Inspiration, software and gear

I sat on a panel at a Public Relations Society of America gathering last night. The topic of the conversation was ‘Must-Use Technologies’ with a focus on the free and inexpensive. Without going through all of these items listed below and explaining what makes them so valuabe to me, I will say just this… each and every one of these things help me do my job everyday in regard to media content concept, creation, and delivery. Some are inspirational, some are simple software tools, some just extremely handy gadgets. Dive into the links if you are interested at all and feel free to ask questions about any of them.

Free:

Authentic Enterprise

IBM Blogging Guidelines

Audacity

Windows Movie Maker

Word Press

Google Reader

Blog Talk Radio

Common Craft Plain English

Inexpensive:

Alesis USB Mic Kit

Sony Fontopia Headphones

Sony MPEG4 Net Sharing Cam

Sony Sound Forge Audio Studio

Audio-Technica 2020 microphone

Electrovoice RE50B

Adobe Photoshop Elements

Mid-priced:

Marantz PMD 660

Nikon D40

JK Audio Inline Patch

iPhone

IBM and the Future of…

About two years ago I was fortunate enough to be involved in the creation of an IBM podcast called ‘IBM and the Future of…’ that ran for about a year.  These were produced and published in the early days of podcasting at IBM, while we learned how to make compelling podcast content. They were received very well and it was a fantastic learning experience for me.  It was a podcast program that made me proud.

I just received a note announcing the re-launch of this program and wanted to share.  Some of my colleagues have published 3 new episodes today with plans to continue monthy for the forseeable future.  It will be great to tune in again for me…  I would suggest some of you give it a spin too.  The format is interview style, with two guests – one from IBM, one not.  It can get truly interesting.  I’ve listened to the new Africa episode and the Microfinance one as well.  I like what I hear.