ArbCamp Wrap

Spent Saturday at ArbCamp - it was fun, interesting, and informative.

Although I had to cut out before the Jaffe Keynote, the sessions I went to were diverse and informative, and were user-generated. In short, in the beginning everyone got together in a circle and decided the agenda by posting topics on the wall.

This allowed a lot of diverse topics to be covered. In the morning, I "led" a session on podcasting. Although we had some really useful conversation, near the end it devolved into a discussion the technical aspects of podcasting. It's frustrating as every event I seem to go to becomes a technical discussion - which editing programs, which mics, the basics.

To move the media format forward, I think it's critical we get together a higher-level group who wants to talk content and best practices. It is my opinion that there are a million and one resources out there for podcasting, including Podcasting For Dummies.


Although Detroit/Ann Arbor is not San Francisco, there is no reason we can't establish a strong community here. The resources are here, and there is a wealth of trained TV and radio talent here that need work. Yes, it's a democratic medium, but it (just like broadcast TV and radio) requires talent and skill to do well.

Some look at the low cost of theoretical entry and think it's for everyone - but anyone who's actually worked production is that it takes time, creativity and planning. I'll be putting together a conference/meetup on this soon. I've learned that if others don't want to create anything east of the Mississippi on this, sometimes, it's best to grab the horns and do it yourself. If you're interested in this idea, comment me - I'll get in touch with you.

Now, since these camps have multiple sessions running concurrently, I'll have to relate the pieces I know...

Checked in on the folks from oort-cloud.org about Social Publishing.

These guys are really bright - and knowledgeable. I think that with the services out there, self-publishing is a reality. Even hearing about groups that will be community editors of your writing... I think it's all great, and now it's time to talk what is the business model of some of these things - how do the dollars get flowing for this stuff.

All I can think of, post-session, is Jonathan Coulton - sure, he's a musician - but he's making a living all on his own, giving away parts, charging for others, touring... it's great to see. Again, the model isn't totally developed - but it's gaining some traction.

Startup funding is a very popular topic, and it was a good discussion about resources - and that people need to leverage contact networks, barter, etc. to make it. I mentioned one of my favorite books, Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time which has some very sage advice. One of the themes I particularly like is have goals - including the people you want to meet.

Blogging and PR is another hot topic in the space, and had some great conversations, with Mr. Jaffe joining us for the mini-session. It's really interesting hearing what different companies are doing with blogs - mostly outreach, but not much discussion of company people doing it themselves.

So in short - thanks to everyone and the organizers, it was fun. To those who I got business cards from, I'll do my best to follow up this week. I look forward to next time. We need more like this around here.