Ordinarily I’d be a little sheepish about admitting that BlogDay completely snuck up on me. I should be on top of these things, right? The trouble is that the blogs-about-blogging I’ve been reading this week are so full of negativity and self-referening that there doesn’t seem to have been room for a positive thing like BlogDay to pop up onto the radar. We here at Blogger & Podcaster want to do our part to help.

BlogDay is a great opportunity to recommend blogs, hopefully blogs that others in your circle don’t read. In short, it gives us the chance to make a completely positive impact on the blogosphere by introducing new writers to our own readers. In the interest of sharing the love, I asked my B&P colleagues to weight in with some blogs they thought you should know about.

From our Podcast Producer, Adam Raimer

Joey Interactive

Kevin Kelly: Cool pictures and articles of people using everyday items and re-purposing them.

Advertising Age Magazine: keeps me up on the rest of the “big media” happenings-since I don’t listen to radio or much TV anymore

Gary Leland: Cause I like Podcast PIckle and love Gary Leland.

70s Child: Not updated often enough, but because I am a child of the ’70’s, I like it.

From your humble editor

Romenenko: Media industry news with an attitude, and a deeper understanding of the profession of journalism than most bloggers celebrating the demise of newspapers can offer.

Wi-Fi Net News: Wireless networking was one of my pre-new media interests. Glenn Fleishman is always on top of the industry, and has been for several years.

From Publisher Larry Genkin

TechCrunch: Keeps me on top of new media better than any other source I know.

Joe Wikert’s Publishing 2020 Blog: A great
read about publishing and new media.

Well, it had to happen. At some point, any blogger writing industry commentary will get a request for disclosure of some type. I got mine yesterday.

My post Tuesday regarding the two groups attempting to form industry associations for the podcasting community did not sit well with Scott Bourne, who is leading an effort to provide an alternative to the Association of Downloadable Media. Scott asked me in email to disclose any relationships with ADM, and then a commenter on the original post asked some fair questions about Blogger & Podcaster’s relationship with the International Blogging & New Media Association (IBNMA).

All righty, let’s proceed.

I interviewed ADM leader Susan Bratton in early July, prior to the launch of the organization’s web site, and the opening of paid membership. Podcasting is still a relatively small community, and it seems that we know lots of the same people. It also turns out that Susan currently serves on the board of a company I worked for six years ago. I no longer have any connection to that company.

The news story I wrote was a pretty straight recitation of the ADM’s announcement. Not a very exciting article, but a basic explanation of what ADM had planned. At the time, I didn’t know of any controversy surrounding ADM or the idea of an industry association for podcasters.

There was and is no business relationship between Blogger & Podcaster and ADM. I suppose it’s possible that ADM could choose to purchase advertising in B&P, but that hasn’t happened, and if it does, it will have no effect on our coverage of ADM, just as it has no effect on our coverage of other businesses and organizations in the industry.

Last week, I received an email inviting me to join the ADM. It was not a personal note, but a formatted invite. The invitation did not mention a “press membership”, a “discount”, a seat on the board, or a free cocktail at the organizational meeting. I did not respond to the invitation, partly because I had become aware that an alternative organization was forming, and that it would not be appropriate for me, or our magazine, to give the appearance of advocating one organization over the other.

As I prepared the news section for our September issue, I made a note to learn more about Scott Bourne’s alternative podcast trade group. I read his blog when I can, and it was apparent shortly after ADM’s launch that he distrusted the means by which ADM was organizing itself, and that others agreed with him. That sounded like a pretty good news story.

I began working on the news section this Monday. Coincidentally, I got an email from Neil Vineberg, a PR person I have communicated with before. He told me about a survey that podcasters could take about the direction of the proposed industry association, currently called The Association of Podcasters & Online Media Producers. He asked if I would like to speak to Scott Bourne, and if I would consider writing about the group and the survey in my blog and in the magazine. This was great timing, and I arranged to talk to Scott on Tuesday afternoon. By the way, I once appeared on a panel with Scott, and though we didn’t talk about it, I think we also know some of the same people.

I asked Scott about his goals for the Association of Podcasters & Online Media Producers, about next steps, about how it would be organized, etc. I asked whether it was possible or desirable to work with ADM, and what the main bones of contention between those who supported the new group, and ADM were. Scott was emphatic that he would not seek any office in the group, and that all podcasters would have the chance to join it at no cost. He also pointed me to some of the group’s leading backers.

When we hung up, I checked out the survey and read a few of Scott’s blog posts. At that point, I decided that a post of my own would be a good idea. I could link to the survey and get ahead of the news cycle we live with in a monthly magazine. More importantly, people who read this post would have the chance to take the survey before August 13, and learn about the Association of Podcasters & Online Media Producers. Goodness for everyone, right?

In my blog post, I described the organization as Scott had explained it to me. Near the end, I quoted a survey question that I felt was leading, and I said that others were as well. I also indicated specifically that I would not be taking sides in the dispute between the two podcast associations. These two statements do not conflict. I expressed an opinion about a tactical activity of the organizations I was blogging about, and I further clarified that this opinion did not indicate support for, or opposition to, the goals of that group.

Now you know what I’ve done, said and writen on this subject.

To the IBNMA question: I asked Blogger & Podcaster publisher Larry Genkin to give me a quick briefing on our relationship with IBNMA. As editor, I stay out of the business stuff, and I needed Larry’s input to be sure I had the facts straight. Here’s Larry’s comment:

Yes, there is a definitive business relationship between Blogger & Podcaster and the IBNMA. We are their official publication. All of their members receive a free print subscription to B&P, which is a key to our ongoing readership growth. Our advertisers will greatly benefit from this program. In addition we will have a major presence at their tradeshows. Our skin in the game is helping them to generate members, hence the ad in the magazine. And since we are their organizations “house” publication, we wanted to provide a forum for their president to communicate with their members each month, hence the IBNMA column.

Well, there you have it. If some perceive my statement on Tuesday that this blog would take no position in support of one industry association over another as hyperbolic, I apologize. and from an editorial point of view, it still goes. Any industry trade group making news will have an equal chance for coverage. If, like the Association of Podcasters & Online Media Producers, there’s a time-seneistive survey in the works, I’ll seriously consider blogging about it and providing a link. If a competitor to the IBNMA decides to hold a conference, they’ll get into the calendar on an equal basis. And frankly, if that happens, we might need to develop some more explicit coverage guidelines. Competing industry groups is not something I ever anticipated. Transparency is a good thing.

I hope this is helpful to those of you with questions. I do hope that whatever philosophy prevails, the fighting and accusations can become a lesser part of the conversation, leaving room for more concrete debates on the future of the industry, standards and so on. We welcome the chance to be an open forum for that debate.

In this month’s issue, you can read a news story about the founding of The Association of Downloadable Media (ADM) a group founded by representatives from 15 major organizations involved in podcasting. the heavy hitters on the steering committee represent Apple, NPR, PodShow, PodTech and others. The goal is to develop metrics for measuring audience and advertising effectiveness.

Soon after the ADM’s announcement hit the wires, some podcasters began questioning whether the ADM’s model (high-powered board, hefty membership dues, corporate-focused mission) was truly best for the nascent podcast industry. Podango’s Scott Bourne blogged about it, and says he received more than 70 positive responses within 48 hours of his first post. That discussion of the need for a bottom-up association for the podcasting industry follows discussions that have been going on since last year’s Podcast & New Media Expo (PME), says Bourne.

Now, the conversation has spawned an alternative to the ADM, under the working title Association of Podcasters & Online Media Producers, It has its own list of heavy-hiter backers, including Michael Geoghegan of GigaVox, Leo Laporte of the TWIT.TV, Michael R. Mennenga: of Farpoint Media, and Gretchen Vogelzang of The MommyCast.

The group has put up a survey asking your opinions about how a podcasting trade group should be organized and run. You can take the survey (which asks for your name and affiliations) through August 13. Be warned that many of the early questions are unabashedly leading.

To wit:

An organization serving the podcasting and new media communities should embrace “web 2.0” ideologies of openness, community involvement, and maximized individual contribution as it forms and operates.

Strongly Agree……Strongly Disagree

Survey results will be sent to all respondents, and publicized widely via Bourne’s blog, and via other media outlets. Both the ADM and the alliterative group plan organizational meetings at this year’s Podcast & New Media Expo, to be held September 28-30, in Ontario, CA.

Finally, this blog will not take a position in support of one industry trade group over another. For one thing, the diverging points of view feel too much like a family squabble. Not something to be gotten in the middle of, not by me. Perhaps the two groups will eventually find common ground, perhaps not. Now’s the time for ideas and arguments, organization and goal-setting. We will cover both groups, and any other related developments, and, assuming there are no schedule conflicts, I’ll attend both organizational meetings and let you know how things go.

My list of podcasts is long. When I add a new one, it’s either because a show or category has gotten “buzz” of late, or because the topic is interesting or useful to me. To find new shows, I usually head to Google, or to a podcast directory like Podcast Pickle. I rarely search iTunes.

I point out my search method here because it illustrates a problem some podcasters have with perspective. Many producers feel that having their show pop up in an iTunes search is enough, because most podcast listeners use iTunes to subscribe. I’m here to tell them that they’re wrong. iTunes search is slow and not very good at pin-pointing the content I want. I won’t find web sites about a topic I’m interested in, but I will find music and TV shows that have nothing to do with my search. So when I’m looking for podcast content, I don’t go there.

Focusing exclusively on iTunes search serves neither seasoned podcast listeners like me, or a potential listener who barely knows what a podcast is. If I’m looking for, say, podcasts about college baseball, coin collecting, or skateboarding, I start on the Web because I know that I’ll have several shows to choose from, and I want to see the producers’ sites and use what I learn there to determine whether your show is right for me. I’m not gonna subscribe until you convince me that I’m going to benefit from what you offer. On the other end of the spectrum, non-podcast listeners who want to learn about a topic may have no idea that they can subscribe to a half-hour weekly update on a favorite TV show. All they know is that they want information. They aren’t going to iTunes to find it. They’re using the Google! If your podcast appears on the first results page, they’ll find you and the podcasting medium, too. If it doesn’t, they’ll be reading fan sites and message boards.

The points I’ve made here will seem painfully obvious to a lot of podcasters, but if my recent experience is any indication, plenty of my fellow producers are guilty of myopic thinking, and perhaps a little laziness. Just because most of your listeners use iTunes to subscribe, don’t assume they all found you that way, or that everyone who would enjoy your show is searching there. You’re a content producer first, and an audio producer second.