Saturday, January 8, 2011
Since its beginning in November, 2007, the
MacMost Now video podcast has taught viewers how to get the most from their Apple devices. Publishing about three times per week, the short videos include tutorials, advice and tech news.
Gary Rosenzweig, the host of the show, started with the simple goal of providing short video tutorials to help the average Mac user. He found an audience of podcast subscribers and YouTube viewers.
"I love being able to produce these videos," said Rosenzweig. "It is very satisfying to come up with an idea, create a video, upload it and have people learning from it all within the space of a few hours."
Most episodes of MacMost Now feature Rosenzweig talking about a technique or process and showing viewers with captured screen video exactly how it can be done. The episodes are sometimes geared toward novice Mac users, while other times he will show more advanced tips. The show also frequently includes iPhone, iPod and iPad tutorials.
Viewers typically either subscribe to the show through iTunes as a video podcast, or watch it on YouTube. Rosenzweig said the split is pretty even. Newer methods of viewing, such as Tivo, Roku and other set-top boxes are adding to the total. The show gets about 10,000 views per day and any episode can be found and viewed just as easily as the latest.
The show and MacMost site has also spawned two mass-market books. The first is the "MacMost.com Guide to Switching to the Mac," a novice guide to learning how to use a Mac. The second, "My iPad," is one of a larger series of beginner books covering different gadgets and devices.
Rosenzweig said that he plans to continue to produce new episodes for the foreseeable future. Recently he added a section to the web site that lists all the videos by category to help viewers find old episodes. There is also a search box at the top of each page on the site.
"There are a lot of shows now," said Rosenzweig. "It is getting to the point where many of the questions I get from viewers can be easily answers by just referring them to an old episode."