The Hawaii Association of Podcasters welcomes the latest batch of islanders to add their voices to the mix.

• Keola Donaghy of Nahenahe.Net: Exploring the local music scene and Hawaiian music, language, and culture with a veteran web guru in Hilo.
• Chris Damitio of Fukn.us: Chris lives in Kailua, earns his living by driving people around the island, and is an author and active blogger.
• James “BigDaddy” Plummer and Vernon “808Rider” Brown of 808Talk.com: “We are two guys talking about events, happenings, and pretty much everything that is going on in Hawaii.”

Be sure to check out all the local podcasters. And if you’re podcasting from Hawaii, or would like to start, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Local podcasters and the podcasting phenomenon were featured on the KHON 2 News this evening. Several local podcasting sites were shown on screen as the piece explained what podcasting is, and who in Honolulu is creating them. Congratulations to Todd Cochrane, Roxanne Darling, and Shane Robinson, and thanks for making us all look (and sound) so good! And special thanks to the especially tech-savvy Kirk Fernandes for putting together such a great segment.

To watch the segment in RealVideo format, click here. To read the text version of the podcasting segment, click here.

Part radio, part TiVo, literally bringing the voice of the everyman to the world, podcasting is an incredible phenomenon that’s sweeping the globe… and one self-described geek right here in Hawaii has written the first definitive guide. Honolulu resident and veteran podcaster Todd Cochrane was tapped by global publishing powerhouse John Wiley & Sons, Inc. to write “Podcasting: Do It Yourself Guide.”The 300+ page book covers every aspect of podcasts, from finding and listening to them, to creating, improving, and promoting your own audio show. Due out in June, the book will be on store shelves before the podcasting phenomenon itself is barely a year old. Read the rest of this entry »

Todd Cochrane (GeekNewsCentral.com) is poised to take centerstage on the global podcasting scene on Friday the 13th, with a big announcement  — which has been promised for weeks — finally coming in his 64th show. Meanwhile, Peter Kay (VoteHawaii.com), a familiar voice who recently jumped into podcasting, has also been thinking big, looking to make waves out in the middle of the Pacific.

Both Todd and Peter will probably have a lot to say at an open, noontime HAP meetup, taking place at Kakaako Waterfront Park on Thursday, May 12. If you’re a local podcaster, wannabe-podcaster, podcast listener, or just curious about podcasting, be sure to pack a lunch (and some sunscreen) and join us.

Other events to put into your PDAs:

• Aloha for Eric Rice, a spontaneous and casual gathering to welcome this all-media evangelist to the islands, tentatively scheduled for the evening of Sunday, May 15. Details TBA!
• Podcasting: Applications for Business, with Roxanne Darling and Shane Robinson of Bare Feet Studios, at noon on Thursday, May 19 at the Univ. of Phoenix (745 Fort Street, Rooms 101/102).
• Best of the Podcast-O-Sphere, with Bob Lew for the UH Pacific New Media program, on Thursday, July 7. Location TBA.
• Podcasting Teach-In, with Bob Lew for the UH Pacific New Media program, on Thursday, August 4. Location TBA.

Homespun ‘Podcasts’ Explore a Universe of Topics
Andy Sullivan, Reuters, April 10, 2005:

Like the World Wide Web 10 years ago, many podcasts rely on homespun charm rather than slick presentation. Anybody with a computer and a microphone can set up their own show. Several radio stations have developed podcasts of their own, typically condensed versions of their morning shows. Businesses from Newsweek to General Motors have set up podcasts, as has Democratic politician John Edwards, who ran unsuccessfully for U.S. vice president last year.

Survey: Millions tuning in to ‘podcasts’

The home-brewed audio programs known as “podcasts” are catching on with people who own iPods or other digital-music players, according to a survey released Sunday.Twenty-nine percent of U.S. adults who own MP3 players like Apple Computer Inc.’s iPod say they have downloaded podcast programs from the Internet, the Pew Internet and American Life Project found.That means more than 6 million people are listening to a form of communication that emerged only last year, according to the non-profit group.

Local podcaster and obsessive online community builder Ryan Ozawa today launched Voxmedia.org, which aims to explore podcasting, blogging, and vlogging (or videoblogging) as powerful forms of individual expression and interaction. The three forms of “masses media” (in contrast to mass media) — text, audio, and video — are covered in three ways: a message board, a wiki (a collectively edited resource), and a news blog.

Podcasters and podcast enthusiasts are encouraged to start conversations in the podcasting forum, or to add their own brand of expertise to the podcasting wiki.

Read the press release here.

Hawaii Public Radio has uploaded the MP3 audio file of the March 24 “Town Square” talk show focusing on podcasting. You can grab it here — but be forewarned, it’s a 55MB MP3. Remember, you can subscribe to catch all “Town Square” shows as they’re posted online via Larry Geller’s fan blog.

Don’t forget! Monday, March 28 brings “Podcasting: Applications for Business,” a free lunch-hour seminar at the UH Downtown Campus (900 Fort Street, Lower Level). Learn about podcasting, and hear five ways that podcasting can be useful to business and government organizations. An actual podcast will be created during the seminar!

Then, on Thursday, April 7, HAP cofounder Bob Lew will present “Podcasting: Talking to the World or Anyone Who Will Listen.” It will also be a lunchtime brown-bag presentation, also at the UH Downtown Campus.

Clear Channel To Embrace Podcasting
Paul Heine, Billboard Radio Monitor, March 25, 2005:

Clear Channel plans to take first steps toward extending its radio brands through podcasting, as part of a new coherent Internet strategy set to unfold over the next several months at radio’s largest operator… Clear Channel plans to make five-minute, ad-supported segments available for download from station sites. Morning show vignettes, content from air talent and bits like top 40 WHTZ New York’s “Z100 Phonetap” are among the offerings the company plans to make available as downloads.

Podcasting puts you in charge of the show
D. Parvaz, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, March 25, 2005:

What kind of stuff is out there and what can you create? An oral blog — it’s your life, in sound files, baby… Podcasting ain’t for everyone. You may find yourself drowning in the sea of voices out there. You can’t hear everything that’s popped online, no more than you can read every newspaper. Like anything else online, Beslanwitch said the “ego factor” is at play. In other words, even people with nothing to say probably will try their hands at podcasting.