Podonomics

Kate tagged me to do this thing. In an effort to avoid doing something right now (like, writing 2 proposals), I’ll play. So, this meme is all about the five things you wouldn’t know about me.

• I love WWE and will always be a fan.
• My favourite time of year is winter and I would take a ski trip to Whistler over a 7-day stay on a Caribbean beach any day.
• When I close my right eye, I can barely see out of my left one due to a childhood accident.
• My first taste at entrepreneurship happened when I was 9-years old. I sold homemade scratch-n-sniff stickers for 5-cents to classmates.
• Although my parents are from Jamaica, I can’t stomach most Caribbean fruits. Just the smell of mangoes, ackee, passion fruit and guava (among others) are enough to make me hurl.

I now tag 5 other people to tell us 5 things we don’t know about you - Bryan Person, Jason Van Orden, Mathew Ingram, Scott Bourne & Donna Papacosta.

Over the past 10-days, I introduced my selection of the Top 10 Savvy Women in Podcasting for 2006.

They’re not hot, nor are they brainless. Instead, these 10 women are smart, savvy and chose to use podcasting in an innovative way to educate others, increase sales, decrease costs, make money or raise their profile. They all contributed something unique to the field of podcasting and are blazing their own trail.

Here are the 10 women I covered over the past 10-days.

Penny Haynes is the producer behind the successful International Podcasting Expo (IPE).

Dr. Kathleen King launched 2 services this year to help bring together educators interested in podcasting, ILearnRadio.org and BX Radio Network.

Donna Papacosta teaches communicators how to use podcasting to compliment other communication tools.

Joanne Colan was handpicked to host the hugely successful video podcast, Rocketboom, at one of its most critical points.

Amber MacArthur is helping mainstream audiences learn more about podcasting and all things technology through her daily segment on a mainstream television station.

Colette Vogele co-authored the Podcasting Legal Guide to help podcast producers understand how to use content in their podcasts.

Amanda Congdon owns a 49% stake in one of the most popular video podcasts.

Gretchen Vogelzang & Paige Heninger, better known as the hosts of Mommycast.com, were the first female podcasters to ink a 6-figure sponsorship deal with a major coporation.

Audrey Reed-Granger launched one of the first consumer goods podcasts for a Fortune 500 and continues to produce it 18-months later.

Mur Lafferty’s book - Tricks of the Podcasting Masters - is the only podcasting book to make Amazon’s Top 10 Best Books of 2006 in the Reference category.

Technorati: mur lafferty, Audrey Reed-Granger, amanda congdon, penny haynes, dr. kathleen king, donna papacosta, joanne colan, amber mac, colette vogele, mommycast, women in podcasting, women, women in technology, top 10, podcasting

One night, the Director of Public Relations at Whirlpool saw her husband doing something odd. He was listening to a recording of a program that sounded like radio, only it wasn’t on radio. After Audrey Reed-Granger listened to her husband describe what a podcast is, she decided to produce one for Whirlpool.

Not only did Audrey make podcasting history by becoming one of the first consumer goods corporations to launch a podcast in 2005, but she silenced many of her critics who thought she’d fall flat on her face for focusing on issues rather than promoting products.

The success with The American Family Podcast (what the Whirlpool podcast is called) is all in the numbers. Audrey reported at a conference that the Whirlpool podcast went from 800 downloads to 70,000 in just 12-months. Her return on investment for all those ears? Just under $140 on podcasting equipment.

Audrey Reed-Granger is one of my picks as a top 10 savvy woman in podcasting.

Technorati: women in podcasting, women, women in technology, top 10, podcasting

Always start the recording of your podcast interviews saying nothing.

No, this isn’t a clever quote I drummed up. Well, it is, but that’s not the point. This is a lesson in how to remove noise from your audio recording.

When you record, you never know what your mic or telephone will pick up. So, it’s extremely important when you press record to let it record “nothing” for about 2 to 3 seconds before you start talking.

This allows you to grab a noise profile, a critical element you will need later on if you notice any popping, hissing or crackling noises in the playback.

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Gretchen Vogelzang & Paige Heninger, better known as the hosts of Mommycast.com, are using their podcast to hold the world together, one child at a time. With a few hundred thousand listeners, Gretchen & Paige have become the conduit that companies can use to target moms in their promotional campaigns.

While others were still trying to figure out how to profit from podcasting, these 2 simple moms made podcasting history in November 2005 by becoming one of the first podcasters to ink a 6-figure sponsorship deal with a major corporation. This 12-month deal propelled Gretchen & Paige to stardom in the podcasting field and made them sought after speakers at many events, teaching businesses how to use podcasting as a profitable tool.

Recently, Mommycast parted ways with Podshow, a company that’s one of the largest distributors of new media content, due to reasons unknown. Although Mommycast left Podshow, their internet celebrity status continues to rise as they’re now represented by a Hollywood talent agency.

Gretchen Vogelzang & Paige Heninger are two of my picks as the top 10 savvy women in podcasting for 2006.

Technorati: mommycast, women in podcasting, women, women in technology, top 10, podcasting

Think Richard Hatch, the man who schemed his way to win the first season of the hit television show Survivor, is the ultimate survivor? Well, that title could very well go to Amanda Congdon, a video podcaster who will appear regularly on ABC’s online news channel, ABC News Now, and will host a weekly five-minute video blog appearing on ABC.com.

Amanda is best known for being the host of one of the most popular video podcasts called Rocketboom. In the spring of 2006, Amanda left (or was fired) from Rocketboom and although it was a messy “break-up,” the news surrounding her departure landed in the NY Times, Washington Post, PBS and MSNBC. After Amanda’s story hit the mainstream, she hosted a summer video podcast series called Amanda Across America, sponsored by Ford and blip.tv.

While some give Amanda flack for airing her grievances with Rocketboom’s producer on her blog (complete with 224 comments), she still holds a 49% stake in Rocketboom and stands to profit from its continued success, even while she thunders on to other creative opportunities.

For this reason, Amanda is one of my top 10 savvy women in podcasting for 2006.

Technorati: amanda congdon, women in podcasting, women, women in technology, top 10, podcasting