Andrew Responds

Chris,

Okay, here's where I chime in, and you might consider me an outsider since I have no podcast or vidcast myself, but I've been watching from the sidelines for a very long time.

A little background, then my vision for where this is all headed.

For those that don't know me, I'm the guy who listened to a number of podcasters wishing that there was an easier way for their audience to leave audio feedback - so I developed the MyChingo Audio Comment system and now within 4 minutes after creating a membership account, their sites can start accepting audio comments from anyone who has a microphone attached to their computer. And yeah, it's free.

I listen, and when I think that I can help, I create.

I've listened again, and now MyChingo is going to become the MobaTalk, which will continue to allow audio comments, but will add in video comments, uploaded comments, comments from cell phones, comments from a dial-in phone number, and any other form of feedback which will allow the conversation to continue.

So, what's my vision?

I'm working on a system, which when completed, will shift your audiences.

It will get them out from in front of their computers and allow them to consume your audio and video content in the comforts of their living rooms, right alongside the major media networks.

I see RocketBoom stats going from 300,000 downloads per day to 3,000,000 daily downloads.

I see Ze Franks stats sky rocketing as his content reaches people who may not currently have have the technical ability to consume his content.

I see the US population has hit 300,000,000 and by 2010, there is a predicted 415,000,000 people with broadband internet access.

I see all of the content producers getting major advertiser endorsements, because that is where the audience will be.

I see a major shift in the media industry, and what I see is being confirmed in some recent articles I've read.

So my unsolicited advice?

Quit fighting and disputing - the media shift is just beginning - stay focused, make the next step happen.

Concentrate on producing the content.

Let me focus on creating the distribution system for you. Let's work on this together, because quite frankly, nobody else is "getting it" yet, and by the time that they see the light, "WE" will be the media...the entertainment.

Reality itself will become a 20-minute delay while someone, somewhere, with a camera or microphone is producing the content and uploading it.

I lose a lot of sleep - I'm very passionate and driven to make a change in the world. I cannot do it alone. I'm not profit driven, yet my family is suffering the consequence of my actions.

For anyone who is old enough to remember the movie, Close Encounters of the Third Kind....well, I'm obsessed like the character portrayed by Richard Dreyfus was.

Not exactly sure what it all means, but the vision will not go away, and I know that I need to keep on developing, keep creating, and somehow down the road it will all fall in to place and the meaning will take shape.

For anyone reading this who understands what I am saying, please contact me, let me know that I am not alone....For everyone else, well, please take the time to figure it out, as I believe it is not only a huge event taking place, it's a historical moment in time, and you are part of it.

Michael Bailey
CEO/Mobasoft, LLC
mbailey [at] mobasoft [dot] com

i totally agree. infighting hurts everyone.

when i think about what kind of damage can be done to both business and reputations with this, it upsets me. after all, google remembers everything. being upset with someone one day (and blogging it), you had better be prepared to have those arguments read by readers pretty much forever (that is, unless you're the type to edit your stuff out of existence).

in a comparison, amanda and andrew are now doing fine with their own thing independently, it seems. they also did well at your event together, so hopefully this won't turn into name calling and hair pulling. i've always respected andrew baron's method of dealing with the crises that eventually end up his way due to the position he has.

I was pretty disappointed with Ze's RB commentary for exactly the reasons you've been putting forth, Chris. Even though Ze was already popular and well-regarded before he started his show, and even though his show would have been a success anyway, he was propelled to another level when RB highlighted what he was doing those many months ago.

Ze doesn't owe anyone anything, of course. And he's certainly contributed a great deal to videoblogging whether he intended to directly grow the community or not. I, for one, look to him as a leader by example.

That said, it's all the more disappointing to see infighting at this moment, especially when Andrew can conjure a convincing argument for his own stats. I should say that even though we work with Andrew, I have never seen RB's stats and have no insider knowledge of this argument from one position or another.

But it seemed like a cheap shot.

So, your post was asking us all to look in the mirror and figure out how we can grow this thing together. It seems more and more like Zadi's and my contribution can be toward building that bridge between new media and old ("dirty") media. We want to introduce as many people as we can from each side so that new ideas can get out there and breathe some oxygen.

We want to start doing regular screenings to create the kinds of venues that independent filmmakers enjoyed at Sundance or the NY Film Festival. There's no replacement for personal introductions and face time. This weekend's party in L.A. will hopefully be the first step toward creating that.