Wrapping Up The Expo

All righty... I have some time now to put some thoughts together. The first few days after the Expo always seem to drag. Many stayed through Sunday night or came home Monday, because of the extra day. I came home Sunday afternoon myself.

Where did I leave off? Day 1 part 1? Heeheeee... yah. I'm still waiting for audio so I'll bring this post back up to the top later and add things for ya. I wanted to share the Women in Podcasting panel I was on, as well as the Political Round Table. The round table is my fault for not having audio ready, since I'm the one in control of the audio. But it should be up soon, I'm planning my next podcast around it. I will update this post when I have the audio.

UPDATE: Audio of the political round table can be found right HERE.
UPDATE 2: Audio of the Women in Podcasting Panel can be found right HERE.

Anyway, the rest of the expo was really nice. I did notice that there did seem to be less people walking around the expo floor. Just didn't seem quite as crowded. I did catch more panels at the LA Podcaster's booth, and the Podango Booth. Which is great if you are not able to afford the tracks the Expo provides. (for a lot of us podcasters, travel and hotel are about all we can do.)

It was also different this year personally, as a podcaster with now 18 months of podcasting under her belt. I actually have listeners, and they knew who I was and recognized my show logo. That was both weird and cool at the same time. I also noticed the importance of swag. People actually do pay attention to buttons and shirts.

But still, overall, the best part always comes back to the other podcasters. Meeting the voices I have been listening to for the past year, and meeting new voices to check out. Re-connecting with those I met last year. Some even remembered my past association with Sonic Society, which I found rather amusing. But hanging out with new and old friends (and in the podcaster world, you really are friends for the most part, with the way so many of us are so open on our shows), still trumps everything for a socialite like me. :-)

This was the last year of the Expo being held in Ontario, CA. Next year will be in Las Vegas. There are absolutely many good points to this move. The Expo is growing- and Vegas is pretty much the convention capital of the US, if not North America. You have a convention in Vegas, it means you want exposure. Can't really do that in a little place like Ontario. Another plus is there are always good deals to Vegas from wherever you might live, so that means more are likely to actually attend next year.

On the down side- there is definitely more distraction. In Ontario if parties become too crowded or stifling, people escape and gather in lobbies or by the pool or wherever- because you have nothing else to do at night but be social with each other. Well, I definitely don't have to tell anyone about the extra distractions Vegas will bring. It could create a disconnect, which would be sad. I'm all about the community. Those planning the Expo will have to work extra-hard to make sure there are enough things planned to keep people from opting for the gambling and heading out to the strip.

Along with the change in venue, they have also changed the name. Again. This time it bothers me a bit more, since they dropped "Podcast", and left it simply as the New Media Expo. I do understand that podcasting fits under the new media blanket. The problem I see, as a podcaster, is with how difficult it has been to get the word out about podcasting, and explain it, to drop it from the title just seems like a step in the wrong direction. Heck, on the way to the airport last week I was explaining to my brother-in-law how you do not need an iPod to listen to a podcast! So, there is still a lot of teaching and awareness to bring to people about this neglected form of media.

So, overall I am still very glad I went, and I will do my darndest to get there next year. It's right at the time school begins here in AZ, so it will take a little more juggling than normal.

I'd love to know what other thoughts are out there from those who attended this year- so please leave a link in the comments to your writings!

Experiment Failure...

Well now.. so much for live-ish updates from the Expo, eh? I was definitely busier this weekend than I thought I would be.

So... you all get the post-expo wrap-up, after I am safe (and rested) within the Arizona realm again!

Expo Day 2, Pt.1

Sitting here in the convention center, I have to thank GeekFit Steve's Blackberry for allowing me internet access so I could give you an update on the opening of the Convention!

Had a wonderful breakfast with Podcasting for Dummies author Tee Morris, and got inside information on the presentation he's going to be making on Sunday. Then I went over to the convention center and finally got to meet my dear sweet Joss-fan Tabz! (Tabz if you remember is one of the creators of Buffy Between The Lines, premiering October 6!)

We then hit the expo floor, and ran into many other podcasters. I would link to them all, but I can't remember all of them. I do have a growing collection of business cards, so I will have to come back and link later on.

At noon I headed over to the LA Podcasters booth for the panel on Women in Podcasting. I again need to add names and links later, but it was hosted by Shelly of Shelly's Podcast, and one name a lot of you will recognize on the panel (besides my own, of course!) is Podcast Queen herself Mur Lafferty. It was so great to finally meet the legend- she is awesome! It was a great discussion about how we as women feel we've advanced and grown in podcasting. There should be audio after the expo- I will be sure to give you all a link to it.

So now I sit, and I think I need to go back to the hotel for awhile and rest before the Couplecasters and friends meetup tonight. Before that is the awards ceremony, so I will try to catch some of that as well.

Very good times, and some very good photos being taken all around- I can't wait to share!

Expo Day 1: The Arrival

Oy.. I'm so tired I am going to tell you about my day in timeline form:

12:00pm: Boarded the plane to Ontario, met by fellow podcaster Barely, who is a wonderful contributer to many episodes of my podcast. And I just love his laugh!

1:15: landed in Ontario, only to wait over an hour for a shuttle. Who'dathunk you were supposed to call from the phone in the airport for shuttle service? Not us dorks! Ended up sticking around a bit longer, since by then Aaron of The Big Show had landed.

3:15: Arrive at Marriott. Realized I was sharing a shuttle with Dr. Dave of Shrink Rap Radio. Charles Cadenhead arrived way before us because he was smart enough to call from the airport for a shuttle.

3:40: Chris Moody of Podiomedia Chat calls and says everyone is waiting on me. I go down to lobby and yes, everyone is waiting on me. Walk across the street to catch the tail end of Podcamp SoCal.

4:00: back to Marriott, with Andy and Mignon in tow.

4:15- 11:30: whirwind of podcasters, food, drink, and Tee Morris raspberry-ing me on the neck. Crazy stuff I tell you- CRAZY! Great weather, group of us sat outside later that night and just chatted, and twittered. Jason Tucker and I decided to meet at the hotel gym 7am.

So I guess I'd better rest up. Also have a panel on women in podcasting at noon!

You can instantly see what I'm doing at any point this weekend (for those hardcore voyeur-types) on my Twitter page!

Heading out to the PNME

Yes friends, the time is almost here- and I'm going to do a little more live-blogging now that this year I have my handy-dandy laptop! So stay tuned and this addict will give you as many live updates as she can!

w00t! Mommy taking a vacation, hanging out with audio geeks! :-D

2007 Podcast Award Nominations Open

Another "it's that time of year again" post- the Podcast Award nominations open today. These are the awards given out at the yearly Podcast and New Media Expo.

They are only accepting one show nomination per category per person- so choose wisely!

UPDATE: The voting has ended and the nominees have been chosen! I'm actually quite please this year. Last year I hardly recognized any shows. This could mean two things: either I've expanded my podcast-listening, or so have others! Hey- maybe both! I was very happy to see Comedy4Cast, Bucket and Escape Pod receive nominations. AND, once again those awesome Canucks Decoder Ring Theatre also are nominated in the Cultural/Arts category.

They really need to add two more categories: Pod-novels and Audio Cinema! There really has been a break out of audio cinema in the past year that is available as a podcast. Definitely worthy of it's own category.

Voting begins at 12:01 on Saturday the 28th. Hit the link to get the details, and see all the nominees!

Conference Sessions for Podcast Expo Posted

All the conferences for the 3rd annual Podcast Expo in Ontario, CA have now been posted. There are 5 tracks for attendees to follow:

- Track 1: Audio & Video Podcasting 101 - A to Z for Beginners - Get Up To Speed Fast
- Track 2: Attracting & Growing Your Audience - Connecting To Your Audience & Guerilla Marketing
- Track 3: The Business of Podcasting & New Media - Monetization & Business Podcasting
- Track 4: Advanced Audio & Video Creation - "How To" Techniques for Editing and Creation
- Track 5: New Media for Special Interests - Educators, Musicians, Non-profits and more

I'll be there again this year, but unfortunately I'm not able to attend the sessions. I think I may have to email the Bourquin Bros. and suggest they offer more flexible options if you can't afford the whole shabang. It sure would be neat to hear fellow podcasters like Grammar Girl, Evo Terra, Tee Morris, and Charles Cadenhead speak on some of these topics! Check the link to see details on all the sessions and what everyone is speaking on specifically.

With or without attending the sessions, it will be an awesome time. Just meeting other podcasters, and the exhibits on the floor alone make it all worth it, and you don't walk away empty handed.