Nicola Balkind

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Podcatching: How to Listen to Your Favourite Podcasts

By Nicola Balkind

Podcatching may sound like some sort of faddish adventure sport, like Geocaching. Worry not – it just describes how you choose to download and listen to podcasts.

Some of you may play podcasts directly on the web page where they are posted, you might find them on iTunes and listen on the Apple Podcasts app, or you might use the platform where they are published, for example on SoundCloud.

Or, of course, I might be talking gibberish to you.

Basically, there are an array of apps out there that you can use to listen to podcasts. Since podcasts were born on a mobile platform – the iPod – it’s appropriate that the best way to listen is still on a mobile device. There are a range of available apps, from the default Apple Podcasts app (formerly rolled into iTunes), to app-cum-discovery platform Stitcher, to proprietary apps like This American Life’s that play only one or a collection of specific podcasts.

If you’ve grown sick of your current podcatcher, or just want to start with a cleaner, easier experience, I have a recommendation for you. It’s called Overcast.

 

Overcast

overcast-logo

Overcast is a minimalist podcast listening app. It’s really simple and easy to use, with all the features you could need on a clean interface.

Let’s take a look at a few key items:

 

Subscribing to podcasts

If you’re new to podcasts, it’s likely that you won’t know where to start, or where to go after you’ve found one or two that you like. Overcast uses the iTunes database, so searching is easy.

Overcast also organises popular podcasts into categories which you can browse and select from.

You can also link it up with your Twitter account and it’ll find podcasts that your friends have shared and recommended.

The interface on Overcast lists all your subscriptions in a list with the icon and the podcast name. If you have current episodes, they’ll appear at the top; if you’ve listened to everything you’ve downloaded, they drop to the bottom of the list.

 

Listening

The app also has some great listening features (which you can unlock with a premium account for only ~$5/£3). On quiet podcasts, you can boost the volume, and you can also manipulate the speed.

My favourite feature on the app is smart speed, which cuts down silences to speed up the podcast, but only in dead space. The speed will depend on the presenter, but it keeps things moving a little faster without making it difficult to listen to.

If a specific podcast tends to be quiet, or slow, you can select these effects for every episode of that podcast without having to fiddle with your settings every time.

You can also choose from a few playback options, like setting a sleep timer or choosing to play the next episode when the one you’re hearing ends. The back and forward buttons are also customisable so you can skip forward or back in increments of anything from 7 to 30 seconds at a time.

 

Sharing

As well as taking recommendations from your Twitter account, there are a few easy ways to share on Overcast.

You can recommend an episode to your audience, or use the share settings to post it to your social media accounts. If there’s something you particularly want to share mid-episode, you can also share from a particular moment.

 

Speaking of sharing: for more ways to use Overcast, and some similar options for advanced podcast users – check out CGP Grey’s Recommended Podcast Apps.

 

Looking for some podcasts to listen to now? Don’t forget to check out my other recommendations – Top 5 Business Podcasts, and 2 New Podcasts for Microbusinesses.

Filed Under: Archive Tagged With: content, how to listen to podcasts, podcast apps, podcasts, podcatcher

Announcing Fan Phenomena: The Hunger Games

By Nicola Balkind

FPTHG

Fan Phenomena is a book series from Intellect Books that aims to decode cult subjects of popular culture.

In July 2012, I pitched the theme of The Hunger Games. In December 2012, my proposal was accepted and I was awarded editorship of the book. By December 2013, it was written and ready to go.

Fan Phenomena: The Hunger Games is published by Intellect, distributed by Intellect and University of Chicago Press. The publication date will be 15 July 2014.

An exciting dystopian fantasy thriller series, The Hunger Games began its life as a trilogy of books by Suzanne Collins, the first released in 2008. An immediate success, the first instalment had a first printing of 50,000 hardcover copies, which quickly ballooned to 200,000.

Spending one hundred consecutive weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, the book was put into development for release on the big screen. The first film, starring Academy Award–winning actress Jennifer Lawrence, broke box office records, and all of its sequels are expected to follow suit.

Fan Phenomena: The Hunger Games charts the series’ success through the increasingly vocal online communities that drive the young adult book market. Essays here consider the fashion that the series has created and how the costumes, memorabilia, merchandising, and branding have become an ever bigger part of the fandom experience. Issues explored include debates over the movie stars’ race and size, which tap into greater issues within the fan community and popular culture in general.

With this scholarly compendium, navigating the post apocalyptic landscape of Panem will be as effortless as Katniss Everdeen’s archery and ensure that the odds will be forever in your favour.

Filed Under: Writing Portfolio Tagged With: fan phenomena

World Film Locations: Glasgow

By Nicola Balkind

World Film Locations: Glasgow is now in print!

The volume is part of the World Film Locations series published by Intellect Books. The concept grew out of the ‘Spotlight’ feature from The Big Picture Magazine – also published by Intellect.

The World Film Locations series explores and reveals the relationship between the city and cinema by using a predominantly visual approach perfectly suited to the medium of film. The city continues to play a central role in a multitude of films, helping us to frame our understanding of place and of the world around us. Whether as elaborate directorial love letters or as time specific cultural settings, the city acts as a vital character in helping to tell a story.

It’s a wonderful series to be a part of, and after contributing to a handful of volumes, I took on the task of editing one myself. The book features 38 films set or shot in Glasgow, 7 Spotlight essays on Glasgow as a filmmakers’ city, and an amazing group of contributors.

The official release date is 15 February 2013. You can preorder / order your own copy of World Film Locations: Glasgow here (Amazon | The Book Depository).

 

Filed Under: Writing Portfolio Tagged With: book, gabriel solomons, intellect books, nicola balkind, world film locations, world film locations glasgow

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Nicola helped transform EIFF’s web vision at a time of change. She is assured and confident with her tactics in an ever-evolving industry and, more importantly, generates great content with results. Allied to Nicola’s strategic savvy, it’s a winning combination.
Colan MehaffeyEdinburgh International Film Festival
Nicola was a pleasure to work with. She managed a number of our clients social media and content strategy with a brilliant flair to adapt her creative skills for each of their brands guidelines. She also provided social media training which was highly informative and engaging. Nicola is highly knowledgeable and is constantly in touch with the forefront of all social media developments. She provides all her work in a professional and timely manner. Nicola is comfortable presenting and talking to clients. I would have no hesitation in recommending Nicola. Great person to work with!
Lorraine WaddellSERPS Invaders
Nicola’s contributions to our projects for Channel 4 were invaluable: her huge knowledge of social media developments and online trends, together with her editorial flair and excellent writing skills made her invaluable in roles that encompassed community management, social media marketing, content strategy and product development. Her dedication, creativity, forward-thinking and attention to detail made her a major factor in the success of these projects. It was a pleasure to work with her, and I hope to work with her again!
Laura GraceMint Digital
Nicola is crazy talented, knowledgeable and efficient when it comes to Social Media and Copywriting. I had the pleasure to work with Nicola on several online marketing projects over the course of almost two years. Not only is she a fountain of knowledge regarding latest trends and best practices for both Social Media and online writing – she is also able to put abstract ideas into action. Any team looking to improve their online presence would be lucky to get their hands on Nicola.
Eva MartinSERPS Invaders
We’ve employed Nicola’s services several times at Yomego and every time she has been absolutely fantastic in both outputs and attitude. Supporting our community management team, Nicola has added invaluable expertise in creating customer focused strategies for our clients and helping to draft truly compelling content plans. I have absolutely no hesitations in recommending Nicola’s services for anyone that places important on ensuring outputs are consistently exemplary.
Sam Macleod
Nicola has been my number one go-to for freelance community management. She is incredibly efficient, she is clear with costs, time estimates and invoicing and completely reliable. She is a breath of fresh air in an industry which is plagued by self-promoting “gurus”: her range of skills and experience is broad and authentic. I really appreciate the way Nicola is uncomplicated to work with: she asks quick, straightforward questions about what’s required then sits down and gets the job done without fuss. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Nicola and would certainly work with her again.
Annie MacfarlaneTOMS Europe
Nicola was an important member of the Edinburgh International Film Festival Marketing Department and was key in the communication delivery of the Festival. In such a dynamic and demanding environment, Nicola delivered great content and was dependable throughout, an invaluable asset to the Festival.
Ross PerthEdinburgh International Film Festival
Nicola is an experienced creative copywriter, with a great ability to produce quality pieces quickly and at short-notice. She has a great knowledge of social platforms and ability to apply this knowledge. Nicola is an absolute pleasure to work with and brings her creativity and personality to everything she does.
Kaye SymingtonMint Digital & Stickygram
Nicola has been nothing but helpful, insightful, and an amazing force to impact our team. She exudes exceptional talent, and throughout working together I’ve been able to see first-hand her strength in organising and leading a team, attention to detail, and ability communicate with her peers and clients effectively. It has been a real pleasure to work with Nicola, and I can’t wait to continue working alongside and learning from her.
Jessica Yamamoto, Yelp
Nicola and I worked together across several projects in the Yomgeo community management team. Nicola is great to work with, her attitude towards projects is always amazing and she is incredibly efficient, Her work is always of the highest quality, and I’ve learned a lot from working with her.
Catherine CarriganYomego

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