Shall I see you in Boston during the weekend of October 26th?
Only if you’re at Podcamp Boston 2 taking place at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.
Join me and maybe thousands of my podcasting and blogging brethren and sisterthren and what is sure to be a lot of learning, a lot of networking and a lot of fun.
You can read all about it here…oh yeah, and it’s free.
I get funny looks for audio production students when I tell them that when I started in radio “100 years ago” we edited audio on audio tape with a wax pencil, razor blades and ¼” editing tape.
“You mean like sticky tape to hang things on the wall?”
Um, no. Never mind.
I had to have sounded the same way when I first started out when I heard about the audio tricks of those who came before me. Those ladies and gentlemen were true pioneers, not in the Conestoga Wagon kind of way but in the wonderfully inventive “MacGyver” way.
I bring this up to share with you a site I’ve come across that features a variety of technical articles reproduced for your reading pleasure on a blog called Modern Mechanix which I believe (correct me if I’m wrong here) was a tech mag “back in the day” (you do realize that today will be “back in the day” for someone in the future, right? Just checking.)
The post that first drew my attention was an article from 1937 on how Walt Disney Studios designed its sound effects…written by the folks who did it. There are a ton of other great radio and audio related articles with the hits and misses from creative people who tried…and to me, that’s the whole ball game. Try and succeed, try and fail but just “try”.
A great blog design without good writing is like a bubble gum comic….it’s a passable idea but who cares?
Likewise, good blog writing is meaningless if it’s presented within a wishy-washy design.
And if you want to highlight your podcast, then all of that becomes a bit more complicated.
Well today Mitch Joel of Twist Image unveiled his new design and rebranded Six Pixels of Separation Blog and Podcast site.
If his company uses just this site as its design-content-web functionality calling card…Twist Image may not have actually write many more new business marketing/advertising/podcasting/public relations proposals. You can see it from the first page.
And he writes well.
THAT’S how its done, folks. Take note.
BTW, I’d be remiss if I didn’t direct you to Mitch’s recent podcast on the Toronto Geek Dinner, which I wrote about recently. Listen to the interviews (not because I’m on it) but for the various opinions and uses for blogging and podcasting….totally unique perspectives unedited and rolling live from people all using the same tools. And a great steak dinner, I might add.
Some of the more market savvy of readers of this blog (you know that’s you, not those “other” readers ((sarcasm dripping))) have likely come across Seth Godin’s blog which is creatively entitled “Seth Godin’s Blog.”
Seth has written a number of fairly successful marketing books and I enjoy his daily insights into our world and how we all market within it.
As a published author, Seth has a unique perspective allowing him to wax philosophically (and with a degree of “been there done that” credibility) about audio books and their value in the marketplace. As a voice talent / voice actor who narrates audio books on occasion (when I’m not waxing floors), I’d really like to see the audio book industry shaken up a bit too (only for the good).
Some of the most recent books I’ve enjoyed have been audio books, experienced primarily on long car rides. For those folks with interminable commutes, audio books can be a great educational tool or getaway…all the while not ruining your eyes or wrecking your car.
But the expense and the dearth of titles have not allowed the genre to flourish. Seth’s idea may help that situation. At the very least, let’s hope it starts a discussion.
There are savvier people than I (amazing, huh?! 🙂 ) who spend megabytes and hours defining and debating social media and web 2.0 while the rest of the world yawns and says “I need to make business contacts to make money to pay my mortgage and maybe go out to dinner.”
I’m professionally drawn to those select few in these web communities who both talk AND walk the walk of social media and online communities. These people help other professionals (like me) build my business financially with their insight and experience, they help me learn about fast changing trends within what I believe will prove to be a major shift in the way business is conducted locally, nationally and internationally, as well as provide introductions to people who can help me and (equally as important) who I can help as well.
But to benefit from what is certainly for me an imperfect learning experience (which may be a polysyllabic synonym for “life”) I know that I have to actively participate and do so with an open mind. These communities are filled with folks mostly younger and waaay smarter than me and we meet having vastly different life experiences…finding common ground is part of the fun. For the old schoolers out there, the process I’m speaking about is nothing more than a virtual networking system or event that, if one is fortunate, morphs into a real life networking event.
All this pre-ambling is a way of giving you insight into why I write a great deal in this blog about social media and applicable internet trends/tools and why I attended the Toronto Geek Dinner on Wednesday evening. I’ll start by answering your top three questions (see, I’m getting so much smarter that I know you’re questions before you’ve asked them!)
What is a Geek Dinner?These dinners area random get-together of professionals from the worlds of Marketing, Communications, Advertising, Public Relations, Blogging and Podcasting. The Geek Dinner is where their worlds collide…in a very professional way, of course.
How does one get invited to a Geek Dinner? Basically, someone takes the lead and puts it together then puts out the word. Mitch Joel, he of the Twist Image blog out of beautiful Montreal, posted a notice on his blog and within days it was sold out. So if you keep the lines of communications open with influence-ers like Mitch, you hear about good stuff.
What is the value of a Geek Dinner? It’s like any good networking event, especially if you come to the event not trying to sell yourself like maybe a used car salesman would. Everyone at the event shares common interests while also bringing a diversity accumulation of practical, useful knowledge from their work. My voice over, marketing, advertising, broadcasting, blogging and podcasting experience allowed me to serve as a resource in some cases. Its not pushy, it’s welcoming. People getting to know people.
And of course, as I’ve noted previously, you do not need to bend my arm to go to Toronto…I always feel jazzed going up there and even coming back. I love that city.
Who did I get to know at the Toronto Geek Dinner? Some great people!
I caught up with Bill Sweetman of Sweetmantra.com, an internet marketing blog. He and I first met at Podcamp Toronto.
Dining with me were Eli Singer of Cundari SFP, he runs a social media site; Eden Spodek sat next to me, she of Bargainista fame, a web site for people who love to shop (there’s a huge audience). I also met the self-proclaimed “Smartest Man in the World” (says so right on his business card); his name is Saul Colt and he was a very cool guy.
Next to our table was a bunch of people from webfeat, a very cool online marketing company with a very impression Fortune 500 client list; the people I spoke to the most from there were Stephen Giles and Ellie Rosen. Both very interesting folks and fun to have dinner with. The “podcastic” Donna Pappacosta was there and if you’re thinking of putting a podcast together and you need to know EVERYTHING you need to know, visit Trafcom News…Donna’s a great lady. I also finally got to meet Bill Nygren of Boom Sonic Branding. They do some amazing production there.
My thanks to Mitch and everybody who had a hand in putting together the Geek Dinner. It was terrific!
In artistic communities, there are a lot of crackpots; this truism includes the voiceover industry (and your humble author first and foremost).
But there are also a lot of cool really talented people too and one those people with whom I’ve worked for years in Ian Sturgeon of Big Fish Worldwide. Some of the sound designs he has created are really impressive.
Well Ian’s got a great new service for voice talents looking for radio imaging workparts called Free Box Audio. The name says it all.
You should check it out. Thanks Ian!
