Bill Bartmann is a multi-billionaire, twice named “National Entrepreneur of the Year” by USA Today,
NASDAQ, Inc. Magazine, Ernst & Young and The Kauffman Foundation. He is the founder of Billionaire
University (www.billionaireu.com), an online business school which uses downloadable video as well as
podcasting to deliver a curriculum of business fundamentals through both direct and affiliate-based
channels.
Sure, podcasting is dead (or so they say), but podiobooks are alive and well and headed for a Barnes and Noble (if not a multiplex) near you, thanks in part to two very talented and savvy RSS-enabled authors.
Bill DeSmedt is truly the accidental podcaster. He figured, when searching for authors to endorse his new book, it would be more convenient to offer an audio version of the novel as opposed to an electronic or early print copy. So, with a modest recording rig set up in his attic, Bill put together what would become one of Podiobooks.com’s most popular titles: Singularity. He did a fantastic job putting this award-nominated podcast together, even though he didn’t mean to.
As a white male, I’ve learned one thing — never underestimate the power of women. If you use social media to get closer with customers, I’d advise you to do the same. Headlines note that women have eclipsed men in ecommerce. Evidence has it that the same is happening as we speak in blogging as well.
On The Edge: Mommies or Mike Arrington: Where’s the Money? [7:02m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadThis has been a fascinating piece to write. My editors disagree with some of my assessments here and we’ve agreed to disagree, because some things are a matter of opinion. I’m a Microsoft “Digital Media MVP.” (You can read up on MVPs at mvp.support.micro soft.com.) I’m clearly a fan of Microsoft’s Zune efforts but will argue to my death that this has not clouded my judgment. Microsoft’s entry into the podcast world can greatly increase our audience (and our profits) if we respond accordingly.
Podcast networks have made a splash lately. It started with Wizzard Media’s announcement that 1 billion podcast downloads had been attempted from its hosting servers in 2007. PodShow got in on the meganumber action when a Compete (blog.compete.com/2008/01/17/2006-vs-2007-top-moving-sites) study touted the tremendous increase (29,000 percent) in the amount of traffic the directory/network site had received during the past year.
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