Over the last week, I’ve listened to a number of podcasts that have used what I call a “double introduction”. This is when a host presents the bio of their guest as part of the introduction of their show and as the introduction of the interview. This typically happens when an interview is pre-recorded and then added to the podcast during the production phase. I’m guessing that in most cases it’s an oversight and in some it’s a stylistic choice.

In the true sense of the maxim”less is more”, I recommend dropping one of the introductions. Which introduction you drop is entirely up to you. There obvious approaches are:

• Introduce the guest as part of the interview so that the guest is assured you have done some background work, and then simply mention during the show intro which guests will appear that show and on which topics.

• Include background information on your guest during the show intro and then welcome your guest when the interview begins.

I am incredibly impressed by the quality of the interviews and the range of topics. Many podcasts are introducing people to interesting ideas and kicking off some great conversations.

I’ve been thinking - a lot - about the proliferation of networking and community based tools, lately. For a while it was exciting that so many great tools were being developed even if some were very specific in the purpose they served. Now, it seems that each day, a new tool appears that does everything else (or, at least, some of everything else) and 33% more. In short, we’re approaching social media critical mass.

The gathering places are popping up everywhere and the democratized are doing their best to keep up. It’s kind of like being invited to ten parties in the same night and trying to mingle at each one — sure you’ll meet a lot of people, and you may even go home with 189 business cards representing “my friends”, but you haven’t come to know anything more than 189 names (if you even remember any of them) and it’s more than likely you never will. Furthermore, you spent most of your night trying to get from place to place in a mad rush.

The time has come to achieve focus and pick your hang outs. I am going to start by focussing on three, my blog being one of them (I’m still considering the other two). That means that I can get value out of the tools - and the relationships I build using them - and I won’t burn out in the process.