BrandBrains

…from my brother, sister-in-law and niece:

Happy Birthday Uncle John.

Technorati Tags: Family, Birthday, Blogs, Blogging

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In addition to the daily-ish posting of del.icio.us links, be sure to subscribe to my Google Reader Shared Items.

Technorati Tags: Google Reader, Link Blog, RSS, Syndication, Digital Media, Technology, Macintosh, Apple

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From CommonCraft:

Technorati Tags: Video, Tutorial, Social Networking, Social Networks, Paperworks, CommonCraft

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People have been panning the Kindle, yet most of them don’t own one - or for that matter, haven’t even touched one yet.

Well, Wilson Rothman over at Gizmodo has lived with the Kindle for the past four days - in bed, on a plane and yes, on the porcelain throne. His verdict, so far? Thumbs up.

“Having lived with the Kindle, I can say that it serves most of my immediate reading needs. As a guy who enjoys amassing a vast library of books and displaying them in bookcases, I am a little frightened of the future, but inevitability is the name of the game, and fear of change isn’t a good enough excuse. Will I continue to buy books or will I jump into Amazon book buying mode? That remains to be seen, but you, o early adopter, should not share my fears. The Kindle is a quality invention, and I can see why the first batch sold out so fast.”

My Kindle is supposed to arrive on November 28th. We’ll see if I feel the same as Wilson after a few days. I may not, but at least I’ll be able to make an informed decision unlike most “reviewers” of the past few days.

Technorati Tags: Amazon, Amazon Kindle, Kindle, eBooks, Gizmodo, Wilson Rothman, Reviews, Gadgets, Technology, Sprint, EV-DO, Wireless, Cellular, Wireless Broadband, Downloads, Digital Media

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I have a new workflow for producing On Digital Media (and keeping up with my feeds, in general): Google Reader on my mobile phone.

Here’s the deal: each week we comb blogs and news sites for relevant stories for a new episode. When we find an interesting story, we then tag it in del.icio.us (for:ondigitalmedia - Feel free to tag stories for the show). On the night that we record an episode, we create a story list based on the contents of the del.icio.us feed.

For me, the challenge has been to find the time to catch up on all my reading. So now, I use Google Reader Mobile while I’m on the train.

Here’s the addition to the workflow: If I find something interesting and relevant as I’m reading on my phone, I’ll “star” it. When I return to my desktop, I’ll then tag it for del.icio.us and remove the star from the item until the “Starred Items” list is empty.

This simple addition has enabled me to achieve the equivalent of “Inbox Zero” in my feed list - something I never thought possible to accomplish on a regular basis.

Thanks to Mr. Hatch for the tip.

Technorati Tags: Productivity, Podcasting, On Digital Media, GTD, Workflow, Steve Hatch, Google Reader, Mobile Phones, Mobile Content, Cell Phones

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A roundup of Kindle news, for those of you keeping track.

Guy Kawasaki: Amazon Announced Kindle

“Summary: If you want something that requires very little attention that will deliver your favorite newspapers, magazine, and blogs, you should definitely check out Kindle. Having reference books and documents handy is also quite valuable. Reading electronic versions of novels is cream. If nothing else, you have to admire Amazon for trying things that are as interesting as Kindle, S3, and Mechanical Turk.”

Gizmodo: Video: How to use Amazon Kindle

Gizmodo: Amazon Kindle Hands-On and Questions Answered (with Gallery)

“What’s in the library, aka Kindle Book Store? There are already plenty of books, 90,000 in all, including 101 of the current NYT bestsellers. Don’t believe us? See for yourself at the Amazon Kindle Store.”

Wired: Amazon Kindle vs. Sony Reader

BoingBoing Gadgets: 15 Things I Just Learned About the Amazon Kindle

Apple Insider: Amazon’s New Kindle dubbed the ‘iPod of reading’

Daring Fireball: Dum

“So the Kindle proposition is this: You pay for downloadable books that can’t be printed, can’t be shared, and can’t be displayed on any device other than Amazon’s own $400 reader — and whether they’re readable at all in the future is solely at Amazon’s discretion. That’s no way to build a library.”

Scoble: Amazon Reader Hate

“For $400 this device is pretty damn remarkable. It can be read out in bright sunlight (my $3,000 Mac can’t do that). Its battery lasts dozens of hours. It’s a joy to use for the stated purpose: reading.”

BusinessWeek: Can Amazon Kindle Digital Book Fever?

Russell Shaw: IMHO: Amazon Kindle drum roll another example of digerati clustercluck

“You know the real word I wanted to type but my Mom raised a gentleman.”

Wall Street Journal: IPod of E-Book Readers? Amazon Taps Apple Strategy

Peter Glaskowsky: Amazon’s Kindle: first impressions

BlogCritics: Bringing Books into Generation G(adget): the Amazon Kindle

“But it appears that the best thing about the Kindle is the delivery system. No computers, no wires, no sync-ing. Just press button, browse the Amazon.com store, push another button and voila. Instant book-gratification. Best sellers are $9.99, and a quick browse this morning found that most books (that would likely by now be in paperback) go for around $5-6.00. No shipping fee and instant delivery. No charge to wirelessly connect to the store either.”

Silicon Alley Insider: What the Kindle Isn’t

UPDATED:

David Pogue of the New York Times and Wilson Rothman of Gizmodo give their reviews.

Technorati Tags: Amazon, Amazon.com, Kindle, Amazon Kindle, ebooks, gadgets, hardware, books

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On Digital Media #51 has been posted for your listening pleasure.

Get it here.

In this episode John Federico, Chia-Lin Simmons and Steve Hatch chat about:

• Steve has upgraded his blog from Moveable Type to Wordpress. (Finally).
• Chia-Lin successfully moderated her first panel discusion at Digital Hollywood, Steve attended the SOA conference and John had the opportunity to speak on New Measurement for New Media at Podcamp Boston. Thanks to Mssrs. Penn and Brogan for a great event and thanks to Jeff Pulver for contributing the space for the event and sponsoring the official cocktail reception on Saturday night.
• John was a guest lecturer in Heidi Cohen’s Class at NYU for her student who are working toward their MS in Direct and Interactive Marketing. Thanks to Heidi for the gracious invitation and to her students for their participation.
• John will be attending Convergence 2007: The future of Advertising, Communications and Media on December 3rd in NYC. Care to join me?
• FaceBook is allowing entities (Corporations, Brands, Non-Profits, Podcasts, etc.) to create profiles, just like any individual can. Steve loves it, John and Chia-Lin like it, but we are all somewhat skeptical of its value. Coupled with FaceBook Ads, is it a threat to Google?
• Seth Godin thinks that FaceBook has a Hotmail problem. We absolutely agree.
• Google announces the Open Social API’s. MySpace and Ning are notable partners who are embracing the technology. Will FaceBook adopt it?
• Where’s my gPhone? Google releases Android and announces thirty-three hardware partners participating in the Open Handset Alliance. Chia-Lin thinks that it’s not just a threat to existing handset OS developers and handset manufacturers, but also to the U.S. carriers.
• What happens if Nokia joins the Alliance and Symbian doesn’t? Doh! More importantly, should Apple be looking over its shoulder? A classic ODM-style debate ensues…
• Writers strike for digital rights. And they should.

Our music is Democracy from Alexander Blu.

Send us email to comments AT odmcast DOT com or call our comment line and leave a message: 775-860-2263.

You can also reach us via Gizmo Project by contacting username ondigitalmedia or by leaving a comment in our blog.

Be sure to stop by http://www.odmcast.com to complete our listener survey - we’d really appreciate it.

For partner or sponsor information, contact jaf AT newrules DOT com.

If you weren’t able to download the latest episode, you can always catch it by calling our Podlinez number (818) 688-2754 from any telephone. (Long distance charges or cellular minutes usage may apply. Blah, blah, blah.)

Technorati Tags: Online Advertising, Advertising, John Federico, Ken Gellman, Chia-Lin Simmons, Steve Hatch, Google, Android, Mobile Phones, Nokia, Motorola, Open Handset Alliance, Ning, MySpace, Wine, Radiohead, Nokia, FaceBook, Open Social, Digital Media, On Digital Media, Digital Hollywood, Podcamp Boston, Podcamp, Convergence 2007, Microsoft, Podcast, Podcasting, Digital Audio, Downloads, Media, Traditional Media, Big Media, Alexander Blu, DRM, Jobs, Careers, Career Development

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Bill Rowland of Philly Food Guys (”Hittin’ the streets for underground eats.”)

Vikki Ott, Communications Manager at Haley & Aldrich

Beth Kanter, Trainer, Blogger and Consultant

Peter K. O’Connell, audio’connell

Julien Smith

Chef Mark of the ReMARKable Palate

Evan Blaustein, CEO of mimoco, makers of the mimobot (I have a 1 GB pupstar.)

Aaron Gotwalt of verbr

Cliff Ravenscraft of gspn

C.C. Chapman

Chris Brogan

Christopher Penn

John Wall of The M Show and Marketing Over Coffee

Shwen Gwee of the eTech@Work Podcast

Craig Calder, CMO of Mochila

Beth Kanter

Robert Allen and Holli Ehrlich of The Wedding Podcast Network

Doug Haslam of Topaz Partners

Rich Hilliard

Doug Smith of Podango

Jason Van Orden and his lovely wife, Melanie

John Havens of blogtalkradio

Eric Rochow, creator of GardenFork.TV and RealWorldGreen.com

David Maister, Consultant and Author (He signed my copy of The Trusted Advisor!)

Martin Leone of the Dyann Bakes video podcast

Greg Narain of Blue Whale Labs

Peggy Miles of Intervox

Todd Cochrane and Jeff Hinz of RawVoice

Technorati Tags: Podcamp Boston 2, PB2, People, Conference, Events, Unconference, Podcasting, Social Media

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(Three double espressos to start the day. Niiiice…)

Scott Monty from Crayon: Web 2.0 Tools You Can Use

Scott begins his discussion around attention, information overload and the productivity impact.

Data point: One percent of all time on the web is spent on FaceBook.

Scott gives an overview of the features of what he considers four basic useful Web 2.0 Apps

1. Jott voice to text application
2. Trailfire: narrative link sharing tool
3. GrandCentral one number service. (I’ve had this for years using Webley/CommuniKate, except I pay for it…)
4. Doodle: Group scheduling tool. Useful when people don’t have shared calendars like Microsoft Exchange or Lotus Notes

Another useful site (and Crayon client): oovoo

Eric Rochow: What’s it like to produce a video podcast

Eric starts with a series of vignettes of GardenFork.TV. (Love the dogs!)

He’s providing some technical tips on video frame rates, lenses and lighting. He uses some paper lanterns from IKEA with 100 watt bulbs to diffuse the light. He also makes some book recommendations which are available on Amazon.

Blip.tv is his distribution partner, but he uses the Show-in-a-box Wordpress Template for his sites. Eric uses Bluehost or Dreamhost for his hosting.

There’s a video blog template in development that’s a derivative of K2.

Eric loves postcards as a marketing tool. I concur, but I prefer PSPrint.com over the services that he recommends (postcard.com, vistaprint.com)

Steve Hatch gets a shout-out as a regular viewer!
Note to self: Don’t forget to ask your viewers (listeners) for reviews on iTunes. Eric has had great success doing this.

Gardenfork.TV has a weekly email newsletter and now a social network on Ning.

Eric plans to write a book if he can ever find the time…

(Lunch, then a double espresso.)

C.C. Chapman & Mitch Joel: Tools of the Social Media Trade

C.C. and Mitch are big fans of Googl Alerts. (As am I. As are most of us here.)

The mention of Technorati draws boos from the crowd. A couple of people feel that they haven’t been innovating as of late. Mitch likes the speed at which Technorati provides relevance.

Chris Anderson said, “RSS provides a way for the web to come to you” at a conference in Montreal last week. Mitch is a fan of that explanation.

TAG EVERYTHING. Google needs metadata and tags are the metadata du jour.

C.C.: Be thoughtful about your tags. If you could only use 5 tags, what would they be?

Mitch: Probably shouldn’t tag for SEO.

If you tag using Wordpress, it can become part of your URL which is very powerful for SEO.

C.C.: If you use a particular tag all the time, create a Wordpress category for it.

Mitch: If you need to figure out what tags to use, visit Technorati and see how other people are tagging similar stuff.

The Q&A has progressed into a discussion on tagging strategies.

Mitch likes ego surfing on Google.

SEO trick: find who’s linking to you on Google, then find some way to fit a link to the higher pagerank sites into your content.

We’re now geeking out on redirects and how they are treated by Google.

Delicious! Mitch thinks that more people should be using delicious for research - the human index is the best index. Lots of questions and discussion about delicious strategies.

Mitch: Why is podcasting not mainstream? Technology. Most people don’t get this stuff. Show people iTunes. Comment: people don’t take advantage of the sub-categories.

Why does Mitch’s podcast rank so highly in Canada, even though most of his listeners are in the U.S.? Just because he lives in Canada?

C.C. has recently seen known podcasts without album art - that’s inexcusable, even thought he personally doesn’t use iTunes as a podcatcher.

(They skipped a bunch of slides/topics due to time.)

How can we help you?

1. Write an iTunes review
2. Favorite on Technorati
3. Subscribe via Bloglines
4. Add to the Blogroll / Podroll
5. Write a LinkedIn recommendation
6. Introduce a friend to your Podcast / Blog

Tips from the audience:

1. Use FeedBurner’s SmartCast.
2. Follow people on twitter who have similar interests as you
3. Use PPC podcasts to subscribe on your Windows Mobile phone

Nearly everyone here uses twitter.

Facebook just hit the 50 million profile mark and will reach 100 million in 6 months. “Facebook is becoming the Internet.” Make sure you put links to all the stuff you create.

Mitch likes to feed channels and getting links from those channels. As Facebook becomes even more open, those feeds will become better indexed.

Technorati Tags: Podcamp Boston 2, Unconference, Conference, Boston, Podcasting, VideoBlogging, Video, Eric Rochow, Show in a box, Wordpress, Web Hosting, Dreamhost, Bluehost, Syndication, Blip.tv,

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Technorati Tags: WineLibrary.TV, Wine Library TV, Wine Library, Gary Vaynerchuk, Conan O’Brien, TV, VideoBlog, Vlog, Vlogging, Wine, TV, Television, Digital Media

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