Audio Pod Chronicles

Interview on August 19, 2008 with Chris Lopez - .mp3 version.

This is the mp3 version of this week's Audio Pod Chronicles interview with Jeff Cutler.

Writer and podcaster Jeff Cutler was one of the only Boston Media Makers without a device feeding him information from the Internet at our meeting on Sunday, August 3, 2008, at Doyle's Cafe in Jamaica Plain.  It turns out his laptop was in the shop.   This prompted him to lead a lively discussion among the 22 of us at the meeting about how much we depend on being connected at all times to the Internet.  Jeff is a thoughtful guy who is on what he calls a one-year "Writing Sabbatical" during which he is aiming at a new phase of his career that will involve more commentary and opinion writing.  He uses his podcast, "Bowl of Cheese" in an effective and unusual way as a supplement to his blog of the same name.  All in all, Jeff Cutler is doing creative, original work in the new media space, and it's always good to connect with him, even when he's unplugged!  I think you'll enjoy this profile of a writer from Hingham, Mass.,  who is using new media to full advantage.  Music for my podcast is “Going to the Sun” comp

mp3 version of today's Audio Pod Chronicles, "PodCampers Pick Podcasts."

At PodCamp Boston 3 this past weekend, I asked 12 happy campers to identify their favorite podcasts.  Here is what they came up with:Sarah Vela - Push My Follow, You Look Nice Today. Chris Cavallari - Nature Stories, Little Bit of Nonsense. Robert Blatt - Let's Go Out Tonight, twentyhoodDoug Haslam - For Immediate Release, Inside PR, 10th WonderAmrita Chandra - Ricky GervaisDavid Fisher - Diggnation, The Totally Rad ShowBill Wilder - Hanselminutes, What What Don't Tell Me, Grammar GirlDavid Beaudoin - Push My Follow, Get It Done GuyC.C. Chapman - Six Pixels of Separation, Scott Sigler's Nocturnal, Steve GarfieldSteve Garfield - Epic Fu, Moblogic.tv, C.C. ChapmanJoyce Bettencourt - Managing the Gray, Accident Hash, Running Man Radio, AC RadioDan Patterson (Creepy Sleepy podcast) - The Brookhaven Chronicles, On the Media, Slate Political Gabfest, Buzz Out Loud, This Week in Tech,  In Over Your Head

mp3 version of Episode 62, A dilly of a Denver Police Commander.

Denver Police Commander Debra Dillly heads District 6, the core downtown area.  On July 8, 2008 she addressed a meeting of homeowners from three downtown condominium buildings, including the one I live in. She gave the best overview I've heard so far of what it's really going to be like in my neighborhood August 25-28 when the Democratic National Convention comes to town.  Now I will how to tell Obama's motorcade from President Carter's, how regular police work will be handled, the effect of the convention on Denver's homeless population, and what NOT to do if I get tear-gassed. Note: The audio calls this episode 61, but in fact it's number 62.  Credit the error to sleep deprivation.

mp3 version of Episode 61, Breakfast of Videos.

Social Media Breakfast 8, hosted by Bryan Person and Bob Collins June 24, 2008 at Ryles Jazz Club in Cambridge, Mass., was all about video.  An audience of nearly 100 heard excellent presentations from Larry Lawfer of YourStorys.com and Jeff Glasson of PerkettPR.com and two other presentations excerpted in this episode of the Audio Pod Chronicles.  Those two were by recent Emerson College students Ben Grossman and Emily Belyea, who created a winning video-based proposal to resuscitate AOL's AIM social media programs, and Rob Lane, founder and CEO of Overlay.tv , who is making videos interactive.  It was impossible to listen to all four presentations and not sense the energy in Internet video, and the creativity.  I came right home and started playing with Overlay.tv and can't wait to do more.

MP3 version of this week's podcast.

On June 10, 2008, the day after Steve Jobs announced the iPhone 3G, I attended a meeting of the Boston PDA User Group (BOSPDAUG) at MIT, where the next iPhone was Topic Number One among the developers and users in attendance. After the meeting, I interviewed the group's founder, Al Willis, who spoke about the iPhone in China, Apple's stock price, and when I'll be able to sync my Getting Things Done (GTD) lists between my Mac and my iPhone.  (Answer: soon!) Music for my podcast is "Going to the Sun" composed and performed by Montana musicians Christine Dickinson, Janet Haarvig, and Matthew Lyon, from their Glacier Journey CD.

I visited the Libertarian Party national convention this past weekend in Denver.  On Sunday night I spoke with Bob Sullentrup, who the next morning was reelected national party secretary.  On Monday I returned in time to catch one of the candidates for national chair, Ernest Hancock, and in the hallways I spoke with several delegates who freely expressed their love of freedom, small government and low taxes. I found it invigorating to be among people who hold their beliefs so passionately.  It was a refreshing break from the never-ending horserace between my candidate, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton, with John McCain waiting in the wings.  The full video of my interview with Bob Sullentrup is available here.

A terrific group effort by arts organizations attending the Marketing Tune-Up workshop in Great Falls, Montana. Thank you all!

On May 13, 2008 I gave a talk on podcasting at the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod. Just as we were getting started, my host Beth Dunn of the Foundation spotted smoke coming out of an electrical outlet.  Thus began an even more exciting evening than the one we'd planned.  A Delicious list of tags for the talk is here.Thanks to Beth's quick working of her local network, she found alternate space for my presentation at the Cape Cod Community College.  The MacBook Air was not playing nicely with the college's AV system, so as the audience made its way into the new venue, I quickly transfered my presentation to the trusty MacBook Pro I brought along as a backup.

Chris Lopez, communications director for the Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee, spoke with me two days ago about preparations for the Democratic National Convention August 25-28 in Denver.  He's got a big job, coordinating an expected 15,000 or so journalists who will cover what he calls the Superbowl of Politics.  Our conversation provided an intriguing look inside the massive effort going on here in Denver to get ready for an historic event.

This is the mp3 version of Episode 56, Pianocaster Mario Ajero.

Mario Ajero is Assistant Professor of Piano Pedagogy and Coordinator of Class Piano at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. He also hosts The Piano Podcast. He was in Denver this week for the Music Teachers National Association conference, which gave us a chance to meet for the first time in person after two years of knowing each other on the Internet.  In this interview, he talks about how he uses technology to advance the role of music in people's lives, especially related to the piano. He also describes a beta evaluation he's doing for a new product making it possible to teach piano via the Internet.  After the interview, Mario took me to a performance by famed pianist Lang Lang at Trinity Methodist Church, which was incredibly great.I first came across Mario's music when I was looking for something to go with this video podcast from Maine nearly two years ago, and I returned to him again for this one.Music for this episode is Mario playing Robert Schumann's Piano Novellette in D Major