It was CC Chapman who connected me with Holger Eilhard when I announced I was going to Germany.  Holger lives in Cologne (the city to which I would be traveling) and is part of CC’s Twitter network.  We made arrangements to meet.

Because we’re social media enthusiasts from different countries, Holger and I spent a fair bit of time discussing cultures, values and tools.  Specifically, we talked about the community that revolves around a G4-like television program Holger is an editor for at giga.de.  It’s a technology show with an active online community that started as far back as 1998.  The program uses forums, online comments and feedback to help guide the show — even during live broadcasts.

To giga.de, the Internet is just another channel to distribute the program (they also use satellite and digital cable).  The power of the Internet as a channel for Giga isn’t so much the reach it offers, but the fact that it is a bi-directional channel.  That key differentiator may have played a significant role in the survival of the program during a series of business decisions, network purchases and broadcast license transfers over the last several years — events that saw the relocation of the show and its productions team between three cities.

I was intrigued by the premium service package offered by Giga.  For a small cost, they offer video-on-demand and a few other small features. The truth is, though, the premium service is not in high demand and therefore represents a tiny revenue stream.

Holger offered some insight on why programs like G4 and giga.de appeal to people so much.  He suggests that the absence of a teleprompter means that the hosts must be more genuine, energetic and engaged.  They need to be real, not contrived, and people relate to people.

Social networking in Germany is still finding its legs.  Some of the more popular sites include:

• xing.de (a professional social network like LinkedIn)
• studivz.net (like facebook)
• niimo.com (like Twitter)

What I knew about Matthew Ebel before yesterday was only that CC Chapman would do backflips to hear his music. While I had heard some of Matthew’s music, I didn’t really connect with it — although, Lost My Way (his new a capella song), did catch my attention.

Last night I saw Matthew perform at the Bullfinch Yacht Club as part of the PodCamp Boston 2 entertainment. That’s when I made the connection. Matthew is more than a singer/songwriter; he’s a performer. Seeing him work the crowd and effortlessly bounce and twist his hands in a staccato frenzy while belting out upbeat songs –mostly with his eyes closed– was one-part demoralizing and three-parts exciting.

This Sound Connection is with Matthew Ebel’s live performance talents and his new song, Everybody Needs a Robot. His new CD, Goodbye Planet Earth, will be released later this evening.

Photo: Nicolas Pin

 

 Matthew Ebel at PodCamp Boston 2 [5:47m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

If you’ve been in audio for a while, chances are you have a lot of stories about lost audio. I have a few. Perhaps one of the most painful, certainly the most current, is the phantom recording I did last evening from the back seat of a taxi I was sharing with Bill Deys, Neil Gorman and Bob Goyetche.

The brilliance of the recording was that it captured a fight that took place between CC Chapman and our Russian cab driver as we were preparing to leave. CC’s directions were a bit confusing and the cabbie was a very direct communicator. The argument that ensued between them was both hilarious and stressful. It was tough to fight the laughter knowing that I had my trusty Zoom H2 recorder capturing the exchange - for Bill (who was in the front seat) more than me.

I plugged my H2 in to my laptop a few minutes ago and smiled knowing that all of the recordings I made yesterday were waiting for me. All, as it turns out, except for the exchange in the cab.

Like my Edirol R1, the Zoom H2 requires you to double-clutch the record button to begin the recording. The first press gets you into record-ready state and the second press starts the recording.

Trust me, the record-ready-recording of the fight between CC and the cabbie was a classic recording that never happened.

Epilogue: During last year’s PodCamp Boston, I shared a cab back to my hotel with Julien Smith. After a while of driving around aimlessly, Julien, in a sarcastic way that only Julien can deliver, leaned forward and said to our very aggressive and impatient cabbie, “Dude! You do know where you’re going, right?”

Off to PodCamp Boston 2, day 1.

PodCamp Philly took place on the anniversary of the original PodCamp (PodCamp Boston) and it was a fantastic tribute to the movement and its founders.

The event was first class. Whitney Hoffman and her team put on an amazing conference at a great venue, with committed sponsors, a herd of new campers and a fantastic anniversary celebration. About the only thing that was missing for me was my Canadian compatriots that were with me in Boston last year (see CC Chapman’s photo of my Tribute to Absent Original Canadian Podcampers and Chris Brogan sticker at the right of this post).

Here are my five highlights from the weekend (in no particular order):

NEWCOMERS

I’ve been to six podcast-related conferences and countless meetups. This is the first such event I attended that had more newly-minted and soon-to-be podcasters than veterans. I had suspected as much when I looked at the list of registrants and was convinced when CC Chapman opened a session by asking how many people in the room did not create a podcast — about 80% of the hands in the room went up.

CONNECTIONS

I always make a point of getting to know as many new people as possible and socialize out of my normal circles at podcast gatherings. Philly offered ample opportunities to meet new people because there were so many unfamiliar (to me) names and faces there. It was great to connect with so many genuine people.

PODCAMP TRIBUTE

Whitney rallied the community to create a tribute to the two Chrises (Chris Brogan and Chris Penn), and Larry Lawfer brought the vision to life in a series of great videos. One of the videos was played during the opening ceremonies on Saturday morning. I wonder if Chris and Chris realize what they have achieved and how many people they have affected.

ROCKY RUN FOR CHOP

While only a dedicated few of us actually made the bold move of self-humiliation when we recreated the famous scene from Rocky in which Sylvester Stallone ran up the steps of the Museum of Art and performed a victory dance, many people contributed to this fundraiser for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The last I heard, we had raised nearly $300.

WHITNEY HOFFMAN AND HER FAMILY

Besides leading a great organizing team, Whitney was an incredible host. She was an incredible host at the conference and she and her family were incredible hosts to me, CC and Lynette who were guests of their home. Organizing conferences takes a lot of time, energy and juggling of life priorities including families. Whitney was able to do all of this, her family supported her throughout and then displaced themselves for the comfort of others in the process. You guys deserve a standing ovation.

For the first time ever, I arrived at an airport to a car service holding my name on a card — a great greeting from CC Chapman and Whitney Hoffman.

We sat down in an airport restaurant and caught up for a while, waiting for some other flights to come in. That’s when I found out that CC has left Crayon and will make the move to freelancing.

Forty minutes later, Chris Penn and Steve Garfield arrived. With that, PodCamp Philly kicked off in the middle of the airport. The first session took place in Whitney’s van as CC highlighted the features of his new Zoom H2 and Steve introduced me to the iPhone. Then Chris talked TubeTV and continued at Whitney’s house with a demonstration of Blue Sky Factory.

As it turns out, Chris Brogan won’t be here this weekend. I think there’s an agreement among us that we will photoshop him into some pictures and blog about his crazy antics.

Click here to see PodCamp Philly photos on Flickr.

Here are the titles, summaries, times and rooms of the presentations I will be a part of at PodCamp Philly. Note that times and rooms may change.

Editing Techniques and Decisions - (On special request of Whitney Hoffman) Practical examples and live demonstrations of five audio editing techniques and discussions on how to apply them. [Saturday September 8, 11:00am in Korman A]

High Impact New Media (with C. C. Chapman and Linda Mills) - Mistakes to avoid and ideas to consider when incorporating new media as part of a PR and marketing strategy for businesses, organizations, events, music and even personal projects. [Saturday September 8, 2:00pm in Pearlstein 102]

Greater Than the Sum of its Parts - Using examples of three elements that help to develop communities, I will present an understanding of Return on Influence that can be applied in both grassroots and business settings. [Sunday September 9, 10:00am in Korman B]

People: The magic ingredient of all podcasts (with Andy Bilodeau) - If it’s not fun, it’s really not worth doing - whether as a hobby or for financial gain. In this interactive session we’ll talk about proven ways to have fun podcasting, achieve rewarding results and avoid burnout - drawing on the experience of newcomers, podcasting veterans of over two-and-a-half years, and podcast consultants/producers. [Sunday September 9, 1:00pm in Korman B]

Tag! I’m it!

CC Chapman tagged me in his post If My Life Was a Movie, What Would the Soundtrack Be? The idea is to put your media player on shuffle and record the name of each song that comes up in sequence against a specific list of scenes in your life — also in sequence. I had to skip over some audiobook tracks that came up (they would make for a boring soundtrack).

Opening credits
Swingin’ the Blues (Count Basie)

First day of school
People Say (The Meters)

Falling in love
Scatterlings of Africa (Johnny Clegg and Savuka)

Prom/Grad
Easy (Barenaked Ladies)

Mental breakdown
Silence (Fiction Plane)

Flashbacks
Better Man (Pearl Jam)

Getting back together
You Can Leave Your Hat On (Joe Cocker)

Wedding scene
Pump It Up (Elvis Costello)

Final battle
She Got Me (Masters of Reality)

Death scene
The Next Bed (Christa Couture)

Funeral scene
Like It Or Not (Genesis)

End credits
Theme song for a client’s Podcast (Mark Blevis)

Finale
Squonk (Genesis)

Full disclosure: Fell Out of Oz by Christa Couture was the first song that came up for the Fight scene. Since The Next Bed, also by Christa Couture, came up for the very next scene (the Death scene which seemed appropriate by the title), I re-did the fight scene.

Some songs are eerily appropriate, aren’t they?

Now it’s my turn to tag a few folks… Maurizio Ortolani, Julien Smith, Matthew Hanchon, Dave Brodbeck, and Mark Ramsey.

From my sleeping bag on the floor of Room 813 at the Holiday Inn Express, Cambridge, MA.

PodCamp is amazingly well organized.  The organizers have to be proud of themselves.  Sessions that were among the standouts based on an informal poll with Bob and Julien include C. C. Chapman and Mitch Joel’s presentation You and Your Brand; PodCast Consultation with Jason Van Orden (John C. Havens and one other guy whose name escapes me at the moment); the music panel discussion with C. C., Jay Moohan, and Eric Skiff; and, Pricing and PR presented by John C. Havens.  My own presentations, Extending the Conversation, and Interview Techniques which I presented with Larry Lawfer were also quite successful.

Bob, Julien, Mitch, C.C. and I went back to the hotel to have a beer and hang out before we joined the gang at The Grand Canal.  You realize how much there is to learn when you hang out with these guys.  The Grand Canal was fun and someone apparently picked up the bar tab starting at a certain point.  I believe that was a well excercised offer.

Julien and I had an interesting experience getting back to our hotel after the obnoxiously loud music at The Grand drove us away.  Just when I started to feel some degree of concern for my welfare during the cab ride, Julien leaned forward and asked the cabbie, Dude.  You do know where you’re going, right?.

At its peak, there was about eighteen people in room 813 last night.  That’s when Bob, J. Moo, Chris and I started playing music.  The highlights included De Do Do Do, and a version of No Woman No Cry that went something like No C. C. Home Fries.

We’re getting up right now, and getting ready for the day.  The morning schedule looks packed so we’ll split up the presentations and share the information on the drive home.