Orlando Travel & Visitors Bureau Knows Podcasting?

No, they don't. Honestly, this thing doesn't even deserve any Google juice I might be inadvertently throwing at them by linking to them. Orlando Travel & Visitors Bureau - Orlando Florida Vacation - Podcasts

After checking out what they had to offer (I listened to one episode out of 3), I sent this email through their ONE contact form - no comments, no email addresses, just this dinky little form where you type a subject line, your email and a very small message box. I think it's designed that way so you feel insignificant and to give you the feeling that nobody will ever read or respond to your message. If it's not, you should work on that, guys.

Here's my first message:

This is not a podcast. Your RSS feed doesn't work. The first and only requirement of a podcast is the ability to SUBSCRIBE to it. Also, any podcast with a transcript defeats the point of it being audio or video. Give them bullet points and links to rich media or other guides (particularly those written by local bloggers, newspapers, etc.)

I've been participating in podcasting for 2 years now, and I'd love to talk to someone from TVB about the production and release of these.

A huge point is the difference in production and sound quality between your intro/exit and the rest of the show - I realise you guys must have paid some money for that Orlando theme song, but it doesn't get me excited about taking a vacation.

If you want to talk, come down to the Crooked Bayou on Monday the 15th for Florida Creatives Happy Hour. There you will meet a group of passionate independent people who really love this town and all it has to offer. A number of us have our own podcasts, blogs, and videoblogs and we have great conversations about what's happening in Orlando right now. Your podcast is almost 2 years old now - has Orlando stayed the same in the last 2 years? Really.

I would very much like to interview someone from your office for my video podcast, OrlandoScene.TV - if we can arrange something like this, give me a call or email.

P.S. That comment about transcripts was mostly a heat-of-the-moment statement. My commenters have let me know that transcripts can be useful, but I think in this case they still didn't have any forethought applied to them.

Then I watched the video they had available, which was produced a whole year after the first two episodes, thinking maybe they learned something... they didn't. Here's my second message:

I'm now watching the video you made, and this is so clearly scripted, but the interviewer is on a phone line for some reason, and she keeps saying "um" while she looks at her script. If you're going to create an audio brochure and not provide an RSS feed, don't call it a podcast.

A HUGE point I have here - where is the feedback channel? if I want to ask a question about a podcast I just listened to or watched, I have to use this contact form. For all I know there is a person in India reading all of these. What's the deal with that? Give us some space to comment and discuss what we just saw. You'll be amazed when you see the visitors to your site actually coming back to check the comments.

I don't care if they never contact me. This whole experience does not assume any intelligence on the part of the person doing the "Vacation Planning". If they're thinking about it before they go, give them a little credit. The entire podcast is just a brochure for their OrlandoInfo.com website and nothing else. Really. I know I said that already, but it's so true.

If you're reading this and you'd like to produce something real, email me - rprice AT ryanpricemedia DOT com and we'll show these jokers what it means to podcast.