The Ottawa Podcast and New Media Meetup Group kicked off it’s second season last Thursday (September 20). The gathering of podcasting veterans (Charles Hodgson and Steve Reside), potential podcasters (Mitchell Beer, Dan, Chamika Ailapperuma and Chakula Chaluka), out-of-towners (Julien Smith and Isabelle Michaud).

After the community had shared ideas and war stories for a while, Maurizio Ortolani (New Media Producer with the National Arts Centre) delivered a great presentation on the NAC’s podcast and new media strategy.

Maurizio discussed:

• how production methodologies can be traced to the NAC’s national mandate as a public institution
• the use of podcasts and new media to educate and entertain while promoting the NAC’s ongoing activities, music and theatre performances, orchestra tours and special events
• the very different formats and styles, ranging from methodically planned to off-the-cuff, of the various podcasts
• production and hosting challenges and solutions
• legal challenges and how the NAC has found solutions in cooperation with the orchestra, the musicians’ union, guests and rights holders
• measuring success quantitatively and qualitatively
• graduating from consumer-grade to professional audio gear
• podcasts and new media as part of the NAC culture

Maurizio’s presentation should be required listening for anyone and any organization that is considering (or may already be) using podcast and new media technologies as part of marketing and PR strategies.

Links to resources mentioned:

• National Arts Centre website
• National Arts Centre podcasts
• Arts Alive website
• Canadian Podcast Legal Guide

 

 Podcasts and new media as part of the NAC culture [48:49m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Due to very limited space at the Clock Tower Brew pub, a result of three social media gatherings converging on the venue at one time, the Ottawa Podcast and New Media Meetup Group September meetup has been moved a few blocks south to The Arrow and Loon Pub (corner of Bank Street and Fifth Avenue).

Our guest speaker for the September meetup is Maurizio Ortolani, New Media Producer with the National Arts Centre. Maurizio will deliver a presentation about the National Arts Centre’s podcast and new media strategy and their observed results. The latest count: 20 YES, 11 MAYBE.

There will be plenty of time to speak with Maurizio and mingle with other members of the community.

When: Thursday, September 20, 2007 at 7:00pmET

Where: The Arrow and Loon (indoor patio)
99 Fifth Avenue
Ottawa, ON K1S 5K4
613.237.0448

Nico from Argentina, who has been a strong supporter of the Canadian Podcast community since way back when Podcasting was still in diapers, will be in Ottawa for one night only, Tuesday, January 23. To celebrate the occasion, we’ll be meeting that night at The Arrow and Loon (Bank and Fifth) at 8pm. It would be great if you can join us and we can prove that Podcasters can go out to drink beers two weeks in a row.

Put a comment on this post to let me know if you can make it.

The Ottawa Podcast Meetup took place last evening at the Arrow and Loon Pub.

Charles Hodgson produces Podictionary, a daily Podcast in which he examines the etymology of a word in the english language in just a few minutes. He will publish his 400th episode before the year is out, and his first book, Carnal Knowledge: A Navel Gazer’s Dictionary of Anatomy, Etymology, and Trivia, is expected to hit bookstores in the spring. Charles had questions that focussed on troubleshooting RSS feeds and optimizing websites.

Jason Roy is the man behind The Capital Rock Show, a weekly Podcast that features four songs by any band he happens to like, local or international. Last evening, Jason suggested that he’d like to start recording live performances of some bands for his show so that led to a fair bit of tech talk during the evening.

The Ottawa Local Podcast is a platform for Arthur Masters to share his ideas on arts, humanity and life, with a focus on how those issues fit into his hometown of Ottawa. He produces his show “whenever I feel like producing one”. Arthur led some interesting conversations that weighed the pros and cons of having show notes and using social media to promote one’s Podcast. He also raised some interesting points about what distguishes Podcasts from radio programs. I’ll be blogging about some of those this week.

One great disovery of the meetup is that the Arrow and Loon has a special on its steak and french fries dish on Sunday evenings… $5!

Are you a Podcaster, Podcast listener, Podcast curious, or just looking for an excuse to meet people and have a pint?  Come to The Arrow and Loon Pub (99 Fifth Avenue at Bank) in Ottawa at 7:00pmET on Sunday, October 1.

Please RSVP.