播客在PNME 2007上成长起来

那些一直在看我专栏的人 流媒体 magazine know that I recently became a convert to the world of podcasting, 以至于我决定写一本书, 播客圣经. I decided to attend this year’s Podcast and New Media Expo to get a feel for where the podcasting industry is, 以及它的发展方向. I’m happy to report that podcasting is alive and kicking, the organizers of PNME put on a great show.

The Podcast and New Media Expo is in its third year of existence, and has up until this point taken place at the relatively humble location of Ontario, 加州, which is a somewhat sleepy industrial neighborhood of east Los Angeles. 虽然地点看起来有点不吉利, the Ontario Conference Center is a nice mid-sized facility, and the proximity of Ontario airport and plenty of cheap hotels nearby makes travel a snap. It was with mixed feelings that the crowd learned that the 2008 PNME will be held in Las Vegas. 一方面，一方面, 这是一个很好的迹象，表明该行业正在扩张, 而拉斯维加斯则增加了某种程度的“体面”," but to be honest I think a lot of folks will miss the feisty upstart nature of the event up to this point.

The first thing to strike me was how well the organizers understood their audience. 因为播客是从博客发展而来的, 很明显，大多数与会者都是博主, 并且想要在整个活动中进行博客直播. 为此目的, the organizers provided tables and power strips to the first few rows, 并为“笔记本电脑用户”保留了这些座位." No more leaning against the back wall by the electrical outlets! 无线连接无处不在，而且这是免费的. 考虑到与会者的数量, 吞吐量有时慢得像糖蜜, 但这种情绪是存在的. It’s about time that all tech conferences realized that attendees don’t want to check their email at kiosks—they want free wireless.<>
The audience ranged from podcasting newbies looking for the most basic 信息 to veterans looking for ways to generate more revenue. 展览厅又大又热闹, 包括播客服务提供商, 音频和视频设备分销商, and podcast aggregators; even Nokia had a booth demonstrating the podcast abilities of their latest handsets. More than once I found myself wondering why some of these companies weren’t exhibiting at any of the 流媒体 conferences.

The Show Floor: Business and Technical Solutions Abound
许多参展商引起了我的注意. 因为我是一个有名的齿轮头， Revolabs’ xTag wireless microphone system was bound to get me excited. Their system uses a previously deserted part of the gigahertz spectrum, 所以不用担心干扰. 麦克风小而不显眼, and communicate with a small base unit that you attach to a USB port. One charge lasts eight hours, so you can talk as long as you want.

Tubemogul is a video distribution service that automatically uploads your video to a wide variety of video sharing sites. 不过，这仅仅是个开始. Where their service really adds value is by aggregatingthe statistics from all the sites, 所以你可以看到所有视频的统计数据, 按地点划分. The service is free, with a paid version available next year adding additional functionality.

Beat9 enables banner advertising in your audio and video podcasts. Audio podcasts get slideshow-type ads displayed, and video podcasts get banners added across the top. Beat9 work with advertisers and agencies to find interested advertisers for you, 跟踪展示次数和点击量.

Podango and Kiptronic, 两家业内最大的公司, announced a strategic partnership where Podango will make Kiptronic’s ad insertion technology available on their P2 Platform, 哪个是播客的发布服务. Kiptronic has also licensed Nielsen’s SiteCensus technology for third party verification of downloads.

会议:分享的意愿The conference was divided into four tracks: Podcasting 101, 吸引并扩大你的受众, 业务和盈利, 和先进的创作技术. Although there was a bit of crossover between panel topics, 讨论一般都很生动，内容丰富. The conference attendees and panelists spanned a wide variety of industries and interests, 所以有很多健康的异花授粉.

The most refreshing aspect of the conference was panelists’ willingness to share 信息. 人们公开谈论定价模式和收入. 他们公开谈论他们的观众人数. 他们交换了营销和促销的技巧. Compare that to most conferences where panelists are "not at liberty to discuss" the things you’re most interested in. For example, I wanted to know how many subscribers a podcast needed to attract advertisers. 答案是:大约2000人. 人们为他们的音频广告收取多少费用? Fifty dollars, per ten seconds, per thousand impressions. 问一个问题，你就会得到一个答案.

Maybe this is why the conference, and podcasting as a whole, feels fresh and exciting. There’s a feeling of community and cooperation that has been missing from streaming media for a while now. Having been in this industry for over a decade I may be betraying my own frustrations, but I wonder why our industry seems to have stalled while podcasting and user-generated content sites bask in the spotlight. 显然，答案是社区. 我的朋友Steve Safran来自 失去了远程 says, the Internet is a social medium, first and foremost. 如果你忽略了这一点，你就错过了重点.

总之, judging by the enthusiasm of the attendees and exhibitors, podcasting is shaping up to be the latest digital media distribution channel with a healthy future. 观众数量有了显著增长, 收入增加, and the consolidation many predicted last year is beginning to happen. If you want to get involved, the timing is right, and PNME 2008 should be on your list for next year.

P.S. If anyone from Information Today is reading this - can we have tables and power outlets at our conferences too?