Podonomics

During his keynote, Ron Moore, the creator of the reimagined Battlestar Galactica series, spoke about his experience podcasting.

I’m a huge BG fan, so it was rewarding to hear from the person who prompts me to lock myself in a room and turn off the ringer on my phone for 60-minutes each week.

He talked about an episode that he felt took him to a low in his professional career. Black Market, Ron said, wasn’t well done. He thought it was filled with cliches and resembled a traditional way of producing a TV show.

In the podcast he released just after the show, instead of saying that the show was a success, he decided to “be real” and admit that he wasn’t happy with it. Ron said that many wondered why he would trash his own episode, but to Ron, he couldn’t pull the wool over the eyes of his audience since they would just read through it.

Ron loves podcasting because it gives him a direct line to his audience. He can invite them into his house, set the rules, decide the content and there’s no one to interrupt them.

How many corporations can say that they can “be real” through the message they send to the media, to their customers, to their prospects? There’s so much corporate spin on a message that it’s no wonder that people tune it out and don’t trust what executives have to say.

In this era of Enron, Worldcom and now HP, people are demanding honesty and will support the corporations that embrace the communications tools that give them a perception of honesty.
Technorati: ron moore, podcast expo 2006, pme, podcasting,

Leo Laporte, hailed as the Podcaster of the Year, gave a short keynote this morning. Some points he made:

• We should look at using another name besides podcast to call what we do. Tying our name with a brand has been one of the stumbling blocks for podcasting.
• We need to build a consortium that unites the podcasting community to address issues from a united front.
• Podcast monetization is decided not by audience size, but the relationship we have with that audience. We need to work with agencies and advertisers that understand this.

Most importantly, Leo reminded us that podcasting isn’t radio, it isn’t TV. We will only succeed if we treat the monetization of podcasting differently. We should be careful not to copy the mistakes of past media.

Technorati: pme, podcasting, podcast expo 2006, leo laporte

Last night, I was overwhelmed. I took in the speakers only schmooze event and it was buzzing. I met a variety of interesting people and discovered some interesting news, so here’s a quick summary.

• The Business Podcasting Bible - Finally met Paul Colligan who has a big personality and is so in the know. He whipped out a copy of his book that he co-authored and flipped to page 245 that features my podcast monetization case study about Cubicle Divas. I practically bragged about it the entire night to anyone I met. Paul should hire me for sales.
• Robert Scoble - A simple guy with big ideas. He was wearing a black t-shirt and looked relaxed. His hair - which is blond - reminded me of a surfer dude. I liked the way he introduced himself, “Hi, I’m Robert Scoble.” That’s it. Love it.
• The Canadians - We’re such a posh group. Everytime I go to these types of conferences, the Canadians seem to gravitate towards each other, find a corner and camp there all night. The Canadians include Bruce Murray, Julien Smith, myself and (oh I forget his name) a chap from Calgary.
• Ben Williams - I think this guy’s on something because his enthusiasm was up there all night, although it’s just that he loves podcasting so much. I liked him for a couple of reasons, 1) He’s one of the few Black folks podcasting and 2) He’s actually making money helping others podcast.
• David Jackson - School of Podcasting, I met him online through Ryze and the International Podcasting Expo. Way taller in person than I thought and such an enthusiastic guy.
• Doug Kaye - Another man very excited about podcasting, he told me about a new product that Gigavox is coming out with called the Levelizer. I get a chance to play with this today when the exhibiting floor opens up.
• James Pearson - The PR guy for Audible.com. He’s married to a Canadian actress (I don’t remember her name). She starred in Show Me Yours and I remember a long time ago, she starred on this show called Dear Aunt Agnes (this is going way back). In any case, I liked James because he understands how to create a buzz using the media and he gave me a ton of ideas.

I’m off to polish up my presentation before meeting John C. Havens for breakfast. I’ll be blogging from the conference floor, so check in with me in a few hours.

Just to let you know:

• If you’re attending the PME and would like to meet up with me;
• If you can’t attend the PME and would like to get an insider’s look for your podcast;
• If you’re a journalist and need quotes for your article or program about PME or podcasting in general;

…call or text me at 647-225-3792.

Technorati: podcasting, pme, portable media expo

As you read this, I’m in the air on my way to the Podcast & Portable Media Expo. I decided to leave a couple days early to maximize my time while in Los Angeles. I’ll be meeting with other consultants and I may also take in the Podcast Academy event on Thursday before the meet & greet Thursday night with The Podcast Brothers and local media.

I’ll be presenting on the Seven Deadly Podcasting Sins to Avoid and will be basing my advice on the 7 deadly sins eg. wrath, envy, sloth, gluttony, etc. etc. Lots of stats and metrics will help me prove my points, although I’m still at a loss how I’ll cram all this information into just 45-minutes.

I plan on interviewing Ron Moore and Leo Laporte for Friday’s Podonomics episode. Because I intend it to happen, it will. So visit here on Friday to find out how both these men answer my questions.

Other than that, I’m looking forward to meeting up with Paul Colligan, Jason Van Orden, John C. Havens, Vic Podcaster, Andrew Baron and others (it’s a long list). And as per normal, I’ll be blogging from the event floor so you can live this experience with me.

See you in a few.

Technorati: podcasting, Podcast Expo 2006, paul colligan, Andrew Baron, ron moore, leo laporte, jason van orden, podcast academy

In 30-days, I’ll be making my way down to southern California for the Podcast & Portable Media Expo. While I still have to book my flight and hotel room, I’m one of the featured speakers at this event so I will be there.

And now, I can brag to anyone who will listen that I will be sharing the same stage as Ron Moore. Well, not directly, but we’ll be at the expo on the same day presenting information on podcasting to a hungry audience, albeit 6-hours apart.

Shall I scream for excitement now or when I meet him? Probably now so I don’t act like a bumbling fool or turn to gel when I finally shake hands with the man that I consider a sci fi genius. I’ll take pictures, I promise.

For those of you who don’t know (which is probably the majority of you reading this), I love Battlestar Galactica (BG). Love it! I love the show so much that I named the corporate arm of my company after the fictional planet on the show (plus, it’s a variation in spelling of my astrological sign - that’s what I tell those not versed in all things BG).

Ron Moore is the genius who brought the BG franchise back to life. I’ve seen the series from the 1970s and 1980s, and in one word - BORING. However, under Ron’s direction, the re-imagined series that debuted on The Sci Fi channel 2-years ago is by far a ratings and cult hit.

What Ron has done so well is use podcasting to answer fans’ questions about where the series is going. He also takes the time to explain why he chose to take a certain direction with a character or why a storyline turned out the way it did. He totally “gets it” when it comes to using social media - in particular podcasting - to engage in a dialogue with the fans of BG.

If you’re looking for a podcasting conference to attend where you can learn everything and anything about podcasting, I highly encourage you to make your way to the Podcast & Portable Media Expo. And look me up while you’re down there.

Technorati Tags: Podcast Expo 2006, podcasting, Ron Moore, Battlestar Galactica, Science Fiction