Podcheck at PME!

The word has gotten around that Scott “P-Fletchy” Fletcher imbibed adult beverages with a certain enthusiasm and gusto.  I first heard of my my alleged indulgences from my buddy Scott Johnson when he mentioned it on his show.  He said that Podcast Peer 2006 Award Winner Clinton Alvord reported on my inebriated state.  (Bear in mind that Scott Johnson wasn’t even at the Expo!)

I am here to set the record straight.  Here is the e-mail that I sent to Scott Johnson after I heard them slandering me on the October 4th ExtraLife Radio #108:

—— START OF MESSAGE —–
Scott J,

I just Podzinger’ed my name in your show, and for the record: I was not drunk the entire time. In fact, I was hardly drunk any of the time! (OK, definitely on Thursday, but I had been drinking steadily for 12 hours.) Still, Damn you! Damn you for sullying my good name! I was in bed by midnight each night, and up at the convention center by 6am each morning to fulfill my journalistic duties. http://pme.Podcheck.com

So, Clinton Alvoord was wrong! However, HE WAS drunk the entire time and touched me inappropriately on several occasions. I had to pretend that my phone was ringing just to break away from his unwelcome advances.

And don’t EVEN think of asking me to be on your show to clear my good name. I’ll be drinking that night!

Stay out of trouble.

– Scott F.
– The King of All Media per Scott Johnson

—— END OF MESSAGE —–
I had also CC’d Clinton Alvooooooord of the award-winning The Comedy 4Cast, and he took exception to my retelling of the events.  Here is his reply:
—— START OF MESSAGE —–
Scott J and Scott F,

Hmmm. I seem to remember things a bit differently. I would often pass Scott Fletcher standing in the lobby of the Marriott, offering to do voice over work for “pennies on the dollar” to pay for his next bottle of Jack Daniels.

He would shout “I’ve the voice of Netcasting!” each time he saw Leo Laporte walk by. Then he would mutter “TWiT” after Leo disappeared.
I tried to help the man get back on the straight and narrow, and Scott mocks me by adding an extra “o” in my last name. Has he forgotten the immortal words “Say whatever you like about me, sir, just spell my name right!”?

Seriously, it was great to see you, P-Fletchy. And Mr. Johnson, as I have already pointed out, you MUST be there next year.

–Clinton

—— END OF MESSAGE —–
Scott Johnson has demanded video footage so that he might arbitrate this dispute.  Please let us know if you have any video so that I might finally clear my good name.

If you met Curt Brandao from DigitalSlobPod, you probably also met his delightful, enchanting, and mega-attractive wife Olga Timakova. Olga has a (Russian?) accent that has always fascinated me in a “Borris & Natasha” meets “James Bond” kind of way.  

Read this bit of fracas stirred up by Jason “Ass-Clown” Calacanis.

Long story short.  Jason Calacanis met Olga at the 2006 Podcast & Portable Media Expo and said to Olga “No one wants to hear you talk.“  While it was a crass, idiotic, mean, sexist, and asshole thing to say, I don’t blame him for saying it.  I blame his juvenile discomfort around women, his apparent lack of any redeeming social grace whatsoever. Oh yeah… in addition to being that bit of social sandpaper that every public gathering seems to require, he’s also wrong about who wants to listen to whom.

The following is an actual conversation between two Podcast Expo attendees. 

—— START OF CONVERSATION —–

“I haven’t seen Dawn & Drew yet.  Are they here this year?”
“Hmmm… I don’t think so,” I replied.

“Wow, that’s surprising.”
“Yeah, that’s kinda weird.  How could they not be here?” I wondered. 

“Yeah.  Do you listen to them?”
“No,” I said.  “Never have.  You?” 

“Me neither.”

—— END OF CONVERSATION —–

I did get to meet Cali Lewis, and I hung out a bit with CC Chapman, and I happened across The MommyCast gals doing a Podango session.  Honestly, I had forgotten that any of them were with Podshow.

Podshow’s strategy for their coincidental unExpo unPresence was:

• unProductive
• unSocial
• unInspired
• …and unEffective

I didn’t even notice that they weren’t there, and in every aspect that matters, I wasn’t alone.

The Second Annual Podcaster Impromptu BBQ (2006) was instigated again this year by Dave Slusher, but underwritten by Backbeat Media.  Thanks to BackBeat for ponying up the cash for the food!  We had a fine time Saturday night, and ended the Expo with friends. 

The Impromptu BBQ really has become the “power meetup” for the weekend.  Nearly all of the core “grizzled ancients” were there again enjoying a very relaxed and quiet time.  I had enough of the corporate shindigs identified by thumping music in packed hotel rooms/suites, requiring sardine-like prowess to navigate past sweaty podcasters (myself included).  The BBQ by the Marriott pool was the polar opposite of the corporate parties- we had seemingly endless space in a cool, softly-lit outdoor space with plenty of chairs and room to meander effortlessly from conversation to conversation.  The people at the BBQ had nowhere to go, and no more agenda items to address.  In fact, the BBQ also marked the point at which Dan Klass’s and my schedules slowed down enough for us to cross paths and finally meet. (Thrilled and honored to meet him, by the way.)

Some of the podcasters who did NOT attend last year’s Impromptu BBQ grew a bit impatient as the evening rolled on with no food.  I must admit that it was getting late (8:30p?) and I was beginning to worry about Dave and crew’s fate while they were retrieving the food.  The crowd was pretty jovial about it, though there were a couple of podcasters who thought that this was just another corporate party.  Those few select newbie individuals were unfortunate enough to express their significant ungratefulness within earshot of me.  I proceeded to give them a gentle history lesson in how this was a proud tradition, that we could all be paying for the food like last year, and how they should shut the fuck up and be grateful for whatever came their way.  They said they had no idea, and they apologized.  We had a group-hug-and-ass-grab picture, and ended as friends. (Picture not published to protect the eventually-innocent.)  I think that we should all pay our $7 next year to remove the subtle sense of entitlement that usually permeates the air by the end of the Expo.

Here is the official history lesson link with ALL of the insanely-great details from last year, but the following is my shortened version that leaves out many of the heroes:  Last year at the 2005 Podcast and Portable Media Expo, many podcasters were left on Saturday night with little to do.  All of the organized parties were over, many of us were tired of the crowded and loud bar, and all of us were getting hungry.  So along comes Dave Slusher to instigate an Impromptu BBQ by the pool.  He put up a handwritten sign in the lobby inviting people to meet here and contribute money to the cause.  Sure enough, a bunch of people pitched in cash and waited by the pool. Dave found a vehicle (courtesy of Susan Kitchens?) and headed off to Woody’s.  Also last year, Marc McCrery and the PodTrac people bestowed upon me all of their leftover beer the night before for distribution as I saw fit. I dragged all of the several cases of ice cold beer down to the pool.  The Orange County Podcasters ponied in enough to cover the shortfall on the $205 tab.  Like I said, there were many others that helped last year, so please be sure to read Dave’s write-up from 2005. The vibe was gracious and communal, with everyone helping make the evening happen by picking up the trash, holding flashlights while others filled their plates, etc. 

This year really did have a similar vibe, though there will only ever be one “first.”  Kudos to everyone for being cool, friendly, and interesting.  I sure hope that I can attend the third annual Podcast Expo Impromptu BBQ .

 

(Pictured: Scott Fletcher bows to the statuesque Dave Slusher)

Late Saturday night in the hallway outside of the bar, I ran into one of the producers who are making the documentary about podcasting (I think it was Brian Kalata?).  He said that the documentary is still on, and that they are collecting more footage and material.

Brian and Stephen were at last year’s 2005 Podcast Expo interviewing podcasters on camera and taking lots of footage.  I barely even saw them this year in the sea of people and cameras, but I’m sure they were around!

(pictured: Stephen Andrzejwski (?) takes a moment to mug with an exhausted Scott Fletcher at last year’s 2005 Podcast Expo.  Please correct me if I have Stephen and Brian’s names switched!)

iMorphosis makes a “little white box” that will change your (mom’s) life.  YOU can manage her subscriptions via a web site, and she can dock her iPod in the iMorphosis cradle.  The iMorphosis cradle (they call it the “Podcast Charger”) has a red light/green light approach to technology.  When the iPod is first inserted into the cradle, the light turns red.  When the iPod has been loaded with all of the podcast/audio/video goodness and is ready to be pulled out of the cradle, the light turns green. 

That’s it in a nutshell.  Brilliant, simple, and perfect for the non-techie in your family (or corporation).  They are currently in Beta now, with hopes for full production in a couple of months.  The cradle/system supports many makes and models of portable devices from Apple, iRiver, and others.  Unofficial retail price is rumored to be around $99 USD.

That’s why I name the iMorphosis Podcast Charger the “Best New Product at the Podcast Expo”

(Pictured: Left: Yong Fu and crew from iMorphosis at their booth.  Right: The iMorphosis cradle and a video iPod.)

Christoph Marquardt, photographer and host of award-winning Tips From The Top Floor, has a Flickr account of insanely great photos.  (I’m buying one of those lenses tomorrow!) (Update: Buying one of those lenses will NOT make me as good as Christoph, but I’m gonna try it anyway.)

Pictured to the right - Geoff Smith at an Expo 2006 party

All of Christoph’s Expo Pics here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/expocaster/

Much business was conducted in the hotel bar.  While we mused about an “International Podcast Consortium,” I revealed my disdain for the word “podcast.”  I know that it is the currently the best word to describe our audio content, but I also know that there must be a better word.  Curt Brandao(DigitalSlob from Honolulu, HI) pointed out that for years, they called the car a “horseless carriage.”  Why can’t we change the name from “Podcasting” to something else?

My wish: That we come up with a name that includes audio and video, and that also differentiates the “independent content producer” from the “establishment.”  This is a hard one because I don’t know what “independent” really means. 

French Maid TV looks just as good (or better than) anything produced by MTV, and Ask-A-Ninja is a bite-sized bit of brain candy worthy of Comedy Central.  Keith and the Girl rivals any nationally-syndicated trash-bash-talk radio show.  The list goes on.  I find it impossible to discern the source of the content when they are all given the same presentation on an iPod.  Yet, I know that there is some underlying difference that I can’t yet define in words.

Is a conversation about our name/identity a distraction?  Sure, but I think that it is necessary.

A number of folks opted out of a Saturday night stay at the Marriott, choosing instead to hit the road and miss the ever-famous Second Annual (Dave Slusher) Ribfestapalooza impromptu BBQ.

I met plenty of nice folks awaiting their rides/shuttles in front of the Marriott. (Pictured here: Kent Nichols from “Ask a Ninja” and Robert Scoble from PodTech take a moment with me, right before Ninja showed up to kick my ass and take my milk money.) More pics here.

“It is better to die standing than to live on your knees.” - Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara

I briefly attended a private meeting Thursday night held by one of the leading “podcast metrics and advertising companies” in the industry.  In the meeting, the CEO of the company was telling the group about their efforts, campaigns, challenges, and visions for their customers and advertisers. There were many podcasting luminaries in the room, some of them high-powered/large audience podcasters.  There were also folks like me, with between 500-1,000 listeners.

The CEO spoke about working with PR firms and podcasters/videocasters to match campaigns with shows whose audiences matched their target demographics.  He spoke about campaigns for “general interest products,” and how his company was using their standardized survey results to identify audiences that were appropriate for the campaigns.  I asked if they had considered variable CPM’s based on the subject matter of different shows, and the CEO said that they did not focus on content as a determiner of rates and that they used their standardized survey results to closely match existing national indexes (or something along those lines).

I quickly grew weary of the carefully constructed answers, each one delicately shaped so as not to answer in the negative.  Where was the niche targeting?  Where was the recognition of the value of the relationship with the audience?  I walked out of that meeting after just 15 minutes. 

Why isn’t anyone focusing on the niche/narrow value?  Why are they still trying to sell Toyotas and Mop n’ Glo in shows completely unrelated to cars and domestic issues?

Leo LaPorte reinforced my beliefs in his keynote, saying that the value of your podcast is not in the number of listeners, but instead in the relationship that we have with our audiences.

Dave Slusher asked “where is the Nielson rating that shows how much people care [about a show]?  If everyone listening cares, you are not wasting bandwidth on people who don’t.”

Eric Schwartzman echoed the comments of the afore-mentioned CEO and other podcast advertiser/marketing firms, saying that there are often ‘champions’ of new media in organizations, but that they are looking for help to sell the idea to management. 

 

As an embittered grassroots podcaster, this is how I visualize the entire relationship:  The podcast advertising/marketing firms are throwing life preservers to traditional marketers, and they are expecting us podcasters to be grateful that the traditional marketers are grabbing hold of the life preservers.  Why should we be grateful or impressed that a drowning industry is reluctantly accepting our help?  Why should we be grateful to the podcast advertising/marketing firms for selling more life preservers?  (This is an obscure illustration, but it works in my head.)

The corporations seem to be quicker to understand the true value of podcast/videocasts than their marketing firms.  In a Saturday session hosted by PodTech, Jeff Nolan (formerly of SAP) and Bill Kircos of Intel talked about how they use podcasting to create emotional connections with their customers, directly connecting “people who crave information” with “the people who engineered the product.”  Both companies use podcasts to augment (read “bypass”) efforts of the marketing departments, and to provide long-form content to the people who want it.  Jeff also made the point that podcasts/vidcasts give top-level executives a unique chance to connect with both employees and customers.

Ultimately, our power as podcasters is in our ability to choose our own interpretation of ‘value.’  We are not beholden to a pre-existing business model, nor must we accept old media’s fee schedule or business practices.  We have the power to stand firm and hold true to our individual beliefs about the value of our audiences’ attention.  The difference between this year’s expo and last year’s expo is that we are growing increasingly weary and impatient of marketing companies who don’t yet ‘get it.’

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