Pghbloggers Blogfest 13 - Blog it, 'Cast it!

Hey, folks. Did the PghBlogggers Blogfest 13 at Finnegan's Wake in Pittsburgh's Northside this past Friday evening. A wet, slushy, sleety, blowy evening in Pittsburgh did nothing to dampen the spirits of the various bloggers and podcasters who showed up. A few of the cast:

Susan Courtad, of the One-Woman Show blog;
Dawn Papuga of Lyrique Tragedy Reviews;
Jim & Amy Shireman - Jim does Sportocracy podcast on Talkshoe;
Elwin Green of the Post-Gazette;
Karamagi Rujumba of the Post-Gazette;
Dayvoe of Two Political Junkies;
Bob from Masters of Gilligan;
Father Spoon;
Norm Heulsman of the new Strom Huelsman podcast;
Sickpuppy and Father Spoon of the Should I Drink That brewcast;
Cynthia and Brother Anthony Closkey of Big Big Design;
Mike Woycheck of Have a Good Sandwich blog;
...and many others.

Why weren't you there? Oh, yeah, the snow. :-)
check out Pghbloggers.org for future events...and start blogging!

..alex.

Minute Tech 042: Why Do I Like This Book?

Researching this podcast was fun (as they all are), though I wasn't sure what the main topic would be right away. I'm surrounded at home by books...but often us humans can't see the forest for the trees. I'm trying to help clean up around here, and I was searching for a gift for Larry, who's my long-time tai chi teacher and friend. The Light on Yoga book has been lurking around for many years...and while I want very much to read it...I also want very much to read many books. So, the best thing to do with top quality books that you know won't get read? Give them to somebody who you know will, uh, encourage you to make use of the contents! :-)

For the show today:

- iClone meets iPhone, and Columbus bumps the AMS;
- Why Do I Like This Book?
- 37Roses.com leads to a web journey.

Go to the Minute Tech iWeb page to subscribe or listen to this podcast: Minute Tech.

Show Notes

Am I a "media" company?

Check out Jeremiah Owyang's checklist for corporate media strategy in his So you're a "Media" Company now post. Admittedly, a podcast does not a company make...but at what point does a publishing push like this begin to blur between a personal outlet for ideas and style and a company-like push for attention in the global media industry? At this point I have not desire to make this a "corporate entity", but I'm pursuing many of the things that could:

• A regular push of informational content into the world's marketplace;
  
• Pursuing the collection of statistics via Google Analytics;
  
• Developing and pushing the podcast "brand" into many of the social media markets;
  
  
  Three of Jeremiah's points:
  
  • Do you have a strategy? Let’s start with the start. Why create media? What story are you trying to tell? Don’t just do this because it’s hot, understand how it can impact your company.
    
  • What story are you telling? Sometimes, media doesn’t have to be just a product demo, but could ‘go up a level’ and tell a story. Relate to your customers life style, understand and relate to how they work and live, rather than just push features.
    
  • Got legs? Does your player of media (audio/video/webcast/powerpoint/images) have ‘legs’ so it can spread to other websites? Is it embeddable? Do you want it to be?
    
  
  

Where is this all taking me? Initially, I'm seeking personal growth in both the tech of putting a podcast and media presence together, and in the community that this may engender. Eventually, who knows?

..alex.

Minute Tech 002: what is a blog?

tech news - RAID - the old acronym for redundant array of inexpensive disks is being redefined, in a sense: Panasas, Inc is releasing an extension to the RAID paradigm that they call Tiered Parity Architecture. go to Panasas for more info.

tech question - what is a blog? a web log, a place to write your daily, weekly or just periodic thoughts, ideas, plans, gripes, etc.

podcasting tidbit: MacCast PME episode, along with various blog snippets from Chris Brogan and Christopher Penn, are the influences for my creating this podcast. If you have something you can say, take the initiative to say, say it well and say it enthusiastically.

Go to my iWeb page to subscribe or listen to this podcast: Minute Tech. I publish in AAC and mp3 formats.

..Alex.