are some of my favorites:

 

THE FAMOUS ONES

SMODCAST – Kevin Smith’s podcast flagship. Smodcast is literally the podcast that launched a thousand other podcasts. He helped rationalize podcasting to the point where anyone could do it and encouraged them that they absolutely should do it. The Smodcast Network contains a ton of shows on a variety of subjects. Some of the best include Hollywood Babble-On, Smodcast, Plus One, Jay and Silent Bob Get Old, the ABC’s of SNL, and Fatman on Batman.

THE NERDIST NETWORK – Comedian and digital pioneer, Chris Hardwick, started this simple podcast interviewing other comedians, actors, filmmakers, and famous nerds. The success and popularity of the show has allowed him to grow the Nerdist Network to epic proportions adding a ton more podcasts and transitioning into weekly You Tube shows. 

DOUG LOVES MOVIES – Featuring comedian Doug Benson this weekly podcast features a ton of comedy from his guests which are too numerous to even try and list. The idea is that it’s a semi-game show-type concept but sometimes it never even reaches the game show part because they’re having just too much fun.

 

THE NOT FAMOUS YET…BUT STILL AWESOME

 

THE AFTER MOVIE DINER – This podcast is recorded in New York by an Englishman called Jon Cross. Visit the Diner and you’ll find movie reviews, interviews, and discussions often featuring special guests. Jon’s brand of humor and vocal talents make this podcast incredibly entertaining and informative.  Jon also makes up half of the Dr. Action and the Kick-Ass Kid Commentary podcast which dubs a commentary track over well-known action movies.

 

AND THEN THERE’S ME…

 

The Podcastination Network was started as a branch of my writing website Planet Kibi. Here you can read my blog, movie and TV reviews, and samples of my soon-to-be-released novels, works in progress, and, of course, listen to podcasts:

TRILOGY: EVERYTHING COMES IN THREES–Trilogy is the brain child of aspiring comic book creator, Chris Morris. On a semi-weekly basis we unleash our geekness to gallop free across the countryside by sharing comic book, movie and TV, news, gossip, and reviews. We also make fun of each other and use the occasional bad word.

FAIRY TALES OUT LOUD – This isn’t a podcast in the truest sense as it’s more of a production than anything else. Featuring the vocal talents of other podcasters, friends, family, and a cat, Fairy Tales Out Loud are internet radio productions of my collection of satirical fairy tales designed to tickle your funny bone and various other parts.

Other podcasts; ‘Say Vagina’ and ‘Love, Kids, and Madness’ are currently on hiatus. While the conspiracy theory show, Truth 101, is being transitioned into a regular YouTube show called ‘Treasoncast’ by it’s creator and host, Alejandro Che Castro.

Anyone can create a podcast! Have something to say? Want to record you and your friends talking about random stupid stuff? Do it!

If podcasting has taught us anything it’s this: there’s an audience for everything.

Go forth and Podcastinate!

 

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.



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Each week, Tech Soup will be written by a member of the Okanagan's burgeoning first-rate technology community. We already have a few regular contributors, but if you're interested in writing a tech piece for this weekly column, send us an email to [email protected].



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