I can listen to this song on repeat all day long.

When we grow a network, the most important asset we get is access to one another.
We are increasingly becoming one another’s infrastructure.
When we have a network, the most important asset we get is access to one another.  
We are one another’s infrastructure.

Inspired by Clay Shirky.  And the work I’ve done over the past 10 years and will be doing for the next 10 years.

I’m pretty geeked.  Those that follow the @ijohnpederson Home Game™ know that there’s been a 5+ year long plan to produce one of those “podcast” sort of things.  I’ll use quotes because I’m actually trying something a little different, but it helps establish a bit of context.

First off, thanks a ton to Tim Wilson and Ryan Schwartz for helping me sort through the sticky parts.  A number of AV geeks here in Wisconsin also had some great input.

Here are the results.

First off, I’m going with two different mixers.  The permanent one is the Mackie Onyx 1620i Firewire mixer.  It’s complete overkill for one critical purpose.  I want the ability to bring in two guests over Skype with both audio and video and have it all recorded on separate tracks while being able to stream it live.  For portable situations, I’m going with the M-Audio Fast Track 8×8.



We are going with 2 Heil PR40 mics with booms, shock mounts, and pop filters.  Not your ordinary headset mics.  For the record, I’ve spent more money in trying to find the right mic than these things cost.

We’ll be using a Mac Mini dedicated to the recording piece of the puzzle and use our current MacBook Pros to run Wirecast Studio, allowing us do some on-the-fly production type of stuff in a live broadcast environment.

Finally, we are rounding out the video piece with a Panasonic HDC-SD60K HD camera.

Total price tag on the setup?  $4000.  You are likely now saying, “Holy shit.”  Right.

Here’s the thinking though.  Professionally produced audio recording/podcasting/streaming is really, really, really difficult.  I’ve been studying three pioneers in this area (Leo Laporte, Adam Curry, and Dan Benjamin) for years.  These folks have blazed some pretty serious trails and left behind a wealth of technical knowledge of the move from a studio-based model to and Internet-based model of producing and sharing content.  At the end of the day, these pioneers settled into this gear.  There’s a reason that their stuff sounds really good.

It’s now a matter of doing something remarkable with the content.  I prefaced this entire thing with the loosely calling it a “podcast”.  We’ll be distributing things like a podcast, but also playing around with live streaming and video all the while.  All of it will be “interview” style designed around the simple premise of connecting people.  I get the unique privilege of meeting and connecting with hundreds of wildly interesting people each year.  I want to capture the ideas that have their attention and share them with others.

A few of you are probably thinking, “Holy shit.  @ijesspederson is going to be pissed.”  Quite the opposite.  The good people that support my “day job” are also the ones funding this endeavor.  It’s quite remarkable how incredibly supportive and forward thinking an organization can be.  I’m very fortunate to be surrounded by awesome people who give me the opportunity to screw around.

Onward.

More on #educationnation.

The message that teachers — and their leaders — should be saying over and over again is this — ‘We are thrilled that the nation is focusing on education. We welcome so many leaders from such a wide array of professions are now making education a focus. We look forward to working with anyone who is willing to come to the conversation with humility and a willingness to listen, question and change. The task in front of us is so hard, and we understand that teachers and schools must change with the changing times. All that we ask is that you understand that school reform is not something you do to students and teachers and parents, it is something to undertake with students and teachers and parents. That is how we will build the schools we need.’

Via Chris Lehmann.

#educationnation

Ever since Tim Wilson built the PodCave in (what seemed like) 1982, I’ve wanted to setup a “podcasting studio” sort of thing.  I now have the chance to really put this together at work.  I need your help ”gluing things together”.

My end goal is to create a “studio” that hosts a variety of types of “Internet based communications”.  Webinars, audio podcasts, video podcasts, online meetings, etc.  I imagine this starting with a desk setup with 2 microphones (more on that later), 2 headphones, a dedicated ‘studio’ computer patched in to play audio clips, a mixer (more on that later), a dedicated computer to capture the audio, and two dedicated computers that do nothing but accept Skype guests via audio and video.

Cutting to the chase, I’m comfortable with the both the hardware and the software requirements of what I’m looking for until I get into the world of mixers.  I’m planning on putting 2 really good mics in the studio.  Each person in the studio will have their own machine (byo laptop) and the host will have a dedicated desktop to play audio clips that may feed into the stream.  There will be 2 dedicated machines that do nothing but run Skype to remote guests.  We’ll record all of this audio on another dedicated machine.

The place I get a bit lost is in the world of the mixer.  I’ll have a minimum of 5 audio-in sources (2 studio mics, 2 Skype sessions, and one studio computer) that need to be brought together and funneled into another computer for recording.  Of course, all audio sources need the ability to monitor all of the audio sources (Skype guest 1 needs to hear Skype guest 2, etc).  Somewhere in all of this I know we’ll have a mix of analog and digital audio (and possibly video later) sources that all need to live in harmony.

A little searching on the Internet and I find mixing boards that run from $40 to $25,000.  Both are the wrong answer.  On one hand I’ll say “money isn’t an object”, but the truth is there’s a point where we’ll never use all of the features of an expensive mixer.

I hope that explains things well enough for a few of you to make suggestions.

I was on vacation today.  Snapped this picture.

Lars Pederson signing a contract saying he’ll be good on the Internet at school.

“Access is a privilege, not a right, and it entails responsibility.”

Also:  ”I’m wearing my favorite frog shirt to school today.”

“By ensuring students are learning a year’s worth of knowledge during each school year and giving schools the freedom to succeed, Wisconsin will once again become a model for the nation,” Walker said in a statement.

12 months worth of Knowledge™ in a 9 month package.  Jesus H. Christ in a Chicken Basket.

Where: The Daily Cardinal – Walker reveals plan for education reform