Podcast Your Way Through The Day

Posted Jun 23, 2006 by Alex Vila

Updated Jun 23, 2006 at 11:42 AM

Whether on a corporate cube farm, at a mid-size company or in your own small business, most people spend of big chunk of their lives working.

Regardless of where you spend your work time — and whether your goal is to get ahead or merely get by — there is a podcast or two or 100 aimed at helping you get there.

Or maybe you’ve left the work life behind but remain interested in business as it pertains to investing. There are plenty of podcasts aimed at you, too.

Podcasts, if you haven’t been keeping up with tech lingo, are typically free audio (and sometimes video) files you can listen to online or download to an iPod or other MP3 player for on-the-go listening.

Their booming popularity is due in part to listeners’ ability to “subscribe” to podcasts they like, allowing for the automatic delivery of new episodes.

Among the places to find business-related podcasts are Apple’s popular iTunes Music Store; Yahoo!’s podcast directory, podcasts.yahoo.com; PodcastAlley.com; and Podfeed.net

Podcasts dealing with work and business topics are as diverse as the people working today. A sampling:

20-Something Marketing features discussions on life, business and marketing for and by 20-something professionals, 20somethingmarketing.com

Small Business Trends Radio features hourlong interviews with experts in small business. Topics range from starting a business with no money to the top 10 mistakes business owners make, www.smbtrendwire.com

The Cranky Middle Manager Show is an irreverent but informative look at issues facing middle managers. Host Wayne Turmel talks to leading managers, writers and consultants to create a mix of humor and information, cmm.thepodcastnetwork.com

MBA Podcaster is a source of information, insight, and advice for people considering pursuing a masters in business administration, www.mbapodcaster.com

Diary of a Shameless Self-Promoter offers Zen marketing for self-promoters, from the timid to the fearless, hosted by Heidi Miller, a worldwide speaker and corporate presenter, heidimiller.libsyn.com

The HBR IdeaCast is a free biweekly podcast featuring management ideas and commentary from the editors and authors of Harvard Business School Publishing.

Corporate Ear Control?

National Semiconductor Corp. recently gave 30-gigabyte iPods to each of its 8,500 employees in part as a reward for helping the company achieve its most profitable year ever.

The gesture comes as a bit of a mixed blessing, though. The company says the iPods will be used as a new training and communications tool, providing a convenient way for employees to receive company podcasts and other work communications.

Advice to National managers: Rhythmic head-bobbing indicates the employee is rocking out. Erratic head-bobbing indicates the employee is listening to the mandatory anti-harassment training podcast.

Google Earth Update

If you’ve never played around with Google Earth, now’s the time to give it a try. The free, interactive mapping application recently underwent a significant upgrade.
Google Maps 4, earth.google.com, brings a a streamlined user interface and four times more high-resolution satellite imagery.

It retains it’s coolest feature, the ability to “fly” from space to your neighborhood simply by typing in an address.