Vlog Vlogging Video podcasting – why not

Well, there are a lot of reasons that I shouldn’t podcast, mainly that I talk too much, and mostly because I say too little. At least when I write I can edit out some of the drivel. In the end though I’m too interested in technology, social media, and the Internet to let everyone else make all this user generated video content and not play around a bit with it myself.

Equipment has always been a barrier for me – especially finding a decent web cam to use. I read recently about using your camcorder as a high-end web cam and the hack attracted me. I wanted to set up a good web cam for me and the kids so Shannon could see us on her business travels and Max and Charlie could see me from California. We’ve tried this before but it’s never really worked. Perhaps using the camcorder will help make it a more permanent solution. That and video podcasting.

I purchased a 6-pin to 4-pin Firewire cable (aka IEEE 1394 cable) from CompUSA today so I could hook my Mac Powerbook up to my 7 year old digital camcorder. Everything worked the first time I plugged it in. I then signed up with the free service called ustream.tv that lets you both record and stream live web cam podcasts. The most popular content creators are now attracting thousands of viewers for their live shows and it’s actually pretty fun to watch some of them.

So, here’s my test on ustream. The audio is horrid, as is the content, but it’s a start. First order of business is to figure out a decent and inexpensive microphone.