I'm very pleased to announce that the Brave Men Run Podcast has been... nominated to tbe nominated... in the Best Storytelling category of the first Podcast Peer Awards.

Got my hands on "Tricks of the Podcasting Masters" by Rob Walch and Mur Lafferty today. I spoke to Mur while she was researching the book some time ago, and today was pleased to discover about two pages dedicated to the Brave Men Run podcast edition, MWS Media, and my thoughts on the DIY aspects of podcasting.

I just discovered that the podcast edition of my first book, "Brave Men Run - A Novel of the Sovereign Era," has been nominated for a Parsec Award in the Best Speculative Fiction Story (Long Form) category!

As part of my attempts to Scale Back and Sharpen Up, I've pulled the plug on DIY Endeavors Radio.

Holy crap... I don't even know where to begin. Let's go with first impressions again, okay? MTV can't sell me on their bullshit, still, more, forever and ever, amen. Doug Kaye deserves your help. Some people are done doing it for themselves, and the world's a better place because of it. Dave Slusher doesn't have much of an accent in real life. What's up with that? There are good lawyers on the side of the angels doing good work, and thanks for that! In the movie version of the Podcast Era, Eric Rice will have to be played by a very young Jeff Goldblum. Still not sure about Audible... but I am still sure about DRM, so what does that tell me, right there? Why does Lance Anderson seem nervous when he sees me? The youngsters in AMP are full of piss and vinegar, and they have truth and justice in their souls. I liked Harold J. Johnson instantly. And I thought I might! Adam Curry needs to relax. And people I'm having conversations with need to relax when Curry walks into a room. The man uploads his podcasts a packet at a time, just like the rest of us,…

So, my first conference. I feel like a grown-up, kinda. Impressions: Many people... many people... still think in terms of podcasting as an entry into Old Media, like radio or major labels or whatnot. Some do not. Which is good. Brian Ibbott is gracious but nervous around drooling fanboys. Can't say I blame him. If Odeo stays unbought by Fox or ClearChannel or something equally unsavory, they're on to a good thing. Just stay pure, people. It's not always about the money. See? Really, it's not. Dawn and Drew = Still not funny. It's weird to be social with strangers who have so much in common with you It's weird to discover that... podcaster or not, I'm not half the tech-savvy geek some of these people are. I'm way behind the curve in some ways. Perhaps I make up for it with my fanatical prodding and poking with my trusty DIY-anti-old-media stick? Conferences are tiring. Another day tomorrow... still looking forward to it. And where's Evo Terra??? I think I saw him across the ballroom tonight, but his name badge was turned around, and I was talking to Matt May. Okay. Time for night-night.

I'm having a hard time articulating this blog entry. It's hard, because I've made a decision to not be involved with the Los Angeles Podcasters Group's (LAPG) booth at the Podcast & Portable Media Expo in a month and a half, and the decision is based on a combination of ethical, personal, and purely gut reasons. So it's hard to explain it, and yet I feel the need to blog about it. It's hard to explain, because I don't particularly want to get into the personal reasons (I sense that bad feelings and perhaps some flared tempers would result.) Let's just say I don't mesh with some of the participants, and the perceived motivations that seem to drive their actions. I wrote a post on the LA Podcasters' forum to, more or less, state my reasons. Read that, if you want. It explains most of it. I guess it's enough to say that I want to meet people, and interact, and network, and build relationships, and all of that... I don't want to stand around in a convention hall and wait for people to come to me and my Los Angeles comrades. See, I long for community, and I don't…

So I met some real live podcasters in the flesh today... some folks whose work I've listened to for the last few months. Don't think they've listened to me (yet) cuz I'm kind of a small fry... but based on my Feedburner stats, that may have changed after today. It was a fun meeting. It's interesting how quickly a group of people who haven't really interacted can just get to work on a common task. That's the pod/blog effect, though -- we have interacted, by being each others' listeners. Having an agenda helped, too... What did that agenda entail? Mostly deciding what we were going to do with our exhibition booth at the upcoming Portable Media Expo in November. Yes, I'm going to be a conventioneer. Crazy. See you there -- booth 313, November 11th and 12th, Ontario, California. It was invigorating, being around peers who do what you do. It was way worth the two hour drive "down the hill," and a great start to a day of socializing with old friends and new!

It was an interesting morning at the lush and lavish studios of MWS Media. First, a sprinkler valve on the expansive and well-appointed lawn burst, leading to a few hours' of repair work and no water for cooking or showering for the on-site staff. While waiting for pipe seal to dry, I pursued a very active thread at the Podcasters Yahoo Group. The essential question: would listeners donate money to offset the costs of podcasting, and would they do it often enough to avoid traditional advertising and sponsors? Or are we doomed to have commercials in our podcasts? During the course of the discussion, I checked in with the Boing Boing newsfeed, and discovered a new site called PledgeBank. Essentially, this site encourages folks to pledge their support of something on the condition that others do so as well. This dovetailed nicely with the discussion I'd been having all morning. So here it is: I will contribute $5.00 each to five podcasters who are not supported by paid sponsors or paid advertising... if and only if twenty five other podcasters or listeners to podcasts do the same thing before July 14th, 2005. Who's game? Full details.