November 11-12, 2005 - Ontario, California
Portable Media Expo – “The Friendliest Expo on Earth?”
The bartender said “You guys are the friendliest convention group that’s been in here in a long while.” The line of men standing at the bar laughed, smiled, and then handed their business cards to the bartender.

Of the 2,500 attendees, there were only two a**holes at the show (and neither of them were Adam Curry). In fact, Mr. Curry and the rest of the heavy-hitters were generous with what little time they had. When Leo LaPorte walked through the room, everyone turned and smiled at him, he stopped and chatted up each person briefly, and continued on his way. The whole experience reminded me of driving on country roads in Montana, where you always wave at the folks passing in the other direction.

The show’s vibe is a convergence of ham radio geekdom and an infintesimly-small version of the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) Trade Show. Earbuds, microphones, impromptu interviews for counteless podcasts, business card swaps, and all the swag and trappings of a trade show.

I’ll have more [actual] news and perspectives from the show, as well as some follow-up on announcements made at the show. Meanwhile, enjoy some pictures from the Podcast and Portable Media Expo 2005:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/podcheck (fixed 11/12/05 - 4:05p)

Note: I’ll add new pictures over the next 48-63 hours, and I’ll update this post each time.
(Update: Added a bunch of pictures today 2005-11-15)

Portable Media Expo Rules of Etiquette
The First-Ever Podcast and Portable Media Expo 2005 in Ontario, California was a flurry of business cards, microphones, and smiles. The ad hoc rules of decorum called for each greeting to follow these rules:

• 1) Say “Hi, I recognize your voice”
• 2) Look at name tag.
• 3) Say “Oh, the [fill-in-the-podcast-name-here] Podcast.
• 4) Smile, and wait for other person to do the same.
• 5) Say “yeah, yeah!”
• 6) Repeat step 4.
• 7) If you listen to the show, say that you liked something about it. If you don’t listen to the other persons show, say “Tell me about your show, what’s it about?”
• Wait [and smile, and nod] while the other person complies to your demand, and then performs step 7 him/herself.
• 9) Reciprocate with either a gracious acceptance of the compliment, or give the ‘elevator speech’ about your podcast.
• 10) Reach into your pocket for your business card while simultaneously saying “Great! Do you have a business card?”
• 11) If the other person has a business card, accept it with glee, examine it for at least 10 seconds while nodding. Do NOT do a “no-look-pass” into your pocket. That is rude!
• 11a) In the extremely unlikely event that the other person does NOT have a business card, either convey an undercurrent of sympathy, or revel in the other person’s confidence and comfort in being business-card-less.
• 12) Say either “Yeah, thanks!” while subtly pantomiming the action of dipping the business card in a cup of au jous.
• 13) Optional step: Engage the person in an interesting conversation.
• 14) Prepare for the end of the conversation by looking at the other person’s nametag because you’ve already forgotten the other person’s name. Silently repeat the person’s name in your head while wrapping up whatever you’re taking about.
• 15) Pretend to not notice the other person doing the same.
• 16) End the conversation, realize that you have forgotten the name again and sheepishly look at the name tag again.
• 17) Say “It was nice meeting you [name]! You going to the party later? Yeah? Great! See you later!”

And that’s how you do the Expo Business Card Shuffle!

Download mp3

The last show before the Expo! Woot!

This episode is sponsored by MyBabyNameGame.com – The online baby name guessing game, where expecting parents can keep their friends in suspense. It’s the perfect gift for that mother-to-be in her third trimester. MyBabyNameGame.com – Email them before Tuesday November 15th 2005 and receive a free gift certificate good for one free game. E-mail them at freeGame - at - MyBabyNameGame.com MyBabyNameGame.com - The online baby name guessing game, where expecting parents can keep their friends in suspense

Thanks to Random for the intro this week! www.sturgeonslaw.com If you like the show, send me a show intro as an mp3 file! (Nicole, we tease because we care.)

• Getting ready for the Podcast & Portable Media Expo Sorry if you’re getting tired of hearing about the expo. The Podcheck Team will be blogging from the Expo, and probably posting pictures. Stay tuned to the Podcheck.com site.

Everyone is talking about Web 2.0. We here at Podcheck are going to jump straight to Podcasting… 10.0 – With even higher speed, and improved clarity, and the fresh taste of ham. So, PodCheck it – be – otch,

• Podshow having a tiff with the PodcastExpo folks? While I heard the story from “a little bird,” Wired also has an article.
• If you recognize me, please introduce yourself to me at the show.
• Podcast Pickle’s Profile system is the “MySpace” of Podcasting. I appreciate everyone that has added Podcheck to their favorites list at ‘The Pickle’.
• Podcasts.Yahoo.com is ultra-cool, too. Thanks for rating the Podcheck Show and leaving a review!
• The Podcast Pickle Party! was a huge success. Thanks to Gary Leland, and Nate and Di for putting that on!
• Wes Keenan (Rantings Of Wes) won some voicework from voice.caraworks.com
• Clinton Alvord won his pick of anything from the Podcheck Podfader Store - he chose the license plate frame
  Clinton runs Comedy4Cast -A comedy podcast in 4 minutes…or less!
• PodTrac - Wow! This looks very cool, and is what I was imagining what a GREAT service for podcasters and sponsors would look like. I signed up for the demographic survey service. Take the survey!
• This wasn’t in the show, but… Warning to podcasters: Don’t just sign any old contract or agreement that comes your way! Talent agreements are not all created equal. Some are designed to screw you.
• I’m also looking foward to meeting the Yahoo Podcasts people!
• Speaking of bleeping - Meet the ****ers - fratpacktribute e-mail…
• The Daily S*** Code
• The C***** Insider
• ***k News Central ******
• The P***** Brothers**
• The Bitterest *****l*
• Radio C*****
• …and The David Lawrence Show.
• When something becomes a comodity, they key to success is differentiation… Podcast Outlaws Promo
• With all of the network TV shows begining podcasting and videocasting, you begin to realize that the tools required to produce these shows are really becoming accessible to the masses. Take soap operas, for example - or this promo for the PK and J Show

Remixing content from openpodcast.org
• What would you like to tell the world?
  – Openpodcast 3118
  – Openpodcast 3119
  – Openpodcast 3120
  – Openpodcast 3121

Get on my Expo “connection list” (People that I am looking for, or who are looking for me)
- Paul and Jeanette - PK and J Show
- Tim Henson - Distorted View Show
- Rob Walsh - Podcast 411
- Craig Shoemaker - Polymorphic Podcast
- The fabulous David Lawrence
- Gary Leland - Podcast Pickle
- Dan Klass - Bitterest Pill
- Michael Corrino
- Nate and Di
- Ben and the PodTrac crew
- The entire Yahoo Podcast team
- Ed Batista from Attention Trust
- The Pupu Platers guys
- Jonathan Cobb from Kiptronic
- The Mommy Cast gals
- Craig Patchett - GodCaster extrordinaire
- Kevin Mason - body painter

E-mail me - show -a-t- podcheck dot com
As promised, here is my conference schedule…
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Scott’s Expo Schedule
Ontario, California
Nov. 10-13, 2005
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Thursday:
12:00 noon - Arrive Marriott Hotel
1:00p - 5:00p - ** Unscheduled **
5:00p - 7:00p - * busy * Dinner
7:00p - ….. - Lounge meetup

========================
Friday:
8:00a - 9:00a - ** Unscheduled **
9:00a - 10:00a - 2 Keynotes
10:30a - 11:30a - Podcasting as a Marketing Tool
11:45a - 12:30p - Music in Podcasts

12:30p - 1:00p - ** Unscheduled ** Lunch

1:00p - 2:00p - 2 keynotes
2:00p - 2:45p - Trends in DRM
3:00p - 4:15p - The ODEO Method

5:00p - 6:00p - Podcast Awards Reception
6:00p - 7:00p - Dawn & Drew Listener Apprec. Event
7:00p - … - Live Dan Klass & Adv. of Dr. Floyd
8:30p - … - special event
9:00p - … - Brother Love etc. concert

========================
Saturday
8:00a - 9:00a - ** Unscheduled **
9:00a - 10:00a - 2 Keynotes
10:30a - 11:30a - Audience Metrics for Portable Devices
11:45a - 12:30p - The Future of Digital Media Downloads

12:30p - 1:00p - ** Unscheduled ** - Lunch

1:00p - 2:00p - 2 keynotes
2:00p - 2:45p - Realities of Monetization and Corp Use.
3:00p - 4:15p - Thicket in your Ear - Podcasting and the Law

5:00p –> ** Unscheduled **

========================
Sunday
9:30a - Depart hotel for Airport

Thanks for listening, and we welcome your e-mail at show-at- podcheck.com or you can call our voicemail line at (206) gag-ipod.

Yes, I’ll be doing a podcast before the Expo on Thursday. In the meantime, you can hear me as a guest on “The Podcast Pickle’s On-Line Podcast Party tonight (November 5, 2005) at 9PM EST. It’s the podcast community’s only live online gathering of podcasters, and it is usually very interesting (if not heavilly laden with references to mind altering substances that are popular with some of the folks).

The ‘party’ consists of a live chat room and a ShoutCast audio stream. The hosts interview members of the podcast community via Skype, transmit the audio feed to everyone using ShoutCast, and then people interact via text in the chat room in real-time. There are also give-aways and contests for free stuff. I’ll be contributing some ‘podfader swag’ from my store, as well as some free voice work. Check it out tonight at http://www.podcastpickle.com/chat/

Podfader swag? Yup. Now you can tell the world that you’re a quitter while you sip on a hot cup of coffee. Ladies, you can thin the heard by announcing your “no podfaders” policy. T-Shirts, coffee mugs, mouse pads, coasters, baby bibs and onesies, barbequeue aprons, boxer shorts, basball caps, license plate frames… CafePress is just such a cool thing.

So.. much… news. Must… podcast! While putting together the show notes for the next Podcheck, I’ve accumulated 27 pages of show notes. Meanwhile, I had some overflow commentary that needed a home:

With Forbes reporting that there will be 37 million iPods in the wild by the end of this year (2005), the din of behind-the-doors product development is increasing, with a number of companies saying “we’ve got a big announcement coming soon.” An undisclosed number of companies will announce new products/services at the Portable Media Expo next week (November 11-12, 2005).

Oh, the next three months are going to be fun to watch. The flare-ups, the fizzle-outs, the hype-fests, and the gnashing of corporate teeth, many the result of “suits” eager to capitalize on this podcasting movement that few outsiders truly understand. Many still think that large (100,000) subscriberhips are somehow magical, but they are STILL missing the point. I describe the business value of podcasting as follows:

“A podcast’s ability to connect with an audience is equal to that of a seminar in an auditorium, where each member of the audience actually hangs on every word of the presenter. What’s more, the audience is thankful for the opportunity to be there. Companies spend thousands of dollars at trade shows to connect with fewer than 700 people. How much is it worth to your business to have the priveldge of addressing 700 “key” people for a few moments? Now, what would your business like to say to them?”

People who don’t understand that key differentiation will find themselves at a grave disadvantage against those who do get it. Never before have companies had the opportunity to quickly reach key decision makers in such a targeted fashion, and only the most savvy marketing companies will be able to develop automatic campaign management systems that deliver messages adequately tailored to the specific audiences. The rest of the marketing companies will still unwittingly try to sell Jaguar X-Type Sedans to high school janitors.

For Marketers
I’m often guilty of unfairly beating up on marketers. Today is no exception. Marketers, here is your free ‘million dollar’ advice: Podcasts [and now, videocasts] give you an unprecedented ability to target your messages. Actively seek out completely new methods to target me, and don’t settle for 3-5% response rates. In fact, don’t settle for less than 30% response and an 80% goodwill impression. Measure response even more closely with higher granularity than you do now. Source every podcast episode to analyze your response curves and constantly tune your media buys, and strongly consider pay-per-inquiry models. You might as well do pay-per-inquiry, because good podcasters will understand their audiences’ monetary value, and won’t enter marketing relationships with you unless the messages match their audiences.

Speaking as an audience member, don’t waste my time selling something to 10% of the audience that the other 90% of the audience won’t buy. Instead, find another podcast or marketing channel. By wasting my time, you show me that you don’t respect my most valuable and limited commodity, and I will resent it. We actively choose our media based on the respect the media has for our time, in quality, length, and relevance. Dare to violate that respect, and I’ll resent your product.

Likewise, if you communicate your marketing message at an inappropriate time, I might resent your product as much as I resent BMW for showing those damn BMW commercials on the movie screen in the movie theatre after I’ve actually paid $8 to get in to see the movie. I actively sought out that movie, in that theatre, on that day, and PAID money to choose my experience, and BMW pissed on it! If I was ever on the fence about buying a BMW versus a Lexus, I’ll never buy a G*! D#$@ BMW now! Also, I’m definitely not going back to that theatre. I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore.

As Steve Gilmor has said- respect my attention; it is the currency of the 21st century.