Times-Herald (Vallejo, CA)
August 20, 2006
Section: Local
Article ID: 4211322
Now hear this!
CHRIS G. DENINA/Times-Herald staff writer
Pastor Stephen Smith of Worldwide Church of God in Fairfield is seen in this image taken off a computer screen. Ean Dawson (aka: Indecent the Slapmaster) of Vallejo, left, describes the equipment used in the home studio where he and his friend, Gabriel Thomas (aka Krypto) produce their rap music, some of which is placed on the web as a podcast. (Mike Jory/Times-Herald) What do an author, two rappers and a handful of church pastors have in common in Solano County?
The answer: They're all podcasting.
If you haven't heard, podcasts are like Internet radio shows that listeners can download on a computer to hear at home, or on the go, using a portable music player.
Once a listener subscribes to a show, the audio is automatically downloaded whenever a new episode is released.
The technology lets anyone with some computer know-how preach to the masses, rap to listeners across the globe or host a show about books that might have a tough time getting play on a traditional radio station.
And that's what the author, rappers and church pastors are doing - using audio shows to promote their books, music and faith.
Mainstream media, too, like television stations and newspapers are embracing podcasts. Even 707, a monthly magazine published by the Times-Herald, has a podcast.
Boosters say podcasts are empowering anyone with the means to communicate beyond typing text on a Web page. Critics, however, say podcasts are sometimes so narrowly focused and unpolished, they're bound to be a passing fad.
But for the Solano County podcasters, there's no denying the medium is a new frontier.
At Worldwide Church of God in Fairfield, podcasts are reaching a new audience.
If you can't make it to church in person, there's always church on the go, listening to sermons on a music player, Pastor Stephen Smith said.
"You can go to church on your time," Smith said. "In the gym or in the car, out running, they can listen."
Podcasting sermons help reach younger generations who might not make the time to sit in on a service, Smith said. And as his church's membership ages and the congregation dwindles in numbers, attracting newcomers by offering podcasts and downloadable videos of sermons is becoming more key to the church's survival, he said.
"Otherwise you just grow old and die," Smith said.
iPod and iTunes
The term podcast was coined in 2004 and is a combination of the words iPod and broadcast, according to online encyclopedia Wikipedia. Despite the name, podcasts can be listened to on any digital audio player, not just an iPod.
Early on, podcasts were for Web-savvy folks who had the patience to download a sometimes confusing mix of software and search for sometimes hard-to-fit links, called feeds, that point to the audio files.
It wasn't until a version of online music store iTunes that supports podcasts was released last year that an estimated millions learned about the free homemade radio shows.
The iTunes interface simplified the process for finding podcasts. All you had to do was click on a picture and title of a show you liked, then click subscribe and the show would automatically download to your computer.
Podcast directories like iTunes offer thousands of shows for free. Countless people are starting their own, finding they can form a community of individuals with similar interests, said Jesse Drew, acting director of the Technocultural Studies Program at of California, Davis.
A big part of podcasts is they're not tied to any one geographic location, Drew said. That may be why only a handful of podcasters could be locally, he said.
For instance, someone who likes novels can make a show about literature for fellow bookworms to follow, or create a show featuring songs that might not make it to commercial radio.
"They're looking for a community," Drew said. "They want to share stuff with their friends."
You don't have to be a professional to create something, he said. That's the attraction - anyone can podcast and share their personal interests with the world, he said.
Many radio stations stick to Top 40 hits, he said. Now, someone with an eclectic collection of music can play disc jockey and spin tunes for an hour and share it online for anyone else to hear.
"Maybe there will be 50 people who enjoy this thing, maybe 50,000 - it's hard to say," Drew said. 21st century
Several Solano County churches offer podcasts, including New Community Church in Fairfield and The Father's House in Vacaville.
Smith, the pastor at Worldwide Church of God in Fairfield, said it doesn't matter if he never hears from a listener - what matters is people are hearing his message.
He gets about 600 hits daily on his church's Web site, which greets visitors with the message "EVANGELISM: Doing It The 21st Century Way..." Some visitors download the podcasts and hear his sermons from their computer or on their music player.
"It is a lot of work, but if somebody, if one or two or three people have access to that and they can hear it and it's helpful to them and it changes their life, then it's worth it," said Smith, 60, of Vacaville.
The online sermons were started as a way to help church members who live out of town or are older and have trouble making Saturday services. Technology has been a way to reach more people, as the church's membership dropped over the years, Smith said.
About a decade ago, about 240 regularly attended the Fairfield church, he said. Then, the church changed its doctrine to no longer require members to limit activities on the Sabbath, from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday.
Membership dropped. Today, it's about 20, Smith said.
Now, you also need to do more to fill seats, he said.
"Our churches, if you don't have a number of programs going, you're not going to attract the younger generation," Smith said. "They're very podcast-oriented and the like. They're so busy."
Smith, too, is busy. He pastors at two other churches. On Saturdays, he leads services at 9:30 a.m. in Santa Rosa, noon in Fairfield and 3 p.m. in Modesto. That's more than 300 to spread the word.
He can reach only so many people in person, and travel only so many miles a day. Podcasts let him preach to a larger audience.
Smith even records video of his sermons - in high-definition video, no less - which are posted online. The church even mails DVDs of the videos to Christians as far away as China, he said.
Last year, he said he mailed DVDs to 19 countries. Some videos are translated into languages including Chinese, he said.
Even though Christians can listen to his podcasts and watch his videos, Smith said they can get more by attending in person.
"It's almost like you're there, but you miss the tailgate party," Smith said. "You miss the smell of the hot dog and the garlic fries. You miss the whole big picture. You may see the finest details but you miss the big picture."
Passing fad?
There are drawbacks to all this free expression.
Podcasts are letting people surround themselves with only things they like, giving them less exposure to popular culture, said Drew, the acting director of the Technocultural Studies Program at UC Davis.
"I think the downside is people are talking to each other less and less," Drew said. "They have less culturally to refer to."
Podcasts may be a new competitor for radio.
But don't tell that to disk jockeys. Podcasts are a fad, said DJ Randy, a Vallejo disc jockey who runs a pirate radio station out of his house.
"I don't see it really surviving that long," DJ Randy said.
He asked his real name not be used, since his station is unlicensed and he has no plans to obtain government permission to continue broadcasting.
Podcasts allow anyone to have a show, and sometimes it's not something you want to listen to, he said.
"It's not really mainstream - it's more personal," DJ Randy said. "I think it's targeting only a certain audience."
A fan in Japan
Even rappers podcast.
Vallejo hip-hop duo Indecent & Krypto have released a number of songs from their catalog, including tracks dating back to 2003, through a podcast on their page at music site GarageBand.com.
The idea is to give fans a sampling of their work in the hopes listeners will buy their CDs, said Gabriel Thomas, 26, aka Krypto. They released their fourth project, "Rap Athletes Track Meet," under their own label last month.
"It gives them a taste, you know," said Ean Dawson, 27, aka Indecent the SlapMaster. "You can be an artist out there, but if you don't give them a taste, no one's gonna hear about you."
Getting all the listeners you can helps when you're an independent artist, they said. Their podcast is available any time of day, even when they're at their day jobs. Thomas installs heating and air conditioning systems. Dawson works as a vocational counselor for kids with autism.
The pair post their songs online through MySpace.com, a social networking site that many recording artists use to promote their music. But MySpace only allows four songs per page, while podcasts allow artists the freedom to add as many songs as they want, Dawson said.
"They key to the game independently is make as much material as you can and get it out there as much as you can, so you can flood the market," Dawson said. That gets people familiar with your music so they buy CDs and attend live shows, he said.
Podcasts go beyond your normal audience, said Thomas, aka Krypto. Many of their fans are local, but they've had downloads from listeners as far away as Japan, Thomas said.
"I think that's great because it's getting to places we can't get to ourselves right now, doing it independently, without a budget," Thomas said. "That's one of the ways we're getting out there."
Sometimes, however, people might get the wrong idea when they find Indecent & Krypto's music online. Somebody
might buy it in the store and they'll put it online, Thomas said.
"When you're first coming out, of course, any type of publicity is good," Thomas said. "But sooner or later you want to make sales. Right now it's helping us, but further down the line it could hurt us."
On the air
Podcasting is another avenue for a first-time author seeking publicity, said Chandra Adams of Vallejo. In 2004, she released a suspense novel called "Shades of Retribution" through Adrolite Press, her publishing house.
"I remember how hard it was to get on the radio," Adams, 38, said. "So when I found out how easy it was to do a podcast - and I've always had a secret desire to be a talk show personality - I put up a Web site."
She's been podcasting her show interviewing authors since February. So far, she's hosted more than a dozen other writers, letting them promote their books, the way she wished she had help promoting hers.
Adams' shows, available at northbaymediareview.com, have pulled in as many as 82 listeners each, she said. That adds up to hundreds of listens, she added. The publicity helps sales of her book, which has sold more than 1,000 copies, she said.
Adams said she has a list of authors seeking a slot on her show to talk about their book. The podcast is getting her more attention in her field.
"It's establishing me as someone to go to," Adams said. "If you need help promoting your book, obviously you want to get an interview."
The next frontier
Adams, the author, said she already had a computer and Internet connection. All she did was buy a microphone for less than $20 at RadioShack, plug it in and begin recording her talk show podcast.
It's been fun, but it's also taxing, she said.
"It's definitely responsibility," Adams said. "At first, kind of nerve-racking because I felt I had to have everything just right."
Now, she's looking at the next level of podcasting - video blogging.
"I'm going to see if I can start recording interviews on video and putting them on in place instead of just audio," Adams said.
- E-mail Chris G. Denina at cdenina@thnewsnet.com or call 553-6835.
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Podcasts
The term podcast was coined in 2004 and is a combination of the words iPod and broadcast, and describes audio that can be automatically downloaded to a computer through an online subscription. An iPod is a digital audio player made by Apple Computer Inc.
*Source: en.wikipedia.org
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How to listen
To listen to podcasts, you'll need a computer, Internet connection and software to download the audio. Among the more popular programs is iTunes, free from www.apple.com.
The iTunes music store includes a directory of free podcasts to subscribe to, so whenever a new episode is released, your computer will download a copy.
You can listen from your computer or if you have a digital audio player such as an iPod - though any kind will do - you can to the podcast wherever you go.
*Source: Times-Herald research
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Making your own podcast
To create a podcast, you'll need a computer, microphone, Internet connection, Web site and idea for a show.
The following is a quick guide on the basics. For more details on getting started, check the sites in our list on podcasting resources.
• Download and install a free sound editing program like Audacity from audacity.sourceforge.net. Plug the microphone into your computer, hit the record button in Audacity then speak your mind. • Edit your masterpiece and save it as an mp3, a standard format for audio on the Internet. • When you're finished, you'll need to find a Web site where you can store that mp3 file. Once the file is on your site, you'll need to create an XML file, which points to where the file is stored. • If you don't know how to create that file, some sites make it easier to generate by filling out a form. One example is www.tdscripts.com/webmaster-utilities/podcast-generator.php. • Next, create a feed that listeners can subscribe to, using a site like www.feedburner.com, which is free. • Finally, promote your podcast, getting it listed on sites like www.podcastalley.com and telling friends and family to listen. *Source: Times-Herald research
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If you go
• garageband.com/artist/krypto • northbaymediareview.com • worldwidechurchofgod.com • newcommunitychurch.us • newharborchurch.com • www.tfhweb.com • www.code707.com *Source: Times-Herald research
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Podcasting resources
• www.apple.com/itunes/podcasts • www.how-to-podcast-tutorial.com • www.feedburner.com • www.podcastalley.com • en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting • www.podcastingnews.com *Source: Times-Herald research
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Sites for finding podcasts
• www.podcast.net • www.podcastalley.com • podcasts.yahoo.com • www.ipodder.org • podfeed.net *Source: Times-Herald research
Photo:
Vallejo author Chandra Adams is among a handful of Solano County podcasters. (David Pacheco/Times-Herald).
(c) 2006 Times-Herald. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Media NewsGroup, Inc. by NewsBank, Inc.
