In some ways, Kevin Rose and his Revision 3 partner, Alex Albrecht have become symbols of user-generated media. Their podcast show, Diggnation was one of the first out of the gate to build a substantial audience, and most recently, Kevin Rose was selected as one of Tech Review’s “2007 Young Innovators Under 35.” Kevin was selected because of the impact he’s had on the way people consume news through online social bookmarking and community rating or “digging” stories up or down. You can read more about it here, but here is an excerpt:

Digg, mixes blogging, online syndication, social networking, and “crowdsourcing”–which combines the knowledge and opinions of many individuals–to create an online newspaper of stories selected by the masses.

If you are not immediately awe-struck by the effective combination of community and technology then know this - Digg receives more than 17 million visitors to the site each month. Obviously, there is a substantial user-base who enjoy consuming, contributing, and interacting with content in this way. But aside from Kevin’s recent recognition, this is old news.

What really prompted this blog post was a video interview (see below) with Kevin Rose at MIT. It resonated with me because I have recently been doing some social marketing strategy work for a client, and a major part of it is creating and distributing content that can be consumed in a multitude of channels to reach the widest possible audience. Seems simple enough, but a lot of marketers only make it part way, or they leave out one little piece like, providing an embed code for their videos, syndicating content through RSS, or actually going where the audience is to carry the message further.

Are consumers’ habits constantly changing? Are there preferences more customizable? Are you less in control of your brand? Can the struggle to continually be relevant be difficult? Yes-Yes-Yes-and Yes. But in a lot of ways it is easier than ever before to deliver your message, assuming, of course, that it is actually something people can relate to and want to see, hear, and pass on to others.

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To receive the “Official Honoree” distinction for the Horse Power Podcast from the Webby Awards is admittedly flattering, and both Josk Kenzer and I are quite proud to be rewarded for the hard work.

But we definitely could not have done it without the trust of our CEO, David LaPlante, and the help of our fellow Horses - their feedback and assistance has been invaluable.

Winners were selected for recognition based on excellence in the following criteria: content, structure and navigation, visual design, functionality, interactivity and overall experience. You can read the official press release here. I definitely get a kick out of seeing us listed alongside The Associated Press, MTV Networks, and ESPN.

But whether we won an award or not, we have had so much fun doing it. I can’t tell you how enjoyable it has been to use the podcast series simply as an excuse to go out and meet new and interesting people.

There are so many dynamic, intelligent, and entertaining individuals out there doing incredible things with their minds and motivation, and it is fantastic to hear their stories and learn from their experience.

Additionally, Josh and I get to play citizen journalist and produce content that we feel is valuable and applicable to many of Twelve Horses’ clients, friends, and those that are in our blog and podcast syndicate.

I hope the show will continue to evolve, and, who knows, maybe go vodcast one of these days. Either way, it is a constant learning process, and when recording we are continuously working on getting better at improvising, following interesting tangents, and uncovering the emotion to make the podcast a more enjoyable listen.

So tune in the next time and happy listening!

tags: webby, awards, podcasts, official, honoree

We learned a few things from our first video podcast:

• A lack of good lighting can make you look jaundice
• Changing the podcast feed from audio to video will annoy your existing audience
• Even with a nice shotgun mic, there is a trick to good audio
• No matter how close you sit to each other, in video it looks like you are farther apart

Here are some of the changes we are making:

• The current podcast feed will be for audio only
• The video feed will be http://feeds.feedburner.com/HorsePowerVideo
• We will mix audio using a mixing board and record directly into a laptop. The camcorder will also record directly to the computer
• We are going to setup a better set for recording that will help with the background, lighting and audio

Technorati Tags: Horse Power, Marketing, MP3, Podcast, Twelve Horses, Video

In this interview, we talk with Laurian Dixon about her work with John Friedman Alice Kimm Architects and Moore Ruble Yudell Architects in Los Angeles and Safdie Rabines Architects in San Diego.

Most recently she was a Project Manager and Lead of Architecture for Aero Studios and Thomas O’Brien where she ran their architecture and product design projects and helped launch their Vintage Modern line with Target.

Laurian grew up in Reno, Nevada and was recently in town to speak at the first gathering of the new Reno-Tahoe Chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), which was held at the Nevada Museum of Art.

The purpose of the AIGA is, “to produce exciting events that promote the role of visual design in the community and elevate public perception of its value to business.” We are excited to see the group grow, and a number of Twelve Horses employees are members.

Here is Jeff Pickett, president of the Reno-Tahoe AIGA talking about the reasons for starting the group and what it is all about.

Here is Laurian Dixon’s presentation at the Nevada Museum of Art

Before watching the video podcast, recognize this is our first one in video format. We will be experimenting with camera angles, sets, and configurations to try and make it better and more interesting. It is certainly a fun challenge that we are excited to embark upon, but it will take some trial and error.

For example, you would not believe how close we are sitting together in this interview, and yet, it appears on camera that we are quite far apart. Also, while digital cameras in the medium price range have surprisingly good quality, the sound pickup can be less than satisfactory. We purchased a shotgun mic that should help improve this part of the process.

It was a pleasure meeting Laurian Dixon, and we look forward to her future designs.

You can watch the interview via Google Video, or you can download it here - Listen Now (MP3, 22MB)

tags: laurian dixon, reno, tahoe, aiga, american, institute, graphic, artists, nevada, museum, art

Robert and I have talked about changing the Horse Power Podcast from audio to video. Currently, we record the podcast on an Edirol 4-channel portable recorder with an internal hard drive. It mixes up to four mics into one track. Yesterday, I went out and bought a Sony DCR-SR80 hard drive based video camera (I say “I,” but Twelve Horses paid for it). We also purchased a directional shotgun mic for it for better sound quality.

The camera is pretty sweet. Every time you hit record, it creates a separate MPEG-2 file on the hard drive. When you connect it to your computer, it shows up like an external hard drive. You can simply drag the clips you want from the camera to the computer. It’s very similar to shooting video on most digital still camera. Last night, I shot a 43 second clip of my kids, dragged it to my desktop, and then uploaded it directly to YouTube. What could be easier?

We are recorded a podcast today with Laurian Dixon who spoke last night at the local AIGA event. For this episode, we are going to use both the Edirol and the video camera. If the video turns out good enough, we’ll use that. Otherwise, it will be our last audio only podcast. On Tuesday, I’m going to Salt Lake City to meet with our team. I will be handing off the Edirol to Steve Spencer, President of Twelve Horses, who will use it for a new community event he’s created down there called the Utah Tech Spotlight.

I also want to use the video camera to create videos of community events we frequent. I think it will be awesome to draw attention to how much really goes on in this town from a social networking standpoint.

Technorati Tags: Sony, AIGA, Video Podcast, Laurian Dixon, EDIROL, Horse Power, YouTube, Podcast

On this episode of Horse Power, we talk with John Wallin about the creation of the Nevada Wilderness Project and the mission of the organization. We discuss what it takes to achieve wilderness designation, and how that relates to Congressional activities and the myriad of special interests that surround public land.Nevada has more public land than any state outside Alaska. With over300 named mountain ranges and a rugged landscape that ranges from 500to 13,000 feet, Nevada is one of the most biologically diverse states.“The Nevada Wilderness Project is committed to saving spectacular,rugged-and imperiled-public lands in Nevada as permanent Wilderness,the strongest protection possible.”Founded in 1999, they work to protect Nevada’s wild lands as legal Wilderness,the highest level of protection for public land. They do this throughgrassroots education and activism, and through an ongoing citizens’inventory of potential wilderness.Listen Now (MP3, 26.5)

In this episode of Horse Power, we are joined by Connie Brennan, CEO and publisher of the Nevada Business Journal. We discuss NBJ’s history as the only state-wide business publication, some of the differences between Las Vegas and Reno businesses, as well as their strategy of providing all of their content online for free.

We also discuss Connie’s 10 kids, and how a girl from Arkansas came to adopt 4 girls from the Philippines.

Listen Now (MP3, 20.8)

In this interview, we talk with Sam Shad of Sam Shad Productions about his move from London to the United States and his career evolution. Sam has gone from DJ and radio host to TV reporter and producer of his own shows including, "Nevada NewsMakers" and "The Dining Show." He is a member of the Nevada Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

Shad is a self-professed performer, businessman and salesman, and his cheerful manner and trademark attire of suit and white tennis shoes established him as one of the area’s most popular TV personalities.

“Nevada NewsMakers” airs in northern Nevada on NBC affiliate KRNV-TV Channel 4 and on Charter Communications Cable Channel 14, 15 and 18 (depending on the market). “Nevada NewsMakers airs in Las Vegas on NBC affiliate KVBC-TV Channel 3, and on Cox Cable Channel 123. “Nevada NewsMakers” also is carried by Reno radio station KOH-AM 780, and is available in streaming video on nevadanewsmakers.com, and also on audio and video Podcasts on iTunes.

The same Reno TV channels also carry “The Dining Show” (previously “Best of Reno”), which Sam launched in 2001 to showcase top restaurants in the region. “The Dining Show” is also available in streaming video on thediningshow.com.

Listen Now (MP3, 29.3)

Recently, the Pew Internet & American Life Project, a non-partisan, non-profit research center that examines the social impact of the Internet, released the results of a survey that included questions about podcasting. They determined that 12% of Internet users say they have downloaded a podcast or vodcast.This is up 7% from a similar survey conducted in February-April of 2006.Here are the basics of the survey.

• Nationally representative telephone survey of 2,928 adults.
• Conducted during the month of August, 2006.
• Portion of the survey that covered podcast downloading was administered to 972 Internet users.

This survey has led to quite a bit of press about the subject. Catherine Holahan from Business Week wrote a recent article titled, “What Podcasting Revolution?” Melissa Campanelli’s article, “Podcast use Increases, not yet mainstream: Pew Study” was written for DM News; and Silcon Valley Sleuth blogs about it under, “Podcasts: growing pains or the end of hype?”So, what does this all mean for businesses interested in pursuing podcasting?These authors are positing that podcasting is falling on deaf ears.Mp3 players and applications like iTunes have only been around for a few years; in fact, podcasts really only started showing up in 2003. Considering the time frame, I’d say 12% of Internet users is not too shabby.What this study does not capture is how many people are simply listening or viewing the podcasts on the company’s website. For Horse Power, I know through analytics that the majority of our listeners actually listen to the podcasts directly from the blog.Podcasting is distinguished from other digital audio formats because it can be downloaded automatically using feeds like RSS, which makes it a distribution channel capable of delivering rich content. Other than that, it is still simply an audio or video file.What I think is so important about podcasting is that it has pushed businesses to think about how to improve the online experience with more audio and video content. Beyond that, it is fairly simply to distribute it through a feed and provide the opportunity for subscribers to listen or watch it on the go as opposed to being tied down to their computer. Based on the research, podcast dowloads are growing, so it is really a no brainer if you are producing this content anyway.Podcasting offers businesses the ability to personalize their brand and demonstrate their expertise. Even if the majority of listeners or viewers come to the website to download or stream the content there, as opposed to subscribing to the RSS feed and downloading it to their mp3 player or mobile device, they are still providing good content that helps build relationships with new and existing customers.In short, podcasting and vodcasting are simply cost-effective means of distributing content that you should be creating anyway. If the mainstream wants to listen to the hype, the counter-hype and follow the statisticians no matter the results, then great. To quote Marty Neumeier, “zig when the others zag.”tags: podcasting, vodcasting, blogs, pew study, horse power

With our success of the podcast here in Reno, Steve, our President (and if he had a blog, I would link to it), wants to replicate the same type of content specific to Salt Lake City where our other office is located. Steve asked me to email him the benefits of podcasting so he can gather support in the office and the SLC community. But I said, “Hey, that sounds like a blog post not an email!”

The Podcast
When Robert and I started the podcast, our expectations weren’t very high. We had access to an Edirol sound recorder that our CEO had purchased and a handful of mics. We knew we wanted to interview local business professionals about life and work in Reno, Nevada. We did one practice run where we interviewed each other - an embarrassment that we call episode #1 - and then we went to work. We recorded that first one on June 16th and have recorded 19 subsequent episodes. That amounts to just over one a week.

Benefits of the Podcasting

1. Meeting Local Professionals
   Robert and I have a great time chatting with each interviewee. We usually get to chat for about 15-30 minutes before we record and then 15-30 minutes after we record. It’s fun to get to know people on a more personal level, and we have made some great friends who we would have never met prior to the podcast.
2. Practicing what we Preach
   Our goal is not to make the podcast about Twelve Horses. We rarely mention Twelve Horses during the podcast, and if we do, it’s usually the guest who brings it up. That said, we definitely promote the podcast via our Twelve Horses website and our Twelve Horses blog. When customers ask us if we can implement a podcast for them, we get to say, “Yeah! Have you heard ours?” It has also allowed us to learn the ins and outs of podcasting and make mistakes so we can avoid them when implementing for customers.
3. Viral Marketing
   We’ve selected people to be on the show that we find relevant or buzz worthy. When others listen and like-wise find them worthy of buzz, they blog about it. We’ve also snatched opportunities to interview those with a following. Every time we get write ups and links on other sites, more and more people learn of the podcast and Twelve Horses. This increases our search rankings and listenership.
4. Relationship Marketing
   If you want to meet someone, it can be intimidating to call them out of the blue and ask them to lunch. On the contrary, it’s been quite easy to call and ask them to be on the podcast.
5. Media
   We have had the opportunity to interview two local editors of newspapers and a broadcast reporter. Of course, these interviews didn’t garner direct media coverage or subsequent articles about Twelve Horses (ethical issues abound) but they did allow these media outlets to learn a little more about Twelve Horses and vice versa.
6. Becoming better Interviewers
   Robert and I have really had to focusing on how we talk and present ourselves. Saying “right” or “so” too frequently is distracting. Saying “uh” sounds unprofessional. I’ve learned how to research people to come up with interesting and compelling questions. This is an art form that I am still perfecting. To help with this, I listen to people like Leo Laporte whose an experts at the art of an interview. We also listen to a ton of podcasts to help learn how to be natural and conversational. Some of my favorites are: Buzz Out Loud, Diggnation, Cranky Geeks, This Week in Tech and Inside the Net.
7. Coolness
   This is a cool line item in your job description. It’s fun and I get excited about scheduling an interview, meeting the person and then posting it live. I love to hear feedback and I desperately want local business to participate online. I can’t think of a better way to spend my day.

Steve, I hope that helps! I recommend blogging and podcasting to anyone who will listen. It’s a great hobby and when you can work it into your day job, you’re well ahead of the pack.