Podcamp Toronto : Archives online

If you're kicking yourself for having missed last weekend's Podcamp Toronto, relax. Video archives from various sessions are now available online, courtesy of the Podcamp wiki.

Since I made a conscious decision to skip a majority of the marketing/social media sessions, in order to focus my attention on everything podcast, I missed fantastic presentations by people like Chris Brogan. Rumour has it he wowed the crowd with his Social Media & Networking Starter Guide.

Thanks goes out to the Podcamp Toronto organisers and session presenters for making these video archives available to us. It's the next best thing to being there.

Podcamp Toronto : ooVoo

Mitch Joel conferenced in to this ooVoo event using ... well .. ooVoo.

We tried to conference in a couple of other people, from Finland, Nashville and elsewhere, but there were some technical problems that, at times, made it sound like the speakers were underwater. For some reason, the video wasn't always available, so ooVoo simply posted the user's profile photo.

What does a service like ooVoo mean to things like personal brands? Mitch Joel shares that he has embraced the fact that he is a media channel. He tries to be respectful of 'the relationship' and tries to keep it engaging and compelling. Mitch Canter talks about how this technology makes the world smaller and grants us access to people we'd never reach otherwise. He notes that his network has literally exploded. 'Pistachio' talks her initial wariness to Twitter, leading her to choose a pseudonym. She notes that her pistachio brand also seems to be quite memorable. Seismic taught her about the value of casual, off the cuff video that has immediacy.

It's too bad the technology wasn't totally on, because the conversation was definitely interesting. Time to brush up my under-water interpretation skills.

Podcamp Toronto : Promoting through Twitter

Dave Delaney (Two boobs and a baby + and The Nothing Show) has a last minute addition to the Podcamp Toronto schedule : with all the Twitter talk that's been happening this weekend, he's decided to look at using the platform to promote brands.

Some interesting stuff:

• Japan is the leading Twittering country
• Twitter is popular among a more educated audience
• m/f = roughly 50/50
• Use it : to build community, share news and promote
• Tweet Scan = good service for tracking posts
• Twitter has a nice viral element in that posts might be intriguing enough for you to find out who your buddy is chatting with
• Use Twitter Tools to plug into Wordpress - lets you post your blog entries to Twitter - basically another way to subscribe to a blog feed
• Good source for breaking news
• Use TinyURL, SNURL, URLtea or any other URL shortener to share web links
• Everytime Dave posts to Twitter, he sees peaks in his blog traffic
• Keep tweets short
• Promotes two-way audience engagement
• Southwest airlines is using Twitter to announce discounts and events
• Set up a Twitter account to connect to your podcast
• Tips : search for your name spelled wrong or as one word to be sure you're getting all your messages
• Use Jott.com to post from your phone to your Twitter feed or send a Twitter Gram
• Use Twitter badges on your blog
• Firefox plugin = Twitbin lets you follow the timeline
• Twittervision lets you follow real time tweets showing you the location of random users
• You can create an RSS feed for Tweet Scan

Podcamp Toronto : Status Competition

Nos amis Jerome Paradis et Kim Vallée se sont déplacés pour présenter leur application 'Status Competition' aux participants de Podcamp Toronto.

Jerome explique qu'ils étaient à la recherche d'une façon amusante de 'jouer' avec Facebook et de faire de l'expérimentation sociale. Kim dit qu'elle utilisait le status competition de Facebook pour promouvoir son blogue et trouvait que c'était une façon intéressante de suivre les membres de sa propre communauté.

Ils ont trouvé intéressant d'apporter une valeur ajoutée à une application déjà existante, plutôt que de lancer quelque chose de neuf. Jerome a raconté une anecdote concernant l'achat de nouvelles lunettes et l'impact ressenti quand Kim a utilisé Facebook pour en discuter. Au YULBiz suivant, ils étaient six à soulever la question des nouvelles lunettes. Kim et Jerome ont donc compris le potentiel existant.

Quelques conseils pour les développeurs : selon Jerome, les applications Facebook doivent demeurer simples et utiles.

Podcamp Toronto : Social media & ethics

Keith McArthur & Matthew Ingram speak to the question of ethical practices in the social media space.

Keith presented three case studies :

Case study 1 : Jimmy Carter - the CBC called him a 'Washed up peanut farmer'. It was an April Fool's gag. The Globe picked it up as a real story, and it made the front page of the G&Mail.

Case study 2 : Ford Mustang calendar made by fans. A story came out saying that Café Presse had intervened to stop production. Ford started to comment in blogs, saying that they didn't have objection to this particular project. Keith presents this as a case of bloggers not doing their homework.

Case study 3 : Target uproar - blogger who contacted Target to complain about an ad campaign was told Target didn't participate with 'non traditional media markets'.

Major points raised:

Should bloggers be fact checking as much as traditional journalists?

Matthew notes that errors in blog postings can be pointed out and corrected faster than in traditional media, where retractions are often buried in the pages of newspapers.

He also notes that, like bloggers trying to drive traffic, traditional media looks for newsworthy stories .. sometimes controversial or salatious .. to increase readership.

He talks about the balance of power : The G&Mail has a lot of influence for a variety of reasons, so it is perhaps more incumbent upon them to be certain of their facts than an individual blogger.

Matthew has a personal blog along with his Globe blog and admits that he probably wouldn't go to as great lengths with his Globe blog than he would with his personal blog .. that said, he always tries to be fair, no matter where he's publishing.

Feels that the blogosphere, at the moment, is like the early days of print journalism, all run by people with agendas. Over time, the ones that spread the message people wanted survived, and they amalgamated into bigger entities.

He admits to self-censorship. He doesn't write about politics or a wide range of subjects, because he's aware that he's associated with the G&Mail.

Concerns of journalists who are asked to blog : what do I write about? What do I do when people talk back to me?

Matthew believes in comments. They're a lot of work : you get spam, comments that are irrelevant or unnecessarily mean. If you don't have comments, he feels that puts you in the position of a traditional media like a newspaper or newsletter. 'It's just not social.'

Bloggers, like traditional media, do have to keep legal/libel implications in mind when they write or accept comments. That said, Matthew notes that they get good feedback and even information about news items (ex: structural engineers commenting about the Laval overpass accident).

Podcamp Toronto : Wordpress

Bob Goyetche recommends having your own WordPress site witha Libsyn back end. You get the best of both worlds : a cost effective media file hosting platform, and a site that is flexible and reliable.

Wordpress.org - this is where the software actually lives. You download and install it on your server. You do need some technical expertise for this, since you're managing your own database. A lot of hosts will do the install and updates for you with one easy click. Wordpress.org is what you want to download if you want to set your site up under your own domain name.

Wordpress.com - like blogger, content is hosted on their server, so you end up with a Wordpress domain name. This, apparently, cannot be migrated to your own domain name.

The joy of Podcamp : you vote with your feet. Time to duck out of this session and do another interview.

Podcamp Toronto : Greencasting

This series of presentations by 'greencasters' showcased a few environmentally oriented blogs and podcasts:

Glenn McKnight and Ryan Wiseman of the Energy Conservation Society of Ontario presented their Oshawa Energy Conservation Fair campaign strategy. Their campaign capitalizes upon the how-to angle, speaking to people who are already sensitized to the importance of controlling carbon emissions.

Ryan Wiseman of Besustainable blogs and podcasts his interviews with people doing 'cool' things in the space. He remains involved in The Green Majority.

Victoria Fenner also participated in the presentation, speaking about her blog, Magnetic Spirits. She also spoke about the Rabble podcast network, 'a growing collection of Canadian podcasts which offer an alternative take on politics, entertainment, society, stories, community and life in general'. She spoke about One World Radio as a good resource for uploading content. (Également disponible en français)

The participants say they're are in the embryonic stages of trying to set up standards for greencasters and bringing the community together through a collective, so the focus of the presentation was to reach out, more than to really share and exchange expertise. Frankly, a lot of it sounded like a pitch session. It'll be up to me to grab some of these people to get their input and insights on their experiences in the greencasting space, but either way, I'm left from some intriguing resources to explore. Oh! And I'm also left with a Project Porchlight lightbulb, courtesy of One Change. Thanks, One Change.

Podcamp Toronto : Corporate podcasting best practices

Donna Papacosta is leading this roundtable discussion on corporate podcasting. The session has attracted some 20-odd participants, may of which come from the non-profit or community sectors.

Some key points raised during the discussion:

• A podcast seems to be an easier sell than a blog - companies relate podcasts to radio shows and so grasp the value much more easily.
• It seems easier to sell podcasts as a turnkey solution, rather than expecting corporations to get into editing and other complex technical aspects of podcasting.
• It's important to get to the fundamental emotional impact of a story. 'There has to be some skin in the game'.
• You have to be willing to ask people to restart their interview or do it over until the essential message comes through. The second interview is usually tighter, but sometimes the first off the cuff version is better.
• Use the first questions to warm up the interview subject. The stuff in the middle can often be the best content.
• The problem with interviewing people who have never been interviewed before, is that they don't have sound bites. You have to plan on a lot of postproduction in those cases.
• Don't sell the subscription value of podcasts. People don't understand it. The basic concept of 'radio on the internet' works best.
• Doing a limited series podcast is a good way to dip your toe into the space before you're totally convinced.
• Without scripting your interviews, be sure you spend a few minutes going over what is going to be covered. Getting a few key messages down helps structure the podcast and makes editing easier.
• ROI and metrics : it's possible to measure your downloads, but perhaps more difficult to predict the impact ahead of time. Print, for example, has distribution statistics. It's important to convince clients of the value of quality, rather than quantity.
• It's important to use common language and use examples (ex: GM and Diggnation)
• Metrics can revolve around the discussion generated on the Internet. How many bloggers wrote about a podcast? What does Technorati have to say about the splash made in the marketplace?
• Icerocket.com + Google search = good search engine for blogs
• Return on Attention = a good way of selling social media

Podcamp Toronto : How the Alzheimer Society of Ontario fell in love with social media, podcasting and Web 2.0

Étude de cas présentée par Wayne MacPhaill de la firme torontoise w8nc. Le profil démographique des employés de la Société Alzheimers? 40+ et un peu technophobe.

Inaugurée dans le contexte du projet Manulife Walk for Memories, un premier podcast intitulé Talk for Memories a permis aux membres de l'association d'apprivoiser les médias sociaux.

Riche de cette expérience, ils ont procédé au lancement d'un 'projet wiki' interne intitulé 'Ensemble' et hébergé sur projectforum.com. Ce wiki interactif a connu un bon succès, attribuable, selon MacPhaill, à l'accès à une bonne formation de base. Un guide d'utilisateur comprenait une série de vidéo sur Google. La formation d'influenceurs était indispensable pour convaincre l'ensemble de l'association de la valeur ajoutée du wiki pour des besoins de communication interne.

Le lancement d'un site externe, suivant les mêmes principes, sera lancé dans 3 semaines. Sur le site externe, certaines pages seront fixes, mais d'autres seront dynamiques.

À suivre, alors.

Podcamp Toronto : Recording the show (45 min) -- Workshop

This hands on workshop led by Mark and Bob of Canadian Podcast Buffet actually led the group of 40-odd participants through the recording process. As a group, we recorded a bunch of audio excerpts - everything from intro, to wrap up, to 'sound effects', to call to action.

Some tips shared included paring down contact information, microphone usage, phone interview technology, editing, podsafe music and creative commons.

Ex: have to be careful of background music when recording in a public place. This music is also protected by copyright laws.

That said, Ozzy Osborne is on the podsafe music network, apparently.

Resources:

Podsafe Music Network
Penmachine
Canadian Creative Commons podcasting legal guide
Independent online distribution alliance (ioda)
Magnitunes

The workshop is live streamed (and, I presume, archived) here.

Podcamp Toronto : Social Media in a Disaster

Social media is a bit part of the Podcamp Toronto scheduling. I'm going to hit at least one this weekend:

Dave Fleet is one of my favourite social media guys (go through my archives if you want proof). He's working with the public security division of the Ontario Government.

His presentation touches on the use of social media during the recent California fire disaster.

• Website wasn't adapted for the crisis. Information related to the fire was minimal, not particularly relevant. Irrelevant information, such as a photo contest, were not moved off the home page.


• Keyword search : words 'help', 'assist' weren't as predominant as the word 'governor'.


• Used a news organisation's website for mapping purposes


• Didn't take advantage of all available tactics


• 'Went old school'

News organisations:

• Used Twitter feeds


• Flickr pages for geotagged photos


• Video on YouTube


• The PBS website received 31 times its normal tracking - was recognized as an authoritative source of information


• Started a blog


• 1.3 million impressions of their map in the first few days of the fire

Je vous inviterais à consulter sa présentation ici.

Podcamp Toronto : Zero to Podcasting

Zero to Podcasting se veut une session pour débutants. Je passerai mon temps entre cet atelier de deux jours et les autres sessions.

Fait intéressant : je dirais que 2/3 des participants ici ce matin s'intéressent aux podcasts pour des raisons d'affaires.

On commence avec le choix et la planification d'un podcast.

Ce qui en est ressorti:

• la passion est un élément essentiel au succès d'une baladodiffusion - c'est la seule façon de maintenir non seulement son propre intérêt mais celui de l'auditoire.
  
  
  
• les participants se questionnent quant au bon outil à l'appliquer : blogue? podcast? vidcast? afin d'obtenir la visibilité qu'ils souhaitent et joindre leur public.
  


• les 'show notes' : pourquoi s'en servir? de quelle façon?

Bon! Je m'éclipse pour participer à la prochaine session hors Z2P : je dois encore choisir entre deux. À suivre.

Good intentions : Conferences to attend in 2008

I have high hopes for 2008. Social media is starting to pick up steam in Quebec PR circles, and we should start to see some interesting campaigns gear up over the next few months. I'm contributing in my own small way : a group of us are bringing Third Tuesdays to Montreal as of February. The official promotion should begin mid-January.

There are already some not-to-miss conferences/PR & social media activities on my calendar for 2008. I'm organising or participating in some of them and hoping to be able to make all of them:

• Jan 15: SQPRP panel disussion on social media (with yours truly)
• Feb 19 : Third Tuesday Montreal kickoff
• Feb 23-24 : PodCamp Toronto
• March : SQPRP youth-wing conference on media relations
• March 18 (to be confirmed) : Third Tuesday Montreal #2
• May? : Mesh
• June 22-24 : Podcasters Across Borders
• October? : Podcamp Boston

And, of course, I'll try to catch as many monthly YULBiz, YULBlog and PodMTL meetups as possible. Now that I've launched my podcast, the PodMTL people can count on seeing me around quite often. The first of these monthly events is YULBlog on January 9th. So popular, the members didn't want to skip a month.

Hat tip to Joe Thornley, who has drawn up a list of not-to-miss conferences of his own. Check them out.

All the best to you and yours for 2008.

Podcamp Toronto : J'y serai ... j'y participerai

Ayant vécu, la semaine dernière, la diffusion du premier épisode de mon premier podcast, j'ai décidé de mettre à contribution mes acquis. Les organisateurs du prochain Podcamp Toronto cherchaient quelqu'un pour animer la session 'Podcasting 101'. Bien qu'ils soient certainement les mieux placés pour offrir des conseils, je trouve qu'il est souvent difficile pour les baladodiffuseurs d'expérience de se souvenir de l'époque où les défis attachés au lancement d'un podcast semblait insurmontables. Tandis que pour moi, c'est encore tout frais. O, que c'est frais.

Je me mettrai donc à nu, à Toronto, le 23 ou 24 février prochain, dans l'espoir de stimuler des commentaires et critiques de la part de podcasteurs chevronnés, afin que les nouveaux puissent profiter de mes erreurs et être assez encouragés par mon éventuel succès pour se lancer, eux aussi, dans l'aventure de la baladodiffusion.

Le pire étant maintenant derrière moi, il faudra que je me retienne pour ne pas me plonger dans trop de projets de baladoffisuion. J'ai la tête pleine d'idées et voudrais surtout/tellement produire une émission dans la belle langue de Molière ... Retenez-moi, les amis!