I've worked with the Taproot Foundation and had a really good experience. They need designers and developers to help build websites (typically) for other non-profits.
It is safe to say that the technology behind podcasting is not breathtaking. To me, it is the social aspect of podcasting that is so great. In the past, I would either have to listen to music radio or NPR. Now, I can choose to listen to something more relevant to me. Until podcasting, I can't think of a technical radio station that I could listen to when I was jogging, but now I can download some good techie podcasts and not have to settle for pirated audio from gnutella. Now, subject matter experts (or novices talking with experts) can put out audio for niche crowds.
Is there crap out there? Of course. The medium is new and everybody is trying to make their mark. If I remember correctly, everybody jumped on the 'homepage' bandwagon for a while. With all of the out-of-date homepages, I'm not seeing that being a big deal any more. Even some podcasts that I was listening to a few months ago are long gone. We are in the midst of a big wave of content. Soon, most will fade away and only the strong or insanely board will survive.
I currently host a podcast that seems to have found a niche market. In the podcast, I interview people in the Perl community about what they are doing and such. So far, the cast has had only constructive feedback from those who have listened. Before Perlcast, it was not easy to listen to an interview with Larry Wall or Damian Conway or any of the other contributors to the Perl community. Now it is easy. The people in the Perl community get it. They see that we can listen to conversations about Perl at our convenience. The podcast medium might end up with some big names, but it is the niche markets where the difference is really felt.
And to everyone bitching about the word 'podcast', let me here a better name? It is catchy and the meaning is almost intuitive... much better than 'audio-file-in-rss-enclosure-cast'. WTF do you want to call it? Think of it this way, once circular saws became skil saws, we forgot who Skil was. A brand is only useful until it is commoditized.
You could try to get an ad on some websites that are local to your area, but that typically costs $$. Instead, you can try to find some bloggers or podcasters in the area that might have a following that includes the people that you are trying to target and get them to talk you up... it's pretty easy to get promoted on these types of media, especially if you have a group worth talking about.
"I now have Classifier4J and nntp//rss working together to do Bayesian classification of RSS feeds. There are a few things still to work out (perfomance and usability to name two), but I'm pretty pleased with it, since it was something I whipped up in a couple of hours. AFAIK it is the first Bayesian/RSS thing that has got far enough to have a screenshot..."
Slashdot Mirror
I've worked with the Taproot Foundation and had a really good experience. They need designers and developers to help build websites (typically) for other non-profits.
There is a pretty good audio interview with Andy Hunt about the book at http://perlcast.com/2006/07/12/practices-of-an-agi le-developer/.
If you want to hear an interview with Richard about the book, you can download the audio from http://perlcast.com/2005/11/23/interview-with-rich ard-foley/.
It is safe to say that the technology behind podcasting is not breathtaking. To me, it is the social aspect of podcasting that is so great. In the past, I would either have to listen to music radio or NPR. Now, I can choose to listen to something more relevant to me. Until podcasting, I can't think of a technical radio station that I could listen to when I was jogging, but now I can download some good techie podcasts and not have to settle for pirated audio from gnutella. Now, subject matter experts (or novices talking with experts) can put out audio for niche crowds.
Is there crap out there? Of course. The medium is new and everybody is trying to make their mark. If I remember correctly, everybody jumped on the 'homepage' bandwagon for a while. With all of the out-of-date homepages, I'm not seeing that being a big deal any more. Even some podcasts that I was listening to a few months ago are long gone. We are in the midst of a big wave of content. Soon, most will fade away and only the strong or insanely board will survive.
I currently host a podcast that seems to have found a niche market. In the podcast, I interview people in the Perl community about what they are doing and such. So far, the cast has had only constructive feedback from those who have listened. Before Perlcast, it was not easy to listen to an interview with Larry Wall or Damian Conway or any of the other contributors to the Perl community. Now it is easy. The people in the Perl community get it. They see that we can listen to conversations about Perl at our convenience. The podcast medium might end up with some big names, but it is the niche markets where the difference is really felt.
And to everyone bitching about the word 'podcast', let me here a better name? It is catchy and the meaning is almost intuitive... much better than 'audio-file-in-rss-enclosure-cast'. WTF do you want to call it? Think of it this way, once circular saws became skil saws, we forgot who Skil was. A brand is only useful until it is commoditized.
You could try to get an ad on some websites that are local to your area, but that typically costs $$. Instead, you can try to find some bloggers or podcasters in the area that might have a following that includes the people that you are trying to target and get them to talk you up... it's pretty easy to get promoted on these types of media, especially if you have a group worth talking about.
Try visiting http://www.mackmo.com/nick/blog/java/?permalink=cl assifier4jnntprss.txt
"I now have Classifier4J and nntp//rss working together to do Bayesian classification of RSS feeds. There are a few things still to work out (perfomance and usability to name two), but I'm pretty pleased with it, since it was something I whipped up in a couple of hours. AFAIK it is the first Bayesian/RSS thing that has got far enough to have a screenshot..."