Matt May is a Web accessibility specialist, and has written on the interaction of people and technology since 1995. He keeps his own weblog at bestkungfu.com, and produces a podcast called Staccato, which features Creative Commons-licensed music.
Alex Williamsblogs, consults and produces unconference style events, where people immerse in DIY media. These are fun occasions, designed for people who want to get together with authors, artists, technologists and leading thinkers to converse, eat, listen to music, write, shoot photos and post podcasts and videoblogs. Alex also works with companies to establish DIY approaches, where writing, photography, voice and video come together to create new conversations and communities. Alex is currently fascinated with digital photography. His girlfriend calls him a Flickrholic. Send Alex a nice message: alexhwilliams at gmail.com.
Nicole Simon loves blogging and podcasting, dashed with an European view. As consultant she helps to facilitate such tools for business purposes or personal publishing empires. She can be found at cruel to be kind and on her private blog Useful Sounds.
Roland Tanglao is a well known podcasting enthusiast and a passionate advocate of blogs, RSS, and social software as a means of online expression for people, organizations and businesses. He is a prominent participant in the blogosphere and online communities and one of the founders of Bryght and as Bryght's Chief Blogging Officer reads hundreds of blogs daily. He graduated from the University of Waterloo, worked at Nortel Networks where he ran its first internal corporate blog, has has been blogging since 1999, and was the first business blogging consultant in Canada.
Matt May and I are speaking about podcasting at Idea Day tonight in Seattle. The event is at ThinkSpot. Social hour begins at 7 p.m. Matt and I present at 8.
Matt May and I are speaking about podcasting at Idea Day tonight in Seattle. The event is at ThinkSpot. Social hour begins at 7 p.m. Matt and I present at 8.
There are a lot of conferences we cannot attend, due to different reasons. So podcasting those sessions, be it video and or audio, is a great idea to spread the ideas and spirit of an event. You still will need to attend to make those contacts, but sometimes there is no way you can attend, even if you would try.
Like for example the World Economic Forum in Davos. But it seems as if they want to make sure that everybody can be part of this, at least getting a very direct coverage of their annual event:
Broadcasting, Podcasting, Webcasting and Blogging at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2006 in Davos:The World Economic Forum announced ambitious plans today to share the proceedings of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2006 in Davos with as wide a public as possible. Held under the theme of The Creative Imperative, the Meeting will again be broadcast, webcast and, for the first time this year, many sessions will also be "podcast". Additionally, all participants will be asked to take part in the Forum’s blog.
[..]
"Davos is a small place, and the Conference Centre is even smaller. By broadcasting, webcasting, podcasting and encouraging blogging by all participants, we hope to share the spirit of Davos with as many people as possible. As every year, every single session will be open to more than 200 journalists from around the world," said Mark Adams, Director, Head of Communications.
Until now, I only followed this forum through normal press coverage, but now I might be interested in listening into some of those.
You can read the Forum blog; at the moment they only speak of "downloading from a website" and use the word podcast in quotes, but I am hoping for a real podcast from the sessions.
I'm speaking at SRI's Beyond Blogs and Social Networks. I'm looking for people to interview. Your input would be valuable and important as I discuss the issues with setting up a corporate blog or podcast. What are the issues you faced when getting your blog or podcast started? How are you maintaining it?
Interested? Please contact me and we'll set up a time to talk. E-mail: alexhwilliams at gmail dot com.
The Portable Media Expo and Podcasting Conference is starting to wind down, so I have a few moments to talk about my thoughts on the first 1000-plus-attendee conference built around podcasting.
When I walked into the exposition hall to collect my credentials on Thursday, I turned to the security guard, pointed up at the sign, and said, "See that word? Podcasting? That word didn't exist 16 months ago." Even he was impressed. The Expo was sold out, with an attendance of 2500. A number of podcast directories, iPod accessory makers, hosting services, software vendors and allied tradespeople are exhibiting (not to mention the pathologically gregarious Brother Love, who has been all smiles this weekend as he hangs out with the folks playing his podsafe music).
Some big names, like Yahoo, Audible, Intel, Adobe and MTV Networks, have appeared on the dais. Some others are notable for their absence (hint: two of them make operating systems).
On the expo floor, patterns emerge. Most exhibitors can be filed under:
Podcaster-oriented services and software (Liberated Syndication, FeedBurner, FeederReader, various audio tools)
Sound hardware (M-Audio, Sony Pro Audio, Marantz Professional)
Payment and ad platforms (PayPal, BitPass, Podvertiser, Click & Buy)
User groups (Association of Music Podcasting, LA and Orange County podcasting groups)
iPod and other player accessories (too many to count)
I'm still astounded by the scale of this event. It's clear that this is a going concern, and I would imagine that next year, the Expo will attract the attention of those who stayed away this time, along with a whole lot of high-end audio companies. I saw Michael Geoghegan's session in which he described the $25,000 studio he assembled for the Grape Radio podcast, and then could swear I saw thought bubbled pop up around the room: "I can buy that much gear? Really?" Overall, the conference is large, and I'm guessing it will only increase in size.
At the same time, there's been visible reason for reflection on just how big we really are. We've been sharing the Ontario Conference Center with the Portable Sanitation Association, which has an expo hall about the same size as ours. I can't help but guess that if we compared finances between the two rooms, we'd see that the federation of porta-potty purveyors generates maybe 1000 times more revenue than those showing off their wares in the Podcast Expo hall. Though admittedly, we don't traffic in human waste.
Webcasts from Duke University Podcasting Symposium (September 27 - 28, 2005) are available. Take a look at the schedule to get more information about the different presentations or choose directly:
Podcastcon UK, held on September 17th 2005 in London, was Europe's first conference on podcasting. What was originally envisaged as a small meeting in a pub somewhere in England became, in the end, a conference with around 120 guests from countries all over the world. While many thought it was a great success, some have been keeping their thoughts quiet - me included.
It took me some days to reflect on why the weaknesses I found are in fact a clear sign of the conference's success: because it perfectly captured the current state of podcasting.
If you search for podcasting you get over 30 million hits on Google. It is barely a year old and has already entered the mainstream, thanks in part to Apple integrating podcasting into iTunes. Some say the growth period has just started, some say it has already peaked.
If you take a look at the list of speakers (and their topics), and those attending, you'll see many different directions and interests as well: from the very traditional BBC to single podcasters, from businesses exploring podcasting to educational usage, and from dedicated fans to "it is just another tool" users.
Exactly what can be seen in the podosphere: everyone is still trying to figure out what podcasting can or cannot do, what it should or should not be, whether to keep it pure or to make money from it.
Some feel disappointed when companies enter the cozy space, because it makes them feel as if podcasting has lost its innocence and from here on it is just business as usual. There are fights about it. Is it "just another tool" or a special something?
The conference reflected exactly that. It showed the dedicated community of the Britcasters, quite a few attendees who are somehow connected to the BBC, people working in education, the music business, or mainstream media, and business people who are interested in different aspects of podcasting. Be it "how do I" or just "what can I use it for", they were here.
The presentations were as different as the participants and reflected the same dilemma. A little bit of everything and nothing really deep. The one thing everybody was happy with was how well and professional the conference was organized: everything went smoothly, a 'posh venue', good service and working wifi.
It went well. Really well. Given that (a) this sort of thing hasn't been done before and (b) because of that nobody was really sure what would be good topics to cover, there was a "next year we know exactly what we need to do" to get it right [feeling].
It was a first attempt, and it was a good one. You missed something that day (and evening), if you did not attend. It was a good day to put some faces to the voices, and for starting with fresh energy and thoughts into year two of podcasting. And don't miss Podcastcon 2006.
Additional links:
(audio files will be available soon of the presentations)
PodcastCon UK is set for Sept. 17 at the Berners Hotel in central London.
PodcastCon UK 2005 is the first conference in Europe dedicated to podcasting. The conference will include an exciting combination of presentations, practical sessions and debate on all aspects of podcasting as it moves into its second year.
Welcome to the first podcast for the 2005 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Covering the largest Arts Festival in the world, the Edinburgh Fringe Podcast is going to put you right in the middle of all the best clubs, acts, street performers, reviews and news from the Fringe.
Here's the biggest difference in this year's Gnomedex. There are a lot of microphones out there. And video cameras, too. John Hartman is sititng next to me. He's podcasting. He is videoblogging.
In the front row, Steve Garfiled has his camera pointed on Dave Winer who is about to begin his keynote, discussing OPML.
Rob Greenlee of WebTalk Radio is talking into his microphone.
Chris Pirillo announced that everyone is free to cast, podcast, videoblog, etc.
The wi-fi is a bit sketchy. But, hey, there are a lot of podcasters here. Please don't upload/download is the request from Chris.
Dave is talking. I have to go. He's talking about looking out at the crowd and for him, he says, it is like doing a podcast. Instead of looking out at the ocean, he is looking out at the minds of the blogosphere and the podcastosphere.
His quote I like: "Podcasts are like unconferences."
The Podcast Hotel is teaming with MusicFest NW, a music festival here in Portland, featuring 250 bands over three days.
So, it looks like this could work out well. The Podcast Hotel will go Sept. 6-7, running into MusicFest NW, which starts Sept. 8 and runs through the weekend, ending Sept. 10.
Part of my interest in all of this is the music angle. It's where Corante is experimenting a bit so it seems appropriate to be there and teach musicians what podcasting and videoblogging is all about. The idea is to do workshops for the musicians during MusicFest NW. We'll be doing workshops with kids, too, teaching them about podcasting so they can extend the remix that is such a part of their lives. We're talking about podcasting some of the shows. Jam sessions that we podcast would be cool, too. We'll interview musicians and muse about where all of this podcasting talk is taking us.
I have to thank Mark Zusman, editor and publisher of Willamette Week, Portland's Pulitzer prize winning weekly newspaper. MusicFest NW is a Willamette Week event.
I had put a call into Mark earlier this spring. Zusman had orchestrated Willamette Week's winning the Pulitzer this year.
Us Portland folks just beamed when Willamette Week won the big prize. Better yet, it's the first Pulitzer for a story that broke online. The story dealt with a nasty bit of history dealing with former Gov. Neil Goldschmidt. Willamette Week covered the story like no one else and came away with the prize.
Mark listened to what we were doing and asked if we would be interested in changing the date for the Podcast Hotel so it would run around the same dates as MusicFest NW.
It made sense. We had thought about changing the dates. A lot of reasons for making the decision but teaming with MusicFest NW helped make up my mind that this was the way to go.
So, we'll have more to say about all of this in the coming weeks.
Yes, we changed the dates for the Podcast Hotel and Videoblog Festival to Sept. 6-8. July looked too close. And then I spent a few stressful days watching over my daughter at the hospital. Life is too short. It was one of those times where you really want to do something but other matters just have a far higher priority.
We are sorry if the date change causes any inconvenience.
The idea is the same for the Podcast Hotel. We're turning The Jupiter Hotel into a podcast and videoblog studio.
We'll have themes for several of the rooms. During the day, we'll do workshops and share in discussions about the future of podcasting. In the evenings, we'll open the rooms, do some shows according to the themes and share in conversation about podcasting and videoblogging.
We'll run a videoblog festival during the event where we will showcase different works.
Attendees at the Podcast Hotel will create podcasts. They'll create videoblogs. They'll spread out into the city of Portland.
Experts will be there to share and show how the tools can be used. Newbies will be coached and get the chance to learn how to produce sharp, authentic works. There will be "how to," discussions, "think tank," talks and demonstrations.
The Podcast Hotel is about sharing this huge passion for creating new works through podcasts and videoblogs while simultaneously creating a platform for people in other parts of the world to participate. We will actively involve the city of Portland in the event and will seek people from other cities to participate, too.
Here are some of the basics
Who? Geeks, musicians, bloggers, entrepreneurs, artists, marketers, developers, authors, curious ad execs, film and video editors, directors, actors, comedians, recording industry execs, journalists and media honchos. What? For two days we turn the Jupiter Hotel into a podcast and videoblog studio. This is not your standard conference. It's an art and commerce fair that flows offline through Portland then online back to the rest of the world. Web site and registration: http://www.corante.com/events/podcasthotel When? Sept. 6-8, 2005. Checkout is 11 a.m., Sept 8. Where? At the Jupiter Hotel in Portland, Oregon. That's where we participate in person. Outside the realm of the hotel's physical space, we move into the extended network of the Intenet. The goal is to get people in other places to participate so we create a worldwide event that becomes a giant media project. How? How to podcast. How to videoblog. How art and commerce work together in this new realm. How musicians can use podcasting. How advertisers can use podcasting creatively. How book authors can use podcasting. How to set up a podcast for your brand. How to market your podcast. How to get sponsors. How the market will develop. How to have more fun at a conference and paricipate in the art and commerce of DIY digital technology. Why? Art and commerce come together in podcasting and videoblogging. The Podcast Hotel will be a rave, a happenng where these forces meet.
A Corante event
(Registration and more info coming soon. See below for special offer.)
The Podcast Hotel is a different type of event. Our plan is to turn a hotel in Portland, Or,. into a podcast and videoblog studio. It's a place where people come to learn and share how these content creation tools can be used in any way they want, be it for their personal use, their business or their community.
Guests at the Podcast Hotel will create podcasts. They'll create videoblogs. They'll spread out into the city of Portland. I look forward to riding bikes with video cameras attached to our helmets. We're planning a podcast music jam. We're thinking about a fashion show for independent designers where the models are the podcasters and videobloggers.
Experts will be there to share and show how the tools can be used. Newbies will be coached and get the chance to learn how to produce sharp, authentic works. There will be "how to," discussions, "think tank," talks and demonstrations.
The Podcast Hotel is about sharing this huge passion for creating new works through podcasts and videoblogs while simultaneously creating a platform for people in other parts of the world to participate. We will actively involve the city of Portland in the event and will seek people from other cities to participate, too.
When: July 15-17, 2005 in Portland, Oregon. Heck, we want the world to participate. And will provide ways to do so.
Where: We'll announce the name of the hotel this week in our first podcast, brought to you from the hotel.
The Basics:For a few days in July, a funky, retro hotel will become a podcast and videoblog studio. Rooms will be for recording, editing and producing. The court yard will be a media lounge. The underground club will be for podcast concerts. And the city of Portland, along with the rest of the world, will become our stage.
Why? Our goal is to create art, be observers, create new works, new styles that reflect society and the world. As Mary Hodder said to me: we'll be hackers, experimenters. In a way, we'll be having our own podcast and videoblog rave.
Special Pre-Release OfferIf you want to reserve early and get a special discount rate, contact Alex Williams at 503-473-6237 or by e-mail: alex at corante dot com.
Sponsorships: Sponsorships are available. Please contact Alex for details.
You, go, Portland! The Portland Podcast Meetup group has 22 members, second only to Southern California. I'm going to my first meeting this week, March 24 @ 7 p.m.:
Noodlin'
3487 SW Cedar Hills Blvd
Beaverton, OR 97210
503-924-1444.
Alex Williams
Matt May
Nicole Simon
Roland Tanglao
