Don't Give Away the Farm in Your Podcast

I stumbled upon this post, tooting the fact that corporations can use LiveOffice to turn conference calls into podcasts.

Okay, let me see if I can point out the errors of the ways.

• While recording via a telephone conference line is the #1 way to capture an interview, to then put your recording out there as a podcast with no edits is like a plastic surgeon forgetting to remove the markings from his patient after the surgery. Editing the podcast is key since you can remove verbal clutter and even out sounds. In a previous post, I complained about recording over the phone due to many issues and unless you edit, these issues will become a huge problem to your listeners.
  
  
• Another flaw with this approach is that there's no branding. Once you record, unless you download it and mix in some music, you'll leave people confused as to who you are and what action they should take.
  
  
• Yet another flaw is that by offering the recording of the conference call for free, you lose out on generating an income stream for your business. Information is golden on the Internet, so why not package the recording in a CD or sell the transcriptions and keep some money in your corporation's pocket?
  
  
• Something else - If a corporation advertised an upcoming conference call as a paid event, then released the recording of the call for free in a podcast, do you think I'd ever attend another one of their paid conference calls ever again? No way, Jose.
  

From a corporate podcasting angle, I don't agree with just releasing your recordings as a podcast. There has to be some careful consideration before doing this. I've mentioned a few above.

Update: Here's the link to the press release on Yahoo that sparked this post. Also, read Jon's take on this issue. Lastly, I corrected the LiveOffice URL above.

Technorati Tags: podcasting, corporate podcasting