Inspired by PodCamp Boston, Leesa Barnes and Jay Moonah are leading the charge on PodCamp Toronto.  There is no specific date or location, yet, other than February 2007 in Toronto.

I’m looking forward to being a part of another great community event.

This morning, a friend of mine who recently starting producing a Podcast for his church, announced that he woke up at 5:00am today to clean up a Podcast for publication.

Congratulations! You are now a Podcaster.

With the publication of the controversial cease and decist letter from Apple to Infostructure Solutions earlier this week on wired.com, we are now able to take a more rational look at the reasons behind the letter. One sentence in particular caught my eye.

…Apple is concerned that certain uses of PODCAST READY and MYPODDER by your clients is likely to confuse consumers into mistakenly believing Apple is associated with your clients’ products and services.

I can’t say that I disagree with Apple on either of these points. First of all, many technology companies have been using the term “Podcast ready” on products that are indeed Podcast ready. For any one company to Trademark that term, particularly so late in the game, does seem inappropriate. Second, one could make a decent argument that MYPOD has a phonetic resemblance to IPOD which could be overstepping the bounds of U.S. intellectual property laws.

The question becomes, is this the beginning of a trend in which Apple tests the limits of its claim on the word POD, or is it a legitimate move to protect the Podcast community and the Apple brand?

It was becoming increasingly difficult for me to keep straight which content went to which blog. So, I migrated all of the content from PodcastLounge.ca (including comments) to my own site, MarkBlevis.com. I guess you can think of this site as being Mark Blevis’ Podcast Lounge.

A theme for this site is under development and will be unveiled, right here, when it’s ready.

In his PodCamp presentation entitled Gear Talk, David Berlind mentions that he uses his eyes over his ears when mixing audio signals to a consistent level.  That is, he watches the level indicators to ensure that the audio signals are averaging in the same range and as close to 0db as possible.

There is a significant danger in trusting your eyes over your ears with an audio program - your audience uses their ears to listen to your show.  So, while using your eyes is helpful, using your ears is imperative.

Here’s why: frequencies.

One audio source could have a rich blend of all of the frequencies in the audio spectrum; the other could be heavy in the high registers and lack any presence in the low and mid ranges.  The first source will be rich and can sound loud without actually being so.  Because it is so shrill, the second source can be extremely painful to listen to if mixed to the same level as the first source.

Check with your eyes, judge with your ears.

Tony Valle has a great post called Top 5 Corporate Podcast Mistakes to Avoid Like the Plague.  His list is great and the comment activity is very insightful.  I kicked in a comment as well since I felt that his original list had a major ommission.

9. Make an infomercial. Many companies don’t know how to sell themselves, their brand or their knowledge. They only know how to sell widgets and services. Frankly, I’m tired of hearing Corporate Podcasts that tell me how great a company is, how great the company’s products/services are, and how great it is that the company is organizing or sponsoring a huge industry event. I can draw my own conclusions, thank you very much. Demonstrate what makes you best-in-class, showcase your thought leadership and engage the community. Show by example, not through in-your-face messages and pontification.

The new media age has redifined marketing models. Be part of it, or be a dinosaur. It’s your choice.

Source: Bob Goyetche

There is a great blog entry at Clique Communications about the history of Podcasting that seems to get the facts straight and delivers them in a sensible way.  If you’re going to PPME, this should be mandatory reading.

Source: Paul Colligan

Somebody in the space program understands social media.  Anousheh Ansari is on the International Space Station and is blogging about her experiences, and posting pictures on her Flickr page.

Last night, I did something I haven’t done in a long time.  I stayed up super late to edit a Podcast; Red Fridays.

Remember to wear some red each friday to show your support for Canadian troops and their families.  It’s NOT about politics; it’s about people.

By issuing cease and desist orders for the use of the word Pod (note Pod, not iPod), Apple is earning its reputation as a tyrant.  What a shame, particularly since it had done such great work plugging itself into the social media community.

For your consideration, here are just some of the brands with Pod in their name that predate the 2001 release of Apple’s iPod:

• The Pod Caravan
• P.O.D.
• The Pod Camera Platforms
• Line6 Pod
• Portable On Demand Storage

If they keep it up, I may put tape over their logo on my laptop.