Podcasting for Fun and Non-Profit: Exploring the Possibilities of New Media
James Milles, Buffalo School of Law

Jim Milles provided an excellent overview of podcasting technology, engaging his audience with questions that turned his session into an hour-long conversation rather than a simple lecture.

Milles first discussed the defining characteristics of podcasts. The first is syndication using RSS feeds. A podcast is essentially just a blog with MP3 enclosures. The second characteristic is portability, the ability to listen to the podcast anywhere using an iPod (or other MP3 player), a PDA, a cell phone, and other portable devices. Statistics indicate that most people still listen to podcasts on their desktop computer, but portability is growing, particularly with young people. The last characteristic is seriality. To have a true podcast, a creator must have commitment and continuity.

Milles then played excerpts from two interviews with law professors involved in CALI's Legal Education Podcasting Project. The first subject said that more and more law schools are using podcasting in classes, and that the practice is seen by some as a possible replacement for traditional legal education. The second subject, however, defended the traditional form of legal education, but said he still saw a place for podcasts in that system. Afterwards, Milles indicated that he believed that while podcasts may not be the best method for classroom instruction, podcasts might be better suited to other class elements.

Podcasts can also serve many different functions for law schools than classroom lectures, such as education, entertainment, public relations, journalism, and community building.

In order for a podcast to truly succeed, it must reach beyond a captive audience. This requires compelling content, acceptable sound quality, and entertainment value. Milles played excerpts from some podcasts that illustrate this formula for success. Screaming Halibut provides entertainment in the form of sketch comedy, CitizenShift provides community information, and participants in Vloggercon illustrate the concept of citizen journalism in which news becomes more of a conversation between journalists and citizens than traditional news reports.

What role can the law school play in this wider conversation? Milles himself produces Check This Out!, a podcast for and about law librarians.

There are plenty of choices for recording and editing software, including Audacity (for recording/editing), GarageBand (for recording/editing), Skype (for making internet phone calls), and Audio Hijack Pro (for capturing computer audio, including Skype calls). Milles also mentioned the practice of "double ending," a recording method in which two Skype users each record their end of a conversation, then sync the recordings later to create a high quality recording.

As for hardware, all you need is a computer, a microphone, a digital recorder, and headphones.

Podcasters can add music to their recordings but avoid copyright hassles with "podsafe" music from providers like the Podsafe Music Network, Magnatune, and MySpace.

Podcasting communities have recently arisen in which members share content with one another, trade advice, and cross-promote one another's podcasts. Two such communities are Rogic Podcast Conglomerate and the Rabble Podcast Network.

Milles would to see a conglomerate/community in legal education podcasting. As illustrated by the Long Tail, we may be a narrow interest, but everyone involved can share information easily thanks to technologies like podcasting.

Milles ended by asking the audience a couple of questions to ponder. First, will a law school podcasting community emerge? And second, is there a broader audience for law school podcasting? Legal podcasting could very well be seen as a public service. This may take the form of something as simple as a podcast from a law school clinic or as ambitious as a means for providing open access to legal knowledge (not just legal scholarship).

Update: Jim's Keynote slides are now available over at Check This Out!