Tech Writer Voices Switching to Co-Host Style
If you've ever listened to the Diggnation podcast, TWIT (This Week in Tech), Buzz Out Loud, the WordPress podcast, or other popular podcasts, one thing they have in common is co-hosting. And this is the new direction we're taking with the Tech Writer Voices podcast.
Until now, Tech Writer Voices has largely been a podcast of interviews. But now we will switch to the co-host style and be more conversational. The focus of the podcast will not be dedicated to one single topic, but instead cover a variety of topics related to technical communciation, and the style will flow conversationally between me and the new co-host, Heidi Hansen. We also plan to limit the podcast to 15-20 minutes.
I'm excited about the new format. We're also going to try to increase the audio quality by doing a technique described in Podcasting Hacks as the "double ender." Each person records on their own computers, and then the tracks are layered (rather than just recording straight from Skype, which results in a loss of quality).
One reason I think Heidi will make a good co-host is because she's very well-read. She's always posting summaries and recommendations of journal articles, books, and other content she has read. I have never actually met her — she lives in Seattle and is part of the Puget Sound Chapter. Heidi is also a triathlete.
If you haven't gotten into podcasting yet, but you spend time driving in your car each day or working out, then you are a prime candidate to get into podcasting. We should post the first co-hosted podcast sometime next week. Look for it.
