October 5, 2005

ThinkArete: The Podcast

I’m proud to announce that we’ve got an exclusive new podcast up on LearnOutLoud.com. It’s called ThinkArete: The Podcast and I think you’ll really enjoy it. It’s a daily podcast done by Brian Johnson, CEO and Philosopher and CEO over at Zaadz, Inc. For those who’ve never heard the word “arete” before (I hadn’t until I met Brian), here’s a brief description:

The classic Greek philosophers had a word for the process of self-actualizing and striving to reach your highest potential. They called it ‘Areté.’ (pronounced ar-uh-tay) In fact, Areté was one of the most important values in classic Greek culture. Guys like Socrates, Plato and Aristotle tell us that the meaning of life is happiness and that the way to achieve happiness is to live with areté (aka excellence, striving to reach your highest potential). By looking at the universal truths taught by philosophers, religions, and current psychological research, I think we can find the keys to self-actualizing and happiness; hence, my desire to get you to “ThinkAreté.”

Good stuff… I’ve listened to the first dozen episodes or so and I can tell you that you’re in for a real treat. You’ll be exposed to some new quotes, teachers and concepts. Brian starts off the series with a special rendition of his ThinkArete manifesto. Then each day (if you’re subscribed) you’ll get a short (3-5 minutes) dose of his daily wisdom. It’s a great way to kick off your morning. Highly, highly, highly recommended!

To subscribe to ThinkArete: The Podcast, go to https://www.learnoutloud.com/thinkarete or search the iTunes podcast directory for “Brian Johnson”. You can also use that URL to download individual episodes or stream the podcast (and if you simply need more info on podcasting, please check out our Introduction to Podcasting article).

We’re going to be putting up some more of Brian’s stuff in the next week so you also may want to bookmark https://www.learnoutloud.com/Resources/Authors-and-Narrators/Brian-Johnson/5292.

We’re excited about bringing you this new podcast and welcome any suggestions you might have about new audio content that you would love to see here at LearnOutLoud.com!

October 5, 2005

Headphones for the Long Run

Well it’s official. I’m running the OC Marathon in January. It’ll be my third marathon and I’m definitely looking forward to it. My goal is to better the time my brother ran at the San Francisco Marathon in July…3:33. It isn’t going to be easy and I realize that I’ll need to train hard.

Part of the nice thing about running an “audio learning company” is that I can actually work during my workout. I review a number of podcasts and audio books every week and my run is a perfect time to listen to them. There’s something about being in motion and getting the ol’ heart rate up that makes listening to these even more enjoyable. It’s definitely something I look forward to.

Lately I have realized the need for some better headphones to use while I’m doing my runs. The white earbud headphones that come with the iPod have never worked for me while working out as they fall out way too easily. I got some cheap earbud headphones that wrap around the ears but those aren’t much better. I figured it was time to invest in something a little better.

I spent an hour or so reviewing posts over on the iLounge forums. It’s amazing how much discussion there has been about the best headphones for running! I probably combed through at least four dozen threads and while there wasn’t a consensus, a couple of favorites emerged.

It really depends on whether you want noise-cancelling or not. The upside of noise-cancelling headphones is that they drown out sounds around you. While this can often be a positive (such as while flying) it can sometimes be a negative while running as it would suck to get hit by a bus that you never heard coming…

In the end I decided to get both a pair of cheaper, non-noise cancelling headphones (the Sony MDR-A34L) and a slightly more expensive pair of noise-cancelling headphones (the Shure E2c). I’m excited to try them both out and see how they stack up against each other. My guess is that I’ll use the Sonys whenever there is traffic around and the Shures when there isn’t. Regardless of what I do, I’ll report back here.

October 4, 2005

LearnOutLoud.com E-Newsletter #4

The new E-Newsletter has been posted to the site here. Dead Time Learning, Free Audio Books and a whole lot more! Check it out and if you’re not subscribed to our E-Magazine yet please do so by going here.

October 4, 2005

Choices

I’m listening to Wayne Dyer’s old Nightingale-Contant program How to Be a No-Limit Person right now (Note: Unfortunately it’s out of print so your best hope of finding it is probably eBay. We do have a ton of other Wayne Dyer audio though!). In it, he talks about how we always have choices about how we can perceive the world. He specifically mentions our choice about how we respond when we’re faced with a traffic jam.

Many people decide to let the situation control how they feel. They’ll start to feel mad or frustrated or bored because of their external situation. Dyer makes the point that letting external conditions impact your internal emotions is very disempowering. Rather than get angry about the way the world is you should instead look for ways to make the best of whatever situation you’re given. His recommendation for traffic jams? Audio learning! He tells the audience (it’s a live recording) that you can learn French in a couple of years of sitting in traffic jams without ever having to set foot inside a classroom. How right he is…

It all boils down to choices. When you drive to work tomorrow morning you’ll have an endless array of choices of things to listen to. Some will educate you, fulfill you or uplift you. Others won’t. I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t always (or sometimes even often…) make the best choices. But I don’t think that being perfect is the goal. I tihnk the goal is to continue to strive to make better choices.

That’s one of the main reasons we started LearnOutLoud.com. We want to give you better choices for your morning commute and for any other time of the day when you can listen to something or watch something. There is SO much good stuff out there and we’re only scratching the surface with our website. Having said that we do hope that we can help you to find some alternatives and that before long, like Wayne Dyer, you’ll look forward to sitting in traffic.

OK, this rant is over.

September 30, 2005

Podcast Show Notes: September 30th, 2005

Audio Learning Revolution Podcast for September 26th, 2005

• Intro Music – “Delta” by Delta de Dirac from garageband.com

• Introduction
  – Direct Link to the show
  
  – Link to Feeds for Audio Learning Revolution podcasts
  
  – Link to LearnOutLoud.com Podcast Directory
  
  – Comments or Questions about the Podcast directory E-mail
  – Link to Web Hosting Show Podcast.

• Interlude Music – “Simon’samba by Fractal Quintet from garageband.com

• Arts & Entertainment Podcasts
  – Link to Arts & Entertainment Podcast Category Page.
  
  – Link to Ebert & Roeper Podcast
  
  – Link to Cinecast Poddcast
  
  – Link to NPR movie podcasts
  
  – Link to KCRW podcasts
  
  – Link to Museum of Modern Art podcast
  
  – Link to Art Mob’s MOMA podcast
  
  – Link to Sound of Young America podcast
  
  – Link to the Fishko Files podcast

• Technology Podcasts
  – Link to Technology podcast category page
  
  – Link to THIS week in TECH podcast
  
  – Link to the Diggnation podcast
  
  – Link to Endgadget podcast

• Business Podcasts
  – Link to Busines podcast category page
  
  – Link to Brain Brew podcast
  
  – Link to the Infotalk podcast
  
  – Link to the Marketing Online podcast

• Interlude Music – “Funk Bus by The Band That Saved the World from garageband.com

• Travel Podcasts
  – Link to Red Eye Radio
  
  – Link to Amateur Travel podcast
  
  – Link to Travelcommons podcast

• Biography Podcasts
  – Link to Final Curtain podcast
  
  – Link to Best of Youth Radio podcast
  
  – Link to Australian Broadcasting Company podcasts

• Outro – “Sylvia by La Tribu from garageband.com

September 28, 2005

Happy Birthday Podcasting!

According to Rex Hammock at rexblog.com today is podcasting’s first birthday. It was hardly the first time that podcasting was done but is a cool line in the sand that tracks back to a September 28th, 2004 overview of podcasting entry on Doc Searls’ blog. Here’s something pretty amazing. A year ago a Google search of podcasting produced 24 results. Today it produces over 60 million. If that isn’t rapid adoption I don’t know what is. It’s incredible how much difference a year can make huh?

Anyway, happy birthday to podcasting. I can’t wait to see what the next year holds for you!

September 28, 2005

LearnOutLoud.com on the Airwaves

I did a couple of podcast interviews recently about LearnOutLoud.com and life in general. It’s a great way to spread the gospel of audio learning. If you’re interested in checking them out here are the links. Thanks to Chuck and Bill (two great guys!) for having me on.

Interview on The User Group Report with Chuck Joiner
Interview on The You Are the Guest Podcast with Bill Grady

Here are links to these two podcasts in our directory if you’re interested in subscribing/listening to past episodes/writing a review/etc.

The User Group Report Podcast
You Are The Guest Podcast

September 27, 2005

M. Scott Peck Passes Away

Some sad news to report. M. Scott Peck, author of The Road Less Traveled, passed away last weekend. About a year ago I listened to his audio book Golf and the Spirit and was touched by Peck’s insights, humility and gentle style of writing. He is an author who will no doubt be missed by many people around the world.

In honor of his life and body of work we’ve posted an M. Scott Peck author page on our site. Here’s the link. We have 10 of his audio titles up and will be adding more soon. These titles, including The Road Less Traveled, are narrated by the author.

September 26, 2005

The Main Event: Audio Books vs. Podcasts

Seth and I were talking a bit tonight about the merits of audio books versus podcasts and I thought it might make good fodder for a quick blog entry. I’ll be the first to admit that since podcasts have come on to the scene I listen less to audio books. One reason for that is that running LearnOutLoud requires me to screen a number of podcasts. But that’s not the only reason. Indeed there are some reasons why I’ve gravitated towards podcasts.

First, podcasts are easier to listen to in bite-sized chunks. When you only have 10 or 15 minutes it’s often easier to throw on a podcast and listen to it in its entirety than it is to pick up an audio book mid-stream. I particularly like podcasts that are around the magical 15 minute mark as it’s just about the right amount of time to hold my attention.

Another benefit of podcasts is the ability to have them downloaded automatically. It’s nice to sit down at my computer and see that I’ve got a dozen new podcasts ready to listen to. With audio books I have to go out and download them manually and because of the larger file size it typically takes 10-15 minutes to pull the files down. If the audio book is on CD and I want to move it to my iPod the process is even more involved as I have to rip the CD to my computer first and then transfer it over.

A final benefit of podcasts is their timeliness. There is certain information that is much better consumed right away (e.g., news and current events, sports, etc.) and this is where podcasting shines. Audio books (like books in general) just can’t compete because of the long lead times required for publishing. Podcasting itself is a great example of this. If I had to wait for an audio book about podcasting…well, I’d still be waiting. Yet there are a dozen of podcasts where I can learn about podcasting itself and there have been for some months now.

But this certainly isn’t a one-sided fight as there are several advantages to audio books as well. A primary one is sound quality. I’ve probably only listened to a handful of audio books in the last few years with truly bad sound quality. On the other hand, I think there are only a handful of podcasts out there that have truly excellent sound quality. This will improve over time but for now the “home brew” nature of many podcasts certainly detracts (at least somewhat) from their listenability.

Another advantage of audio books is their longer length. Wait, wasn’t shorter length an advantage of podcasts? The key here is the context in which you’re listening in. If you’re at the gym running at the treadmill it can be a bit annoying to have to change podcasts every 10 minutes. In that context audio books are probably a better bet. The same goes for long car trips. If you have a longer chunk of time to listen in you will likely favor the continuity of audio books.

Finally I think that in general the consistency of audio books is a lot higher. Because they are professionally produced you are more likely to have a good listening experience. Podcasts are much more of a wild card. While I’ve heard some outstanding ones, I’ve also heard some truly terrible ones as well.

In the end it’s a bit of a toss-up and pretty much just depends on what you’re looking for at any given moment. They serve to complement each other and at the same time the competition between podcasters and audio book producers for your listening time will end up improving the quality of each. In the end, we as a listeners will end up being the ultimate winners in this battle.

September 23, 2005

The Night the Lights Went Out In Minneapolis

I’m back in Minneapolis this week visiting my parents. On Wednesday night we had a series of severe storms that tore through the metro area. It knocked out the power at my parents’ house for almost 24 hours. And the cable still hasn’t been restored which means we have no phone or Internet…

So Wednesday night when all the lights were out and we got tired of listening to the storm coverage on the radio what is there to do? After all, there wasn’t any TV or Internet and reading by candlelight was a bit difficult (my parents aren’t big candle people and we only had one in the house). Well, you probably guessed it…I spent my time listening to audio books. 🙂

The only real reason why I’m posting this is that going without electricity for a night gave me a newfound appreciation for what blind and visually impaired people go through. There are so many things that we do in daily life that require sight. And often we take our vision for granted until that time when we don’t have it. We’ve done some work to help out the the blind before and looking to do even more in the future. One thing that we’re trying to set up is a way for visitors to this site to donate their used audiobooks and have them find their way to charities like the Blind Children’s Learning Center.

In addition to children there are approximately 5.5 million elderly people who are blind or visually impaired (according to the American Foundation for the Blind). As our society ages this number will grow larger. Audio books represent a great opportunity for these individuals to continue on with their love of learning even if they are unable to read comfortably anymore.

Helping blind and visually impaired people is just one of the reasons we’re so passionate about what we do. We hope to be able to make it even easier for these people to get access to material that will enrich their lives.

Have a great weekend and be sure to take a minute this weekend to be thankful for the gift of sight. It’s definitely something that most of us take for granted in our lives.