2007 PNME After Thoughts

Five O'Clock Shadow 75

Originally uploaded by evo_terra

So the 2007 "Podcast Expo" has come to a close. I've been fortunate enough to attend since the beginning, all three years. And I've already booked my hotel at next years event, the 2008 New Media Expo. Yeah... another name change. :)

The expo is always an interesting and exciting time for me, as I get to meet 5 groups of people.

Listeners and/or fans
The first group is always a rush. Yes, as I said on one of the talks I gave, I'm in this for the ego boost. I'm in it for lots of other reasons, too. But the ego boost ranks right up there. As the PotUSA say, 'Everybody wants to be naked and famous'. These people can recharge me after a long day (or the morning after a longer night) without fail. Heck, it happened in the airport on the way home, when I was moments from curling up in corner waiting for the flight. Nope, wide awake afterwards and buzzing again!

Old friends
The second group is the "fall back" collective. I don't mean that in a bad way. I think of these people as family (others have called it a Tribe), and it's the most natural thing to walk up to them in the middle of a conversation and just chime in, with not much more preamble than a much-needed hug to kick things off. I truly love these people. The composition changes from conference to convention -- as does their size -- but they remain an unwaivering highlight of any trip.

Expo friends
Something strange happens every year at the Expo. I see a group of people -- some 20 or so -- who I only see once a year: at the Expo. The rest of the year, our correspondence is usually limited to the occasional Skype or email conversation, though it's been boosted this year by the advent of Twitter. But outside of that, I only see these people at the Expo, and every time we meet, we fall right back into the friendship like it's been some unit of time a lot smaller than a whole year. And when we said our goodbyes this year, it was with calls of "See you in Vegas!". There's something magical about a friendship that needs no more -- or less -- work than that.

Virtual friends
Though the Expo didn't grow a whole lot this year over last, I've gotten to know a lot more people in the new media space than before. And though we've never met, we've struck up a friendship thanks to the interwebs. Over last weekend, I got to move a lot of those into one of the two previous categories. But I'll keep making online friends through the course of this year, and I'll finally get a chance to meet them next year in Vegas.

Soon-to-be friends
But of course, no Expo would be complete without someone acting as a 'connector', dragging me along and saying "You have got to meet this person!" I do, and many times that connection leads to something more. Other times it comes from a turning to the guy or gal on the barstool next to me and saying "Hi. Tell me your story". Or maybe I heard them speak and made it a point to go out of my way to strike up a conversation. I look forward to the next year where I can get to know them better and grow the friendship. And when we meet again, we'll see which category they move into!

I'll end with a thought: as much as I enjoy the "social" aspect of the Expo, not everyone wants, needs or maybe even understands what it is that I and just about everyone listed above is talking about. At the Expo, I know for a fact that many people attended the sessions, walked the Expo floor, found a place to have dinner, and then retired to their rooms to watch TV or work the night away. All while us social butterflies partied the night away. And that's OK. People have different wants and needs. We should all be wary of assuming that what we think is required to make the show successful is really what is required to make the show successful for everyone else. I'll have more to say on this in the coming weeks/months.

And in case I don't see you before: see you in Vegas!

Hang with me at the PNME 2007

As the Lovely Wife is upstairs packing for the event, and I sit here trying to finish my presentation, it occurs to me that I need to post the "official" agenda of where and when I'll be at the Portable and New Media Expo, happening the for three fun-filled days in Ontario California. Here's the plan:

Thursday
8:00 PM - We arrive at the Expo
9:00 PM - Raw Voice party- Marriott, Suite TBD

Friday
7:30 AM - Association for Downloadable Media meeting - Convention Center, Ballroom A
9:00 AM - Keynote - Convention Center, Ballroom C
10:00 AM - Selling the Unique Value of Your Content - Convention Center, Ballroom C
2:00 PM - Interview with Lulu TV - Location TBD
3:15 PM - Understanding Your Content Liability Risks in New Media - Convention Center, Ballroom B
6:30 PM - Dr Floyd Live - Marriott, Meeting Room #36
8:00 PM - Culture Catch Salon - Convention Center, Hall B
8:30 PM - Technorama Live - Marriott, Meeting Room #36
9:00 PM - Podcast Pickle Party - Marriott, Room TBD

Saturday
7:30 AM - Homefries Breakfast - The Spires
9:00 AM - Keynote - Convention Center, Ballroom C
10:30 AM - Selling Advertising and Sponsorships for Your Audio or Video Content - Convention Center, Ballroom C
12:30 PM - Presenting From Commentors to Contributors: Building Rabid Fans - Convention Center, Expo Floor, Podango Stage
2:00 PM - Presenting Veterans of the Yahoo! Podcasting Board - Convention Center, Ballroom B
3:15 PM - How to Generate Buzz and Extend Your Brand with Social Media, Convention Center, Ballroom A
4:30 PM - Meeting with Wizzard- private
6:30 PM - 1st Annual New Media Expo Concert - Convention Center, Hall B
8:00 PM - Wizzard Media party - Doubletree, Room TBD

Sunday
9:00 AM - Keynote - Convention Center, Ballroom C
11:45 AM - Creative Ways to Grow Your Audience Every Week - Convention Center, Ballroom A
12:30 PM - Presenting Writer’s Panel - Convention Center, Expo Floor, L.A. Podcasters Booth 607
3:00 PM - Head to the airport

Of course, this is a planned schedule. Plans are subject to change, shiny objects, beer and too much beer. Any free time after noon will probably result in me holding court at the bar at the Marriott. Come hang, and I'll see you there!

Customers, Service Providers, or People?

Five O'Clock Shadow 74

Originally uploaded by evo_terra

The client/service provider relationship is a time-honored tradition. From this we have added many terms to our cultural lexicon, the greatest likely being "the customer is always right".

I wonder.

No, strike that. I think it's wrong.

As a customer, I don't want any special treatment. If I yell and scream at you, I expect you to fix whatever is broken.

But if I yell and scream at you and it turns out I'm wrong, I expect you to yell and scream back. I mean... come on. That's how we'd do it in the real world, right?

What is it with this artificial "Customer" mantle we've created? Why do we think it makes other people immune to responding back to us as real people? I don't want to do it this way anymore. Lords know it gets worse in an anonymous intrawebs environment, but it happens in the real world, too.

So that's it. I'm officially turning in my Customer hat. I'm just a person. I'm also turning in my Service Provider hat¹. I'm just a person. I sometimes shout. I sometimes curse. I sometimes overreact. So do you. So do we all. Let the chips fall where they may.

And I really don't care if money is involved or not. I'm still dealing with someone, and I hope they don't respond like a robot to anything I do or say just to improve the odds that I might continue spending money with them. I'd rather spend my time cultivating relationships with people who expect to be treated like people than some illusionary Customer which means jack-shit at the end of the day.

^{1 - And for the record, I spent way too many years in the service industry. I think I still am in the service industry. But I'm pretty sure that everyone in this industry and everyone who this industry services are still people.}

The Two Faces of Evo

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Originally uploaded by evo_terra

I have a confession to make. I've been secretly moonlighting on all of you. And while I cannot apologize for my actions, I can fess up and offer full disclosure. Hey, I did it for you.

Well... some of you. OK, a few of you. And it is to those few -- those who are interested in online advertising and marketing -- who I am now speaking. If that's not you, then I have good news: you probably won't have to read much more of me talking about those things here.

It is with mixture of excitement and trepidation that I announce the unveiling of a blog I've kicked off for Blue Ribbon Digital, the company for which I am gainfully employed. We're a digital advertising agency, and my posts (as well as posts from others in the agency) will be about the specialties of BRD, changes in the online advertising space and how large companies can spend piles and piles of cash to make piles and piles of cash.

No, it's probably not what most of you are interested in hearing from me, Evo. So fine. Stay here and enjoy as I talk about lots of other things. But for the small number of you who care about those things or are at least moderately interested in what my alter-ego Travis has to say, please check it out. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Maybe tomorrow I'll talk about how stinking cool Jangl is, and how damned hard it is to type that without an 'e' at the end.

Sigler v. Hendrix smackdown audio posted

OK, so "smackdown" may be taking things a bit to far. For background on what this all about, look I talked about if on this website as well as on the Podiobooks.com blog. BoingBoing tipped me off about the event first. The discussion was last week, and those following me on Twitter got a play by play.

Rick K, editor for The Agony Column brought his mics, mixer and general love of recording and editing interview. That saves you having to suffer through me getting to it. The audio is now live, with lots of links to the charity that brought these two together.

The image is courtesy of Stephen Jacob who has a whole set of photos from the event.

The Electric Church by Jeff Somers

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Originally uploaded by evo_terra

I got up early this morning to knock out the final couple of chapters in Jeff Somer's debut novel¹, The Electric Church. Sucks that I have to buy books now, but such is life.

I picked up The Electric Church on a whim. Was in B&N, didn't know what I wanted, saw this on an end-cap and thought it looked interesting. What an understatement. Near future dystopian tale where a hired gun tries to take down a wacky religion and the establishment? Color me there!

This is a really well told tale. Full of nearly non-stop action, I wanted to read it all in one sitting. And while this is a stand-alone novel, it's set up to be an ongoing series. I'll definitely be getting the next one as well.

Evo rating: 4.5 damn dirty apes!

^{1 - I think it's his first one to be published. He's written more, but I don't think those have been published. Maybe they should be. Or maybe they should get out into the world by some alternate means?}

Turning the bullhorn around

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Originally uploaded by evo_terra

I get the occasional message, post, or tweet something to the effect of "why don't you post more frequently?" It's a valid question, and one that has a very good answer.

Though I really enjoy exploring the implications of changes in the web, social structure and just about anything else that strikes my fancy, sometimes I need to engage in another activity:

Listening

Contrary to popular belief, I do not know it all. In a similar vein, I cannot instantly process it all. Listening leads to consideration. Consideration leads to exploration. Exploration leads to understanding. Understanding leads to knowledge. And somewhere in there, the Force is supposed to be mentioned, but you get where I'm going.

Lately, I've been doing a lot of listening. Who do you listen to? Other than me, of course.