Added value or extra cash?
A lot of people listen to BBC Radio stations on the internet and even more listen to on demand show – both music and speech based ones.
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Something from Aunty
I’ve been trying to reply to the BBC Internet Blog post by Chris Kimber on the fact that we’ll soon start seeing higher quality podcasts from the BBC – but it’s not working so i’ll reply here instead. Read more
Top Gear back June 22
Top Gear series 13 returns to BBC Two on Sunday 21 June 2009. Find out more…
I haven’t been able to find confirmation of this anywhere else yet – but according to posters on the Final Gear Forums it looks like mine and your favourite car related entertainment show will be back on 22 June 2008.
Make it funny
If you want to have a really successful podcast in the UK it seems you need to stick to a number of key rules – at least if the top 25 chart on iTunes is anything to go by.
AppleTV tips for Podcasters
I, and I’m sure everybody else with a Apple podcaster account have just received a series of Tips on making my Video Podcast more usable on the new Apple TV.
Finding BBC Podcasts
The number of BBC Podcasts seem to be increasing all the time – the number is now well over 100 from across Aunties radio output.
You’ve got everything from Chris Moyles on Radio 1 and Mark Kermode on 5 Live to The Archers on Radio 4 and Digital Planet on the World Service.
Lost the bug…
When I first started writing a blog back in November 2004 (god have I really been blogging for three years?) it was like a bug, everything I saw that was of even the slightest interest made me want to blog it.
I’d compose blog posts in my head if I was out and try my best to remember them when I got back to a computer – I’ve written blog posts on my crappy little mobile phone and even found scraps of paper to jot down ideas.
This all came from a desire to share my opinion, however worthless or pointless it might of been, regardless of whether anyone is actually reading it or not.
That bug seems to have gone – for a while blogging has been more like a chore – sort of like having this space I need to fill every day and thanks to boring grown up things – I haven’t had time to do it.
A lack of time then led to a loss of interest and now I only post when I can scrape a few spare minutes – which 1) doesn’t lead to a paticularly interesting blog and 2) isn’t particually fullfilling in terms of developing my writing style, getting stuff of my chest and generally just … doing something with my thoughts.
So the questions I’m asking myself are, and this comes after two weeks of no posts:
“do I let upyourego.com lay fallow and only update when I can be arsed”
“should I just shut down the blog and be done with it – use jaiku, pownce and twitter to express an opinion”
“should I try my best to keep it going, instead of keeping opinions to myself just get on with a quick post”
The reason I’m asking these questions is that I still have ideas for posts – all the time – I just don’t seem to be able to muster the desire to take it from an idea in my head to actual text on the page.
I know it doesn’t take long to write a quick page but I just don’t seem to have been able to get beyond writing a headline.
I’ve opened the WordPress control panel countless times in the last two weeks, I’ve even half written posts but don’t seem to have been able to take any of them to a conclusion – if I had there would have been at least two posts a day for the last two weeks and no need for this piece of self flagulating bollocks.
Thanks!
Oh and the first episode of my new, new music show (focusing on the Jersey music scene) goes out on Friday 7 December (18:00-19:00) on 88.8fm in Jersey or bbc.co.uk/jersey if you live outside the island.
An iPhone in Six Months
I wrote yesterday about why I don’t intend to get an iPhone – several reasons but most to do with the nonsense cost difference between the UK and US versions.
But having spoken to an Apple expert this morning I’m thinking of changing my mind – in six months time.
Let me explain. The iPhone goes on sale in France on 29 November 2007 through Orange. Under French law mobile operators have to make a phone available unlocked, or provide a way to unlock the phone within six months of it going on sale.
So in France the iPhone can only stay locked for six months – this doesn’t mean Orange won’t still be the sole, official, retailer in six months time, they’ll still have exclusivity to sell the phone – but you will be legally allowed to put another operators sim card in your iPhone.
So in six months, on 29 May 2008 I should be able to go to France, buy an iPhone without a contract, bring it home and put my Sure Telecom sim card in it.
Alternatively – O2 in England will notice an increase in underground iPhone sales through eBay etc and decide to make the iPhone available unlocked as well – but also make a heavily subsidised version available with a contract.
So if that happens I could go to England in six months and sign up for a contract with O2 (£35 per month) and get an iPhone for something like £80 – that would bring it in line with most of the rest of mobiles sold in the UK.
Either way – good things come to those who wait.
The Archers
I have a fond childhood memory where I’m sitting in my grandparents living room on a Sunday – watching television sitting in front of my grandads chair while he pokes the TV with a big stick to change the channel – his remote control.
Then the clock would turn and he would dissapear into the kitchen and the radio would sound “Dum di dum di dum di dum dum di dum di dum dum” and the Archers would start.
A while later he would come out of the kitchen with something really nice to eat, kick me out of his chair and change the channel with his big stick.
I’ve never liked The Archers, I tried listening to it but it always bored me silly. Silly in much the same way that I can’t stand Coronation Street or Eastenders.
I’ve never lived in the country and I’ve never much liked the country either – I suffer from Hayfever and am allergic to animal hair – so listening to a programme full of people speaking with stereotypical farmer type accents talking about things that either don’t concern me or I can’t be arsed with.
So when I saw the Archers podcast in the top five on iTunes podcast list – I was struck with two emotions – fondess for the memory of my grandad on one hand and complete indiference for the dull nonsense that the programme actually is.
So I downloaded it – listened to the theme tune and skipped to the next song in my podcast.
But I still want to say thanks for the Archers as a podcast and I love the fact that such a stalwart of ‘old BBC’ is in the top five podcasts on iTunes – just goes to show Podcasting really is the fourth media.