There’s been a lot of discussion lately on museum sites and discussion lists about podcasting. Podcasts are a fabulous tool for museums because they’re a simple medium that can be adapted to multiple audiences, from children to adults, and visitors to your website can listen to them at their convenience–they don’t need to sit at their computer as they do when viewing web pages.
First of all, what is a podcast?
Wikipedia provides this definition:
Podcasting is the method of distributing multimedia files, such as audio programs or music videos, over the Internet for playback on mobile devices and personal computers. Podcasts are distributed using either the RSS or Atom syndication formats.The term podcast, like “radio”, can mean both the content and the method of delivery. The host or author of a podcast is often referred to as a “podcaster”.
Podcasters’ web sites may also offer direct download or streaming of their files. However, a podcast is distinguished by its ability to be downloaded automatically using software capable of reading RSS or Atom feeds.
Usually the podcast features one type of “show”, with new episodes either sporadically or at planned intervals, such as daily or weekly. In addition to this, there are podcast networks that feature multiple shows on the same feed. One can listen to a podcast either on a computer or on a mobile audio device (such as an iPod).
Podcasting’s essence is about creating content (audio or video) for an audience that wants to listen or watch when they want, where they want, and how they want.
Museums can place podcasts on their websites to:
– share audio tours with audiences that are distant from the museum’s physical location;
– provide audio tours that visitors can download to their personal mp3 players before their visit to a particular exhibition; and
– perhaps most importantly, provide content to supplement exhibition content and museum programs. Such content may generate visits to the museum as well as repeat visits to the institution’s website.
Peter Samis and Stephanie Pau of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art provide a must-read account of the lessons learned during their first year of podcasting. They list the following characteristics of their podcast model:
– informality and spontaneity of tone
– inclusion of multiple voices and dialogue
– rapid response, “zine format that blends structure and flexibility”
– “A movement from the Museum out into the community, and from the community back into the Museum”
At the end of this article, there are several museum podcasts to explore. If you’re unfamiliar with podcasts, feel free to scroll down and listen to a few before continuing. (Chances are you already have software on your computer or plug-ins integrated into your web browser that allow you to listen to them.)
How to podcast:
There are multiple ways to produce a podcast. The production process is similar in all of them, but varies depending upon the equipment and software you have on hand or are willing to purchase. I haven’t tested all of these; you’ll need to find the one that best meets your level of technological comfort and your audience’s needs.
Ken Dickson of Ontario Science Center, Canada has provided an excellent walk-through of podcast production on the Museums and the Web 2006 site.
Odeo Studio allows you to create podcasts online.
Podcasting News shows you how to produce a podcast with the gear you already have.
Scrapability offers a podcast tutorial aimed at scrapbookers, but the tips apply to new podcasters in any field.
Instructions for recording to a Macintosh hard drive.
Mansfield University’s podcast series on podcast production: Search for “Podcast Production” episodes; Episode 3 discusses hardware and software.
Yahoo! is sponsoring a Podcast Academy in Santa Clara, California, in June.
Legal issues
Musical interludes add much to a podcast, but much musical work is copyrighted, so you need to be sure to use music that’s podcast-safe. Podcasting News provides a list of links to podcast-legal music.
In addition, all podcasters should read the podcasting legal guide from Creative Commons, which addresses legal issues within the U.S.
Marketing and distributing your podcast
On promoting podcasts, Samis and Pau of SFMOMA write,
Publicity in the mainstream media is fine, but it is also important to tap alternative, ‘viral,’ channels: blogs, e-mails, and Web sites. Podcasts have introduced SFMOMA to a totally new paradigm for spreading information. The ‘Blogsphere’ is far more effective in promoting this medium than are traditional press releases or expensive print advertisements. In this digitally driven community, influential blogs such as SmartMobs, Anna Conti, and BlendedEDU spread word of our podcast project These Web sites were then extensively reblogged so that within a matter of days our podcasts were listed in no fewer than thirty locations on the Web. Downloads and subscriptions went up commensurately.
Remember, in producing podcasts, you’re aiming for an audience that is relatively digitally savvy. It makes sense, then, to promote your podcasts on your museum’s blog, on relevant listservs, via RSS feed syndication, and by alerting the podcast indexes listed below.
Of course, you can also make your podcasts available in the museum as traditional audio tours. Make available simple business cards with the web address where patrons can access your podcasts from home.
Podcast indexes
Many of these resources duplicate one another, but I’m including them here so that as they develop larger lists of podcasts, you can check for updates and decide which site best meets your needs.
MODE’s list of podcasts produced by museums
NetSquared’s list of museum podcasts
The museum podcast directory at MuseumPods.com
PodTrip’s list of museum podcasts in English
Odeo’s list of podcasts tagged “museum”
Podcasts of note
The Wells Fargo History Museum’s Guided by History podcasts “highlight exhibitions and treasures from the corporate archives, as well as interviews with museum visitors, curators, and educators.”
Podcasts from the California Academy of Sciences”
The Kansas Historical Society’s “Cool Things” podcasts–including Mickey Mouse undies
museRadio, from the Bronx Museum Teen Council
Alternative tours
SFMOMA is holding a contest that challenges patrons to create “artcasts” inspired by the museum exhibitions.
Slate produces audio tours that claim to offer “the commentary museums don’t want you to hear”. I really like this approach, as museums could–as SFMOMA is doing–use alternative tours created by visitors to encourage other visitors to tour exhibitions several times, each time with a different audio tour.
A note of caution
Much of the discussion in this post has addressed providing podcasts to audiences online. However, podcasts may, of course, also be used in exhibition spaces–after all, audio tours have been around for a long time. However, before we get too caught up in bringing new technology, such as handheld devices, into museums, Nik Honeysett of Museumatic asks
Who asked the audience if they wanted more gadgetry for their visit? Sure, there have been evaluations, but they seem to be of the variety: “We’ve got this handheld now what do you want it to do?” Instead of asking “What would you like in the museum to make your visit more engaging?” Maybe they want a personal tour by a person? Did anyone ask?