from iPod clothing, to iPod content that isn't music to the ears

At the Online News Association conference in New York in October, there was a session describing how to create podcasts and also an audio podcast tour of historic news-related sites in NYC. I did the tour and really enjoyed it. I guess the only downside is it favors a solitary person, unless everyone in the party has an MP3 player. As long as I was talking about the frivolous side of iPods in my post about the sundry clothing items to complement one's iPod, I thought I would note the growing supply of podcast tour that are available. Some are produced with music and sound like NPR programs, and some are one voice talking. They do often border on oral history, but that might just make your tour of Williamsburg or anywhere more enjoyable. To young entrepreneurs--go for this before it gets overdiscovered. My students and I will have our loop tours online this semester. Soundwalkfeatures MP3 and CD versions of its tours. One reviewer calls them "oral histories" as much as tours. From the Bronx to Benares, India, these seem lush and very produced. They are $24.95 each and you can find them on amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com

Art Mobs has produced (unofficial) audio guides for MoMA, and we're making them available as podcasts. We'd love for you to join in by sending us your own MoMA audio guides, which we'll gladly add to our podcast feed. Why should audio guides be proprietary? Help us hack the gallery experience, help us remix MoMA!

Talkingstreetprovides tours of Boston, New York and Washington, with new cities coming. Your tour guide is a celebrity like Larry King or Steve Tyler. All the tours have free preview and cost $5.95. Audiostepstours are done by a couple of women. The New Orleans one isn't done yet (or maybe it has to be revised drastically?) but the one for Bath in the U.K. is $14.95. audioblogs