Set the date and mark your calendars. Northern Voice is returning for 2009.

In 2005, the organizers of Canada’s first weblogging conference put on an event that was inexpensive, informal, and accessible to techies and newbies alike. From those humble beginnings Northern Voice has been transformed into… well, actually it’s still cheap, friendly and open to all.

Without question, the event has grown due to the overwhelming community response. It’s added a second self-organizing day known as Moose Camp. We expect a few more attendees this year, in part because our space is larger. But the core values remain the same — we have held the line on costs, we try to make the event family-friendly by offering space for parents to establish cooperative child-minding, and we do the main event on Saturday so non-professionals can attend.

And although it is a weblog conference, the range of topics may involve anything that webloggers are interested in… that is, just about anything. Previous years have had plenty of geekery mixed with panels on how blogging interacts with family life, education, travel, photography, community building and establishing professional profiles. Speakers range from the big names at the top of the Technorati rankings to first-time presenters with a passion to share.

I’m not sure if I will try my hand at presenting this year as last year’s session on Podcasting 101 could have been done much better. Life hasn’t slowed down enough to refine that presentation, but there are things I would certainly do differently if I did find the time to get something worthwhile put together.

Truthfully, it’s hard to teach podcasting in a thirty or sixty minute session, but I wouldn’t mind giving it another shot if the opportunity presented itself. Probably should get another episode of RadioZoom out as well, but The Crazy Canucks are certainly going strong.

I’m looking forward to another year of social media fun. It’ll be interesting to see what everyone is excited about, but Twitter was so two years ago.

After giving my MooseCamp session at Norther Voice 2008 on Podcasting 101, I learned a lot more about how things should have gone versus how it went.

Photo credit: John Biehler on Flickr

There were a variety of factors that caused me to really struggle how you give someone an introduction on podcasting within 30 minutes that doesn’t leave them feeling like a bus just drove by them and smacked them in the face because they were standing so close and didn’t see that rear view mirror sticking out as much as they just saw the bus. I only use that analogy because it almost happened to me a few weeks ago.

Rather than go through the would, should, or could haves, I’m going to make a blog post that hits the same topics, laid out in a method that will allow folks to explore tools of the medium rather than generate buzz words that you’ll forget to Google later. Plus, this will help me develop a better method of being able to do something like this again, if the virtual tomatoes haven’t already been thrown at me.

I won’t spend too much time on all the points, so let’s hit the big things when it comes to what podcasting is, how it works, and why should one podcast.

What?

The easiest way to explain what podcasting is, for me, comes from something I have to credit Dave Olson for coming up with. Short and simple, they are download-able radio programs on the internet. Podcast enthusiasts will roll their eyes reading that, but if you want to reach through to that person who has never heard of podcasting, this is the easiest, most truncated explanation that you could start with.

Building out from that, a lot of people who get interested in the concept of podcasting, be it listening or making their own podcast, is that word “pod”. They instantly associate this with the iPod, thinking that he or she needs one in order to do anything, and this is further from the truth. So to put this clear and simple, you do not need an iPod to listen to or make podcasts.

Basically, podcasts are sound files that you download to your computer. Quite often they are MP3′s that can be played on nearly any type of computer and listened to on any portable media device. Getting the files from point A to B is a little complicated, but when explaining the what of podcasting, this is a good place to start.

How?

You know what podcasting is, but how does this all work. I’ll skip the making of podcasts because that’s a hefty, meaty topic for another time. However, how does an MP3 of a “download-able internet radio program” get from the person who made it to the person who wants to listen to it?

The secret lies with RSS (Really Simple Syndication). Anyone can upload a file to a website and make a text link for you to click on and download something onto your computer. This is something that nearly anyone on the internet is used to, but this process is manual. You have to actually make an effort to visit the web page, visually see if something new is on the page, and click the link to the MP3, granted that you actually notice that it’s there.

RSS is the reverse. Instead, you subscribe to RSS feeds in what is called an aggregator. These come in various forms, such as stand alone programs (iTunes or Juice) or web based services (Google Reader). What an aggregator does is periodically check the RSS feeds that you subscribe to for any updated items. When it sees that there is something there that you haven’t listened to or downloaded, it flags that MP3 for you to download. Personally, I have my iTunes setup to automatically download new podcasts and have them uploaded onto my iPod for my commutes to and from work.

Depending on the type of person you are, you can choose to listen to podcasts however you want because there are so many ways you can do so. In fact, on The Crazy Canucks podcast that I produce, we have it setup so you can listen to the MP3′s directly on the website, streaming the audio from the front page if the visitor chooses to do so. Even as a podcast producer, I like to make it easy for anyone, anywhere, to listen to my podcast.

Once again, this is a very basic how of podcasting works. For how to make your very own podcast in terms of actually recording something to publish to the world, look into learning methods of audio recording and editing. Every producer is going to have their own methods, and it might take a lot for you to discover what is right for you. Whatever you do, be prepared to spend some time, money, and energy in learning the methods that will be the right ones for your podcast.

Why?

This seems like a silly point, but when you look at the basic, core elements of podcasting, you have to take a slight, philosophical look at… why podcasting?

First off, what’s the point? Well, there is TiVo for television, so some have considered this as TiVo for radio. Of course, radio has noticed this and has started to podcast their live programming into RSS feeds for dedicated listeners to download for a time that is more convenient to getting their fill of their favorite radio program. This is something I am a huge fan of, so I am all for it. And chances are, this is an amazing opportunity to pick up new listeners to a station and/or program that they never knew they were missing in the first place.

The other big “why” is just as big as the first one, if not bigger. Anyone can do a podcast, and they can do it about anything they want it to be about.

That is a huge element of podcasting that should not be ignored. If you have a computer and a microphone, you can record a podcast. If you have a Blogger or WordPress blog, your feed sydicated through a service like FeedBurner (which caters to podcasters very well), and a place like Libsyn to store and distribute your MP3 to the masses, then you can make a podcast. You can even use a service like PodShow and let them do it all for you. You just have to record something and upload it to their service.

The point is that you have the freedom to create anything you want. Aside from concerns that come with the use of copyrighted music or material in your podcast (which is a huge concern for many podcasters so do your research before you venture into territory that you don’t understand the legal consequences of), the rules are how you want to make them.

This is why the “why” is so important to me when it comes to podcasting. You don’t have to follow the rules set by law makers, you are not confined by what you can or cannot say by censors, and you are free to create as much or little as you want. You’ll never have to make your podcasts cram into a forty second spot during the six o’clock news. You set your own rules, and it’s the passion to create something you want to be heard that is all you need to get started.

The final “why” is those people that actually take the time to get your podcast. They are your listeners and/or viewers, depending if you want to do audio or video respectively, and you are speaking to them directly. Sure, some people will come and go, but you can bet fairly well that those who make the effort to subscribe to your podcast are paying attention to a great deal of it.

As soon as you get a response from them, you have a community. The thing is, communities have a tendency to build, and you might even discover similar or new communities in the process. This will give fire for your podcast to build, and the more you embrace it, the more you will have to podcast about.

Then, the next thing you’ll realize is that, and it will blow you mind every time you receive an email from a listener from another continent, people are actually paying attention to you. Chances are, they are anxiously waiting until you publish your next episode, and then the whole cycle starts again.

Now what?

Now, I know that the way this post ends might not have all the answers you want from a beginners, “Podcasting 101″ viewpoint, but there isn’t an easy, textbook answer. It’s like music. You can’t define music as one, simple thing because there are so many different forms and methods to creating music that rules are being rewritten time and time again.

Podcasting is similar. There’s a lot out there to listen and watch, and the ways you can create that type of content is vast. If you can think something up, it can be done. For me, that’s what podcasting, in its truest form, really comes down to.

Now that you have the concept down and you want to make your own podcast, start planning. Even though podcasting is easy, pushing that button to record without figuring out what you are going to do or say will probably not go as well as you hope.

Listen to other podcasts for inspiration. Read some blogs by other people who are writing about podcasting topics like content ideas, how to edit your audio, or what sweet gadgets folks are using inside and outside the “studio” (aka living room or spare bedroom) for recording gear. Then, get cracking because the only way you are going to get better at this is by trying it out and learning from your mistakes.

And if you don’t want to be a podcaster and have just as much thrill as being a listener, then that’s pretty cool, too. And as a podcast producer, we thank you.

I’m not going to say a lot as I wait for this keynote to start, but it’s incredibly cool to have Matt Mullenweg here to start the day off at Northern Voice 2008. So much of what I do is WordPress, so it’s pretty freaking neat that the guy who founded the project is speaking today.

Photo credit: Duane Storey on Flickr

Interesting notes during the keynote:

• WP 2.5 to have one click upgrades to plugins. WP 2.6 to hopefully have one click upgrade to core software.
• Ha! This Matt just mentioned the Matt I mentioned in my last post. They are in a battle for the highest Google ranking for their first name.
• “Kill the Megabrands”
• “When you have the taste of freedom, it’s tough to go back.” Basically, no matter what the open source project is, everyone has the ability to contribute to it, knowing how to code or not.
• Why shouldn’t the government have more open source information? Otherwise, they are just stealing from us and keeping information to themselves.
• You can listen to his keynote here.

I gave my first ever, public speaking session at MooseCamp this morning, and things went… ok.

The truth is that I’ve been so slammed with work lately that my mind hasn’t been able to wrap itself around the talk until this morning. Around 6AM, I went running through Stanley Park and took the time to plot out a course in my head as to what I wanted to talk about. Thing is, the neurons in my brain are consistently jumping around, so I’m not sure I said everything I wanted to say or said things that made sense.

Photo credit: Duane Storey on Flickr

I wanted to make a quick post with bullet point links to the things I mentioned and name dropped. There might be additions later.

• radiozoom.net – My initial podcast
• thecrazycanucks.com – The podcast by Canucks fans and for hockey fans in general
• RSS (Wikipedia) – The one thing that makes your podcast work
• Ubercaster – The audio production program that I use to produce all my podcasts
• Castblaster – A PC based program that is great for producing podcasts as well

Northern Voice kicks off tomorrow night with the super spectacular dinner, followed by MooseCamp and then the main event on Saturday. This week has turned out to be a lot more hectic that I imagined it to be, and it’s going to be non-stop all the way through Sunday.

The Crazy Canucks will have a fairly major part in all of this madness. I’ll be leading a session for an introduction to podcasting on Friday, our session on sports blogging and podcasting is Saturday afternoon, and then Sunday has our podcast crew front and center at GM Place for the Canucks Open Practice. We’ll be on the concourse raising a ruckus and having lots of fun with fellow Canucks fans at the event, media passes and our own location on the concourse included. All brought to you by those super cool folks at the Ultimate Canucks Search.

I hope to have more time to make more detailed posts about each of these things. In case I don’t find the time, you can’t say that I didn’t mention it.

Northern Voice 2008 is quickly approaching, and it will be here before I know it. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing because that means I have less time to prepare for actually participating this year. In fact, I won’t be just helping out with the event as much as actually being a speaker on both Friday and Saturday.

MooseCamp is on the Friday, and this year will be slightly different than previous years, if I have understood correctly. The intent is to have this day be more of an introductory track in terms of teaching and sharing the ins and outs of various elements of new media and all the various fun things on the internet that folks like myself like to use. It’s also an unconference[wiki] where nearly anyone with an idea for a session can show up that day and toss their hat into the ring to present something. Generally there is a gathering at the start of the day where everyone nominates what they want to see, and the winners get a time slot.

I’ve been asked to lead a thirty minute session on an intro to podcasting. I’m simply calling it, “Podcasting 101: You do not need an iPod – A crash course on what podcasting is and how you can become a podcaster”. With a short amount of time, there is no way you can cover everything you need to, so this will be more of an introductory session to give you more of an idea of the nuts and bolts of podcasting as well as a guide for things to think about beyond putting out your first episode.

I know I’m not a pro in that I’m making tons of money with the podcasts I produce. Still, I know how to make a podcast, and this is what I intend to share to anyone who wants to learn how that happens. Being that I’ve been podcasting with RadioZoom since 2004, I’ve seen the methods change and morph through many phases. And let me tell you, it’s so much easier now than it was three and a half years ago.

Photo credit: jeffreykeefer on Flickr

Northern Voice 2008 kicks in full force on Saturday. There are already a variety of sessions on the schedule that I know that I am looking forward to, but I’ll also be on a panel that day as well, this time as a full representative from The Crazy Canucks. In fact, we will all be there for a panel discussion on “Sports Blogging and Podcasting“. It’s a topic that hasn’t seen a lot of coverage in blogging conferences like this, so it should be interesting discussion, if not to raise awareness with the struggles that bloggers, who are fans, have when it comes to sharing their passion in what they write or podcast about.

So with that being said, I really need to get cracking. It’s not so much that I couldn’t spend thirty minutes talking about podcasting. It’s limiting myself to 30 minutes to talk about podcasting that will be tough, not to mention time for people asking questions. Here’s hoping that all those speeches in college paid off.

Registration is now open for Northern Voice 2008!

This is the fourth, annual new media conference that I had the opportunity to attending last February for my first time. The deadline for speaker submissions has come and gone, so the next step is opening the event up for attendees. NV is in February again this year, and the dates have been set for the 22nd and 23rd. Single day registration is $40, and it is $60 for the entire conference, per person.

Also worth mentioning is the pre-conference party that will be happening on the Thursday night before the event at the Tiki Room. It was last year’s party that introduced me to a lot of people who are common friends and faces, so it’s certainly worth attending. Just don’t call it a “networking thing”. That’s so lame.

I’m really looking forward to this year’s conference. With my day job, getting back into the fray of blogging and podcasting can be a bit of a challenge. That’s doesn’t stop me with doing my best to pay attention to what’s going on with the rest of the world, or Vancouver for that matter.

So much has changed in the world of new media, social media, online communities, and so on, just since last year. Last year, Twitter was all the rage. Now we have Facebook. What new things will people be talking about? What has stayed the same?

Still, the forces of blogging and podcasting are still driving hard. Always looking forward to what other people are doing to breathe new life into something “old”.

In about a month, give or take one to five because the Canadian government is just that awesome with paperwork, I’ll have my green light to be fully employable. We haven’t had the bash to celebrate because this whole process has been a long story of hurry up and wait. It’s a multi-stage process where you’re happy to hear good news when you just start to abandon all hope. Then there is a wave of elation, followed by the reality of more paperwork that you have to send in to start the waiting process once again.

The biggest dilemma is the question that I’ve been fielding quite often lately, and Northern Voice was the worst places of all to have this come to be a moment of clarity. What do I want to do once I’m able to, legally, work?

That’s a lot harder for me to answer with a simple, concise, non-lengthy explanation. I have seven years experience in radio, a combination of on-air talent, production, producing, I.T. and engineering(not uncommon for people in radio these days to wear many hats). There’s the fact that I’m interested in all things new media, especially the world of podcasting and blogging.

I’ve been doing designing of websites since I was 16, wavering in and out of doing a lot of it. For a time, I worked for my parents where we had a side project doing this for local businesses in the town I grew up in, a different time and era for sure. Blogging has really brightened my understanding of PHP, SQL, and CSS a whole lot, and I’m in the middle of a couple of projects, unrelated to my current ones, that are using these skills in full force.

So when someone asks me this question of what do I want to do, it’s tough. Would I like to get into the radio market of Vancouver? Absolutely, and I’ve actually interviewed with a lot of the major players since first coming here in 2005, CKNW and Team1040 being a few prominent ones to mention. All those ventures came up short when they get to that part about having the necessary status that makes you legit for getting a paycheck.

I’m gearing up to start the hunt when the time comes, but there is no simple answer to the question. I’ve had the past year and a half to think about it, and during that time, I’ve watched a lot of opportunity pass me by, if not slip through my fingers. That’s bound to change, and Rebecca can’t wait until she can have me out of the apartment more often. Quite frankly, I can’t either.

Trust me, everything I have done in life has been an earnest effort of tackling it with persistence. More than a few people in Vancouver have mentioned that about me, and I hope that was a compliment.

In the past few weeks, I’ve noticed something about the release of Windows Vista. Basically, there’s not a lot of excitement to it. People talked about it for years, saying that it was going to be this completely awesome OS that would rival everything Apple has been doing. This is exactly the type of thing that I.T. folks fear to hear, and with all the different flavors of the OS you can buy, it’s an unbelievable nightmare.

Truth be told, I have seen very little of what Vista can do. I have very little interest in doing so. Why? It’s the way Microsoft has been promoting it.

Global, a television network here in Canada, has segments where the announcer guy says, “This Gobal preview powered by the new Windows Vista.” Then they show previews for TV shows in various ways in that Vista must be so awesome. And… it’s not. I’m sure all of the computers across the entire network have it installed on every system and the whole ship is running smoothly as well.

Even more interesting are these posts by Chris Pirillo and Duane Storey. Quite simply, they’re both fed up and bought Macs. I guess Rebecca had a conversation with Duane about it at Northern Voice, and he joked about getting a MacBook soon. When we got home on Saturday, he already had that post up on his site, using his new MacBook, of course.

It’s an interesting trend. I’m sure there are a lot more people out there that can speak to this. My hope is to get Rebecca switched over to the Apple world soon, and all the “cute, little, white MacBooks” that she saw all over at Northern Voice has her chomping at the bit. Being a windows user all her life, she’s just as unimpressed with Vista as I am.

It’s been a hectic past few days, but I’m getting back into the groove of things. For the most part, I think I’m there. If anything, this post is going to be a bit of online notes to expand from for future posts. You know, once it’s out there, then I’ll have to do something with it. You know what I mean?

First off, thanks so much for your good wishes for our first anniversary. I think I’m still trying to recoup from the entire weekend, even if we did spend it doing a bunch of geeky things. When you do things like that, you start to splurge on other things, like having a beer with your lunch because it’s your anniversary. Sunday was just a string of such events, and it all hit me last night, making it really hard to get out of bed this morning.

By the way, Poncho’s on Deman, here in Vancouver, has some really good Mexican food. I’m not such a big fan of peas in their rice(normally there is much more of an onion taste, not to mention an orange tint versus brownish-white), but the chicken fajitas are almost worth dying for. Been there a few times, but first time with the fajitas, certainly won’t be my last time.

Quick break down of goings on, podcast meetup this past Sunday, the whole Northern Voice 2007 has left me with plenty of thoughts to expand on, and the NHL trade deadline was today. Canucks did some stuff last night in terms of getting some new blood, but the bigger news was Bertuzzi moving to Detroit and Ryan Smyth moving to the Islanders. Mad crazy excitement this morning, and I got completely sucked in.

The other change is in our apartment. I’ve got myself moved around a little bit, but the kitchen/dinning area has been freed from my grip. It might take a little getting used to, but at least we have a clear area to sit and have dinner now. Haven’t checked the change of acoustics for recording any podcasts yet, but it’s not like we have a superb setup, in terms of soundproofing, to begin with.

More to come soon. Need to get my head sitting straight and a handle on my new view. Proving to be difficult today.

I’m just kinda thinking to myself as Rebecca and I chill out for the night. Folks, we would have really loved to come party with you all tonight, but tomorrow marks one year of us being married. This means we have plans, and that includes even more partying for us. What that is, I’m not exactly sure, but we laugh in the face of adventure. Not that we’re brave, we just find it funny.

Speaking of funny, I have to list off some things I overheard at Northern Voice 2007 before I forget.

• Sitting at a table at lunch with Anil Dash, trying to be patient for our waitress who apparently got lost when getting our bills taken care of: “We should start a fire. Need to get someone’s attention? We should start a fire.”
• Dave Olsen during his session on podcasting: “I’m bi-platform, and I’m man enough to admit it.”
• Tod Maffin on the Skype back channel (I’m only adding this because this new term makes me laugh and feel slightly uncomfortable, all at the same time): “Biobreak”
• Rebecca on our way to lunch: “No drinking your lunch!”
• David Drucker on the bus ride to downtown: “Sausage-fest? I just don’t think I could be one to get away with saying that.”
• Derek Miller on the Skype back channel: “Sure, you laugh, but I’m safe here in my bunker with my pyramid hat on.”

This is all I can recall right now, and I’ll add more later if I can think of it. Feel free to add your own to the comments below. Right now, it’s time for wine and dinner.

We’ve done a good amount of sharing the laptop, and it’s been nice to sit back and feed my brain a little bit this afternoon. Thing is, I feel like I’m already forgetting something. Just sat through Susie‘s session on why every website should run on blogging or CMS software. I’m a big proponent of that, so it was good stuff.

Kris Krug is running this current session on photography though. His stuff is really, really good. There’s no short way to explain that, and it’s talent that only comes after lots of time and thousands upon thousands of photos. Makes my cellphone pics from today pretty lacking.

Neat thing about this session, KK does a lot, if not nearly all, of his editing in iPhoto. As someone on the lower level like myself, this is fairly fascinating because I’ve found a lot of great tricks to make my photos look better than what my PowerShot takes. The enhance button is one thing, but I never like it. Glad to know that Krug doesn’t either, but there are little adjustments you can make as well.

Eyeball it. Plain and simple. Do something to change the photo, and if it looks good to you, then great. You might just develop a style, which I’m starting to wonder about mine, whatever the hell that is. The fact that I’ve had too much coffee and not enough water to compensate means blurry photos. I just can’t keep my hands that steady right now.

I’m learning a few things that I never have before, even about this three year old pocket cam. I think the reason I love my little digicam is the fact that I can do more with the LCD display that I probably could with an SLR. That’s not to say that I wouldn’t like one, but I can do fun things with a very small camera that fits in my back pocket. Sleuthy, if you will.

Day’s coming to an end. It’s been a great Northern Voice. Will have to think about it more later, but I’m more so looking into relax for the next 48 hours, though I’m sure I’ll dink around on that laptop.

Dave. Podcasting. This means good stuff. I’ve written a lot on this subject, so I’m going to sit back on this one. I’m sure this will fuel posts for the future and cause me to spout off on something about podcasting.

Alright, some thoughts as Dave goes along. Thank you, Dave, for telling people to break the rules. Yes, there is something about doing it well, but don’t think that you HAVE to make something that is confoundly professional. Do what you love, and love what you do. That should be the number one thing out of everything that you produce. I’m watching some critics in the room shake their head at some of these thoughts, but if you don’t like it, then don’t listen.

Update: Lunch at Mahoney and Son’s was a good place, but we totally picked the wrong table. Great company, slow to the service. The three other tables of Northern Voicers, two of which got there after us, were fed, billed and gone way before us. Guinness was tasty. Missing the just after lunch session, but oh well.

Richard Erickkson leads this session, and it is a bit of a refresher course for some of the folks in here. There is no problem with maintaining a fresh frame of mind of everything that is out there, but it’s also fascinating to hear what is being told to those who are looking to discover or progress in their understanding of what blogging, and everything else that stems from it, is and can be.

I actually “met” Richard last night on the bus for my journey home, but I decided to try to grab another bus at the last minute and ran away from him before the doors trapped me on the 99 B-Line. Turns out, that other bus I wanted wasn’t the 44, and apparently those stop running at some point. Oh well, but I told Richard no hard feelings. I was sure to apologize about that this morning.

He’s been doing this since 2000. Makes my venture into blogging, starting in 2004, seem petty, but holy crap, it’s 2007. Three years doesn’t seem like a lot, but from where I started to where I’ve gone makes it that way for myself.

Good things already today. Splitting my laptop with Rebecca today, so posting will be much lighter(totally need to get her one soon). Check out the flickr though.

Anyone else have a MooseCamp hangover? Sitting in the keynote right now, things are a bit exciting. Took us three buses to get out here, but we made it without much problem. Actually ran into Jim Pick and Jason Vanderhill on the 99 B-Line out to UBC. Sparked lots of discussion about yesterday and last night. They were jealous of Rebecca and I getting a tour of the CBC. Was good to see Tod Maffin looking as “refreshed” as we are this morning, but that was totally worth it to get my radio geek on.

Special note at the start of this morning: Get well, Derrek. In the meantime, I need to do just one thing at a time this morning, and that’s listen to Anil. More later.