Podcast Freq

I arrived last night from the UK, 2 flights and 12 hours later I was in Boston for the premier Podcamp in the world. I cannot wait for the sessions to start today - if you want to follow on Twitter the you can either use the tracking option - track Podcamp Boston or there is a twitter feed for the event.

I cannot wait for the day to start with a full day of outstanding content. There are 6 hours of speaking events and for each hour there are 7 options! One thing that has struck me is how difficult it is to choose the session - why? Because these podcasters have built incredible personal brands that I connect with, that have built an element of trust with me….a brand promise that I want to buy into and not miss the session. That shows the global power of podcasting - imagine, I have flown just under 7,000 mile because of who is speaking in Boston! For anyone who doubts that podcasting can increase customer loyalty, customer retention, customer advocacy then I am living proof that podcasting can be an important element!

So which sessions are attracting my attention….well here are a few that I want to dip into, today.

1) Web 2.0, Enterprise 2.0 and Beyond - I want to understand how business should be positioning themselves with social media.
2) Measuring Success - I am still interested in understanding new ways to measure success instead of the old methods for old media.
3) How to market with new media - new media is evolving, so what are new ways of using the tools in the marketing space.
4) What is the sound of your brand. Recently I interviewed the brand futurist Martin Lindstrom on The Engaging Brand and he inspired me to think of audio as an increasingly important element of the marketing mix - so want to explore the use of sound as part of your personal brand, part of your podcasting brand.

There is SO much stuff! There are so many people I want the chance to meet. I will make in depth notes and of course I will share the learnings with you all, over the next week.

For anyone in the US next weekend sees Podcamp Boston, and it looks as though it is going to be a superb event. The line of speakers looks incredible from Mitch Joel, David Meerman Scott, John Wall, Christopher Penn. They have produced an offical guide to the event which gives every details from sessions to hotels, from transport to maps.

There are well over 1000 people attending the event and for me the Boston area is at the hub of all things great in podcasting. When you look at the title of the streams you see how far the conversation has moved over the last 2 years. This year the streams are
1) Lessons in New Media
2) Business Trends and Issues
3) Video and Community
4) All Things 2.0
5) Intro/101
2 x Focus Topics

I like the fact that the event is wider than podcasting, it is looking at how podcasting fits in with the wider social media community and helping us learn and think about how social media will be changing over the next few months and years. Some say podcasting is dead, I don’t believe that for a moment - podcasting is part of a marketing/communication mix and I will enjoy hearing from some of the leading thinkers in the podcasting community how they see the podcasting medium evolving over the next year.

podcasting, podcasts, communication, marketing, podcamp boston

OK, I have to admit the guys over at Blubrry are some of the nicest guys I have met and they also have helped me as a non geek out of many a hole I have got myself into! But for people new to podcasting, they have produced a New Podcaster Guide in PDF or in an audio file format.

Anything that encourages more people to start podcasting or understand podcasting more..gets my vote! I met the Blubrry guys over at Podcast Expo, in fact you can see my comments on this video - I am at the end speaking about how we need to ensure that as fast as we rush ahead with all the new bits and pieces..like links in Facebook etc We should never forget that over 80% of people have still not found podcasting…so how hard are we working on making the interface with them easier?

Just a sign of what the guys at Blubrry are like…based on that short conversation, they sent me over a play button based on my corporate colours for The Engaging Brand to trial…wow, now that is delighting the customer!

podcasting, blubrry, podcasting guide, beginner podcaster

The podcamp series has been so popular and last week saw the first podcamp in Ireland. My good friend Krishna De was one of the organisers and by all accounts - I was at the Podcast Expo - the event was a huge success. Not that I am surprised, as Ireland is a superb country for hospitality and openness.

Krishna has recorded some interviews with people at the event, which you can listen to over at The Podcast SIsters.

When I first started to listen to podcasts and even podcast myself, the US was the only place that seemed to discuss podcasting. It is fantastic to see the podcamp series now moving into smaller countries, helping podcasting to increase its global audience - Copenhagen, UK, South Africa, Ireland.

What I have loved about attending the podcamps is the informality, the level playing field of podcasters. Ok there are stars there, that people want to talk to, but the community just wants to learn from each other - whether you have produced one show or 100 shows. If you haven’t attended a podcamp and are either new or looking for inspiration then check out the Podcamp rss feed for details.

podcamp, podcasting, podcast sisters, podcamp ireland,

Over at John Furrier’s blog there is the following press release announcing the first meeting for the ADM.

“….The recently formed Association for Downloadable Media (ADM) will hold its first in-person meeting at the Podcasting & New Media Expo in Ontario, CA. The meeting will be held at 7:30 a.m. PDT on Friday, September 28, 2007 in Ballroom A. Anyone can attend who is registered as an expo attendee. Free and paid options are available at http://www.NewMediaExpo.com/register.php.

Agenda items to be discussed include the goals of the organization, the continued membership drive, committee formation action plans, first priority deliverables as an organization, potential membership benefits for podcasters, and the process for the nominations for board seats and committees. After the initial member conference call August 22nd, this is the first in-person meeting of ADM paid and prospective members and is shaping up to be a productive gathering. ADM has been successful at attracting members and has a roster of more than 50 publishers, agencies, vendors and metrics companies. The current membership list is posted on the site at http://www.downloadablemedia.org.

This meeting will be an opportunity for new members to bring forth action items for the ADM to address. It is open to all interested parties, but members will have priority for their contributions because of the limited meeting time. Since the meeting is open, it is an excellent venue to consider membership for those prospective members interested in seeking additional information about the organization and its goals. All industry professionals interested in monetizing their content are encouraged to attend.

Nominations for the 4 Executive Committees (Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer), 11 Advisory Board seats and 5 Committee Chair positions are now open. Any current ADM members may nominate themselves or other members for office positions on the executive and advisory board slots or as committee chairs. Details on the nomination and voting process can be found at http://downloadablemedia.org/membership.html.

The Association for Downloadable Media is focused on providing standards for advertising and audience measurement for episodic and downloadable media.”

As I am UK based it is not possible to attend but I think this association is a wonderful way of shaping the future of podcasting.

podcasting, adm, podcast, association of downloadable media

Scott Bourne has announced a new podcasting group in response to the ADM group which he has concerns about. There are some impressive members of the steering committee.
Scott Bourne: Podango Productions, Apple Phone Show
Michael Geoghegan: GigaVox
Lee Gibbons: Podango
Judith Hutchinson, M.D.: Medical Minute
Leo Laporte: TWiT.TV
Alex Lindsay: Pixel Corps
Michael Mennenga: Farpoint Media
Doug Smith: Podango
Tim Street: French Maid.TV
Gretchen Vogelzang: MommyCast
Jeffrey Wilerth: Farpoint Media

You can check out the group by visiting the Industry and User Survey. On that site the purpose of the survey is stated as
“• Determine issues and concerns related to the establishment of the ADM, including their relative weight, universality and depth.
• Explore alternative formation methods, structures, fees, and agenda, and make recommendations.
• Explore the advisability of uniting behind one or more podcasting industry associations.
• Assess the importance of a broader mission and alternative focus to that of measuring downloads.
• Involve all who wish to participate in the process of the formation of an industry association.”

It will interesting to see how both this group and ADM move forward, as I said before because I am UK based, I feel a little out of the loop. However, I do feel that these groups could help the podosphere - I don’t want the sector to become some regulated that the essence is lost, but I do feel there are some areas that can be helped by standardisation. I will be watching the groups closely.