Cerebral Palsy Alliance

Posts Tagged ‘blogging’

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Peas in a podcast

Move over media moguls. It’s my turn! That’s how I felt when I first heard about podcasting.

This week Web2Go gives you the inside scoop on podcasting, what it is, who’s out there doing it and how you can get involved too.

If you squish the words ‘iPod’ and ‘broadcasting’ together you get a new word – podcasting. Technically speaking there are podcasts, which are created with music, sound effects and audio interviews and vod or vidcasts which include TV and video content. These days, the word podcasting seems to refer to all types of portable digital media files.

Podcasts are like your own free, portable radio or TV shows that can be downloaded to a computer or MP3 player. Unlike traditional media, which you have to watch or listen to in your lounge room at a specific time, you can carry a podcast around with you and listen to it or watch it when you’ve got a few spare minutes to yourself.

The biggest difference is, you don’t have to be a professional journalist working for a big TV or radio network to make a podcast (although many major media outlets like Australia’s ABC and the UK’s BBC have huge collections of free, commercially produced content.)

You’ll find podcasts on every conceivable topic from learning Spanish to Harry Potter and it seems more topics are being added by the minute. Podcast management website Feedburner for example, estimated in 2006 that it managed roughly 44,000 podcast feeds which, they report, “according to the CIA World Factbook, exceeds the total number of radio stations worldwide.”

You can create your own podcast using using open-source software such as the Audacity audio editor and you can share it with the world by uploading it to podcasting directories including Podcast Alley, Podcast Pickle,Odeo, PodOmatic, and PodcastDirectory.com.

You’ll also find thousands of podcasts at Apple’s iTunes Store but you’ll need to download and install iTunes on your computer first.

Podcasts are usually distributed using RSS feeds. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication.For a great explanation of RSS and how it works with podcasts and blogs check out Commoncraft’s ‘RSS in Plain English’ video.

If it’s disability-related content that you’re after, make your first stop the BBC’s Ouch Podcast. Although there are a lot of disability podcasts out there, you’ll often find the content is often highly specialized, patchy or a couple of years out of date. Be aware that the majority of disability podcast content is also either from the US or the UK.

A couple of other podcasts to check out are Disability411 (US),Disability Law Lowdown (US) and DisabilityNation (US).

We’d particularly love to hear from any podcasters in the Asia-Pacific region who are producing disability-related podcasts!

Next week … help is on the way! We begin a new series of posts to help you out of those technological sticky spots.

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Telling your story, your way

Having CP, or having it in your family, can be lonely sometimes. There are days when you think nobody else could possibly know what you’re going through. Sharing your story is one of the best ways to connect with others and make those bleaker days a bit more bearable.

Thanks to Web 2.0 and digital storytelling more and more people affected by CP are getting out there and making their voices heard.

You guessed it. Digital storytelling enables you to share your story, your way, using computers and Web 2.0 technologies. All you need is a video camera or some photos, a mic headset to record your narration, some music and a free program like Microsoft’s Photostory 3 or Apple’s iPhoto or iMovie to pull it all together.

Until recently, digital storytelling was mostly used in education as a fun way to teach kids about using computers. Increasingly, like blogs and wikis, digital stories are being used by ordinary folk like you and me to share our daily grind with the world.

No matter how boring you think your daily grind might be, you can stake your house on it that there’s someone out there in cyberspace who’s just waiting to be inspired, comforted or engaged by your CP story. (And if you still need proof, check out the 100 million or so videos uploaded to YouTube each day.)

If you want more info on digital storytelling before you decide to join the fray check out Stories For Change which includes information about United Cerebral Palsy Michigan’s Life In Focus digital storytelling project.

UCP Michigan also has its own YouTube channel where you can watch various Life In Focus videos created by people with CP.

Telling Lives is a great digital storytelling related site and blog from the UK and US site EDUCAUSE also has an interesting podcast called

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A matter of trust: finding accurate information online

Finding accurate and up-to-date medical information on the Internet can be a minefield at the best of times and if a child you know has just been diagnosed with CP, it can be even harder.

As I’ve said in previous posts, the advent of wikis and blogs has turned everyone into an expert. These days you don’t have to wait for your friendly GP or specialist to explain the ins and outs of CP and how it might impact your life. Instead you can jump on the Net and almost instantly Google up a storm.

With roughly 29.7 billion pages of info available on the World Wide Web (as of February 2007), it’s easy to see why this can be a daunting task. What makes the prospect of sifting through hundreds of web pages even less appealing is the possibility that the information you find is inaccurate, exaggerated or just plain old.

Thankfully, there are a few places on the web that offer soundly researched and reviewed medical information such as the Health on the Net Foundation, PubMed, the WRAPIN project and HealthInsite.

Of course for quality information about cerebral palsy you can visit the ‘About CP’ section of The Spastic Centre’s site or you can check out an international site such as the United Cerebral Palsy Research and Education Foundation.

Wherever you choose to start your search, here are a few pointers to help you sort the good websites from the bad and ugly ones.

Does the website show:

details of the organisation information about the organisation’s not-for-profit status the organisation’s aims and purpose the names and professional qualifications of anybody contributing to the website details of an advisory panel or review group?

Websites should also clearly state if they are based on personal experiences or sponsored by commercial organisations. Sites funded by companies may heavily promote certain treatments or products and sites like these often just exist to get you to buy something.

Because disabilities like CP can affect different people in vastly different ways, information based on personal experiences rather than research and scientific evidence can give an unrealistic picture of how CP will affect you and your family.

You also need to check out if a website’s articles include the author’s name, job title and any professional qualifications and, most importantly, the date.

Above all, if the claims made in any web-based articles sound too extreme or sensational to be true, then they most probably are. It’s a good idea to double-check any articles you come across with a doctor, specialist or service provider like The Spastic Centre.

The Web can put you in touch with mountains of advice, information and new ideas. These guidelines will help you sift through the electronic rubble to unearth the bonafide gems.

Share your favourite websites with us!

Thanks to all those Web2Go readers who have sent us their comments. We look forward to receiving more of your feedback and ideas for future posts.

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Blogs: blah or blessing?

Blogs. Everyone who’s anyone these days seems to have one. So how do you get one, why would you want one and how could it help you and your family learn more about living with CP?

When I was growing up, I had a pretty pink diary with a gold lock and ‘KEEP OUT OR DIE’ written menacingly across the cover.

This subtle warning was for the benefit of my parents and my cousin who I feared would find the keys and, overcome with temptation, read all of my innermost secrets. These days, noone has to wait to satisfy their voyeuristic urges, thanks to the humble blog.

Read more: Blogs: blah or blessing?

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