I chose to do an
audio podcast. It's the podcast medium I'm most familiar with and Jessica did
suggest Audioboo.fm, so I thought, "That will work."
My first roll of the
dice and I moved four spaces and went up the ladder to 14.
Rolled a 3. Wouldn't
you know it, Audioboo only allows a three minute podcast and my script was
going over that unless I wanted to edit it more than I was willing.
Back to square
7, so I recorded my first version using the Voicememo app on my iPhone and
dubbed in the background music by playing it on my computer. Okay, it sounded
amateurish but was legible and I thought if I was unable to figure out a better
way, I'd go with that.
Read some info at Top 5 Pieces of Free Podcasting Software | Richard Farrar's
Blog recommended to me and decided to download Audacity and
use the Logitech microphone on my desktop. That gave me a roll of 2 and an
advance to 31.
After another
roll, I figured out how to save the recorded in an MP3 format by downloading Lame1, which described how I was feeling.
So far so good,
though, until I tried to copy and paste the MP3 file into my post. I landed on
34 and found myself back at 24. More reading and downloading, first Filezilla -
too complicated - and then FileDen, which was a whole lot easier.
I was stuck on the
bottom half of the gameboard when I couldn't figure out how to embed the link
to the MP3 file into the image of the gameboard, but I figure I'll be on 61
facing two snakes until I've posted this.
The experience of
creating my podcast and its subject matter are eerily similar...
With apologies for the sound quality, but really, it's apt, rather like shooting a movie about the Great Depression in black and white.
With apologies for the sound quality, but really, it's apt, rather like shooting a movie about the Great Depression in black and white.
Judith, I can relate to your two-steps-forward, one-step-back experience with producing your podcast - very much how I felt!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your reminiscences of the "land before digital times". While going to university the first time, I had a part time job for a "word processing" company run by two former legal secretaries who had invested in monstrously expensive IBM word processing machines. We output resumes, reports, and direct mail. They let me come in after hours and word process my essays for school, which made me feel like superwoman, as my classmates were still clunking out their essays on Olivettis. Don't know what became of the company once affordable PCs came along. I'm hoping they found another niche for their skills.
I ran into a woman I used to work with in the late 80s who has a successful transcribing business that she runs out of her home, so maybe they're partners! Thank you for the feedback. I enjoyed your post as well and admit to being drawn into Facebook by my nieces and sister, and I'm glad they dragged me into their world.
ReplyDeleteI'm part of a large extended family that has had a site on Myfamily.com since June 2009. There are 56 members from four generations who post photos from the past, information (quite often of the failing oldest generation hospitalization updates sort, unfortunately), and are using it to archive family heirlooms. It's drawn in a lot of people who otherwise might not have participated in social media and that's brought them into other areas such as Facebook. I admit, it can be a little disconcerting to have my 80 year old Uncle Jac comment on my Facebook postings, but in a good way!
Excellent, Judith, as always!
ReplyDeleteI loved your descriptions: the neighbourhood and technocity, high priestesses, and the land before digital time. They were expertly chosen and very vivid and informative.
I also heard the CBC Spark episode where Susan Swan explained her work as an author before and after the introduction of computers. However, when I listened to the podcast, I came to it with a different background. I have not had the experience of using a typewriter for work. I have used one but it was only to play on as a kid. If I made an error, it could be ignored and I did not need to pull out the liquid paper to fix it. If I had used a typewriter for important, accurate work, I may think of it differently.
As I listened to Susan's story, I was intrigued by the concept of typing without worrying about correcting. She explained that she still used a dictaphone for her first draft because it prevented her from making corrections too soon. She said that it was similar to, "inviting the food critic to the feast while you're still chopping onions." I naturally correct text as I write and it could be a good writing exercise to write without worrying about spelling and grammar.
When I was in my undergrad, one of the journalism professors described cutting and pasting the scripts for documentaries using scissors and glue. I laughed because the concept seemed so foreign to me. I thought he was joking, but he wasn’t. I still remember receiving a dirty look for that inappropriate laugh!
Judith, your metaphor of the snakes and ladders game is so precise. I think all of us can relate to having had this experience before. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete