“Macworld 2007 envy, rumor quashing and paying what you can…forward”

We are in the process of editing our first vidcast pilot so expect that by the start of February sometime. There are a few other projects in the cooker as well and many ideas for some big ones for next year, but that is just teaser talk for now. Let’s move onto some drooling Mac chat.

Starting tomorrow in San Francisco the Macworld Conference and Expo will kick off and yes I’m a bit envious. Being an Apple fan this is one of the Apple Mecca events of the year. The keynote should be a great one as everyone is expecting Steve Jobs (Apple CEO) to drop the iPhone, not literally but it is a possibility. Maybe even a new MacPro but I’ll just have to stay up to date on my RSS feeds to see what plays out.

I don’t know what will happen if Steve does not pull out an iPhone. It is not necessarily an Apple fanboy thing either. After the continued domination of the MP3 market by the many faces of iPod and iTunes, consumers are realizing that Apple makes very user friendly, simple and cool products. Apple has always considered workflow between software, hardware and visual style from a user standpoint. I think this is one of the critical differences between Apple and Microsoft. It seems to be like an artistic choice to create their products as a whole and stay true to the brand but enabling the whole brand to change when they want to freshen or update their style. Oh and their brand looks cool. Now that is a fanboy comment for sure.

But back to Macworld. At least everyone will stop taking about the iPhone. Every Apple related blog, podcast and vidcast has been rattling on about it more and more expecting it to be launched. Even if they do not launch an iPhone, I hope they kill that rumor somehow. I doubt that it would, as the other rumor is that Apple may become a carrier for cellular service too. Now that would have some definite wow factor.

I listen to several industry podcasts to stay current with tech news and trends. A few of my favorites are MacCast, PI Media Pro, Down and Dirty DV, MacBreak Weekly, Media Artist Secrets and GeekBrief. Several of these are run purely pro-bono. I have to say that this is extremely hard to. Just maintaining a blog is difficult enough but to generate content and produce a well crafted and entertaining podcast is a big production and time commitment.

As a listener you are in a bit of a parasitic relationship just by the nature of broadcasting but one of the many unique benefits of podcasts is that you usually can easily contact the show creators and give them your feedback.

I thought it was time pay-it-forward where I could (and how I could) to a few of these podcasters. So last week I took some time to send a few lengthy and relevant emails to a few of my favorite podcasters to show my support and give a little encouragement for the great job they are doing. Not surprisingly I heard back from them and they were all very happy to hear from their audience.

Podcasting and vidcasting do not have the wide throw that traditional broadcasting does but by it’s very nature it is a direct volley to a specific target and thus reaches exactly who it should. This is the benefit. Those who are interested in the subject seek it out, are very receptive, loyal and appreciate the effort to create such products. You could not find a more captive audience. I know marketers are starting to catch on but I think this year may be a big jump in the podcast broadcasting realm.

If you follow continual blogs, podcasts or vidcast I put it to you to pay what you can forward and should drop them a note of encouragement. Let them know that you are reading, listening and watching. I know they’ll appreciate it.

CM
www.cmcreative.ca