Ontario Media Development Corporation podcast review

A colleague emailed me to let me know that the Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC) podcasted their annual conference. I'm delighted to provide my review.

OMDC podcasted their 5th Annual Six Degrees of Integration Conference held in Toronto in 2006. I'm shocked because government and government agencies are usually the last to embrace new technological marketing tools. So, I'm really pleased to see the OMDC taking such a huge leap forward so soon.

What did I like?

1. The intro. Nice music, nice summary of what the conference was all about and I enjoyed listening to the voice of the person speaking.
   
   
2. The Francophone presenters doing their entire presentation in their second language, English. Admirable. I just admire all the Francophones who don't apologize for speaking in their second language and sound so eloquent. The Honourable Madeleine Meilleur, Minister of Culture in the 19-minute podcast called 6DI Minister just started talking in English as if it were her first language.
   
   
3. The keynote by Jim Carroll. He was just too funny and entertaining. He said that the iPod is "so yesterday" and that convergence can be likened to sex. So many people are doing it, but really don't understand how to do it well.
   
   
4. The various listening options. On the OMDC website, it provided instructions on how to access the podcast through a podcatcher, through a download or just by streaming it off the website.
   

What could be improved?

1. The list of sponsors should've been listed at the end of the podcast. Because of this, the intro was 1-minute in length. If I regularly tune into your podcast, I don't need a 1-minute reminder each week of what I'm listening to. Make it shorter.
   
   
2. The podcasts were too long. Three of the five podcasts clocked in at over an hour. This is way too long. Over and over again, podcast listeners have told me that there is a certain time limit they would tolerate. There are also monetization and optimization strategies that the OMDC could use to make money from the recording of the speeches, however, they gave away the full meal already.
   
   
3. The podcasts were offered months after the event. Conferences are in such a great position to offer next-to-real-time coverage of their event right from the conference floor. I'd suggest for next year's conference, have someone prepare a podcast right after the keynotes.
   
   
4. No call to action. I'm finding that alot of podcasts are missing this and the OMDC podcasts are no exception. Very few people will find your podcast on your website. Most will stumble upon it via a podcatcher. For this reason, it's very important to have a call to action at the end of the podcast. Providing a way for listeners to interact with your company and brand after listening to your podcast is a must have.
   

If you would like to subscribe to the OMDC podcasts, download iTunes. Open up the program, go to Advanced > Subscribe to Podcast, then copy and paste http://www.podchannels.com/pod/rss/3958.xml into the text area. Click OK to subscribe.

Overall, I give the OMDC podcasts a 3 out of 5 pods. Well done and maybe for next year's conference, you guys will dabble with video podcasts?

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