2006 Seattle Conference

For some easy Friday afternoon light reading (and listening), I’ve got another jewel from what I’ve decided to dub “The BBS Vault,” mostly because I like poking fun at Disney and their apparent inability to release more than two DVDs at a time.

What you’re looking at below is Scoble talking about videoblogging, and why he likes video as a medium on the net. Pirillo posted recently about not abandoning older formats (specifically mp3s), and I wholeheartedly agree with him - we’re talking about three different consumption methods when we mention text, audio, and video.

Regardless, there are distinct advantages to spicing it up with video. Hit play after the jump to see Robert explain in video:
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As we continue to filter though “The BBS Vault,” bringing old classics to DVD at extra-high prices, we’ve been uncovering more snippets of really useful stuff to throw up for you.

If you like what you’re seeing, be sure to sign up for our Chicago conference.

This particular clip is of John Furrier, the Founder of PodTech, as he explains how the iTunes podcast directory ranks its listings, and gives a few suggestions on how to make sure your podcast doesn’t get pushed into obscurity. Have a gander:

As I understand it, John is telling us that the iTunes listings are based largely on consistency, the same way that Google tends to rank blogs. Post more often, podcast more often, and rise in the ranks.

We’ve been picking through the videos of our last conference and pulling out some interesting tidbits to share online. We’re trying to give people a sense of the conference and what to expect at the next one this coming September.

Jason Calacanis gave a memorable keynote back at our last conference in October of 2006, leaving behind him a slough of announcements, nicknames, and of course, some amazing bits of wisdom.

Here it is, folks, how to become an A-list blogger in 30 days, presented in 30 seconds by Jason Calacanis:

Look interesting? Register now for Chicago.

Not to sound like a hanger-on or a fangirl, but I really like the Scobles. They always seem to be laughing about something and having a general good time. That’s why I like watching their video podcast. When you’re reading a blog, it doesn’t really matter whether you like the blogger or not. But on a video segment, personality matters so much more.

Two of my favorite recent ScobleShow segments are Maryam’s interview with BBS speaker Liz Lawley and Robert getting a demo of enterprise social software Blogtronix from CEO Vasil Mladjov.

Technorati Tags: Liz Lawley, Maryam Scoble, Robert Scoble, Vasil Mladjov, Blogtronix, Social software, BBS06

Here’s another constructively critical post from one of our attendees, Terrell Meek.

Terrell raises a point that I’ve heard quite a few times already: our speakers were so clued in to the blogosphere that they didn’t really connect very well with our less bloggy attendees. I think that’s something we’re going to need to pay closer attention to next year.

Please keep that feedback rolling in, we really appreciate it. And if you attended, you got an e-mail from Kim Larsen with a link to the attendee survey. Please remember to fill it out.

And now for a bit of lighthearted silliness and jocularity…

During our “Grapes on a Plane” event last week, we made a post-conference foray to Hedges Family Estate in Richland, WA on a couple of private jets courtesy of Greenpoint Technologies. Just about everyone had a few glasses of wine. This made us all rather silly.

The next thing you know, Robert Scoble is performing “The Butter Knife Scratch,” a new and innovative musical sound that can only be produced by scratching melted vinyl records with a butter knife.

I’m proud to say that I’m a part of the “Butter Knife Scratch.” That mellifluous female voice at the end of the recording belongs to me!
I am also the proud owner of the piece of melted vinyl upon which Robert played his opus for the assembled throng. It is pictured at left encasing a bottle of Hedges Family Estate Red Mountain fortified port.

Christophe Hedges, if you want it back, you’re gonna have to come and get it!

We now return to our regularly scheduled seriousness…

I hope I’ve done at least a halfway comprehensive job of finding posts about the Blog Business Summit. In case I missed anything, here’s the Google Blog Search. As always, feel free to bring posts to my attention if they’re not on the list:

• Silver Sponsor Jim Turner of One By One Media says that the money he spent as a sponsor of the BBS was “one of the best business decisions I’ve made this year.”
• Des Walsh was pleased with my analysis of our constructive criticism.
• Tris Hussey posted about how cool it was to share the stage with John Battelle and Dave Taylor.
• Drew Meyers shared his main takeaway points and wrote that you should be at BBS if you have any interest in business blogging, you should have been at BBS. Incidentally, that particular post got TailRanked, which is mega-cool!
• Elizabeth Grigg had several great posts about some of the sessions she attended.
• Our speaker Ponzi Inharasophang says that the conference made her wonder whether she should blog more about the business side of her life.
• Richard Nacht of Real Blogging wrote that more real estate folks should come next year. I couldn’t agree more!
• Rommel of Zaadz thought the conference had two basic themes (1) the evolution of all the technological stuff and (2) how the world adapts to them. I have to admit that I’m not entirely sure what he’s getting at, but he has a great collection of session logs as well.
• Zoe Goldring from JobSyntax has a very thoughtful post about the highs and lows of the Blog Business Summit. I’ve cross-posted it to my constructive criticism post.
• Diane Ensey speaks of her conference fatigue and links to some other great rundowns.
• PharmFin has a post about how he learned about RSS feeds during Day 1
• And finally…Tris Hussey’s wrap up includes some great ideas for BBS07.

Whew! Did I miss anything?

Our post-BBS speaker, conference chair and affiliate trip to Richland wine country was loads of fun. At least, it was apart from Maryam and Robert getting stuck at the pass with my boss Steve and his wife Vicky. Maryam had to pee in the middle of the traffic jam, and she wound up quite literally “freezing her ass off.”

I know for sure that Robert had a lot of fun. Maybe too much, as he was hung over for the trip back. There is also a mysterious recording of him scratching a melted vinyl LP with a butter knife floating around out there. And that’s to say nothing of the bread fight he started…

Tim Stay of Know More Media was impressed with the jets which were provided by conference/event sponsor Greenpoint Technologies. He posted the results of his interview with Greenpoint maven Christine Hadley.

Kevin O’Keefe of LexBlog just wondered what he’d done to deserve the trip. And of course, I wouldn’t be nearly enough of a self-promoter if I didn’t link to my own coverage.

I’ll link to more stuff as I find it. I’m sure there are more posts out there…

As many of you know, our speakers and their spouses were treated to dinner, wine, and gin tasting courtesy of DiStefano, Plymouth Gin and Maggiano’s Little Italy. Jason Calacanis might not have liked it because it was a blogger junket, but I know I enjoyed it.

Here are some of the things our speakers had to say:

• Maryam Scoble found British gin expert Simon Ford very entertaining, although she’s not sure whether it was his fascinating talk about the history of gin or just his sexy british accent. Oh boy, watch out Robert!
• Chris Pirillo has kindly posted the recipes for the drinks that Simon concocted for us.
• BlogHer’s Elisa Camahort wrote about her experience of the dinner as a vegan who is allergic to alcohol. I’m glad that Maggiano’s was able to accommodate her dietary requirements, but I wish I’d known about her alcohol allergy in advance because I’m sure Plymouth’s master mixologist could have come up with some virgin and vegan concoctions for the occasion.

I’ll post more links to the dinner buzz as things get going.

Can be found on her blog. Mary gave a talk on live web search.