ID3 – The Podcast Magazine Site Launches

Kris Smith and Todd Andrlik launched ID3 – Podcast Magazine website yesterday. Yes, that’s right – they’re working on a bimonthly print publication covering podcasting.

It’s an interesting project, one I’ll be tracking and talking about more. Especially considering I’m on the ID3 Podcast Magazine Editorial Board.

To me, the most interesting bit is to answer the following question; In this age of weblogs, Google, and immediate answers – what value does a print publication have? Especially one on a fast-moving, technical, internet-native topic like podcasting.

Wanted – Real Estate Agents to Blog

Before I bought my current place, Jen and I talked with a handful of real estate agents. We didn’t purchase from any of them. In general, they didn’t feel authentic, connected, credible. Felt like the stereotypical used car salesman. With a housing boom like this – I don’t blame them. Problem is, demand won’t always be this strong, interest rates this low, and the need for agents will only diminish.

At some point in the next year or so, there’s a very good chance I’ll need their services. This is what I’m looking for in the next real estate agent I work with:

  • A weblog that’s about 60% ‘business’ – properties, housing market, interest rates, mortgage stuff. With the rest of it more personal and hopefully completely off topic. Ideally, some posts will cross both sides – likes restaurants and events in the neighborhoods they really like.
  • Yes, the weblog needs to have an RSS feed filled with photos so I can automatically stay up-to-date on the home sales in the area.
  • I’d also like an iCal calendar available, so open houses can be loaded into my things-to-do this weekend.

These 3 items help me build a relationship with an agent, on my terms and without the risk of spam and unwanted phone calls. While at the same time, building the agent’s reputation, credibility, and network. This is very much the agent equivelant of Alex Stenback’s Behind the Mortgage.

Historically, real estate agents have operated in a world where market information is difficult and inconvenient to consolidate. Google Maps mash-ups like DC Homeprices, HousingMaps.com, and ChicagoCrime.org bring buyers, sellers, and agents closer to the same level. Not to mention neighbors with blogs.

Anyone out there doing this today?

Elsewhere: 20 Aug 2008:

“…consumers are accessing agents’ ever-more-common blogs, social network pages or viral video campaigns — all of the burgeoning options that have been called Web 2.0 — to tap their expertise and get a sense of their personalities” – Simone Baribeau, Washington Post Staff Writer

First Crack 71. Peanut Butter Goes Nuts at PBLoco

I grabbed a few moments with Keri, Jodene, & Ken – the owners of PBLoco and they share the history of their company and some peanut butter sandwich recipes you probably haven’t tried.

On the business side, they went into the rationale behind launching in Minnesota, rather than either coast.

Listen to Peanut Butter Goes Nuts at PBLoco [15 min]

Some Powerbook Keys Not Working

Oddest thing. I pulled the PowerBook out the laptop bag and a handful of keys stopped responding.

I’ve opened up the Keyboard Viewer to confirm. Here’s the list thus far:

  • return & enter (came back after restart)
  • Tilde
  • Caps Lock
  • F12 (initiates my Dashboard)
  • Disc eject
  • Left square bracket
  • Arrow up
  • Arrow right

I plugged in the USB keyboard from the eMac and that brought everything back. Weird.

Update 14 January 2006
Problem came back today – lost ‘Q’ through ‘P’. Seems to happen when waking from sleep. This time plugging in the external keyboard didn’t fix it, nor did restarting. Waiting did. Maybe 10 minutes and all the keys came back.

Update 15 January 2006
‘Q’ through ‘P’ is gone again. I’m typing this from the keyboard viewer. Annoying. Apple says I need to replace the keyboard. Blah.

Ok. After a couple hours sleeping. The top row is back, but and all those other keys are gone. Oddly, this is less annoying. Let’s see what happens on restart.

Everything was going great until I plugged the PowerBook in after running down the battery for 2 hours. Then, I lost the keys again. Not all at once. First delete and the arrows, then a couple minutes later – the top row.

Top row is back. Space, delete, and arrows are still gone.

Update 16 January 2006
Stopped by the Apple Store – Roseville this afternoon, got the keyboard diagnosis confirmed and put one on order. Thankfully, they can handle the repair locally.

Update 21 January 2006
Took in the PowerBook for the repair this afternoon. I got a call as soon as I left the Apple Store saying the keyboard’s connecting cable was loose. They firmly plugged it in and everything’s back to normal. No repair necessary. Definitely a downside of locking the PowerBook down so tightly – not even the Geniuses could correctly diagnose the problem.

Audio is to Books as Video is to Car Crashes

A conversation at last night’s PodcastMN meet-up got me thinking about the difference between audio and video.

As I see it, the goal of writing is to use the fewest words possible to illustrate the most to the reader. Density. In fact, I’m pretty sure the job of an editor is just that. In the end, chances are, the voice in your head reading this is different than the one in my head. That’s just the start. The specifics of the tiny, upstairs room I’m writing this in, with its plastic-coverd north-facing window, wall-long bookshelf, and boxes of unwanted cables is probably more comfortable in your head than in reality.

That’s the cool part.

The funniest sketch I’ve heard on Teknikal Diffikulties was a visual gag. Cayenne Chris gave just enough – then let us listeners build out the rest.

Unlike audio and text, video is a finished, self-contained product. Leaving little to the imagination. As such, it’s more expensive on all counts. From production, delivery, and most importantly – audience attention. Video demands 100% of the audience’s attention. Like a car crash on the freeway.

We all stare.

Notes on Recruiting Talent in a Knowledge Economy

As part of my work with Joe Urban, I was invited to the Minnesota Chapter of the Urban Land Institute Young Leaders Group’s panel discussion on attracting and retaining young, creative people in Minnesota.

On the panel:

My notes from the conversation:

  • Labor shortage is pending; baby boomers are leaving their careers, women and men are participating in the workforce at the same rates.
  • Cities are and will continue to compete for people.
  • 25-34 year olds move – that’s who cities are competing for. This number is shrinking overall. College-educated single women is the most attractive sub-group.
  • How the Twin Cities is doing: 5th in nation of college-degree or better with 25-34 year old. Education offsets declining populace.
  • Young people 34% more likely to live within 3 miles of a city’s center than the Americans overall.
  • Does your city have smart people living in the center?
  • Important factors in deciding on a city; “Will I be able to pursue the life I want in this city?”, “I want to be able to stumble onto the fun.”, “Is there tolerance for failure?”
  • 25-34 year olds have the most business starts than any other demographic.
  • Challenges for the Twin Cities; climate, men marrying young, it’s not LA/NY/London, cost of living is high, difficult for people to get established, too many surface parking lots. I see most of these issues common to all cities.
  • Strengths of the Twin Cities; perfect mesh of east coast sophistication and west coast flair, the great work happens in the winter.
  • We have 3 downtowns; Minneapolis, St. Paul, University. There needs to be a corridor and light rail connecting the 3.
  • Downtown Minneapolis is not Minneapolis’ best asset.
  • The skyways should be a tourist attraction
  • The warehouse district is Minneapolis’ best hope.
  • Significant leadership is required by the city government to developer a 100-year plan. (Public transit is a 100 year problem – Chicago is just starting to figure it out)
  • It’s not a question of diversity, it’s a question of ‘is the diversity engaged in all aspects of the city’
  • What if your weakness was your biggest strength?

First Crack 70. Ted Lowell from the Acadia Cafe on Being an Original Venue

Last year, PodcastMN got it’s start over drinks at the Acadia Cafe. This week, I sat down with Ted Lowell – one of the owners.

We talk about:

  • The history of the Acadia Cafe.
  • The decision to be an all original music venue.
  • What it’s like having a Starbucks across the street.
  • Riding the 75-cent pony.
  • Having one of the best beer selections in all of the Twin Cities.

Listen to Ted Lowell from the Acadia Cafe on Being An Original Venue [23 min]

Search Engines Not Following

There are two semantic phenomena made prominent with the advent of tagging:

  1. We use related words to describe a concept wrapped in a point-of-view.
    If memory serves, in his Ontology is Overrated presentation Clay Shirky uses “film”, “movies”, and “cinema” as an example. Each of these words describes similar, but different things.
  2. We use the same word to describe vastly different concepts.
    Take “java” for example it could be referring to coffee, code, or a country.

Surprisingly, Google, Yahoo, and MSN haven’t yet connected people with their points of view. Dave Winer suggests:

“Let me tell [search engines] where my weblog is. Then it knows what my interests are. Give me search results relevant to who I am.”

Reminds me of something I wrote about on why Google Adsense doesn’t work.

Whether it’s the words in this blog or other sites I’ve read – I’m implicitly declaring context and point-of-view every time the browser refreshes. Then it goes straight down the memory hole.

(What I’ve looked at before + What I’m looking at now) / What you’re trying to tell me = Targeted ad

Excuse me, could I get a refill on the Attention Kool-aid?