Monthly Archives: April 2008
PodCamp Rule #7 to be Instituted
There are 6 rules of Podcamp (There used to be 7, but former rule #4 dictating that PodCamps be free was revoked after PodCamp Boston 2). The rules governing the organization and execution of PodCamps are (as listed by co-founder Chris Penn):
- All attendees must be treated equally. Everyone is a rockstar.
- All content created must be released under a Creative Commons license.
- All attendees must be allowed to participate. (subject to limitations of physical space, of course)
- All sessions must obey the Law of 2 Feet – if you’re not getting what you want out of the session, you can and should walk out and do something else. It’s not like you have to get your money’s worth!
- The event must be new-media focused – blogging, podcasting, video on the net.
- The financials of a PodCamp must be fully disclosed in an open ledger, except for any donor/sponsor who wishes to remain anonymous.
My guess is that there will soon be a new rule #7 instituted after PodCamp NYC 2 this next weekend.
If you don’t understand this, just smile and nod. :)
Leave Your Gun Outside
PodCamp DC Review
Yesterday, I mentioned that PodCamp DC was happening and it was a successful event, in my books. The organizers worked their tails off to pull off the event, the sessions were great – I’m hearing wonderful feedback from the session hosted by Andy Carvin of NPR and Jim Long (NewMediaJim) from NBC.
This is now my third Podcamp (and first one to sponsor). Let me frame my feedback around the pros and cons of the other two, before I explain my feedback surrounding the DC event.
PodCamp Philly
PodCamp Philly was an amazing success. It was the first event I went to and I think a large degree of success came from the venue. It was held at Drexel University and centered around hundreds of square feet of common area. The common area had a Starbucks (where a tab was graciously kept open for most of the day by Comcast), the wifi was working, and we were in walking distance of food and drink. In fact, on Saturday during that event, I spent a significant portion of the day spending time with Viddler and have maintained a great working relationship with them since that day in late September, 2007.
PodCamp Boston 2
As much as I love Chris Penn and Chris Brogan, PodCamp Boston represented epic FAIL in my books. I think both of them would largely agree with me, and little of it was their fault.
Epic FAIL might be a bit harsh. The people were great. But the venue sucked (Boston Convention Center). There was a restaurant in the hotel that was attached to the convention center and a Starbucks across the street. Outside of that, there was very few places to escape to throughout the day. The convention center was so big it was the anti-common meeting area. Too many people came from out of town, myself included. half of the 1300 registrants actually showed up. However, Rule 4 of the Podcamp Tome was revoked – now PodCamps do not have to be free. This was a lesson learned that is valuable and largely an excellent move.
PodCamp DC
PodCamp DC was a one day event. That was a bit bizarre for me, as the other two were two day events. That said, I think one day works. The venue was a horrible spot for a podcamp as there were no open common areas for people to meet, sponsors to setup booths, etc. Everything was spread across classrooms on three different floors which made for a very tiring day.
Rosslyn, Virginia is nice, but is truly suburbia hell. PodCamp DC attendees were encouraged not to drive, and in fact, I would have done the same thing. Rosslyn metro access on the orange/blue lines made commuting a breeze. Later in the evening, the after party was held in a place that, while metro accessible, was really only so if you wanted to walk around a traditional suburban mall. Not the kind of place to have an after party when attendees were encouraged to not drive.
That said, it was a wonderful evening topped off by a visit from lifecaster/musician Jody Gnant (ustream), who I shared a special moment with over a shot of tequila. (Not that kind of special moment, mind out of the gutter!)
Added After: I loved the fact that PodCamp DC was largely supported by local people. It’s nice to have folks from out of town, but it’s super nice when our own people got involved, attended, spread the word and boosted the event. Go us.
I give Podcamp DC the following ratings:
1) Marketing/Message: 6/10
2) Venue: 3/10
3) Pre-party: 6/10
4) After-party: 7/10
5) Speakers: 8/10
6) Support from Rich Media Community: 6/10
7) Organizers: 8/10
Well done, Tammy, Joel and Ernie. Can’t wait for PodCamp DC 2.
Podcamp DC
Podcamp DC is this weekend and Technosailor is a sponsor. I’m a fan of the Podcamp movement, but I’m particularly a fan of them being locally based. Local sponsors, local organizers, local attendees, local issues, etc.
Last year, I drove up 95 to PodCamp Philly (I consider Philly to be relatively local since it is an easy drive away). It was one of the most well organized, community-driven events I had ever attended. I decided to make the jaunt to Boston a month later for PodCamp Boston 2, which in my opinion ended up really sucking.
While I love Chris Brogan and Chris Penn, I think they would agree that 1300+ registrants (only half showed up) was a little much for a “grassroots unconference”. The Boston Convention Center was too big, the meeting rooms were too spacious, etc.
Plus I just had a horrid weekend between travel difficulties and my Macbook dying. Not a good time.
Podcamp DC is here now and I’m excited. I’m excited by having an event here to energize the community. There are already fault lines developing in the business community and I get the sense that people are trying to figure out what the hell is the value of what this community is, especially if real business value has yet to be seen on large scale.
Podcamp is not specific to podcasting and video. It is the collecting point of internet media in a local scene. In fact, I’m venturing to guess that most of the attendees would not fall into the category of podcaster or videocaster, though we’ll certainly have those too.
So, I hope to see you down in DC tonight and tomorrow supporting the local media community!
Interview with the Entrepreneur: Ann Bernard of WhyGoSolo – Part 2
I recently had the opportunity to speak with Ann Bernard of WhyGoSolo, an innovative social networking startup here in the DC area. She has been working hard to create a platform that might change the way you look at events and various other things that you might have gone to by yourself and were looking for a buddy to join you in something that interested them as well.
In the first part of our interview we talked about what WhyGoSolo is, what makes it unique, its roadmap and revenue creation. Here is the second part of our interview:
1. How many employees do you have at WhyGoSolo now? Is it important that they all share your entrepreneurial spirit and drive? How do you find that in new hires and keep that entrepreneurial energy alive?
We have 4 “œemployees” working with on WhyGoSolo. None of them are getting paid in dollars so I would definitely say “œheck yea it’s important they have the entrepreneurial spirit and drive!!”. They are doing the work they’re doing and taking risks because they believe in the potential of WhyGoSolo and the team they are working with.
Yesterday, Doug our VP. of Sales/Biz Dev “œguy” (titles are still a little loose at the moment) made some calls for some research we’re doing in building our revenue model and he spoke to quite a few sales people. One woman he spoke to has offered to donate her time to help us ““ she wants to make some calls and sale WhyGoSolo for us.
I love that!! You know you have something exciting and fun when people want to donate their time to help out. Lets you know that when we get funded they want to be the first hires ““ the people who have stuck around and are joining us now are looking to be part of something that will soon explode. We let their guts decide. We also only talk to the best, smartest and most passionate. That keeps the entrepreneurial energy alive.
2. What are the most important elements for a successful startup company?
It starts with the Vision. You must have a Vision that you can build a strong business and team around. The Vision includes having a solid market, revenue streams, exponential growth potential and passion/excitement/love for what you’re building.
Next is the team ““ you bring the best and most passionate of each professions you need together and you give them the room and tools to shine.
I hate to say this, but I have to admit that proper funding is also an element of a successful startup. We’ve been bootstrapping for over a year and we have the Vision, a strong business concept and a growing team, but we’re extremely limited in what we can do because of resources (dollars)
3. You are self-funded which is poses a different set of challenges versus those who get money from the likes of Sequoia and Novak Biddle. Can you give us a bit of detail on your approach to managing cash flow while trying to grow?
Haha!! What cash flow? There is no cash flow. Everything is out of pocket and we’ve kept our expenses to the bare, bare minimum. I’m surprised we’ve spent money on business cards. Our biggest expense is hosting. Everything we’ve done has been through word of mouth, going out and talking about WhyGoSolo and leveraging the web.
WhyGoSolo exist because of sweat equity ““ mine and that of other people. If you don’t know what it’s like to work 14-16 hour days, 7 days a week for over a year and not make a penny for it ““ you don’t understand the meaning of sweat equity.
4. Is there room in the social networking space for more competitors? Have you seen any recently that seem interesting?
To be honest I haven’t been as diligent lately keeping an eye out. I see a lot of mobile, location based services coming out and I obviously think those are great concepts”¦anything that makes bringing people together easier and simpler. (We’ll be going mobile as well)
5. What approach to marketing plays a significant role in promoting and attracting customers to WhyGoSolo?
Like I mentioned, we’ve created a concept that provides a service and is saleable. Our sales pitch is probably best compared to what PR firms go out and do when they pitch a social media campaign. We pitch ours to event promoters and brick and mortar venues in the entertainment industry. Part of the pitch is a win-win-win partnership between them, WhyGoSolo and our members. We’ll all grow together and cross promote each other.
The more venues that build communities on WhyGoSolo and offer members discounts and value the more members we’ll get on WhyGoSolo.
6. If you want people to remember one thing when they think about WhyGoSolo, what is it?
Value added. This is the core of all successful businesses ““ we’re determined to add value to everyone we service on WhyGoSolo.
I wanted to take the time to thank Ann for doing this interview and everyone should make a visit to WhyGoSolo.com and sign up to see what a great site this is.
Technorati Tags: Entrepreneurship, social networks, Entrepreneur+Interview