PodCamp West – what a blast

PodCamp West is over. It was such a blast, and I am still recovering from it.

Got to go back to Venue today with Jitu to clean-up and do some paper work.

I will update the blog later in date after I had some sleep.

– Vic Podcaster

Podcamp West PreParty – We had a blast

We had a blast at the PodCamp West pre-party at The Mint.

Karaoke bar added spice to the party mood with the folks singing on the stage. It was fun to listen to different podcasters singing and watch them dance. Normally you hear these folks only talk on their show — but if you show up at the PodCampWest pre-party, you also get to watch them dance and sing. 😉

I will post the pictures later – got to catch some sleep tonight for tomorrows day long event and after party.

See you all at the PodCampWest on Saturday.

-Vic Podcaster

PodCamp West Official Toolbar for your browser – Get instant updates and breaking news

We got cool custom toolbar for PodCampWest. Thanks to Reena Jadhav for helping out and putting it together for us. I was so thoroughly impressed with the toolbar features when I saw it, I knew that I had to share the story with you. Not only does this cool customized toolbar gives you up to minute updates, it also allows you to check all your web mail automatically and notifies you when new mail arrives.

As the new content is posted on PodCampWest Wiki, or the PodCampWest Blog is updated toolbar notifies you instantaneously. Also after the conference, when the PodCampWest site will be updated with recorded conference proceedings, you will instantly know what is available.

Download Official PodCampWest ToolBar and get instant updates

Reena works for a company called Conduit, a company headquarted in Israel and Redwood Shores, CA. Conduit is helping build the PodCamp West community by providing us a custom toolbar, and are also one of the silver sponsors for PodCamp West. Thank you Conduit.

As per Reena, “Conduit delivers unprecedented community loyalty and site traffic for over 125,000 publishers, including major brands such as Major League Baseball, Fox Carolina TV, Greenpeace, REMAX, Blogdigger and small and medium publishers in 112 countries around the globe. Conduit’s innovative search monetization model allows the service to be completely free and without adware, malware and spyware.”

PodCamp West Sessions – Sessions page is now unlocked on PodCampWest Wiki

We have done our best to schedule the Panels on Track 1 and accommodate as many folks as we could. Please do not make any changes to Track 1.

The session’s page on PodCampWest Wiki is now ‘unlocked’. That means you can make changes to Track 2.

Track 2 is for you to add your sessions/talk and many slots are open on both days. Email me if you have any difficulties adding the sessions – modifying the page is pretty straight forward. All the table layout and time info is already there. All you have to do is just remove the text which says ‘open slot’ in a time slot in Track 2 and type-in your session/talk description.

-Vic Podcaster

Volunteers needed to help record the Podcamp West sessions

PodCamp West for sure is a historic event and we need volunteers to help record the sessions, both as Audio and Video – every single bit of it. We want to make sure that no portion is missed and every single event is recorded and available to folks who could not attend or want to watch later.

Bring in your gear, your recording rig, your camera, your video camera and add yourself to the PodcampWest Wiki Volunteer page saying that you will be recording. The whole community will thank you.

PodCamp West – WiFi is up and running

Larry setup and tested PodCamp West WiFi network today. Thank you larry, ‘The Networking Guru’, you rock. Larry tweaked the WiFi base station to get every ounce of signal he could get, by using custom Linux firmware. So officially the Podcamp West wifi is running on Linux. 🙂

We are getting good solid 54Mbps throughout the venue on both levels.

There are two WiFi bases setup. Here are the names/id you will see.

1. Podcampwest1

2. Podcampwest2

WEP key for both the WiFi stations is ‘Podcasting’ . Lets keep the WEP key a secret… shhhhhhh…. 😉

-Vic Podcaster

PodCamp West Audio system – We need help

Some folks have emailed me asking about the audio system. Here is what we will be setting up tomorrow:

In the main hall (downstairs), we are setting up the sound system tomorrow. Sound system consists of a small ( 8 channel) Mackie board with 5 stage microphones, small table stands and JPL speakers.

In fact we are short… and need help.

1. …if you can help bring a mic or two, please do. We will really appreciate it.

2. Also it will be awesome, if you can help with a Wireless mic, which we can use to get the questions from the audience.

The hall upstairs has a seating capacity of 60 people. The acoustics of the hall are good and no sound system is required.

Bring in your mobile Podcasting rig/gear if you want to record the sessions.

Thanks in advance for helping.

 

-Vic Podcaster

PodCamp West Count Down – 2 days left

PodCamp West is only 2 days away. You coming to the Pre-Party … Right…?

Oh! Today was a very hectic day. I spent almost all my afternoon and evening at the PodCamp West venue. I am sorry if you called or emailed me and I did not get back to you…

So what we did today…

1. We did the layout at the venue and organized both the halls, and got the stage ready.
2. Networking – We brought two live network links and tested the WiFi – We got full venue covered including corners. 🙂

Tomorrow we are going back to take care of the following:

1. Audio System in the main hall.
2. Bring in Water & Soda.
3. Bring in Chips, snacks, energy bars to get you going throughout the day.
4. Setting up the snacks and drinks counter
5. Layout the Sponsors demo area.

Thanks are in order – many thanks to Larry and Jetu, for helping me out doing this back breaking work, moving chairs and tables and organizing things. For those who don’t know, Larry and Jetu are both volunteering for PodCampWest and have given almost this entire week to help prepare for the PodCampWest. Larry is a networking guru and Jetu is a mobility experts and plays with cell phone handsets at chip level. Both are cool guys and you will meet them at the PodCamp West.

Thanks to Mr. Guy, the event hall manager, for giving us the venue two days in advance. J You rock and the whole community thanks you. Having early access to the venue is so great and comforting.

The venue is looking very nice. More later.

-Vic Podcaster

PodCamp West After Party @ Cafe du Nord ,Nov. 18th 6:00 PM

More Good News.

For the PodCamp West attendees, there will be an ‘after party‘ on Saturday, November 18th, from 6 to 8pm at the Cafe du Nord bar located in the same building. Make sure you are registered and on the guest list to attend the party.

The folks need to mingle and have some fun after a long day of geek talk. Thank you very much to all for making it happen.

PodCamp Pre-Party @ The Mint – Friday Nov. 17, 6:30 PM

There must be a pre-party to celebrate and get together on the eve of PodCamp West. Right?

PodCamp Pre-Party will be held at The Mint in San Franciso on the eve of Podcamp West from 6:30 PM Onwards.

The Mint

1942 Market Street

San Francisco, CA 94102

(415) 626-4726

Nov. 17, 6:30 PM onwards.

All are invited. 🙂

PodCampWest countdown has started – 3 days left

Hi folks,

PodCamp West Countdown has started. We are three days away from historic event.…. We have got so much response that we are overwhelmed…..this is going to be pretty exciting event and a lot bigger than I originally imagined. It is amazing how everybody is helping out to make it happen.

Many thanks are in order and I will make sure the community knows about the people who are helping in.

I am happy to report that many people have stepped in to Sponsor the PodCamp and you can find complete list at http://PodCampWest.org .

I will have tons and announcement to make throughout the day – stay tuned to the blog and subscribe to the RSS feed.

 

————–

Pinging engines: Pingomatic , a2b , feedster , yahoo rpc , yahoo , blogdigger , blogshares , blogsnow , blogstreet , coreblog , blogs , feedburner , syndic , weblogalot , popdex , blogrolling , technorati , weblogs , topic exchange , pubsub , my yahoo , moreover

 

PodCampWest update. Where are we?

PodCampWest is coming along very well.

I just noticed that I have not updated the blog in a while. Let me give a quick update.

We had the venue locked down last month. We are pinging the sponsors to raise the money.

I just checked the Wiki, we have 108 registrations so far for the Podcamp. Thank you folks for registering. The venue can take upto 250 people.

Please promote PodCampWest uncocnference on you blog/website, this is your event, community event. We got to make sure all the folks who want to attend get the message. Many thanks to the following for actively promoting the PodCampWest. The community thanks you.

1. Fat Calico Blog : http://foneshow.blogspot.com/ : FoneShow has developed a unique platform that lets users consume podcasts and other short-form audio on their cell phones.
2. Matthew Wayne Selznick, The Brave Men Run Podcast Novel, Sonitotum, the Podcast Guild. Matt Selznick is an author, editor, writing coach, musician, podcaster, and advocate for the DIY ethic.
3. Interfaith Today : http://www.interfaithtoday.org/ : This podcast highlights the work of the global Interfaith Movement.
4. Pradeep Sethi : http://psethi.wordpress.com
5. Another Blogger/Mother/Citizen. Three Kid Circus, Mommybloggers : http://www.threekidcircus.com/threekidcircus/
6. Jonas Thomander : http://www.sanojfilm.se
7. Giovanni Gallucci : http://www.theagencyblog.com/ : http://www.mediaswamp.com/
8. Colette Vogele : http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/blogs/vogele/ : Colette Vogele heads the firm Vogele & Associates advising individuals, businesses, and non-profit organizations on a range of intellectual property questions (including copyright, trademark, trade secret, patent, and privacy issues) as they relate to technology, new media and the arts. As a fellow, she has recently completed co-authoring the Podcasting Legal Guide: Rules for the Revolution.
9. Martin Mckeay : http://www.mckeay.net/ Network Security Blog, http://www.computerworld.com/blogs/blog/61 Computerworld : Network security professional
10. Les Bain : http://www.biziii.com/ Mike Hughes and I create a daily three minute podcast about the converge of media and technology.
11. Brian Solis BrianSolis.com Blog
12. Spodradio SPodRadio Delivering the Total Radio Experience to mobile broadband users.
13. Brad Baldwin, Personal: House of Baldwin and Rocky Mountain Voices, a PodTech.net content parter site devoted to technology, entrepreneurs, business, and lifestyle podcasts in the Rocky Mountain region.

Today and tomorrow, I am pinging the Sponsors to raise some money to pay the bills. If you want to help this event by sponsoring or by making any kind of contribution, please ping me. We need your help, support and sponsorship. If you can get a sponsor for PodCampWest please do so and make and introduction.

I will also be posting in Yahoo and Google groups today.

Thats all for now. I am off now to attend http://Startupcamp.org for the rest of the afternoon and meet some friends.

[Edit] Pinging Update: Somebody pointed out that we are not indexed by technorati and Search Engines. Pinging the engines here:

Pingomatic , a2b , feedster , yahoo rpc , yahoo , blogdigger , blogshares , blogsnow , blogstreet , coreblog , blogs , feedburner , syndic , weblogalot , popdex , blogrolling , technorati , weblogs , topic exchange , pubsub , my yahoo , moreover

How to Organize a BarCamp – Tips and Pointers

Many thanks to Chris Messina for sharing the links and tips on how to organize the BarCamp style unconference. I thought I should share these links so the other folks organizing the PodCamps could benefit. Here are the links:

BarCamp Google group:

http://groups.google.com/group/barcamp
And here are some excellent step by step how to’s and do’s and don’ts.

http://barcamp.org/OrganizeALocalBarCamp

Announcing PodCamp West, San Francisco

http://amitgupta.com/blog/shoebox/2006/01/17/barcamp-nyc-its-over/
http://www.amitranjan.com/2006/03/17/dummys-guide-to-organizing-a-ba rcamp-in-your-city/

Christopher S. Penn and Chris Brogan also shared their experince of organizing first PodCamp, what worked and what did not. A big thankyou to both Chris and Chris. 🙂

Here is the link: http://podcamp.wordpress.com/2006/09/19/lessons-learned-from-podcamp/

[Pinging search engines here] Pingomatic , a2b , feedster , yahoo rpc , yahoo , blogdigger , blogshares , blogsnow , blogstreet , coreblog , blogs , feedburner , syndic , weblogalot , popdex , blogrolling , technorati , weblogs , topic exchange , pubsub , my yahoo , moreover

Who should attend Podcamp West, Venue and Dates.

Here is some info which would help you decide if you should attend PodCamp West in San Francisco.

Who Should Attend: PodcampWest is for people interested in new media. Bloggers, Podcasters, Video Bloggers (Vloggers) are the people, who the conference serves best. If you’re interested in doing something with new media, you’ll want to attend. Are you an individual or school or library wondering how to incorporate podcasting into projects and community events? Are you a corporation type wondering how you should get involved in new Media? Are you a venture group thinking about whether to invest in this new media space? Come to PodCampWest, learn,share and you will have the answers.

We have tentatively locked November 18-19 (weekend) as dates. I am working hard on securing the venue. Negotiating the venue is turning out to be a little more difficult than I originally thought, lot of other events are planned in San Francisco in November.

Venue has access to a few large areas to assemble for sessions and areas earmarked for decompressing and for demo tables. It’s local enough to everything that you can ride a train, take a bus, get a cab. It’s very accessible to folks either coming from far away or locally. Parking is typically paid parking (really expensive) or typically difficult to find in San Francisco.

I will have more for info for the community soon.

[Pinging search engines here] Pingomatic , a2b , feedster , yahoo rpc , yahoo , blogdigger , blogshares , blogsnow , blogstreet , coreblog , blogs , feedburner , syndic , weblogalot , popdex , blogrolling , technorati , weblogs , topic exchange , pubsub , my yahoo , moreover

Announcing PodCamp West, San Francisco

First Podcamp on the West coast will be held SanFrancisco in November, 2006. We are negotiating the venue, and dates and venue will be announced soon.

PodCampWest, San Francisco is a FREE UnConference in the tradition of BarCamp, and will be held in San Francisco in November, 2006, (venue to be announced soon) accessible by public transportation, and readily reachable via the train. PodCampWest is FREE to attend and is inspired by the PodCamp Boston.

SIGN UP: http://PodCampWest.org

The first 200 will get a free shirt and any other interesting free schwag we find along the way.

THE POWER OF UNCONFERENCE: The power of an UnConference is you get FREE access to ideas, thoughts, best practices, and the true “wisdom of crowds” simply by registering and attending. An UnConference brings people with many different skill set together with the spirit of sharing and learning. We’re audio and video podcasters, enthusiasts, businesspeople, hobbyists, musicians, promoters, marketers, and people who generally want to understand more about the new media space. We would like everyone to participate in some form or another and learn.
We urge you to consider signing up to give a 5 minute lightning talk about your experience with podcasts (viewing/listening), or a 30 minute session if you’ve got enough material to share with others. The sessions are held in the format of a conversation with the people in the room participating. Really shy or too new to the space? Join an informal round table talk, let others join you and ignite the conversations or participate in Podcasting demos and actual live podcasts as well!

Using this Blog I will keep you posted of the progress. Check it often or subscribe to the RSS feed.

[Pinging search engines here] Pingomatic , a2b , feedster , yahoo rpc , yahoo , blogdigger , blogshares , blogsnow , blogstreet , coreblog , blogs , feedburner , syndic , weblogalot , popdex , blogrolling , technorati , weblogs , topic exchange , pubsub , my yahoo , moreover