Google Quietly Enters Podcast Space - And It (Surprisingly) Ain’t Ready for Prime Time
Posted on 10:38 am by Paul ColliganI saw this Adwords ad when searching Google:
Share Your Podcasts
Upload podcasts through Google Base
so millions of users can find them
google.com/base
Wow, this could get interesting. Click through to this …
You’ve got the podcast. Now, by uploading it to Google Base, you can help ensure that millions of Google users will be able to find it in their search results.
Sure gonna try that one.
So, you click through to “Post an Item” - Podcasting is one of the choices.
Wow, I decide to post Episode 1 of Profitable Podcasting. I get this note of all things:
Warning: We don’t recognize the file extension .mp3. Once it’s done uploading we will tell you for sure whether or not you can attach it.
Hmm, Google, sloppy beta testing …
Still waiting for upload.
15 minutes later … still waiting for upload. I’m guess we have a problem here. Will give it 15 more.
O.k., upload ain’t working - maybe it is a Mac issue (I am using Firefox). Let’s try the “Get a file from the web (URL)…” Same message about not knowing the whole MP3 thing.
O.k., it attaches via Web - good news.
Bad news - it attaches 1.13kb worth.
So I go to publish …
Drumroll please …
Oh yes, … here it is …
Of course, it doesn’t link to a real MP3 file. And I gave it one (tested twice). Not quite sure.
I guess this feature isn’t ready for prime time yet.
Anyone else seen success?
Google, what are you trying to do here?
Technorati Tags: google, podcast, google podcast, google base
7 Comments »
September 10, 2006
Nefret said:
Didn’t work for me, either. I’m trying to find a free solution. So far, no luck. I’m disappointed in Google.
September 20, 2006
Rob Gamble said:
Hmmm…. Interesting.
I just went and checked it out… clicked on the link for podcast… entered all my information, etc. I did not see a place to upload an .mp3 file or specify my feed.
So I entered the information about my podcast show and went about life. When I came back to the home page… the link for podcast was gone.
Way to go Paul… you scared ‘em off.
LOL
Just joking. Thanks for the info.
We should get together sometime… I live in the Portland area as well. Have a great day.
Rob Gamble
September 20, 2006
Sean McMinn said:
Thanks for this. If you click on Learn More, they now have this:
“You can submit information about all types of online and offline content to Google Base, by either the standard web form or, if you have more than 10 items to submit, via our bulk upload options. When you submit information via the web form, you can attach up to 15 digital files in the following formats: PDF (.pdf), Microsoft Excel (.xls), Text (.txt), HTML (.html), Rich Text Format (.rtf), Word Perfect (.wpd), ASCII, Unicode and XML. Please note: the files you upload may not exceed 20 megabytes total in size, and we reserve the right to review all items in order to ensure they comply with the Google Base Terms and Conditions.”
Which would explain why MP3 files don’t work. They probably noticed your problem and took the podcast catagory away quickly. Makes you wonder if the designers of this really understand what a podast is.
September 20, 2006
Paul Colligan said:
Nefret - me too!
Rob - you gonna be at PME?
Sean - They said MP3 files on the Podcast page. They suggested it in their own Google ad. They just aren’t ready for primetime - yet. It wouldn’t be their first time launching without being ready.
P
September 21, 2006
Pickle’s Podcast News » Podcasting Through Google? (Pingback)
[…] Paul Colligan found something quite interesting and perhaps misleading through an Adwords ad when searching on Google. The ad was for posting a podcast through the service Google Base. Google Base allows you to submit any online or offline content, and they make it searchable. Basically it is a place for millions to share mass amounts of information on one topic. Podcasts are listed as one of their choices. […]
December 5, 2006
Google Promoting Base For Podcasts Again … And It Still Doesn’t Work | Paul Colligan’s Profitable Podcasting (Pingback)
[…] Google Promoting Base For Podcasts Again … And It Still Doesn’t WorkPosted on 9:39 am by Paul Colligan Back in September I wrote about Google promoting Google Base for Podcasters and how it, simply, didn’t work. […]
December 17, 2007
lee said:
You can submit information about all types of online and offline content to Google Base, by either the standard web form or, if you have more than 10 items to submit, via a data feed. When you submit information via the web form, you can attach up to 15 digital files in the following formats: PDF (.pdf), Microsoft Excel (.xls), Text (.txt), HTML (.html), Rich Text Format (.rtf), Word Perfect (.wpd), ASCII, Unicode and XML. Please note: the files you upload may not exceed 20 megabytes total in size, and we reserve the right to review all items in order to ensure they comply with the Google Base Terms and Conditions