It’s official… PodCamp Ottawa 2008 is taking place from 10:00am - 4:00pm on Sunday, November 23, 2008 in the Panorama Room of Ottawa’s National Arts Centre.  Thank you very much to the NAC’s New Media department for making the room available to the community!

This year’s theme is Fresh Thinking and Approaches, the intent being to talk about ways to put a new spin on content creation, presentation, production and delivery.

Like last year, the concept behind PodCamp Ottawa is to engage with people, not technology.  The guiding principles are:

• BE SMALL: Attendance will be capped at 80 because a small crowd offers greater opportunities to listen and be heard, and meet everyone.

• BE RESPECTFUL: If you register, please attend. If you determine that you will not be able to attend, please remove your name from the registration list as soon as possible so that someone else may take your place. During PodCamp Ottawa, please be sure to contribute to the discussion and listen to what others have to say.

• BE CAMP: There will be no chairs or tables at PodCamp Ottawa so bring a pillow or blanket so you have something to sit or lie down on.

• BE INVOLVED: Bring your Moleskine, a pen, your ideas and willingness to participate.  Please consider leaving your computer at home.

• BE CONNECTED: Make sure you meet and speak with real people.  We will not be providing any Internet access; wired or wireless.

• CONVERSATIONS NOT PRESENTATIONS: Anyone who wishes to lead a session is asked to bring their experience and ideas and serve as a facilitator. Please introduce the discussion and then make sure that you manage the conversation so that everyone has a chance to participate. We will have no lecturn.

• NO MARKETING: The goal of PodCamp Ottawa is to advance the creation of podcasts (technically and as a host/producer) and ways in which to make them available. There are plenty of forums at which people can promote their businesses and the business of podcasting and new media.

• SHARE THE LOVE: Every PodCamper is asked to bring $10 for the Snowsuit Foundation. Let’s make a difference!

Registration is limited to 80 people.

A settlement has been reached that could put an end to two years of class action and other lawsuits against Google for its Google Book Search service.  The summary of the agreement appears in a press release by the American Association of Authors (AAP).

• More Access to Out-of-Print Books — Generating greater exposure for millions of in-copyright works, including hard-to-find out-of-print books, by enabling readers in the U.S. to search these works and preview them online;
• Additional Ways to Purchase Copyrighted Books – Building off publishers’ and authors’ current efforts and further expanding the electronic market for copyrighted books in the U.S., by offering users the ability to purchase online access to many in-copyright books;
• Institutional Subscriptions to Millions of Books Online – Offering a means for U.S. colleges, universities and other organizations to obtain subscriptions for online access to collections from some of the world’s most renowned libraries;
• Free Access From U.S. Libraries – Providing free, full-text, online viewing of millions of out-of-print books at designated computers in U.S. public and university libraries; and
• Compensation to Authors and Publishers and Control Over Access to Their Works — Distributing payments earned from online access provided by Google and, prospectively, from similar programs that may be established by other providers, through a newly created independent, not-for-profit Book Rights Registry that will also locate rightsholders, collect and maintain accurate rightsholder information, and provide a way for rightsholders to request inclusion in or exclusion from the project.

User access features of the agreement have been described as follows:

• Preview — Allows users to freely preview a limited number of pages of in-copyright works to help users decide if the book is right for them to buy. Generally, out-of-print books will be available for preview, and in-print books will not unless the rightsholder decides to activate previews through their participation in this settlement or through the Book Search Partner Program.
• Consumer Purchase — Offers individual users the ability to purchase access to view an entire in-copyright book online.  The rightsholder may set the price or allow the price to be set by a Google algorithm.
• Institutional Subscription — For academic, corporate, and government organizations.  Gives members of the institution full access to in-copyright, out-of-print books.
• Free Public Library Access — Authorizes free, full-text, online viewing of in-copyright, out-of-print books at designated computers in U.S. public and university libraries at no charge to the library or the reader, with added revenues to the rightsholders through per page printing fees.
• Future Services — The agreement allows for other services and uses, such as Print-On-Demand, Consumer Subscription and others, to be agreed in the future.

The agreement still requires approval by the court.

For readers and researchers, this deal is substantial.  I believe that making out-of-print books available through this service will rejuvenate the industry and perhaps serve as a barometer for which books could be identifies as candidates for reprinting.  I also like the agreement on free access from libraries (unfortunately, access will be limited to libraries in the United States).

This settlement will likely put more pressure on the music industry to identify creative solutions to its outdated business models.

The Ottawa Podcast and New Media Meetup Group will kick off its 2008-2009 season at 7:00pm this Thursday, October 30, at the Clock Tower Brew Pub (575 Bank Street at Isabella).  The reservation is under Mark/Podcasters.

During this meeting, I’d like to create a list of podcast/new media challenges people are struggling with and things they’d like to learn more about. We’ll use that list to plan discussions/speakers for our meetups and feed ideas to conference organizers.

Please RSVP so we know how many people to expect.

Also, there will be an announcement made at this event.

In a blog entry published on September 25, Dave Fleet offered a great summary of his experience with different types of audience engagement based on how he shares his ideas (see Different Types of Engagement).

Partly to bring attention to his post, partly to show that older content maintains relevance over time and partly to prove that short posts can also get trackbacks, I’m posting about his post on my blog.

Thanks to Mitch Joel for sharing this modern take on a classic.

Over coffee this morning, Andrea and I talked about the things people blog and podcast about and how there is a trend to be more publicly transparent about our experiences, thoughts and paths in life.  We cited some examples and before I had a chance to talk about Derek Miller’s latest post about the decision to move from cancer fighting to cancer management (see To fight, or to live), Andrea wondered aloud if blogs and podcasts are having a therapeutic affect on people and putting psychotherapists out of work.

I need your help!  I would like to produce an audio piece that explores this idea and I need your help to put it together.  This is what I need:

• stories from people who have mentally and/or emotionally benefited from their blogging and/or podcasting activities

• stories from people who have mentally and/or emotionally benefited from reading blogs and/or listening to podcasts

• participation of mental health professionals that have observed the effects of blogging and podcasting on peoples’ mental and emotional health

• recommendations of blogs and podcasts that cover mental and emotional health in a way that is accessible and meaningful to the average person

Please share any information you may have in the comments to this post, or email me (markblevis@gmail.com).  Also, please spread the word about this initiative.  I’d like to put together a strong documentary piece on this subject and that will only be possible if I have enough supporting information.

Thanks for your help!

Photo: the empty couch by hypowren.

I attended Social Media Breakfast Ottawa #4 yesterday.  It was a panel discussion about online communities moderated by Jen Evans (Founder & Chief Strategist, Sequentia Environics) and featured Luc Lévesque (Founder & General Manager, TravelPod — whom I worked with at BCE Emergis/Bell Security Solutions), Gérard Métrailler (Sr. Director, Product Management, Graphics, Corel) and Ian Skerrett (Director of Marketing, Eclipse Foundation).

Historically, I’ve publish a podcast that covers the SMB event on the same day it occurs.  I can only imagine the surprise of the SMB Ottawa crowd that I haven’t published the show, yet.  It is coming.  I have some client deliverables that I’m working on so look for the podcast to be published this weekend.

A few weeks ago, Katherine Matthews put up a post in which she decried the use of the term ‘niche’ and how it reflects badly on podcasting (see ding, dong, the niche is dead).  Some raved about her thoughts.  John Meadows suggested her post should form a manifesto of podcasting.

I finally caught up with the discussion this evening.  Here is the comment I posted on her site…

I don’t believe there’s any reason why being considered a niche podcaster should also be a badge of dishonour. On the contrary. I believe one of podcasting’s best qualities is that it caters to us content-hungry types in a way that mainstream media has tried and failed. Why? Because mainstream media tries to be all things to all people and we do it by finding our little spot in the grass and claiming it as our own and inviting others to join us. Podcasting delivers from the heart to the heart.

Subject specific? Niche? They’re the same thing to me. And just because your podcast caters to a specific audience (or niche) on knitting, children’s books, marketing, self discovery, music or obscure German strategy games, you shouldn’t feel pigeon-holed into speaking only on that topic. In fact, niches don’t have to be specifically about your content; they can also be about your format. For example, the only thing that threads any two episodes of Electric Sky together is the format and the interest in learning something new. Otherwise, there is little that connects a retired satellite communications scientist, a vintage war plane collector and a movie store clerk. If your audience is interested in how you share your passion, they’re likely to want to hear what you do and what you have to say about your life — which is another thing that makes podcasting such a great communications channel.

Functioning in a niche makes it easier for people to find you; it makes you and your passion more accessible. You can throw a fresh coat of flashy paint on it if that’s what works for you. Underneath it all, and to the people that need to find you, it’s still a niche.

It was bound to happen, really.  The 20th anniversary of my high school class is coming up; June 2009 to be exact.  The notice came through a Facebook group invitation earlier this week.

“just got a FB notification for my 20yr high school reunion. Time to hit the treadmill and order the hair plugs” goes the Twitter post by my friend Jay West.

I haven’t joined the group, yet.  That’s odd for me, really.  I just can’t figure out the concept behind the class reunion.  I didn’t think twice about it when, 9 years ago, a couple of my high school classmates organized an informal gathering at a local bar.  It was a good gathering; fun, actually, and well attended.  Everyone was genuinely happy to see each other and the cliquiness I remembered from high school failed to show up.  The people did, but the exclusiveness didn’t and people who hadn’t said much to each other for the five years that they saw each other almost every day had a lot of fun connecting that evening.  It wasn’t that “I love you and I’m drunk” kind of catch up.  It was legitimate and sober “hey it’s great to know you” catch up.

The reason I’m not certain about the reunion is that the only thing most of the class of 1989 has in common is that we were the class of 1989.  We’ve all stayed in touch with the people that have some day-to-day relevance in our lives and we’ve grown apart from the rest of our friends.  That’s not to say we don’t like the people we’ve drifted apart from; we’ve just grown apart.  The years have reduced what we have in common.

I spoke to Jay about the invitation, Jay being one of my high school friends with whom I remain in regular contact.  We talked about seeing photos of our long lost friends online, friends that now look like their parents did when we were in high school.  We talked about the virtual clipboard that attends reunions.

“Spouse?  Check.  Two kids?  Check.  Still lives in Ottawa or moved away?  Check or check.”

It’s an odd situation because if you take away talking about the time someone showed up late for class and stuck their foot in the door as the teacher closed it, and the requisite catch up on 20 years of personal life, there isn’t much else to talk about.  Perhaps all the bad rap that we give reunions is misplaced.

Then Jay and I wondered about the impact of Facebook on reunions.  Does it change the dynamic since we can identify the answers to those questions by looking at individual profiles?  Does it negate the need to have reunions since we can find out everything we need to know and potentially reconnect online?

Maybe it’s an age thing.  Maybe at 29 we’re still hip enough and high school still close enough that the distance in the friendships seems like an accident, and now at 39 we realize it’s an inevitability.

And, after all that, I’ve joined the group.

It documents a cult of personality, geekery and marketing.  This is a movie I need to see.