In part 2, I would like to ask Ed what are the good dos and donts of Podcasts.  Ed likes to watch, promote and produce different types of audio and video media on the web and in person, hes off to do some new and exciting challenges very soon which is mentioned on his site.

When listening myself to some Podcasts, sometimes there is a tendency for general waffling, you know you want to listen to an expert on the subject of something and the person speaking spends a while talking about what he had for dinner and other irrelevant items, but in the days of the internet most people want to get an answer quickly from something like doing a search on google or wikipedia, where as podcasting people are less likely to be in a hurry for an answer to a question, I think its important to be right on subject, but in a friendly and chatty sort of way.

So, for Ed, what makes a good podcast, what good and bad methods have you seen of any kind published audio, and can you maybe put in brief glimpses of what will talked about next time to keep the public interested and come again for more?  Adverts and sponsors, can they be a good thing if brief and relevant to the subject?

of course, comments from anyone are appreciated, but remember I am more interested in personal ideas rather that go to xyz link.

ok, this is the first of two open questions, I thought I would ask two good friends of mine some opinions of something they are both experienced on with the intention they could respond on their blogs.

First gonna ask my bro in law Jim, on hiking.  Jim is a keen walker and lover of many things outdoors.  I like camping but I have only been experienced on camping on the normal organised type affairs in places like the New Forest and Yorkshire.  I have been asked by a friend to go camping (unsure whether UK or abroad yet) rucksack style (ie no proper toilets and other civilised things) and need a bit of advice.

Rather just use google and go to such and such a link for this, I wanted to ask Jim being a veteran of this genre, what is the ideal way to pack and prepare for this sort of trip.

Some of the things I need to think about is food, stuff thats good for you, tastes good and is easy to carry.  I have a reasonable rucksack and lightweight tent but not much else, would need to consider other things like small first aid kit and other things, where as minimising the weight of stuff to carry.