Podcamp Toronto was another great experience for me on Sunday although clearly Saturday was the day to go. The content was much stronger then, the turnout was much higher and I think the vibe would have been much less tired. Folks who attended on day 1 were beat by day 2 and you could tell.

Look, Sunday wasn’t all bad…there was some weird territorial drama unleashed at the wrap up session that clearly showed some folks were a bit frayed but these volunteers had worked very selflessly…so those involved get a pass on that. As surprising as it was to watch, it was also intriguing.

And yes I will go again next year.

Podcamp is a unique event…by now you’ve heard of its unconference structure…that has its pluses and minuses…mostly pluses. My overall challenge with Sunday’s content was that much of it was stuff I already knew. There wasn’t much take away I could say was a real “light bulb” moment for me. That’s the risk one takes in attending and I am cool with that.

The reward is the “law of two feet” which allowed me (and everyone else) to walk into another session if I wasn’t happy with what I was learning at present. And to be fair, when I went to go to another session, that’s where enjoyed myself the most: the hallway conversations. So there were at least two sessions I never actually got to because of these great social media hallway hookups….which sounds a lot more prurient than was the case.

Peter O'Connell (center) with Erica Bontje and Stephanie Ciccarelli from Voices.com

Meeting old friends like Leesa Barnes, Stephanie and David Ciccarelli and Julien Smith as I walked the halls at Ryerson was great fun. Making new friends like Bernard Hellen of Traffic Marketing + Design, Dave Delaney (whose company – Griffin Technology – donated a couple of prizes that I was awarded for a Podcamp Toronto audio promo that I voiced and produced), Steve Saylor – the Albino Podcaster, a woman named Ninja who was both nice and very well versed in Martial Arts….and many more.

The three standout IRL meetings for me were catching up with Dave Fleet, whose PR blog I have subscribed to for a long time – he was very gracious to introduce himself to me, thanks Dave. Sean McGaughey who has coordinated the audio promos among many of his Podcamp Toronto duties was also so kind to seek me out and I was so pleased to get to spend some time with him- Sean, thank you very much.

Finally, the individual who impressed me so much whom I had never met before was the gentleman who organized the Mentor’s Lounge. This was a place where people with expertise in a wide variety of areas….podcasting, web design, etc…would sit with those folks who had questions and a connection would be made. Sunday I volunteered to Mentor anyone on the topic of audio production and podcasting as it had been requested.

Connie Crosby (seated) and Tommy Vallier at Podcamp Toronto 2009

The guy who coordinated all this was named Tommy Vallier who is a WordPress Developer and New Media Strategist. He is also, in my opinion a pretty sharp leader and connector. As you might expect at an unconference, connection in a setting like the Mentor Lounge never ends up being as clear cut as you might think/hope.

As a result, people could have just stood around uncomfortably, not knowing what to do. Tommy connected everybody and then stepped back and let the magic happen. He did it with a great attitude and a positive team spirit. He made the Mentor Lounge.

This was a highlight of Podcamp Toronto for me and I am thankful to Tommy and all the event organizers for their efforts in making Podcamp Toronto another wonderful experience for me.

Podcamp Toronto is coming up this Saturday and Sunday. Well for me it will be Sunday (weather permitting) because Saturday is the dear boy’s birthday party, which is much more important.

But today Sean McGaughey aka ductapeguy issued on-line warrant (a meme in internet speak) and tagged all Podcamp Toronto 2009 participants (over 800 folks are registered at present) to share what they want to achieve from the event.

I usually wholeheartedly ignore these meme tags but for Podcamp Toronto I will make an exception as I think its an exceptional event. You can substitute the city of Toronto for your city (should you be having a Podcamp…and you might be) and you can compare notes with me. So here we go.

1. What are your personal goals for Podcamp?
My primary goal is simply to absorp as much new and practical information for my personal social media knowledge bank…based both on the tools I am using now and maybe even more importantly the tools I should be using. Seeing old friends and meeting new ones would be a close second.

2. What do you want to learn?
Well I guess I’d advise that you see answer #1.

3. What are you offering to share/teach others at Podcamp?
This is where I often feel I fall flat. While I have presented at Podcamp Toronto previously, I feel I have so little to offer and so much to gain. I can share my experiences in social media (everybody has them) how I apply it to my business (not anything ground breaking unless a company is doing absolutely nothing in social media at present) and how my audio production knowledge can help people produce a higher quality podcast (and I’m not sure that’s high on anyone’s agenda)

4. A little homework now: Which podcamp registrants would you like to meet? Why?
I’d like to meet any attendees whose companies are or would like to produce podcasts. I think there might be some business there for me. Podcamp is about education AND networking. But its also not about being an obnoxious sales guy so I will behave.

5. Who is your “dream interview” for your podcast? Why?
My dream interview would be Jesus Christ just because I think it would really piss off the major news media if I scooped them on that one.

6. What is your, “Can’t miss it” session at podcamp?
Obviously my focus is on Sunday so I’m looking at The Relationship Between Podcasting and Blogging: A Discussion – moderated by Jay Moonah because a discussion moderated by Jay Moonah has a pretty low sucking potential.

7. Monetize or Communitize?
Yes.

8. Who would win in a cage match: Chris Brogan, Bob Goyetche, My Marilyn, or Scarborough Dude?
Eden Spodek would whip all their sorry assess. (Can you say “whip” in a meme?)

9. In time honored meme tradition– guilt a few more people into carrying on this meme.
No. Welcome to MY tradition.

For those of you who will be there on Sunday, I really hope you’ll make a point to stop me and introduce yourselves. Thanks.

I guess when I think about it, when I came across Mitch Joel at Podcamp Toronto 2006 (I think) he was probably in the earlier stages of his Social Media career (cause Social Media itself wasn’t that much older). Maybe I will be able to say “I knew him when…”

Today in addition to running is marketing agency, Twist Image, he has become a prolific blogger and (in a slightly retro move, all things considered) newspaper columnist in addition to his weekly podcast.

Well Mitch continues to find and discuss cool things about Social Media but today he came across a very fun video about the history of the internet. The geopolitical reasons for its development and the international partnerships that built it were of news to me and gave me great perspective; to me, a perspective worth sharing.

You should take eight minutes to digest this very well produced (and obviously hugely abridged) story about the birth and growth of the internet. Thanks Mitch.

Download audio file (pcto09_promo_audiconnell.mp3)
Right click here to download this promo!

For those podcasters or bloggers who would be so inclined, please feel free to download and use my contribution to the “call to arms” (or promos, actually) for Podcamp Toronto 2009.

If you would be willing (you don’t have to) please tag the spot with the mention of the blog address (www.voxmarketising.com) the website address (www.audioconnell.com) or the audio tag “audio promo courtesy of audio’connell voice over talent – the perfect choice for an awesome voice!”

Thanks and we’ll see you there!

I hope, if you’re going to be within 2-3 hours of Toronto on February 21-22, you’ll stop by Rogers Communications Centre at Ryerson University for Podcamp Toronto 2009.

To learn about social media at any level (newbie, intermediate, pro) and maybe even more importantly to actually meet the people who make up the community, this event is unparalleled.

The event is free. The people are smart and friendly. Go there.

It looks like this event will conflict with my son’s birthday party on Saturday (discussions are on going though I do prioritize birthday cake over podcamps) but I fully intend to be there on Sunday.

Got word last night off the wiki from Connie Crosby that Podcamp Toronto is set for February 21 and 22 again at Ryerson University (a great set up for the camp).

Now I am pretty sure already that some how that date could interfere with my son’s first birthday party unless we do it the weekend before or the week after….and if you’ve got people traveling from out of town, the later in February they have to travel to Buffalo, the better. So we’ll see how THAT discussion goes.

But be that as it may or may not, save the date and stay in touch. It should be great, especially if YOU are there.