What type of podcasts do you love listening to?

I spent the first part of my morning editing a podcast (the rest of the day has been a virtual blur). But I don't download what I have painstakingly sliced and diced onto my MP3 player. I have other interests besides work, thank you very much.

MP3 players have not only changed the way we experience music, but also the way we travel and sightsee. The podcast. A serious traveller's best friend. There are shopping trips and there are trips that are made for the trepid explorer, the historian, the connoisseur, the adventurer. Travel podcasts are my favourite type of podcasts because travel is one of my favorite activities and they can really breathe life into a trip. Guide books and maps are cool, but sometimes when your head is stuck down the bad end of a guide book, you can miss the life, the action around you.

You can either "listen up" before you head to your destination by downloading podcasts from fellow travellers about their experiences in a city or from tourism sites. Or you can get free audio guides that walk you through your destination when you get there. The best part about my last European vacation was that I could explore the mastery, the architecture and history at my own pace and not be tied down to a tour guide or shackled to a band of confused looking tourists. The audio guide was awesome, and was vibrant and comprehensive and the history lover in me was fulfilled.

As I plan for another big vacation this year, I look forward to cramming my MP3 player with as many cool podcasts as possible and listening up on all the tips and tricks needed to have an enjoyable stay. I just downloaded one from here, though perhaps I should be on the airline sites first before getting too caught up in the experience! This - also very cool and these as well. And if you're a solo traveller, or just someone who really wants to enjoy the experience, without the hassle and expense, there has to be a free podcast out there to meet your needs!

So I ask again, what type of podcasts do you enjoy?

Photo credit: www.telegraph.co.uk

Read More

High School Reunion, Part Deux

Though we have been dragging our feet a bit, a few friends and I are trying to get our high school class together after wow...years! Facebook was the catalyst because it was through Facebook that we got reconnected with each other. And it is also through Facebook that we are attempting for a second time to have a reunion before we hit 60!

The first time we just had a discussion board and that was it. Just a lot of back and forth via a disussion board. How exciting could that have been, right? This time, I am hoping that I could utilise the tools we have today to full effect to make people excited about it and get flights booked, tickets bought and diets started. lol.

I recorded a hurried podcast this morning for the ladies, but it would be nice to use social media for something other than work for a change and engage people and hopefully get them excited about something that should matter to them. Selling something that matters to you personally is always more fun, isn't it? And having something other than work to explore ideas on is also a great stress buster and sanity saver.

Looking forward to it! And I will let you know, if you want to know, how it goes. Ideas are always welcome though.

Read More

Podcasting Adventures, Part 2 - Behind the Mic

Last night I got home with a terrible headache, lancing pain on my right side, from my hip bone to my toes and hunger (lol). I cannot remember getting into bed, or failing miserably at trying to read a chapter of my novel, or turning off the light before 8.30pm, but I clearly did cause the book was back on the bookshelf, my blankie was on the bed, and the light had been off. That being said, it was not a bad day.

I had my first podcast recording session yesterday. Funny. One thing I can say about podcasting, you bond with your colleagues over your flubs and tongue tied-ness. Even though you may have had the odd kitchen chat ever so often, sitting together for 2 hours, laughing out loud over lost thought streams, mispronounciations and invented words can do wonders for employee engagement. For 2 hours, I was really enjoying my job. We did okay for a first run at it. In an organisation that's used to deadlines, numbers, targets, results, wins - talking about what you do is not as simple as it may seem, nor is it initially seen as a priority. Yet it is. And, like everything else in the business, people take this talking thing seriously. Talking in a makeshift studio - an empty office, my laptop and a mic - brings on the nerves apparently. I guess because there was so much info to share, there was the obvious anxiety, and it will be my job to get them to just talk. But getting them talking is a must and not just talking, but having a genuine conversation, without anxiety and a sense of responsibility to a team, or a manager, to "bring it". But there is clearly an excitement there to share, so it makes it all easier and worthwhile.

I am excited to get more of these hidden faces behind a microphone, finding their passions, telling their stories, educating our audience, bringing our customers in to the fold - flubs and all. Creating conversations is fab!

It should be fun.

Read More

Podcasting Adventures

This is a test, and not an earnest podcast. It has been a day.

Powered by Podbean.com

Read More