Well, hello there!

I know, I know. It's been a few weeks. This is what happens when you take on challenges. I've been participating in NaPodPoMo this month- and posting a podcast every single day. Now, when you throw in company for almost two weeks, and a holiday, things get sticky. I'm certainly not proud of the audio quality in a few of these days, but I am very proud that I've been able to post a show daily. I do wish they would have broken away from November though. I mean, the writers and the bloggers and the video bloggers all do this in November. Podcasters should have stood out from the rest!

Anyway, because of that, as you might have noticed, this place has been rather neglected. I do apologize! Though, it's not the only reason. Things just keep happening to me on my end, and I become more and more thinly spread. Now a semi-regular gig with my local newspaper is once again keeping me from letting the addict out to play. I've also got some new family obligations as well, keeping me away from the internets in general. Funny how life can change direction at the drop of a hat, eh?

I even tried to bring in another contributer- but darn him! As soon as he agreed what does he do? Find a job! The nerve!!! (hahaha!)

So, I am still looking for contributors, as I know for sure there is no way I can keep this up all by my lonesome. There is WAY too much audio goodness in the universe for one mere addict to blog about alone. E-mail is there in the right margin, drop me a note if you're interested.

I just received the 90-day expiration notice for theaudioaddicts.com domain name. I figure if I can't get this place hopping in three months time, then I guess it's time to close another chapter in Dani's internet life. Which will make me very sad indeed. This blog has come a long way since Summer of '05 (as has its owner), but something's gotta give somewhere, I suppose.

Cheers friends! I will try and get some new happenings in here soon, I promise!

~Dani

Online Marketing Rising- Could Be Good News For Podcasters

From EMarketer:

The numbers are soaring.

Choose an adjective: Epochal. Momentous. Historic. Whatever the label, US online advertising spending is entering a new era.

eMarketer projects that US online advertising will more than double as a percentage of total media, rising from only a 6% share of total media in 2006, to slightly more than a 12% share in 2010.

In roughly the same period, online spending will nearly triple, rising from $16.9 billion in 2006 to $42 billion in 2011.

According to David Hallerman, eMarketer Senior Analyst and author of the new report US Advertising Spending, these four milestones mark the change:

“First, US Internet ad spending surpassed $5 billion in Q2 2007, the largest sum recorded in any quarter according to research from the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers.”

eMarketer projections suggest that, in Q4 this year, spending will leap past the $6 billion mark.

“Second, while 69 of the 100 largest US advertisers put smaller budget shares into four traditional media—television, radio, newspapers and magazines—in 2006 than the previous year, 70 of the same group put larger shares into Internet advertising.”

Furthermore, 58 did both—decreased their traditional spending share and increased the Internet share.

“Third, even as the credit crunch pulls ad money off the total media table, the Internet looks to be more resistant to economic turmoil,” says Mr. Hallerman. “To put the obvious into figures, online advertising contributes more and more to the total ad spending universe every year.”

That share will be 7.4% this year, approach one in ten dollars next year, and will likely reach at least 13% by the end of 2011.

Finally, Mr. Hallerman notes, “Data from both eMarketer and TNS Media Intelligence indicate that 2007 Internet ad spending will be higher than for radio, as reported in August. That is the first time online ad spending will be greater than for any of the four traditional measured media.”

The average ad spend per Internet user is also growing. In fact, 2007 marks the first year that marketers will spend more than $100 to reach each person online. And, by 2011, advertisers will be spending nearly $200 per user.

To see further into the future of ad spending, peer into a copy of the new eMarketer report, US Advertising Spending, today.

Feed Your Addiction

Audio Addict seeking Audio Junkie. Match made in heaven!
Great site I stumbled on with all sorts of audio-tech goodies that will have you salivating so much you are sure to short out your keyboard.
They even have an rss feed, so you are never too far away from a hit- you junkie you!

http://www.audiojunkies.com/

National Audio Theatre Festivals' 2008 Annual Script Contest

Sorry for the late posting, but if you have a script that you can get in the mail, to be postmarked by the 15th of November, you might be interested in entering this contest.

There is a $25.00, contest entry fee. Check out their site at: http://www.natf.org/script2008_rules.html

The Cheesy Goodness of Schlock Audio is Back!

How I've missed the cheese! I'm very happy to report that our friends at Schlock Audio Theatre are back and better than ever! They have teamed up with the marvelous production stylings of Texas Radio Theatre, and their first production is now available!

Robot Monster
"Earth has been invaded by diving helmet wearing, gorilla-suited aliens hell bent on universal domination! Humanity is but one family away from extinction! This is an exciting episode that CANT BE MISSED! HURRY! Put your audio goggles on and tune in as an epic battle rages, bubbles are blown, and the fate of our world is decided, ALL IN ASTOUNDING TECHNICOLOR 3-D STEREO!!!!"

Head over to the all-new Schlock website and download away! Welcome back to the audio cinema world- we've missed you!

Podcast Peer Nominations Are Open

The Winter '08 nominations for the Podcast Peer Awards are now open! All new categories this time, and that includes an Audio Drama one! (You won't be able to see the link unless you are registered, and you can find out how to do that by clicking here.)

There are all ready six audio dramas that have been nominated:

* Mustache Rangers
* Buffy Between The Lines
* The Red Panda
* Firefly: Old Wounds
* Children of the Gods
* Wonder Woman: Champion of Themyscira

There are plenty of other categories to nominate shows in as well- so have fun browsing, voting, and adding your own nominations! There is a lot of time for nominating, now through February 2nd! However, I'd get nominating in now, and then get voting! The top five of all the nominations make it to the finals.

Good luck, and spread the word to all your fellow podcasting peers!

This one time.. at PodcampAZ

Podcamp AZ? Wow. Wow. WOW. Is it next year yet? Because I can't wait for next year's Podcamp AZ!

Seriously friends, I now know what it's like to be in on the sessions that I can't afford to go to at the New Media Expo, and it was great! Discussing podcasting and new media all day long, meeting up with old friends again. Seeing ALL the new faces right here in my state who either are podcasting, or are interested- that blew me away!

(All links below are to the session-leader's websites.)

First session for me was how to be a social puddle-jumper. Which, if you look at the side there, I'm well on my way. I was also given reason to take another look at Facebook, which I've pretty much hated since I first joined it. I still prefer Myspace, but might go browsing around Facebook a bit more and check out more of the applications.

Next was a great session about determining the length of your podcast- which turned into a great discussion. I love that with podcasting you have the freedom to have a show be 10 minutes or an hour and a half. Even the same show!

Lunch was a good time, at least with the company and the performances. The food was so-so. They could have charged $5 instead of $8.50 I think. The music was really good though, but they didn't have the audience I think they could have, because it was flipping HOT. It just shouldn't still be so hot in November, even for Arizona.

The next session was on cross-promoting your podcast, which I definitely learned a lot in. Alot of targeting your audience and seeing if anyone else (like radio) would even be interested in airing your show. It made me wonder how many audio dramas would actually have people interested in giving them air time. You just don't see that anymore.

Final session was on the community and New Media. I was mostly there to support the session leader, but it's true- community support is the biggest driver of your show and where it goes.

Really good and informative day!

The facility itself, that was impressive all on its own- the perfect place for an event such as this. I do hope that next year they might consider an extra day, or even just an half day. My only regret was that I couldn't attend half the sessions I wanted to because of 5 or 6 being in a group. One of the rules of podcamp are you can leave and wander, but I didn't want to miss anything in the sessions I was in! If they added an extra afternoon or day, they could have less sessions in a track, and we can attend more!

Check out how neat the event was!
Photos tagged "podcampaz"

I highly suggest if you have any interest at all in podcasting, vid-casting, or any social media in general, that you check for a podcamp near you! It's beyond inspiring!

Podcamp AZ Has Arrived!

I'm very excited for today is the first annual Podcamp in Arizona! There are 127 people signed up for the event- I find this very impressive for the first one! I can't wait to meet up with the ones I know, and meet even more social media geeks too! Here are the session for the day:

Opening General Session - 9am
(Chris Brogan to stream welcome message)

Series I - 10:15am - 11: 15am

Podcasting for Profit - Fred Casteneda
'Streaming Live Video - Taking your community to the next level: 'Nicole & Marc Spagnuolo
Audio Podcasting Basics - Kathy Jacobs
ROI of Social Media - Steven Groves
Show in a Box - Cheryl Colan
Social Networking: Being a social puddle jumper - Clintus_McGintus

Series II - 11:30am - 12: 30pm

'From Commentors to Contributors - Building Rabid Fans'- Evo Terra
Developing ideas and content for a weekly show - Douglas Welch
Podcasting & Education - Panel discussion; Alan A. Lew (facilitator), Susan F. Heywood and Laura Carscaddon
The Idea that is Web 2.0 - Victor Johnson
Determining the right length for your podcast - Aaron Bates, Cj Feierabend
Destination Media - Justine Ezarik & Jason Waldrip

Lunch/Outdoor Show - 12:30pm - 2pm

Series III - 2:15pm - 3:15pm

'Building a Podcast from the Ground Up - Steps to take when starting from scratch': Nicole & Marc Spagnuolo
'Improve Your Online Video' - Israel Hyman
Marketing in 3D Worlds - Connecting the Metaverse and Real Life - Lon Safko & Steven Groves
Beyond Podcasting - How to leverage Cross-Media - Michael R. Mennenga
Why it is Necessary to Build and Maintain an Online Brand and How to do It. - Susan F. Heywood
Ask A Kent - Kent Nichols

Series IV - 3:30pm - 4:30pm

Real Estate and Social Media - Steven Groves
Why Community Matters in the New Media World: Jack Mangan
Video Blogging: Sharing moments with the world - Clintus_McGintus
Podfading - Ken Crockett
PPT/Blog/Screencasting - Kathy Jacobs

4:45 pm - 5:30 pm
Closing Session in Theater

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As with the Podcast Expo, you can follow along with my day on Twitter. You will also find a live stream all day long at UStream. Think I might just post a recap rather than live blogging this time however.. after the failed experiment from Ontario, CA! :-D

Looks to be an excellent day! Yeesh, I'd better get some sleep!

It's An Audio X-Cursion!

A lot of the "old-school" audio cinema that received play on Sonic Society's awesome first season I'm happy to report are still around and kicking!

One of those groups is Bradley Phoenix's Montage Theatre. Based in New York (yo!), their audio plays vary in length. Some skits are less than a minute. Most are less than 10 minutes. He's written some 30 minute audio plays as well. They also cover several genres, from "Twilight Zone"-type plays, science fiction, Saturday Night Live-type satires, horror, mystery, and drama.

Much to this slightly-political (she says with a giggle) Addict's delight- a grouping of progressive skits and plays! I listened to a few of the shorter ones, and ohhhhhh...... me likey!

Take a listen for yourself!

Playing games with Sonic Cinema

Awesome news from the Sonic Cinema front! Shamelessly cut and pasted:

"Sonic Cinema Productions has just announced a partnership with Dave MacLean and Ben Macwilliam who are creating an amazing new online game called Neoastra.

SCP will provide the audio drama portion of this game, using their stable of actors and production techniques to add a full resonant sound quality. Neoastra promises to be a really exciting experience that will be available for everyone to play in the next year!"

Sounds like a fun deal! You can get more information from the Sonic Society website!

Nocturnal and Playing for Keeps

Yesterday both Mur Lafferty and Scott Sigler released the first episodes of their new books.

Mur's book, Playing For Keeps is a "Super Hero's are Real" idea. This is the book she had been trying to get published via an old world publisher, its unfortunate that she wasn't able to find a publisher. However its great that its now being podcasted, with 3 different feeds.

Scott's book, Infection is an interesting twist on his normal works. This book's appears to be more in the line with his older works such as Earthcore, or Ancestor. In the first episode he has reference to his other books, and to books by other authors of podcast novels. He has also created a special Google Maps that will show where all the locations are for the damage takes place in the novel.

I'd recommend getting into both of these, they appear to both be very good works.