Archive for July, 2006
Rant: Wall Street Journal on New Media
Caution. Explicit language abounds.
David Goodman pointed me to a big article in the Wall Street Journal about new media that made me feel like when Ze Frank says, “asshole!” really quickly.
The journal’s pretty bearish about the new media space, and they’ve got the numbers to prove it. They say it’s all hobbyist stuff, and that so few people are really making a living off it that it’s ridiculous. They mentioned the boys from Ask A Ninja, as well as lots of folks that Steve knows well. But man, they were sour.
You know what bugs me more than f*@&? Devil’s Advocates. I want to punch them in the face. Or worse. They’re never useful to dreamers, and implementers, and people out there trying to make something happen. Telling me why the idea is shit isn’t useful to me.
Helping me fix the idea, now that’s cool.
A friend is starting his own content network around blogging. He and I are are in the “underground blogosphere” right now, discussing what to do with a prick who responded to the offer with all kinds of sour “what’s in it for me” stuff. Not that you can’t ask about terms and the like, but don’t be sour. If you want to play, cool. If you don’t, say no thanks, and move along.
How many people are getting filthy rich blogging and podcasting on their own? Are you reading my site? No. Now, how many of you reading my site aren’t getting filthy rich either blogging or podcasting, and have at least a vague interest in trying a few new models out just for shits, and seeing if there’s a way to come up with something new, interesting, bigger-than-solo?
I thought so.
If I broke GNM back down to its basics, it’s the same speech I’ve been giving most of this year: one voice is okay, but a chorus commands notice. Do what you’re doing solo if you want, but there’s a better chance of being heard and starting a conversation when you voice yourself larger than life.
All the details, all the terms and conditions talk, all the talk of layers and intellectual property.
Shit, maybe I’ll just lean over into this beautiful microphone 
and record.
VENUE for PodCamp Boston
For those of you considering attending PodCamp Boston on Sept 9-10, we’ve got a venue. Bunker Hill Community College will be the site of PodCamp Boston, thanks to the generous sponsorship of the Museum of Science, Boston. They’ve made a commitment to New Media, and because of it, we’ve got a home for our event in Bunker Hill, a famous US landmark, which also happens to be very accessible from lots of directions and means of transportation.
The new media revolution is on. And it WILL be televised.
If you’re attending or support such events, please spread the word. Graphics to accompany the text can be had at http://podcamp.org, or go to chrisbrogan.com and steal the graphic in the bottom right.
Money Buckets
Imagine that money is rain falling from the sky. You can get this money in two ways: put out lots of buckets and go around collecting the money, or run around with a big bucket, actively chasing the drops. The buckets you place out take a little more work, and aren’t readily available. The bucket you can use yourself and run around with, well, everyone has a chance at that.
The trick obviously would be to get yourself some of those “put ‘em down and let them collect money” buckets, and not waste your time with the running-around bucket. You have to go collect from those buckets you’ve laid down all over the place, but the work’s not nearly as time consuming and rough as the running-around bucket.
Last night, I was told that my business model was a lot more running-around bucket than collection bucket. It involved too much of my hands in the mix to make it happen. There were other models that were similar to what I want to create that wouldn’t require as much direct hands-on for what I’m doing and hoping to get back from the effort.
Create or Help Others Create
The model right now is this: I gather talented people to one umbrella. We build podcasts. We launch the podcasts and build audience around the material. We sell access to those podcasts to appropriate sponsors to the content, and acceptible to the audience. (For instance, we won’t sell burger ads on a vegan podcast).
It’s the magazine model. It’s Conde Naste. Build a cool magazine (audio in this case). Get people jazzed. Sell a few ads (or if I’m lucky, single sponsors who want it to be THEIR SHOW). Build another magazine. Share love between the mags.
The other model is to develop services around the podcasting ecosystem. I think that this model has some merit. It’s a great way to build great stuff with others and instrument their passion to a finely honed edge. It’s another way to swing at a similar ball. But it’s different. It’s not really as hands-on, not as deep, and I dunno. I think I feel a bit intimidated by the model for reasons that I can’t fully illustrate here. For whatever reason, I feel like even LESS of an expert at this different model.
Lawyers and More
Have I ever told you I hate money? Steve Garfield has a post citing stuff Robert Scoble said. It talks about questions one should consider getting answered before joining a content network. On the one hand, I understand. Podcasters are at a weird place where there are lots of companies looking to profit on their work, and some of those companies are sharing. Others aren’t. YouTube’s terms and conditions, from what I understand, suggest that they can make money on your stuff, and that they’re not obligated to share it with you.
This mucks things up for would-be content network ideas like mine. In my case, maybe I’m coming at this from too much of a “aw shucks, we love each other” mindset, but I’m thinking that if everyone’s podcasting from passion, doing this in earnest, and working together to build audience around the podcast topics we’re creating, then we’ll figure out a way to instrument the podcasts and make money.
I’ve been straightforward all the way, saying that I’m hoping to get money to the company for all this, and that I intend to share. I’ve given out my initial ideas about pre-contract handling of any money we manage to land. But more and more, I’m being advised to get a lawyer, to build appropriate contracts, to prepare for Intellectual Property battles.
Boy, smells like effort. (You listening, Steve?)
Am I Swinging Too High?
My plan is to build a bunch of great podcasts, get audience under each of them, and share the value of that production with those who are seeking new media outlets to reach those audiences. It’s a very very VERY short tail of podcasters who are making money right now doing what they’re doing. The rest of us, the overwhelming majority of us, aren’t making a dime directly. Sure, some of us are using these podcasts for different means, and others are finding tangential revenue for what they’re doing, but I’d say there are TONS of people who *wish* they could get a big audience, get their passionate message out to more than the 50 or 100 or 200 people. I think there’s a way to reach thousands, 10s of thousands, more. I think that we can get money to those people who do this consistently.
Is this a crazy plan? Or is it a matter of scale? Publishing houses don’t just launch one book and sit back and see what happens. They launch a few products, build market, and then they go forward to try and build on their success.
Please, tear this apart. Are you on the sidelines waiting to see this crash and burn? I’d like your serious and honest thoughts and impressions on what you’ve seen so far about Grasshopper New Media and the plan as you understand it.
An UnExpert
I’m working hard with friends and local podcasters to build PodCamp an unconference about podcasting and new media. “Unconference means that the material is driven by the participants, and that it’s not a corporate event. It’s by the people for the people, in the most straightforward form of what that intends. I’m having a blast, and I’m learning. Here’s some of what I’ve learned:
- How to write a good promotion letter.
- How to pester(politely) big names into coming.
- How to pester(politely) supergalacticHUGE names into saying they might come, if they don’t go to other countries that day.
- How to ask venues for use of their place, especially if it’s free. (Thanks Chris for the letter).
- How to get press from new media sources.
- How to ask for sponsorship.
- How to Ask+. (That’s my new brand for asking for something, getting it, and then asking for more).
- How to work with a virtual team (our organizers).
There’s more, but I got bored of typing < li > .
I’m excited as hell to be learning this about PodCamp, and at the same time, I’m learning more and more about how to start a business. I was telling Michael that when I’m done with all this, I’ll either have a great book on “How NOT to try and Startup a Company,” or perhaps “How I made THOUSANDS in Podcasting.” It’s weird building a virtual company, where we’re not getting paid yet, not working in the same office, not lots of things. We’re the unCompany.
At the same time, I’m sharing everything I know. I’m sharing with you through these posts. I’m sharing with Sonya, my illustrator, for my thoughts about her developing site. I’m sharing with all my Executive Producers via this HUGE email I just sent them with all my thoughts and musings about how this relationship might work. It’s practically an open-source business model. (I’ve written about these in the past by the way).
I’m even building a show (audio and video) around everything I’m learning about new media, so you can benefit from the stuff I learn there as well.
Overall, it’s been exciting, exhausting, thrilling, and pretty much the largest chunk of learning and new experiences I’ve ever taken up at the same time. What should be overwhelming is still so far very invigorating. I’m thankful for that. And I’m forever grateful to you, my friends.
It raises these two questions, in my mind:
What have you learned from this site over the last months?
and
What do you hope to learn in the coming months?
Small Business Podcasters Wanted
My friend, Becky, is starting up a podcast for Grasshopper New Media, about small business. We’re looking for voices to add to the choir. You should be willing to commit to a segment per week, maybe 3-5 minutes of audio. Hopefully, you’ve got something interesting to say, and are passionate about the topic of small businesses.
Becky’s the Executive Producer. Go over to her site and contact her. She’ll tell you more about the deal. I’ll just end with this: it’s gonna be a KICK-ASS show!
React Fast, Reinforce After the Fact
One of my new executive producers asked me a good question about the rights to material created by podcasters to be used by GNM. I hadn’t really given it much explicit thought before the question had been raised, and I had a few pre-existing notions, but I hadn’t really put anything together yet. Once I’d been asked the question, I had to form my thoughts into text, so that I could share my views out.
React Fast, Reinforce After the Fact
I think that’s a good model for doing things, especially as reacting to change and new situations is a key component to operating small businesses (especially virtual ones like mine).
I wrote out my thoughts on the matter for the Executive Producer to share with prospects, and then I went back and looked them over. I added a few lines, removed a few words that could be vague or ambiguous, and I’m satisfied for now. I’ll build some kind of T&C contract soon enough, but as we’re just getting started, I think my current answers on record will satisfy prospective podcasters.
React Fast
I think part of what makes one react fast is that you think through all the angles often enough that if someone throws you a new one, you’ll have some previous ground to reconsider. Another element is paying attention to things going on around you (in this case, maybe reading about other business models, or learning about what plagues and vexes other business owners in your market). I think learning from people outside your field is an even better model, but that’s just how I do it. I’m not sure that translates.
Reinforce After the Fact
I don’t mean “reinforce” in some kind of disciplanary way. I’m thinking about slapping down sandbags to stop a flood, and then rushing to get more sandbags and material to keep the water at bay. Maybe it’s the same as building scaffolding and then putting up the real walls.
Two of the local entrepreneurs I admire most both use this model for most everything in their lives. Only, they do it like this: jump in, figure it out later.
I look up to them, because they try more things, and are willing to fall on their face a little more often. I tend to want all the plans in hand first. Part of the drive to get GNM launched comes from following their lead on such matters. But because I’m me, and I’ve years and years of operations experience, I know I’ll have to build out the reinforcement after the fact.
In fact, now that I say this, I just laid out the “react fast” idea to the same Executive Producer on how people will submit files to us, and now, I’m researching how it’ll *really* work, once I figure out how I want to approach that.
What about you? Does the model work for you? Do you find yourself reacting fast, or do you sit back and observe? What’s your model for when you’re faced with something unexpected?
It’s Not Luck
I went to a cookout tonight (actually my second of the day) and ran into a guy who just finished school (later in life) and was a big multimedia, A/V kind of guy. He wanted to learn more about podcasting, and found it freaky that I’d run into him, and was all about the podcasting. He also mentioned having some student loan debt to pay off.
I recommended the Financial Aid Podcast and the Student Loan Network for his debt issues, and then invited him to PodCamp Boston on Sept 9-10. I gave him my card with this contact information on the back, and implored him to contact me on all fronts.
Now, was it luck?
Not at all. And no, I’m not suggesting something like fate. Instead, I’m saying that I put myself in the situation of learning as much as I can about someone upon meeting them. I’m doing deep dives, trying hard to go past the “weather” talk that most of us engage in, and see what someone’s about, and what they might need. If I can be helpful, I help. If I find something I need, I ask for help.
That’s not luck. Don’t count on luck.
Temporary Whoops
For anyone who’d visited any of my sites in the last 18 hours, whoops. I broke them badly last night. They’re all fine now. The break was my fault, but the fix was the ISP’s issue. Weird, eh?
TK421 Report!
Uh, we’re fine here. How are you?
–Chris…
Writing Gig: 52 Reviews
Eric has a job offer over at 52 Reviews. Check it out.
The Underground Blogosphere
I picked up a meme on various blogs about the Underground Blogosphere. I caught it first at Publishing 2.0, and then it seemed to explode all over the place. Steve Rubel said it first here. Read it yourself first, if you’d like.
In a nutshell, the premise is that bloggers email each other about their latest posts, in search of link love and reciprocation. This is considered somehow bad by some and the norm for others.
My take?
If you’ve got something interesting to say, and it’s adding to overall conversations and the value of things in general, then by all means, please point me towards it. I use RSS. I surf delicious and Technorati, but you never know what I might miss by mistake. I’ve got lots of things in the air. By all means, share it.
So is this bad? Is it bad to say, “Hey, please go check out my post at Lifehack.org, because I think you’d really appreciate the premise!”
I don’t think so. In fact, I think that conversation marketing is the new black of the promotions and marketing business. If you’re a company and you want me to look at your thing, email me. Give me a conversation. Show me your blog. Foldera blogs. I think they’re the bomb. Hell, their Global VP of Word-of-Mouth Marketing and I have so much in common, it’s nutty. Well, except that he’s brilliant. : )
I think that this is the new marketing anyhow. Since I got into blogging and podcasting, I’ve been approached by folks who make energy drinks (see FGGF#11), by authors (See LifeHack Podcast 1, and upcoming LifeHack Podcast 5), by more authors (I’ve got a stack of free business books to read), and by all kinds of people promoting.
Further, *I* promote. I do it all the time. I pimp things my friends are doing all the time. Some of it comes to me via email and then lands on CB.c or LH.o. That’s bad somehow? I don’t think so.
The only important thing to me is disclosure around being paid or influenced to give a good impression of something. I make my own opinions. They can’t be bought. Besides, paid opinions already exist: they’re called commercials. Provided you know the difference, I think everything’s okay.
What’s your take?
