Podcamp NYC 2.0 - Overview

Podcamp NYC an “unconference” on new media which was hosted this year at Poly Tech in Brooklyn New York. I decided to attend this event (mainly because it was free and local) and I wasn’t quite sure what I would get out of it. However, I must say I was shockingly surprised by the sheer amount of knowledge that I obtained from attending Podcamp – not only was it informative but the people I was able to meet and network with was phenomenal.

So let’s break down the event, two days of excellence.

Friday (April 25th, 2008):

10AM with Ben Kartzman from Spongecell who discussed using widgets and social media to market events, generate sales and stimulate sign-ups.

My thoughts: It was definitely informative and useful – I learned a few things about widgets and what a good widget should consist of to be functional. Usability, features and considering a users potential uses for your widget is essential when building a useful worthwhile widget.

11AM with Alan Levy from BlogTalkRadio who discussed how to build and Sustain a Social Community.

My thoughts: It was decent, I picked up a few things, however, it seemed to be more of a Q & A about BlogTalkRadio then an open discussion about tips and tools on how to maintain that social community.

12PM Lunch with WirelessPacket and FourOnes of TheLeetGeeks.com these guys are great I spent both days with them. Make sure you keep an eye on their work, it is going to be great.

1PM with Todd Cochrane discussed Securing a Sponsor in the New Media Space.

My thoughts: Very interesting and definitely worth attending. Many different points were brought up – not all of which I agreed with; for example – charging to download and listen to your Podcast. My first problem with this is the question “Who are you?” – who are you to be charging, especially if you have no credibility – I have a major problem with that. However, points made about treating your podcast or whatever it is you may do as a business and not a hobby I thought were excellent points.

2PM with Lee Gibbons – The Intersection of New Media and Social Media.

My thoughts: Pretty good presentation, my favorite point of his was that on what Lee calls “Value Wake”. According to Lee, “It is pretty simple, really. Value wake is the trail of value you leave behind you as you go through life. The Value Wake proposition holds that life, at its best, is all about learning and then passing the value of that learning on to others. I have observed that those to whom learning is the center activity of life are simply happier, and to those who devote much of their life to also teaching others come the richest rewards of all.”

3PM with Tim Bourquin and Michael Geoghegan who discussed “How To Promote and Make Money With Your Podcast in the Next 30 Days”.

My thoughts: It was okay, I’m not a big believer in those “get rich quick” schemes so I had a little trouble going on everything they said.

4PM with Tom Webster who discussed The Podcast Consumer Rrevealed- New research on the Podcasting Audience.

My thoughts: If anything this was an eye-opener as to the detailed information of who really is a podcaster’s audience. Definitely something to consider when started a podcast.

Saturday (April 26th, 2008):

10AM with Andy Sernovitz who discussed Word of Mouth Marketing.

My thoughts: Thank you, thank you, thank you for talking about this Andy. It really was informative and useful to me as someone who is working on a startup. All of the tips and tricks one would need to know to get people talking about your product or service were in this presentation. Well done!

11AM with David Recordon of Six Apart who discussed “Using distributed technologies to change the World”.

My thoughts: David knew his stuff I was able to pick up more information into the way the web is gravitating towards and really got me thinking about the distributing technologies that in essence make advertising on the web much harder and face similar issues that broadcast TV is facing today.

12PM Lunch with WirelessPacket and Alana Taylor. Food was great, so was the conversation. Really enjoyed it. Keep an eye on both of them as they are going to be doing some huge stuff.

1PM with Chris Brogan, Laura Fitton, and Roxanne Darling who discussed Finding Your New Media Voice.

My thoughts: Bottom line: be yourself online. Plus I learned about utterz.com – pretty neat.

2PM with John Havens of BlogTalkRadio and also the leader coordinator of Podcamp NYC 2.0 who discussed Tactical Transparency.

My thoughts: Very very interesting. I loved the openness of the conversation in this session. In fact, it’s where I met Drew Olanoff who has a lot of very interesting ideas and projects. Made me think about how people should act and maintain themselves online and if in 5-10 years from now when my generation is in the corporate world how it will be when it comes to hiring people.

3PM with Kevin Gamble who discussed Tiki Bar TV.

My thoughts: The guy is hilarious and really knows his stuff. No wonder why he and his crew have been so successful.

4PM with Drew Olanoff who discussed “bringing it all together”. Using social media as your toolkit and not a distraction.

My thoughts: Drew is a great guy and funny too. I feel him and I are on the same page when it comes to using social networks efficiently and effectively. The session was excellent, really made me wonder why I have all these accounts which I rarely use.

Podcamp NYC 2.0 was excellent. I am definitely attending next year, maybe I will even speak. I will be posting another blog entry discussing the people I met at Podcamp so keep an eye out for that.

What did you think of Podcamp NYC – leave a comment!