Today my friend and client Leesa Barnes came to Buffalo to speak at a lunch seminar hosted by the Buffalo Niagara Sales and Marketing Executives. She didn’t come in from her hometown Toronto either, she flew in via Las Vegas having attended and presented at the National Association of Broadcasters convention there.

Having gone through airplane connection hell in her travels back, Leesa tweeted me this AM asking if I would be able to pick her up at Buffalo Niagara International Airport. After we agreed to the fare… (just kidding!)

Glad to see her in action, presenting “Be Marketing Fit: 3 Ways to Get Active Using Social Media”. The 30+ in attendance really enjoyed her content as did I.

Leesa and I first met up in Toronto when Social Media and Social Networking were first starting via an international on-line networking group called Ryze. The Toronto Ryze chapter actually had in-person meetings and I would go up to TO and make contacts. That group eventually faded away.

Then she told me about the first Podcamp Toronto, which was great. Subsequently I’ve done voice over work for her podcasting clients and her podcasts as well.

But there you have another use for Twitter and Social Media…hailing a cab, or a ride anyway, from the airport. Monetize that, pal! 🙂

Tags: commentary, podcamptoronto, podcasting, social media, social networking, twitter by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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While an idea that has come to my mind is not original in the blogosphere, it is original to my blog as I have never invited guest bloggers to participate here with their thoughts. While comments and discussion are more than welcome always, I just never organized guest blog posts before.

Now that’s changing.

Those of you involved with voice over may have opinions on our industry that you’d like to flesh out a bit further. But you may not want to blog regularly or even have your own blog…so use my soapbox for a moment. I may act like I never get off it but I am truly interested in your opinions.

Here is what I am proposing and inviting any of you to participate in on voxmarketising.com’s latest experiment

• I will present a topic for anyone to submit their blog post on within a set time frame (likely a week).
• Depending on the response (hopefully not crickets) I’ll post them with your by-line etc. NOTE: If I think your post has no merit or is poorly written…I won’t post it. Know that now and don’t be mad/sad with me later. My house, my rules (just practicing that line for when my kids get bigger)
• Please keep your length to about 500 words or less if possible.
• Please include a one to two line infomercial about you, your company name, web site and something interesting about yourself so that I can include that as an “author’s information” tag at the end of the post.
• Be polite etc., if you’re rude or slanderous (or even rude and slanderous etc.) I won’t publish you. (again, my house, my rules)
• Make sure you properly credit any sources, especially if you include any audio or video clips (obviously include their embedded code etc)
• As it’s my blog I reserve the right to append your post for grammar, length or any other reason as I see fit. No I don’t intend to screw with your intent and if you don’t like my changes you may ask me to take down your post and I will. (MYMR)

Now here’s a cool twist (or what I think is a cool twist). Again based on responses, what I hope to do is take a few of the authors on the topic, Skype them and do a round table recording where they can chat (debate?) the topic with points from their posts. The give and take would make a cool VMT interview for my podcast….with added exposure for the participants.

>>> My first topic?

If you were advising someone at any point in their VO career how to produce a terrific commercial voice over demo – what would you tell them are the top 5 elements that they need to include in that demo and why?

This idea may be a resounding success or a dismal failure but I believe you miss 100% of the shots you never take.

Email your posts to me at peter at audioconnell dot com and let’s enjoy the ride together! Thanks.

Tags: audio'connell voice over talent, blogs, commentary, internet, podcast, podcasting, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover advice, voiceover blog by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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Andy Richter will rejoin Conan O’Brien when Conan begins hosting The Tonight Show on June 1st. Here’s the release from NBC.

Two really quick points on this (or sorta quick):

1. This is a great move because the two of them had such great chemistry on Late Night with Conan O’Brien before Andy left to try other things. Joel Goddard was a terrific announcer for Conan and as Conan noted Joel would do anything the writers asked him to do (some very odd stuff I probably wouldn’t have had the courage/desire to do) but I think Conan recognizes there is a different vibe with the Tonight Show.

2. Yes, you are owed a podcast on results from the unofficial Late Night With Jimmy Fallon announcer auditions. It’s coming. Work is busy which is good for revenues and bad for podcasting.

Tags: announcers, NBC Television Network, podcasting, voice casting, voice talent by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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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.

Tags: blogs, commentary, pcto09, podcamptoronto, podcamptoronto2009, podcasting, social media, social networking by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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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.

Tags: blogs, commentary, internet, marketing, pcto09, podcamptoronto, podcasting, social media, social networking by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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[audio:http://www.audioconnell.com/clientuploads/mp3/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!

Tags: advertising, blogs, commentary, commercials, internet, marketing, pcto09, podcamptoronto, podcamptoronto2009, podcasting, public service announcement, social media, technology, voiceover blog by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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