The gentlemen who organize the event, Tim and Emil Bourquin, are calling the 2007 expo a success for all on their latest Podcast Brothers episode. I can’t say that I agree. If you paid for a booth on the exhibition floor in 2007 you didn’t get very strong traffic.

Tim and Emil are making changes to the name and location of the Expo for 2008. In 2008 the gathering will simply be called the New Media Expo. The venue will also be changed to Las Vegas, NV from Ontario, California. I don’t know that these changes will necessarily help attendance. More people will certainly be attracted to Vegas but once there they may find the many distractions more interesting.

It is very likely that traffic to the Expo from podcasters will be very light next year. First off, with the word podcast excised from the name I think that many podcasters are going to get the feeling that they’re not as welcome. My perception as a longtime podcaster is that there is a distinct difference in the vibe of podcasters as opposed the many generic new media types out there. The shift in traffic will be better for the Expo but not necessarily good for the podcasting community.

I think you’ll see more mainstream press, public relations and corporate marketing folks at the 2008 expo. These are the people that live at Las Vegas conferences. And with Vegas being more expensive than Ontario those types of people will be the ones who can actually afford the trip.

None of this news is bad for podcasting. I think that 2007 is the year when the community came together on their own terms. That’s because PodCamp has come of age. What Chris Brogan and Christopher Penn started in 2006 has exploded.

I count sixteen completed PodCamp events worldwide in 2007. There are six more PodCamps planned this year including Perth, Australia and Cape Town, South Africa. The local nature of these events makes it eminently more convenient for people to go to a local event to get their podcast community fix rather than heading across the country or the world to go to a gathering.

You will ultimately make your own decisions about going to these types of events. For 2008 I think I’m turning over a new leaf and committing to going local on these events as much as I can.

© Robert J. Safuto - visit the Awakened Voice Blog for more great content.

They need to have one of these soirées on the East Coast too!

[tags]Social Media, WordPress, WordCamp[/tags]

© Robert J. Safuto - visit the Awakened Voice Blog for more great content.

This will surely be a tech love in of amazing proportions.

[tags]Social Media, Event, Unconference, BarCampUSA[/tags]

© Robert J. Safuto - visit the Awakened Voice Blog for more great content.

- Participant at DrupalCampNYC2

[tags]Drupal, DrupalCampNYC2[/tags]

© Robert J. Safuto - visit the Awakened Voice Blog for more great content.

[tags]Social Media, Tools, Events, Drupal, DrupalCamp[/tags]

© Robert J. Safuto - visit the Awakened Voice Blog for more great content.

The next Podcast Expo is also sporting a new name, adding the word ‘New‘ and removing ‘Portable‘ from the title.

The email I received had some details on what’s new, including “In 2007 we’ll have an expanded focus on video podcasting and production as well as sessions on advanced techniques to grow your audience.”

The expo will be held at the Ontario Convention Center (in California not Canada) as in previous years. The third day will be on Sunday so the dates are Sept. 28 thru 30. Early bird registration is $199 and includes access to all conference sessions.

If you are into podcasting and new media then this is a worthwhile event. I have attended the past two years and have learned a lot about the people, tools and organizations powering social media. The Exhibit Hall and Keynotes (free once again) alone are very worthwhile. Plus the networking opportunities with everyone from individual podcast producers to tech industry heavyweights are plentiful.

[tags]Social Media, Podcasting , Podcast Expo, Conference[/tags]

© Robert J. Safuto - visit the Awakened Voice Blog for more great content.

If you must have any more evidence of that fact consider that at least a half dozen more of these events are taking place worldwide over the next six months in the following locales:

• San Francisco (I’ll Be There!)
• Germany
• Philadelphia
  
• Toronto
• Atlanta
• New York

There are more to come as well. And the Pittsburgh PodCamp is happening as we speak. So those who think that podcasting is a fad should probably stop by an event and see what its all about.

[tags]Social Media, Podcasting, Podcamp, Podcamp West[/tags]

© Robert J. Safuto - visit the Awakened Voice Blog for more great content.

According to their official website, “PodcastCon 2006 will include more time for everyone attending to network, chat, discover and inspire each other. What’s more there’ll be top quality insight and discussion sparked by a sparkling array of panellists.”

The event is taking place at CCT Smithfield in London and the registration fee is  £41.50.

[tags]Social Media, Podcasting, PodcastCon UK, Conference[/tags]

© Robert J. Safuto - visit the Awakened Voice Blog for more great content.

Stay up to date, register or offer support via the wiki and group.

[tags]Social Media, Podcasting, Podcamp, Podcamp NYC[/tags]

© Robert J. Safuto - visit the Awakened Voice Blog for more great content.

Here are some of the more notable no shows:

• Apple - The mack daddy of podcasting kept an ultra low profile at the event. I know that there was at least one person there who works on the iTunes music store. You wouldn’t have known it unless you bumped into him though. They didn’t even except their award for Best Podcast Directory. They’re successful enough so they don’t have to take part. It would be nice if they did though.
• Odeo - I didn’t even hear the word ‘Odeo’ uttered once. Last year I heard the word all over the place. No booth and no meaningful representation for a company that launched to much fanfare in 2005. Perhaps they are working on a plan for the next year and didn’t have time to make it down the pike to Ontario.
• Pluggd - Another Odeo-like player who fronts cool technology and Ajax driven interfaces. Like Odeo, there’s no discernable business model. The 2006 Podcast Expo would be a good place to go fishing for one. They passed in favor of DEMO. And they did so right on the heels of announcing some promising technology for searching audio and video files. They’re obviously looking ahead to bigger rounds of funding.
• PodShow - PodShow’s various personalities were there, but the company wasn’t really represented. Podcasters were invited to the Un-Expo which meant a poolside hang with the cool kids and a chance to be told to remove your podcasts from Blubrry if you sign one of their contracts. Where is this company going and what can they really do to help podcaster’s spread their message? Those were the questions I would like to ask their leadership. Too bad they were busy performing juvenile stunts inside a Hummer limousine. With the new round of funding its pretty obvious that PodShow will soon go past podcasting and move into mainstream media.

Does skipping the biggest event of the year in Podcasting mean doom for these big players in the industry? Most likely not. Apple is very successful with podcasting because their directory serves to increase sales in the iTunes music store. PodShow has proven they can bring in cash via ad deals and partnerships such as BT Podshow.I hear their burn rate is $500K per month though and they may need the long tail users when they’ve whittled down their VC pile back to the six digit range.

Odeo seems to be regrouping by laying off (yes firing) some managers and eliminating the Audioblogger project. They’ve got a decent amount of cash and some time to figure out a sustainable strategy. Pluggd is the most vulnerable player in my opinion. They have the smallest amount of funding and their directory has a smaller user base than the other three players. That said, they also have the most promising technology with their new HearHere media search tool at the early demo stage. If anyone should have been at the Expo it should have been Pluggd. This was a chance to connect with users and explain why people should go with Pluggd over Odeo or Podshow. Alas, the opporunity was missed.

We hear that the 2007 Podcast Expo will be three days long, which leaves plenty of time for networking, demoing and wooing the long tail users in the podcast community. The smart players in the podcasting game will make sure they are represented next year.

[tags]Social Media, Podcasting, Podcast Expo, Apple, iTunes, Odeo, Pluggd, HearHere, PodShow[/tags]

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A comparison to last year is inevitable. Many of the same people and companies were in attendance, although some took a different approach. Gary Leland of Podcast Pickle had a great booth last year complete with huge jars of pickles and a live recording setup. This year he opted for a Pickle Suit and a the Presidential Suite at the Marriott, which was occupied in ‘05 by PodTrac. Audible was back in a less prominent position on the Expo floor. Is anyone using Audible for podcasting?

PodTrac was back, throwing a party at the Pavillion near the Marriott pool with an impromtu performance by Brother Love. Last year Yahoo threw the big party near the pool. LibSyn was in attendance, sporting racing outfits and touting a new pro service. And just like last year, PodShow officially opted out of the event while some of Adam Curry’s minions attempted to lure podcasters away from the action to have a snooze by the pool at the Sheraton.

There was plenty of new blood in the house as well. Podango and Podcast Ready occupied very prominent spots near the entry to the exhibit hall. Podango held an “unconference” where people were constantly speaking. That’s one way to keep the conversation off of the holes in your service. Have other folks talking constantly. Podzinger showed up to show people about podcast search services.

New podcast services firms abounded offering various levels of service. Raw Voice came on strong with their Raw Voice Generator and Blubrry offerings. They had a friendly crew giving people demos at their booth. Podcast Spot was talking up some impressive server side features for video podcasts. SwitchPod is run by a seventeen year old and feels like the young newcomer to the space. The folks from Blip.tv made the trip from New York to promote their robust video blog/podcast services.

Hardware and software providers made the trip as well. Samson and Shure were showing off some great mics. TechSmith was showing off the Camtasia product and giving a glimpse of their new Screencast.com service. Rogue Amoeba was featuring some great audio software for Macs. FeedBurner had a couch and was giving away some t-shirts and helping people figure out the details of their RSS enhancement services.

I could go on but you get the picture. The Ontario Convention Center was transformed into a social media mecca. I can’t forget the podcasters though. The L.A. Podcasters, Orange County Podcasters and Red Bar Radio were doing live shows from the Expo floor. Keith and the Girl were doing shows from their hotel room. Dozens of other podcasters (including me) were doing shows in the hallways of the convention center and the hotels where they were staying.

This post could go on a lot longer so I’ll do my best to make the ending concise. I didn’t get to see or hear nearly everything that went on at the Expo but I think I have a good feel for how it turned out. I’ve got three conclusions based on what I experienced.

1. This movement is going forward at a nice pace. There were more podcasters, more vendors and more parties than last year. People have no problem investing their time and money to be at the center of independent media distribution. All good things for podcasting.
2. There are more tools and services available at the individual and commercial level to assist with all aspects of podcasting. Simpler is better for beginners but options help bring down costs and competition usually means better features. Not all of the new services and products are ready for primetime.
3. The long tail is alive and well. The exhibitors who showed up were generally selling to individuals and small businesses. There are people who have no problem selling to small frys and growing their products and services from the ground up. The same thing holds true on the podcasting end. Lots of relatively new podcasters showed up expecting to grow their shows.

So the tone was positive. There were lots of good contacts made by myself and others. I look forward to the 2007 Expo which just might be in Las Vegas.

[tags]Social Media, Podcasting, Podcast Expo[/tags]

© Robert J. Safuto - visit the Awakened Voice Blog for more great content.

[tags]Social Media, Podcasting, Podcast Expo, A Billion Voices, Awakened Voice[/tags]

© Robert J. Safuto - visit the Awakened Voice Blog for more great content.

The better part also means that I’m excited to explore the Expo floor in search of new or improved product and service offerings that can enhance the podcast experience for both the producer and the subscriber. Last year I found out about PodTrac, Audible WordCast and got to meet some of the folks behind FeedBurner and LibSyn. I’m very interested to hear what these folks will have to offer in the upcoming year.

In keeping with the Expo theme my plan is to focus the considerable assets of Awakened Voice on podcasting for the next week. That means blog posts, podcasts, lessons and maybe an entry or two for the social media wiki. On the podcast side I plan to try and interview a few of the people who are maintaining services that business can use to spread the word via podcasting. I’d also like to interview some business people that have been using podcasting as a tool.

For the learning center I’ve got a two part tour of the functionality of the Blubrry podcast community. I’ll try to create one or two more podcasting related lessons as time allows.

Now for the worse portion of my time at the Expo. Of course this depends on the way you look at it, but I’m going to be on the lookout for podcast charlatans. Podcast charlatans are the folks who are selling a phony bill of goods making outrageous claims without any reasonable data to back it up. I’ll also be on the lookout for people selling vaporware. I think it is very important that people reading this blog get the straight skinny on the tools and services available to them. Hence my tough but certainly very fair approach.

I plan on achieving my goal by asking pointed questions while taking no statement for granted. I want to get past the marketing hype and delve into the gritty details of the topics that I cover. I won’t be a yes man and I won’t be a cheerleader for the sake of cheerleading. Some folks who know that this is my approach might avoid me. Others who have the goods may seek me out. I have a feeling that there will be plenty of people to talk with one way or the other.

So if you’re going to be there I look forward to meeting you. And if you’re going to be somewhere else I’ll do what I can to bring the vibe and tone of the Expo to you via my social media channels.

[tags]Social Media, Podcasting, Podcast Expo, Blubrry, Conference[/tags]

© Robert J. Safuto - visit the Awakened Voice Blog for more great content.

According to the official website, “We’re hoping you can join us to compare notes and discover the latest tools and techniques that will help you take your blogging, videoblogging, and podcasting efforts to the next level.”

Registration for the two day workshop plus pre-conference is $995.00. The full two day conference fee is $695.

[tags]Social Media, Blogging, Business, Blog Business Summit, Conference[/tags]

© Robert J. Safuto - visit the Awakened Voice Blog for more great content.

PodCamp

They also recently announced that they will be having an Expo floor of sorts where sponsors can show their wares and pitch their services. I hope I won’t have to parade past a bunch of hard pitches on the way into a discussion. Given that this is an unconference I think that the sponsors names should be mentioned as supporting the various parts of the event and then that’s it.

Several sponsorship opportunities are still available for those interested in supporting PodCamp. Individual donations are being accepted as well. I am a bit disconcerted that the link for donations goes to the page (and apparently the PayPal account) for a particular podcast. Nothing untoward about that I’m sure. In the spirit of the event I think that they should have a separate page and bank account for donations.

[tags]Social Media, Podcasting, PodCamp, Podcamp Boston, Conference, Unconference[/tags]

© Robert J. Safuto - visit the Awakened Voice Blog for more great content.

Wikimania is taking place August 4th thru 6th in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

According to the official conference website, “Wikimania brings together members of the various Wikimedia projects in order to exchange ideas, build relationships, and report on research and project efforts. It also provides an opportunity for Wikimedians and the general public alike to meet and share ideas about free and open source software, free knowledge initiatives, and wiki projects worldwide.”

Registration is $100 per day or $270 for all three days. The presentation list is impressive. This is definitely a must attend event for anyone passionate about Wikis.

I better get this listed over on the Social Media Wiki

[tags]Social Media, Wiki, Conference, Wikimania[/tags]

© Robert J. Safuto - visit the Awakened Voice Blog for more great content.

Just announced, WordCamp is set to take place in San Francisco, CA on August 5, 2006. Attendance is free and according to the WordCamp website the purpose of the event is, “To figure out the next generation of publishing on the web.”

[tags]Social Media, Conferences, Wordpress, WordCamp[/tags]

© Robert J. Safuto - visit the Awakened Voice Blog for more great content.

According to the official PodCamp website, “PodCamp is a BarCamp-style meetup for podcasters and listeners, bloggers and readers, and new media types of all stripes.”

Venue details are to be announced but they promise that it will be accesible via public transportation. In the spirit of the unconference registration is free and registrants are asked to pitch in with the production of the event.

[tags]Social Media, Podcasting, Unconference, PodCamp Boston[/tags]

© Robert J. Safuto - visit the Awakened Voice Blog for more great content.

According to the official conference website, “This year, there will be no speakers at Gnomedex. There will be no panels, either. We realize this is a radical departure from the norm, but there’s a method to our madness.”

Registration for the conference is $499. You can keep track of news related to the event here.

[tags]Social Media, Blogging, Gnomedex[/tags]

© Robert J. Safuto - visit the Awakened Voice Blog for more great content.

Bloggercon

According to the official Bloggercon website, “The goal of the conference is to bring together people who wish to talk about the art and science of blogging, podcasting, video, syndication, unconferences, and related topics. Contexts for discussion will include politics, academia, libraries, publishing, and… ?”

The cost to attend Bloggercon is $0. Seems right to me. June is certainly going to be a busy month for conferences.

[tags]Social Media, Blogging, Bloggercon[/tags]

© Robert J. Safuto - visit the Awakened Voice Blog for more great content.

The event will take place at the Stamford Marriott and the event fee is $300.

[tags]Social Media, Conferences[/tags]

© Robert J. Safuto - visit the Awakened Voice Blog for more great content.

The Podcast Academy at the Boston University School of Communications is streaming content from the sessions online. If you missed today’s sessions I understand that they will be made available as podcasts at a later date.

Tomorrow you can start watching at 9AM. Just go to this webcast link to get in on the sessions.

[tags]Social Media, Podcasting, Podcast Academy[/tags]

© Robert J. Safuto - visit the Awakened Voice Blog for more great content.

According to the conference website, “the attendee will have a good overview of what is going on with the new social media/internet marketing tools so that making way for something new only supports the strong mission and direction of any successful company.”

More detailed information is forthcoming and tickets should be available in the coming week.

[tags]Social Media, Conferences[/tags]

© Robert J. Safuto - visit the Awakened Voice Blog for more great content.

The Corporate Podcasting Summit is taking place on June 20 and 21 in San Francisco, CA.

According to the conference website, “The Corporate Podcasting Summit aims to bring calm to the hearts of many, and create a unique meeting place for the podcasting and business communities to get the definitive low-down on the what, the where, the how and the why of podcasting for your business.”

The cost for the conference is between $595 and $795 depending on when you register for the conference.

This is a welcome addition to the slate of 2006 Social Media conferences. I think it’s about time that businesses had a forum for using the power of podcasting in an effective manner. I’ll be keeping up with the latest conference updates via their blog.

[tags]Social Media, Conferences, Podcasting, Corporate Podcasting Summit[/tags]

© Robert J. Safuto - visit the Awakened Voice Blog for more great content.

The conference will take place in Kingston, Ontario on June 23rd and 24th. There’s not much info on the overall goal of the event but it looks like they’ve lined up a list of folks who will be talking all things podcasting.

The cost of the event varies from $75 CDN (before May 2nd) to $100 CDN (after May 2nd). Find out more about the event and accomodations here.

[tags]Social Media, Conferences, Podcasters Across Borders, Podcasting[/tags]

© Robert J. Safuto - visit the Awakened Voice Blog for more great content.