I have been creating podcasts on and off — mostly off — since 2007, when Paul Gillin and I came up with the idea to talk to each other about war stories from the tech PR world. (You can listen to the very first pod here.) That series would eventually evolve into several different pods that Paul and I would do over the years, with the most recent episode here. In between these shows, I would freelance pods to various clients and publications such as eWeek and various IDG ones.
I tell you this because today in the span of a few minutes, I managed to create some very credible podcasts out of previously just my written content, using a new Google tool called notebooklm.google.
- I wrote a handbook for CSOonline recently about AI security posture management. Here is the pod:
- I also wrote an article for Internet Protocol Journal about the history of the Interop Shownet. Here is that pod:
I did almost no additional work to create these pods, other than search my own hard drive to find something that I wrote. Both of these samples are about ten minutes long. And while I wrote every word in both articles, the pods use examples that I never wrote (that were actually quite good) and bring in other information.) Using their ML routines to keep things more conversational works reasonably well and you almost believe that Dick and Jane are two live humans talking to each other about something that they “just read.” I could do with a few less inserted “likes” which seem to be the basic conversational building block of a certain generation. One thing that Google hasn’t coded into its system is to have the two hosts talk over each other, which I find annoying on other pods that have multiple human hosts.
Google’s tool is still very much in the experimental stage, but it is free to try out. In addition to creating podcasts, you can also query the content you upload just like any AI system, and it will also provide a summary and FAQs and other supporting things around your content. I would suggest that you don’t upload any private content however.
What does this mean for podcasters? Well, uh, things are going to get very interesting. While the Dick and Jane voices aren’t yet configurable, they are pleasant to listen to and seem 85% human. It also portends that my podcast business is probably dead in the water, not that I ever relied on it to produce any significant revenue. Given that I don’t cultivate any political outrage, or any outrage (other than from non-working tech or over-promised products), there was zero chance that my podcasting career would ever take off.
If you do produce some pods that you would like me to listen and compare to the original source materials, do drop a note in the comments.
The ums and has come from Google Soundstorm. Also the “lawncareguy” tried to break the guardrails internal to NotebookLM, the results are quite interesting
https://www.reddit.com/r/notebooklm/comments/1fr31h8/comment/lpj6uef/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Hi David,
I am a huge fan of this tool. I am using it personally, because it it prohibited to be used in my corporate setting.
I started using it to summarize my bike rides. And, with bias towards a positive outcome, it makes me into a hero, a god, and strokes my ego! I started using it with a small amount of information. But, then I decided to add in more details to see how they pick it up and interpret it.
Here’s an early one (7 min):
https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/5bd61b24-03b7-4bfc-bbf8-1a288c90962d/audio
Here’s a later one, where more details was added: (5 min)
https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/7c3d42dc-f1d0-475c-9780-a6b4035c3b4c/audio
One discovery is that the more detail provided won’t make it longer. However, the more thematic the material (challenges, metaphors, twists), the more creative the story becomes. I was amazed by all the connections to athletic psychology, motivation, conquering obstacles, flow state, etc that were made. Topics not at all explicitly written about. However, they stayed true to themes addressed.
=== Here’s the final, more robust article it summarized ===
King Ridge is a favorite. Always tests your fitness. Always an adventure! Today, I did it alone, through sun, fog, and utter darkness covering 90 miles and 9000 feet.
I dragged myself out of bed at 6:40am. Fitful sleep. Maybe 4 hours? Totally in a fog. Should I go? Let me warm up. I gotta go. I can go tomorrow. It’s going to be beautiful. I gotta go. So, I zoomed up to Santa Rosa in great time.
On the bike at 9:45, 45 minutes later than plan.
The downhill start – Always a joy. Racing 🚴🏼♂️ through the redwoods down the Bohemian Highway – hammering throughout – never touching the brakes – feeling totally Bohemian. My Bohemian momentum took me all the way to Cazadero. Leaving Cazadero onto King Ridge road, the road quality went to shit, but it was sunny and warm. Perfect.
The Climbs – I did ok on the 1st climb – stair stepping to the top – but there was no juice! Aaaagh. On the next climbs all the way to Tin Barn Road, the sustained 9-12% sections were brutal. I got through them through with determination and a couple of rest stops – but, I wasn’t enjoying it. Where or where is my mojo? (I know. I left it in my bed)
To the coast – The big payoff at the top of the ridge are the expansive views in every direction – across miles of golden rolling hills dotted with green forests, giant cows, and bright blue skies. As I got closer to the coast, mile by mile, degree by degree – it got cooler. The expected cold coastal wind started its bone chilling thang. But, I was prepared! Arm warmers, long fingered gloves, and winter coat 🧥.
Stewart’s Point Bakery – I arrived at Stewart’s Point around 3pm – 1 hour before closing time. But, on this overcast and dreary coastal day, there were no customers, so they stopped serving lunch early! No calzone 🍕 for me 😩. Very disappointing! I was even counting on a strong 25 mph southerly coastal wind to push me home. Alas, not even any wind. So, I ate my peanut butter sandwich 🥪 and off I went 🚴🏼♂️.
Hwy 1 – Fabulous news !!! Beautiful roads. Most of it newly paved and painted. All the disruptive March construction – all finished now. 30-40 mph descents. Sweet. Sadly, no sun and views, too overcast.
Somewhere along the coast my sleepy head cleared and my legs woke up. Maybe it was the expanse of the ocean and the views to the horizon, or the dramatic California coastline and the fear of falling off the cliff to the beach 1000’ below, or the cool weather. It could have also been all the supplements I ingested: caffeine, bars, gels. Whatever it was, the mojo kicked in – and my power returned. I even got a couple of PRs!
The big climb was the 4 mile cliff-skirting coastal climb-out from Fort Ross. This is the one where there are no guardrails and you see the ocean 1000′ below. On a windy day, you often think that this is how it might end! But today, I was energized to stay on the pavement and even went 6 minutes faster: 28 minutes and 8.2 mph, last time 36 minutes and 6.7 mph.
Coleman Valley Road — The daunting climb. This is the one you dream about the night before. We all know the 3 major sections that mess with your mind. I powered up the initial and final sections. I rested (for 3 minutes) in the middle. However, today had a twist, I was climbing into a fog layer and it was getting dark. Visibility was vanishing with every pedal stroke. As I went, I never saw the top, only 20′ of haze in front of me. I knew it was there, I managed a good 8 mph pace – and guess what – I got there! (See pic)
Dark at 7pm – At the top, enveloped by the fog layer. I could only see 10-25′ in front of me, barely saw the edge of the roads, my light made things a little worse, so it was on the dimmest setting. For miles, It was rolling hills and riding blind. If I didn’t know the road by heart, I think it would have been much scarier! What’s amazing is that in the climbing sections, I hammered through – even getting medals! I will admit, I was concerned if I had to change a flat or ran into a cow.
Final descent into Occidental (Bittner Road) – At this lower elevation, there was no fog, but it was pitch black. Just me and my little light as I stayed close the reflectors at the centerline racing downhill at 20mph. A 4th best!
At 8:30pm all done. A completely standard 10.5 hour journey where I disconnect and relax 🧘. I listened to the Seven Daughters of Eve (Bryan Sykes) and learned about the human race’s genetic 🧬 heredity. It turns out that our entire planet 🌎 is descended from only 7 women – all discovered through mitochondrial DNA.
Anyway, I finished with 8 hours moving time – only 30 minutes longer than prior rides. Not so bad!
PS. I always forget how much I hate Sonoma County roads. Every time I ride, I say never again! It doesn’t matter if your descending or climbing. The roads are filled with potholes and patches – making it harder and scarier as you continuously navigate around and through them.
But, I keep coming back. I only remember the good parts.