Most of you out there in the chamber industry are probably aware of W.A.C.E.’s bi-monthly Chamber Leadership Podcast. We have been at it for one-and-a-half years now and have recorded nearly 40 episodes on a variety of topics.
It’s been an absolute blast to be part of the growth of the Association’s newest platform, but we had unfortunately hit a geographic wall—though we preferred guests to be part of the show, we usually had to interview people within a close proximity to Sacramento or schedule recording sessions around local events.
Given the choice, I would always prefer an in-studio guest in order to get the best quality of audio. But with the discovery of Squadcast, we have opened up a whole new world of recording remote interviews. The technology really isn’t that new, but what it does differently sets it apart from the rest.
Squadcast and the Competition
For the record, you are probably more familiar with some of Squadcast’s competitors, including Skype, Zoom, Ringr and Zencastr. Each platform will certainly do the job, but none of them quite capture all of the items on my checklist. That is, until I found Squadcast.
Start with the Basics
At the core of any podcast is the quality of the recordings. The environment and equipment are crucial—and still are, even when recording remotely. The problem with most of the other programs is that they record to a third party location, meaning the sound must travel digitally to be recorded. Squadcast records locally and continuously uploads as the recording is in session. This helps prevent the audible glitch sound when your guest has a poor connection.
No Overlapping Audio
It happens in face-to-face interviews too, but two people talking at the same time on a podcast can be very distracting and annoying to the listener. Squadcast records the audio to separate tracks—one for each guest in the recording session. The beauty of this is, when you have two people talking at the same time, you are able to edit out the voice of one person while still maintaining the integrity of the recording, all without making your listeners want to rip their earphones off.
To be fair, the other platforms allow recordings to separate tracks as well, but Squadcast also offers the option of mixing the two files together if you don’t want to mess with two separate audio files.
“I See You”
Let’s be honest—interviewing somebody over the phone is OK, but your guest is likely to be more comfortable and give a better interview if they can see you. Squadcast supports video, so you can actually see one another while you talk. When you can see each other, you also have a better chance of not talking over each other.
No Setup
Programs like Skype and Zoom require your guests to download software to their computers. Depending on how advanced your guest is, this may or may not be a problem. But it’s nice not forcing your guests to install an app that they likely won’t use again.
Buy What You Need
What puts Squadcast over the top of its competition is the fact that you don’t have to pay for a monthly plan. For as little as $5, you can purchase one hour of recording time. If you have a podcast that’s fewer than 10 minutes per episode, you can get up to six episodes recorded with a mere $5. That’s less than a dollar an episode.
Russell Lahodny is vice president of W.A.C.E. and vice president of local chamber relations at the California Chamber.