Learning About Soundslides

Check out my first Soundslides presentation--it's covering the first annual Macon County Boats, Sports, & Travel Show at the Macon County Expo Center on Saturday, March 8 and Sunday, March 9. 

Podcasting 101

I have now joined the ranks of podcasters!  Although I'm definitely an amateur at this, if you like, you can check out my first attempts at podcasting!  Here are the links:

Tiger Garden

Tigers for Tigers

Enjoy!

Learning About Podcasting

As a non-owner of an iPod, I got to find out what podcasts are like by downloading one to my laptop and listening to it on there.  Overall, it was a very interesting experience.

From this experience, I was very surprised to learn that podcasts aren't regulated by the FCC, as all other types of broadcast programs are.  For some people who don't like FCC regulation on TV and radio programs, it is a wanted alternative that lets them choose what they listen to, and what the content is, no matter how racy or raunchy.  However, I don't agree with that policy.  Because the internet is accessed by so many children today, it is way too easy for a child to accidentally or intentionally download content that may not be appropriate for them.

Another thing I found interesting was that the majority of advertising done for podcasts is done by word of mouth.  I would think this could be rather difficult.  Yet, I think it would be challenging to use traditional advertising methods to advertise a podcast.  

Finally, I found it a bit difficult to find podcasts online that might be of interest to me.  Perhaps I wasn't looking on the right websites, but I struggled to find something that I would actually want to listen to.  Mostly, the podcast itself seemed disjointed, like a bunch of random people talking about a certain subject.  It didn't seem like a very smooth or sophisticated way to communicate.

Eat More Beef!

This afternoon, I'm going to the Forge & Vine Grill here in Columbia for an award ceremony.  The restaurant is receiving the Missouri Beef Backer award, a very prestigious honor for use of beef in their restaurant.  I'm attending the event as Missouri Beef Queen, so I think it will be a lot of fun!

Here's the link to the restaurant's Web site: http://www.forgeandvine.com

Analysis of Another Blog

I looked at a blog called "An Agrarian's Plowshare", created by Scott Holtzman from Gloversville, New York.  Upon looking at many of his articles, I discovered that he, too, is an avid agriculturist like myself.  Many of his postings were engaging and charming, and definitely relevant to the current agriculture industry.

What I liked most about Mr. Holtzman's blog is that nearly all of his postings included a colorful photo that went along with the post.  This made the post more interesting, even drawing your eye to it to make you want to read.  I also liked the fact that he had archived postings from clear back to October 2005.  If you wanted to read more of his work, it was all right there, and easy to access.  It also had several links to other agricultural websites.

What I didn't like about his blog is the design of the blog.  Overall, it was kind of boring to look at.  Very simple, yet it needed some pizzazz, I felt.  Especially if he's really trying to draw hits to his blog, or if it's just for fun, it could still use some spicing up.  Another thing I didn't like was that his postings were rather random.  The most recent one was in September 2007.  With the dynamic changes occurring almost daily in the ag industry, he could keep the blog more current with the latest information. 

Overall, I thought it was a good blog with many acceptable qualities.

You can check out this blog at: http://agrarianplowshare.blogspot.com/

Another Thought

I wanted to add that I'm not really sure at this point that I have any thoughts I'd like to be open to the general public for discussion.  We'll see what this new blog thing leads to!

My first blog post

I have my own blog now...something else to check and update...similar to Facebook, but not quite as fun.