Friday, December 30, 2005

Another afternoon at Glasgow's People's Palace


Reflection
Originally uploaded by tartanpodcast.
What do you do on a snowy - but not snowy enough for snowy fun - afternoon in Glasgow? With the library being shut (how hard to librarians work that they need to have so much time off as they do in our district?) we decided to head into People's Palace again.

The reason I'm blogging this is to vent a little about the quality of service you receive here in Scotland; be aware of this, you North Americans, if you're planning on visiting this beautiful country - do not expect the level of courtesy and service as you currently enjoy...

We stopped in the Winter Garden for a coffee and soft drinks. I ordered a cappucino, but decided to change that for a regular coffee. The person serving - and bear in mind, this person will be serving people from all over the world who have spent good money traveling to Scotland to see the sights and visiting tourist honey pots such as People's Palace - made such a fuss about changing what she'd entered into the till from a cappucino to a regular coffee that I actually said - twice - 'no, no, just leave it as it is if it's that much trouble..'.

I mean, what are we talking about here? Canceling the cappucino on her till and then hitting the button for 'regular coffee'. It's not like I'm asking her to re-tile the public toilets blindfolded and without the use of grout.

But this is indicative of the poor level of service you can expect here in Scotland. My view is, if you don't like SERVING people, don't be a waitress or work in an industry that makes its money SERVING people.

Don't let this put you off heading to Scotland on holiday; the scenery and the people in general more than make up for it...

Thursday, December 29, 2005

ice on ladders


ice on ladders
Originally uploaded by tartanpodcast.
It's very cold in Glasgow right now. I was working today and here's a photo of the ice that formed on my ladders as I was working.

I'M BACK! - taken from tartanpodcast.com

After weeeeeeeeeeks off from podcasting I'm finally back. Refreshed and invogorated after a week in Arisaig (see Flickr for some of the pics), I'm ready to take on the podcasting world again.

Gloves are off this time. No more Mr Nice Guy.

Ok, maybe I'm joking about that part.

As you'll see, the site is back here on Podshow's server. Some of you may know I have issues with how Podshow is handling its talent, the '3 shows a week' for no money etc. But after long and open discussions with the Music Gang, my podcast brethren, I'm going to stick it out with them. At least for another few months.
We are after all approaching a bright, new, shiny year so here's hoping things start falling into place.

In the meantime, The Scottish Podcast Clan is alive and kicking and I urge all of you to check it out and listen to the other Scottish podcasts listed on the site. More will be added in due course, including Amplificast, the podcast from Amplifico.

A technorati search showed up what looks to be a rival Scottish podcast site, but note; we were doing it first ;-)

Here's a write-up on the release of The Scottish Podcast Clan.

Other news - the tartanblog is up and I'll be posting most of my podcast experiences, thoughts, opinions and news over there, including developments with tartan media productions, which was officially 'launched' earlier in the month. So please subscribe to the RSS feed.

I recorded the first SaltireCast, a project I'm working on for Glasgow Caledonian University. My plan is to have 'channels' that you can subscribe to via the tartanpodcast site, and the SaltireCast will be the first, all being well.

Look out for a podcast of the workshop/presentation I delivered a couple of weeks ago here in Glasgow; it'll be made available via tartanblog.

Shows coming up in the next few months;

Friday, December 16, 2005

Saltirecast

Further to me mentioning Glasgow Caledonian University, I was there today to record a sound-seeing tour of their new Saltire Building on the campus.

I'll be turning that sound-seeing tour into a podcast and an enhanced podcast, including photos.

You can have a look at the pics here in advance.

Thursday, December 15, 2005

Podcasting workshop/presentation

Today was the first tartan media podcast workshop/presentation. It was held in Adelaide's, Bath Street, Glasgow. Taking place over 2 sessions - 1 morning, 1 afternoon - 25 people in total attended.

Part of the plan today was to market tartan media productions..Well, I sort of managed that. CEO of the company that organised the event said that the feedback for the presentation was excellent, but that it was commented on that I should have 'sold' my service more. That'll take some getting used to.

That being said, I did get 3 very positive responses, 1 of which was from an uber-cool Scottish arts magazine who want me to work with them on a podcast.

I recorded the sessions, along with contributions from some in attendance, and I'll make the finished podcast available only through the tartanblog, for those interested.

Some pictures are here.

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

First review on iTunes

Monday, December 12, 2005

Lance Anderson Podcast Experiment (LAPE)



We're moving ever closer to this landmark event on the podcast calendar, Lance Anderson's trip to the UK and the Lance Anderson Podcast Experiment. What makes it historic is this; Lance will be telling his signature story 'No, I Didn't Even Kiss Her', then he will be joined on stage by
  • Jon and Rob from the UK's top podcast Top of the Pods, who will be performing a special top ten list
  • 'Podcast Pioneer' Dan Klass of The Bitterest Pill, who'll be joining the LAPE via LIVE satellite video link up
  • Me - host of the tartanpodcast
  • Glasgow's finest, Hotrod Cadets will be travelling down to perform live

Now here's the thing, if you're not familiar with Lance's podcast I highly recomend you familiarise yourself with it by visiting www.vergeofthefringe.com.

Now head along to the event site by clicking the logo above, tickets are the bargain price of £4.50.

I think this is going to be a genuinely exciting event - 5 podcasters and 1 live band all on stage together (well, one via satellite). I was going to travel down from Glasgow to attend anyway, so I was thrilled to be asked by Lance to be a part of it.

If you want to be there too and need more details, email me or visit Lance's site.

New camera, workshops and channels

After 3 years I decided to buy a new camera. We've got a short holiday in the highlands of Scotland coming up, and couple that with a special podcast I'm producing on Friday that will be enhanced, I thought it a good idea to get a new camera.

I picked up a Konica Minolta DiMage E500 for under £120, which is fairly cheap for a 5 megapixel camera. Obviously it isn't loaded with features, most notably it's missing a view finder, so you're stuck with the LCD - a huge battery drain. But it does that job. Shutter lag is a teeeny bit of an issue, but I'm getting the hang of it.

My old camera, an Olympus C120 (I think) was 2 megapixel and lasted 3 years, took great pics and is now in the custody of my mother-in-law.

Here's a quick sample of the new camera's work.On Thursday I'm holding a workshop in Adelaides, Bath Street, Glasgow. It's not open to the public as such, but I hope to record it and make it available here as a podcast.
Topics will include 'down-time' verses 'sit-down-time', making people come to you verses reaching out to people.

There's every chance that, through time, the tartanpodcast will add channels. These channels will be seperate feeds that can be subscribed to. Of course, the tartanpodcast as it currently stands will continue - 2 or 3 shows a week, including the sleepy sunday show etc. But there's potential for me to add other channels pertaining to different topics.

We'll see how it pans out.

On Friday I'm producing a special one-off podcast for Caledonian University. They're building a big, new, hi-tech building which is due to open in January. The podcast will be a sound-seeing tour of the building and will be made available as an enhanced podcast which will include pictures of the various cool new elements of this building.

It's both a showcase of the University and a showcase of what I can offer organisations such as the university...therefore I'm doing it free of charge. A one-time-only deal...

Again, this will be made available via the tartanblog.

You can post feedback here, if you so wish!

Sunday, December 11, 2005

More social engineering from Yahoo

12/10/2005 10:10:25 AM, by Ken "Caesar" Fisher

Yahoo! buys del.icio.us

Yahoo's courtship with the blogging world got a little deeper yesterday when they agreed to buy "social bookmarking" site del.icio.us. The terms of the deal and its financial make-up were not announced by either company, and no reliable murmurs have surfaced on the 'net so far.

The purchase makes sense. In March of this year Yahoo purchased Flickr, and coupled together, Flickr and de.licio.us are quite complimentary services. The idea behind both sites is relatively simple: allow users to share data (pictures in the case of Flickr, bookmarks in the case of de.licio.us), allow them to mark that data up with metadata, and make it all easily searchable. Del.icio.us' founder, Joshua Schachter, seemed pleased with the transaction, noting that Yahoo "gets it."

We're proud to announce that del.icio.us has joined the Yahoo! family. Together we'll continue to improve how people discover, remember and share on the Internet, with a big emphasis on the power of community. We're excited to be working with the Yahoo! Search team - they definitely get social systems and their potential to change the web. (We're also excited to be joining our fraternal twin Flickr!)

We want to thank everyone who has helped us along the way - our employees, our great investors and advisors, and especially our users. We still want to get your feedback, and we look forward to bringing you new features and more servers in the future.

Furthermore, Yahoo's Jeremy Zawodny said that the company will likely work to put del.icio.us together with Yahoo's existing My Web service, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Flickr integrated there as well. Behold the birth of Y.ah.oo! M.y W.br!

Yahoo is a company hot on the trail of so-called Web 2.0 (a clever self-marketing term if there ever was one), and 2005 is wrapping up to be the Year of Community Driven Content; blogs, blogs, and more blogs, plus all of the accoutrements of the social scene, really hit big this year. Never mind that people have been doing this stuff for ages; it's all in the self-marketing, you see. That, and the fact that it's becoming more and more socially acceptable to know how to use a computer.

Del.icio.us fans will now have to wait and see

Soundbiters on the BBC

For those interested in hearing Ewan Spence and I on BBC Radio Scotland's Soundbiters quiz, the air date is Friday 23rd December 11.30am GMT.

I'll post a link nearer the time.

I will be on holiday when it's aired!

CC Chapman started a great thread on his site regarding an article slamming podcasting

Here's my reply on his site;

I listen to one repackaged radio show distributed as a podcast - The Best of Chris Evans. To people of my age Chris represents the time when tv and radio was wrestled from the grasps of the grey, middle aged, middle managers.

What sets Evan’s tv and radio shows apart is that to hire him, you have to hire his production company. He produces his own shows, therefore he has a double-handful ofmanagementt’s underwear, ready to rip it up into a wedgie at the first hint of a sniff of interferance.The podcast of his radio show is 30 minutes long, and in my opinion, it works as a podcast. It’s simply just the best bits. Evans is a born podcaster - original content, produces it himself…perfect. And when you listen to him, you know you’re listening to HIM.

A BBC Radio DJ told me that the buzz word at the BBC is podcasting, the Beeb wants to podcast as much of its content as possible. For corporations such as the BBC a podcast of their content has added value; it’s the BBC fergoodnesssakes, they eschew everything that commercial TV and radio stands for. They have to. It’s in their code. Rather than the BBC fearing podcasting they’re embracing it as a way to deliver their content.

The BBC asides, repackaged COMMERCIAL radio shows masquerading as podcasts have no added value; the best bits are ripped out, i.e. the music. Any reasonable person sat down with an iPod - or personal media player of their choice - and given two podcasts to listen to, Frankie and JoJos’ Whacky Radio Call-ins and [insert well produced music podcast] and asked to compare the two would surely fall on the side of [insert well produced music podcast].

Why? The Chris Evan’s effect - [insert well produce music podcast] is produced by the person presenting it, you’re hearing THEM and they answer to no one.

Add to that the fact that it’s fairly inexpensive to purchase the gear needed to produce a professional (in sound quality) ‘radio’ show, then it’s obvious commercial radio is going to be nervous, even fearful.

Good.



Discuss...

Saturday, December 10, 2005

Playing the drums and the mouthorgan. At the same time.

I saw something reasonably remarkable tonight while sitting in a pub in Bath Street in Glasgow. No, it wasn't young people trying too hard to resemble Goldfrapp album covers , or the trying-too-hard-to-look-fashionably-scruffy-haircuts on young men in bum crack showing low slung jeans. It wasn't even the Saudi Arabian horse racing that was on the 3 large plasma tvs hung on 3 different walls in the pub. Nor was it the strange fellow with the just-out-of-bed hair (you know, all pushed up to one side and flattened from the back), bad teeth, pale denim jacket with dark hoodie under it, although all of these things were reasonably remarkable to someone like me who doesn't leave the house much after 7pm at night.

The reasonably remarkable thing that I witnessed tonight was someone playing the drums and the mouthorgan. At the same time.

The perpetrator of this feat was none other than Andrew from the Edinburgh-based band Dropkick. The band, having managed to secure the visa, had made the trip west (on a school night - Alastair's words) to play The Butterfly and the Pig, a pub on the odd side of Bath Street. I'd walked passed the basement pub everyday for a year when I worked for Barclays Stockbrokers at the Charing Cross end of Bath Street (300 Bath Street, Tay House - the building that goes over the motorway for those taking notes), but I'd never noticed it before.

Typically decked out for a Glasgow pub/venue/restaraunt; all battered sofas, raw wooden floors, black t-shirted bar staff and the aforementioned people trying too hard, the bands would be performing on a small 'stage' against a wall papered with sheet music. Directly behind the stage, i.e. right behind where the band would be performing, was a large plasma TV showing Champions League football. I was imagining people heckling the musicians, yelling at them to 'get oot ay the wey ay o the footie, an tha.'

That didn't happen, although there would perhaps have been call for it during the first band's set. I don't have their name to hand, although it would be fairly easy to retrieve. But I won't as I like to reserve the tartanpodcast for bands of quality. Yes. I am a snob. They were overly loud and their songs all sounded repetitively similar. They also managed to clear out, oh, most of the people in the pub.

This was borne out when a member of the bar staff whom I presume to have a managerial type position (this assumption is made based on her being at least 22) came over to one of the guys with the trying-too-hard-too-look-scruffy hairdos and proclaimed 'there's only 32 people left, this lot better not be as loud as the last lot'.

Those who had departed the pub had freed up seats near the stage and by the time Dropkick had "sound checked" - asking random drinkers to twiddle the nobs on the board till things sounded reasonable; no fault of Dropkick's, the sound guy had failed to show up - there was a cozy crowd in front of them.

They didn't disappoint, kicking off their set with Chastity Pyjamas, drummer Andrew on lead vocals and Alastair on guitar and harmonies. The applause was genuine and generous. There followed Gary Larsson Cartoon and Crisps and Irn Bru, among others.

Finishing up with Turn Off Your Radio (Turn Me On Instead), at one point the bassist (sorry, didn't get the rest of the band members' names - Alastair?) caught my eye and we had a shared grin at the lyrical content of the song, much of it probably lost due to the sound guy having a night-in.

Two highlights of the night; immediately after they finished their set, a guy rushed up to Andrew and asked if they had a CD for sale. He was, of course, American. Alastair and I had chatted briefly and we had agreed that their sound was particularly popular with Americans. (Inexplicable sidenote - Alastair offered me a Dropkick t-shirt, which I refused, for some reason. Perhaps the soda water and lime had gone to my head.)

The other highlight? Not, as Grant may assume, being asked to guard the Dropkick box - which I was and did and have photographic proof of - but rather seeing a drummer drum while playing a mouthorgan.

Remarkable.


Dropkick's music is available to purchase and download from www.dropkickmusic.co.uk