Shameless self-promotion. That’s what one may think about this post title. But, isn’t this blog to share with you what’s happening with us? (Except, of course, the true reason why Episode 44 was published a day late - the official position being that the dog ate the homework, er, mp3 file!)
Well, Podcast User Magazine had featured us in their September 2006 issue. They had written about Awaaz Anjane as “…an innovative show which includes a really great mix of interviews from Bollywood stars through to audio clips from their listeners and general commentaries. Send in your audio files of music, commentaries or whatever and they will happily include relevant samples. These clips are what make the show….”
Biz Podcsting and CNET Asia soon followed suit in the same month and picked PodioIndia among the few Indian podcasts that they covered.
And then last month, that is April 2007, there was a spate of media attention. First, National Public Radio, ran a segment on Podcasting and interviewed us. Then, a friend brought to our notice that the Indian National newspaper, The Hindu had ran a story on Indian Podcasting and mentioned PodioIndia as the site which “…serves a rich content of Indian music…”. Finally, Tehelka chose to explain the concept of podcasting by citing PodioIndia’s shows as an example.
We are definitely quite pleased that our efforts are being noticed. But you know what that means. The bar just went higher! We are well aware of your expectations and are working hard to bring you more diverse content (honestly, we did rest on our laurels for a couple of days!).
The geek in me sometimes gets to explore music technology while hosting the podcast. I was familiar with DTS in movies (remember the dino sounds in Jurassic Park?), but had vague ideas about DTS audio. So last summer, when Subhashish Chatterjee from Kolkata, India was displaying at a convention DTS audio albums produced by his company Basss Music (RM), I was curious. The titles were great, the packaging neat and there was the DTS logo on the album covers - finally Indian Music in DTS format! (Read details about DTS technology here).
So next day, Subhashish and I sat down in a coffee shop and discussed about DTS technology, compared with Dolby Surround and about his young company’s plan to produce quality titles from India. Listen to the full interview in the player below.
As the lines between portable media players and communication devices blur and functionalities merge, we got excited about other ways of delivering our podcasts to you. Most of us listen to podcasts on our computer or iPod/MP3 players, but hey, our mobile phones have long ceased to be just phones – they can play a variety of media files as well! Which means podcasts can also be made available on mobile phones! There are a couple of ways you can use your phone to listen to podcasts. One is to download the podcasts on your phone (ensures best quality) and listen on the go – so that’s similar to subscribing in iPods or MP3 players, except that you bypass the computer as the conduit to pass the file. That’s really convenient! But watch out for your mobile plan with your provider (and a compatible phone) if you want to try this. You should have a dataplan with your provider. Else, downloading a few podcast episodes a month on a regular plan…let’s just say don’t try it! It’ll be too darn expensive. PodioIndia podcasts are already available through downloadable Podcast services at Spodradio and Nokia. More of that in a later post. In the meanwhile you can read the CNET Asia blog on this topic.
Another way of listening to podcasts on your phone is by actually calling up a phone number and listening to an episode. Our Awaaz Anjane podcast is now available at SayNow. You can call up (408) 731-6852 to subscribe to this Podcast either through your mobile phone or your landline phone (US phone numbers only). You can choose to get either a text message or a phone ring whenever we upload a new episode. You can also choose not to get notified. While listening to an episode just press 7 for notifications change option (1 = Text Message, 2 = Phone Ring, 3 = None). If, for some reason, you want to unsubscribe, press the * key. Note that the SayNow service is free but your mobile carrier charges may apply. But typical mobile plans in US have unlimited nights and weekends and nationwide free long distance. So, if you have such a plan, you can always give this a try at night or on weekends.
Let us know how you like this. We have to admit that a phone call does not offer the best quality for a music podcast but say, if you are stuck in traffic in LA or NY and have nothing better to do, try dialing (408) 731-6852. Please make sure you comply with local laws using a mobile phone while driving. And by all means, drive safe! In another post, we will talk about the other option involving downloads on your mobile phone. So long, enjoy!
(You know we have to write this: PodioIndia.com is neither affiliated with nor endorses SayNow.com’s services. We tried to outline this service as best as we could, but please consult SayNow.com website for any further details. You agree to use this service at your own risk.)