Mark Blevis

When Bob Goyetche, Julien Smith and I piled into a car for the seven hour drive to Boston last Friday, I had no idea that the trip would seem so short. The conversation was engaging, particularly Julien’s one hour run down of how Podcasters are building their audience the wrong way (listen here) – a great preview of what we would experience at PodCamp Boston 2006.

The two main themes of the weekend were using online social networks to build an audience, and how to organize yourself to make some money from your Podcasting skills. What I found myself thinking about most is:

• build an audience by turning friends into listeners into subscribers into evangelists
• use every online social networking tool available to make new friends
• be efficient and effective with your online activities including show notes and networking

This was quite a departure from the primary areas of discussion at Podcasters Across Borders. I wonder what we’ll be talking about in another three months.

As always, the most signifiant part of the weekend was meeting equally passionate Podcasters, those who are considering producing their own shows, and listeners who want to learn more about social media.