Podcasting continues to grow in reach and influence. With this growth there’s a new increasing interest in how to do advertising placements in this medium. We’ve been exploring this problem for some time now and are actively working on solutions to assist in the process.

ClickZ has a quick look into the process of securing placement for their client, Travelocity. As noted:

There’s no formula to our approach, but I figured I could share how we made this sponsorship happen.

The first thing you need to know is, at this point, this is a very manual process. There are podcasting networks that can make it easier for you to sponsor podcasts, but they’re still pretty early in their development. A few of the networks include Podtrac, Kiptronic, The Podcast Network, and PodShow. You’ll probably want to try the networks, but do some exploring on your own as well.

Source: ClickZ, “No Formulas for Podcast Sponsorships”

They go on to add 3 steps to their process:

1. Find top-ranked podcasts
2. Listen and evaluate
3. Contact and negotiate

One point I do take issue with is the absolute correlation of good quality with credible content. In my opinion, the two have nothing to do with each other. You can have great quality while the content is worthless and vice versa. Our new medium is not about perfection - sometimes it’s even on purpose. I’m listening to Adam Curry go on now about the “beauty” of podcasting meaning it need not be perfect.

If advertisers are seeking perfection before they make placements, they have a long road to travel. Of course, there’s no way to deny that those shows, even without the best quality, are still gathering and growing audiences.

There’s quite a bit of noise out in the blogoshpere today regarding some new research done by the Pew Internet Group in their Home Broadband Adoption 2006 study. Here’s a quick snippet:

Forty-eight million American adults have contributed some form of user-generated content on the Internet, it found. That’s 35 percent of Internet users. Of those adults who have posted content on the Web, 73 percent, or 31 million, have a broadband connection at home.

“[The Web is] shifting now to user-generated content; it shows people engaging with the Internet in a number of different ways in their lives,” said John Horrigan, associate director of research at Pew Internet & American Life Project. “It shows that people are pretty interested in using the technology to put something of themselves on the Internet, not just pull down information from the Internet.”

Source: Clickz News, “Pew: Nearly 50 MM Americans Create Web Content”

This paragraph was also interesting:

In looking across the different kinds of user-generated content that we probed, there is an element of the internet being the medium for creativity and the internet being an outlet for creativity people bring to worldwide web. Blogging and, perhaps to a somewhat lesser extent, maintaining one’s own web page, are creative undertakings that take place mainly at the keyboard. For the 36 million Americans who share their own creations online, several of the topics we queried, such as artwork, photos, or videos, start offline, and then people use the internet as a tool of distribution.

Source: Pew, “Home Broadband Adoption 2006″

A few days ago, I discovered and mentioned Crowdsourcing on a ZD Net blog. I was immediately inspired to go out in search of the article.

The day after, I picked up the magazine and read through the article, quoting bits of it as I read it to friends via IM. Today, the article is online at Wired. Here’s one of the brief passages I quoted:

Technological advances in everything from product design software to digital video cameras are breaking down the cost barriers that once separated amateurs from professionals. Hobbyists, part-timers, and dabblers suddenly have a market for their efforts, as smart companies in industries as disparate as pharmaceuticals and television discover ways to tap the latent talent of the crowd. The labor isn’t always free, but it costs a lot less than paying traditional employees. It’s not outsourcing; it’s crowdsourcing.

Source: The Rise of Crowdsourcing , Wired

I’m happy to say that we’ll be releasing the first layer in our “crowdsourcing platform” in two weeks, just before Vloggercon!

Two nights ago, Auren Hoffman pinged me to see if there was anyone I knew who might be interested in working with him. I’ve got a few people I’m telling directly, but I thought I would share this opportunity with all of you as well.

If you don’t know Auren, you should. He’s a very successful entrepreneur that truly gets the value of human relationships. That sounds silly, but I can honestly say I’ve met too many people who pretend to know what that means.

Also if you don’t know, Auren recently started an interesting new system called RapLeaf. The simplest way to describe it, Auren forgive me if I mischaracterize it, is the EBay reputation system for the rest of the world and it’s connected citizens. Things are growing quickly there and he’s looking now to extend the team. I’m posting this here in its entirety:

Rapleaf is looking to hire a non-engineer.

Rapleaf is a ratings system for commerce. We allow buyers and sellers (on sites like craigslist, classifieds, auctions, etc.) to rate each other. Rapleaf is backed by Silicon Valley’s most well-known angels. More at www.rapleaf.com

Our goal: to make it more profitable to be ethical

What will this person do? Everything that is not engineering-oriented including:

• Marketing
• Business development
• Product stuff
• Finance
• Recruiting
• Customer service systems
• And more

This position will be one of two non-engineers at the company (me being the other person). The other four people at the company are engineers. We’re looking for a really smart, motivated, multi-tasking, entrepreneurial, and highly-adaptable person.

This person must:

• Be Pro-active
• Be Ready to work extreme hours and in a chaotic environment
• self-manage and potentially manage others
• Be able to quickly grow as the company grows
• Laugh a lot and generally be very happy
• Have a strong desire to build a more ethical society

Compensation:

We’re looking for the very best person … and we believe that person should be well-compensated:

• High salary and stock
• Opportunity to make commerce more profitable to be ethical
• Opportunity to change the world
• Be a part of a founding team of a game-changing company

Our office is in downtown San Francisco (one block from the Montgomery BART station) - the best location in the world. You will need to be located in San Francisco (or very close to San Francisco) … and we will relocate the right candidate.

Anyone can apply - zero to 25+ years of experience.

Please apply to:
jobs@rapleaf.com

(before applying, please be sure to sign up for Rapleaf and check out the product).

p.s. we are also looking for great software engineers.

I think there’s some really insightful knowledge nestled in there about startup life.

It’s time I spill some beans on what’s been happening here with myself and my “company”. The last two weeks were filled with tremendous amounts of change - mostly in ways that I never hoped to see but can’t say I didn’t see on the horizon either.

As of last week, both Duane Johnson and Pete Lasko, my partners in this adventure, have decided that the startup environment is, perhaps, not the best environment (at least that’s what I am hoping). The other potential answer is that I am a crazed, maniacal tyrant and pushed them to within inches of their life. Only they can speak the truth, but I know they’re both too nice to ever say something to the negative publicly. I can admit when I’ve screwed up and my previous arrangements are no exception.

Also last week, sensing the end was near, I began my search for new team members to pick up where Duane and Pete had left off. I sent out messages to those I knew were connected in the community and posted to a board or two. I’ve received some very qualified responses and we’re already writing code, if you can believe that. I’m still amazed myself.

As Duane and Pete went on their own, choosing life as consultants, they both sought out a little advice and I offered more than my share. I contrast this with the opening stages of a relationship with my new developers. It struck me that there was some good advice in there and thought I would share it.

What makes me qualified? Consider this. In the past 3 weeks I’ve managed to sell my time as a strategist, marketer, podcaster, designer, and developer. I have no formal training in any of these segments but I’ve got the burn marks to prove my experience. I’ve also been doing it in one way, shape or form since I was 16. (P.S. If you think I should be more focused and working on my own thing, cut me a check). I recall talking to Jimmie on the elevator Monday (he’s always telling me “If you can sell anything, it’s yourself”) and I realized that I had sold almost every skill I had in the last few weeks and thought it was pretty great just how diverse that really was.

What’s the point? The point is that in selling to those different audiences, I’ve had to engage many different types of customers and learned to prepare my words to make the process quick, easy, and successful. So…

Today I offer my advice to dledgling consultants (end well-entrenched ones as well):

Trust Your Gut

It’s important that you actually like the client you’re about to work with. If you’ve got misgivings or trust issues with the client, you’re going to have lots of problems going forward. It’s not much different than not trusting your boyfriend or girlfriend in that regard.

Do your research. Find out about them, who they are, what they’ve done before, who they’ve worked with. Find out anything you can. Don’t be paranoid about looking behind the scenes, it’s better than being offensive to their face.

If you feel that you don’t trust the client, you’re going to be quite inclined to “lawyer up” from the beginning and that will quickly make most conversations very difficult to complete.

Make The First Move

I’m always blown away, as a client, when a consultant takes the initiative to prove their indispensiblity to me. I’m not suggesting you should build applications or design full interfaces (unless it’s really that easy for you).

Consider the pack. The rest of them are floating around the ring waiting for the client to push out an offer. They often say that whoever offers first loses. That’s often true, when you view it as a one-time opportunity. If you’re seeking to build retainerships, you’ve got to think beyond the first day.

Avoid Microbilling

Nothing annoys me more as a client than someone micro-billing. Unless you’re a lawyer and the industry norm is to bill in 6-minute increments, try to avoid staring down the clock on every encounter. Besides the perception of the client, it’s quite frankly, really annoying to manage.

When planning your rates, account for the conversation ahead of time. It’s a universal, omnipresent truth that your clients will need to talk to you about what they’re doing. You’re not working yet, you’re actually trying to figure out the work. Once you start contributing your expertise, it’s more than fair to start the clock.

Once again, the goal of this is to not create an environment where your client feels pressured or rushed to tell you things. Them skimping on explanations or assurance-checks will only bite you in the arse in the long run.

Always Over Deliver

It is often said, “Under Promise, Over Deliver”. Personally, I try to avoid downplaying what I will do for a client or how I will ultimately help them. I don’t under promise, I tell them what I’m doing.

When it comes to over delivery, you have many different ways to accomplish this. Sometimes it’s the small flourishes, other times it’s alternative models and methods. Find some way to give more than just what you talked about initially. It’s a wonderful mental challenge for yourself and ultimately establishes yourself as a solution provider, not just a service provider.

Solution providers get referrals.

Build Retainerships

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that you always need to be building relationships (networking is just the beginning of this process). The majority of the clients I have had over the years have come back to me for assistance over and over again - sometimes with years in between calls. Why? I make an effort to keep in touch.

The truest sign that you’ve made yourself indispensible is a retained relationship with your client. It’s not about the cash, it’s about the committment. It means you’ve proven that you provide solutions - the kind that really make a difference in a business. Of course, there’s the other meaning - that they need a lot of stuff done and want a better deal - but focus on getting it for both reasons, ideally.

I repeat - seek relationships as often as possible.

---

So that’s it for my unsantioned advice for now. Your mileage may vary. No guarantees. Use at your own risk.

Do you have your own experiences and approaches worth sharing? Let me know.

I wish I could count back the path that took me to this particular ZDNet Blog, which I’ve never seen before either, but it was worth the time.

Unlike many who hate the word Web 2.0, I tend to approve of it as it has a certain implied, though not rigid, definition that allows us to engage in a conversation on the matter. Sure it’s not perfect, but what is?

Today I heard, for the first time, a buzzword that actually seems to adequately describe what we’re doing with Social Roots: crowdsourcing. I wasn’t sure at first either but the explanation rings true:

What is crowdsourcing? According to Howe’s “Crowdsourcing, A billion amateurs want your job”:

Remember outsourcing? Sending jobs to India and China is so 2003. The new pool of cheap labor: everyday people using their spare cycles to create content, solve problems, even do corporate R & D.M.

Crowds cited: garage scientists, amateur videographers, micro-freelancers, photo enthusiasts.

Source: crowdsourcing.com, “the rise of the amateur”

Will crowdsourcing eclipse long tail? Join the conversation: “Talk Back” below and share your buzz thoughts.

Source: Crowdsourcing: New buzzword?

I know I’ve yet to truly reveal what I’m working on - with the exception of it annoying my friends deeply, but we’re working on releasing more than talking so it’s gonna be a little while longer.

I’ll be sharing some additional insights this week though - just need to get 50 blogs launched for a client first :)

Sometimes, it seems that life moves so fast that your past gets ahead of your future - so far ahead, indeed, that you can’t see it anymore despite how much it shaped what you are barrelling towards.

Today happens to be one of those days. It happens to be the day that my dad passed away, some 7 years ago now. I don’t really know how it slipped my mind. I would like to blame it on the hectic travel and my lack of proper rest. I’d love to blame it on my busy schedule with work and catching up. I’d like to blame it on something, but I can’t.

I forgot. Where is my head. I don’t know much of that these days. I definitely feel like the world is slipping out of my hands in many different directions - grabbing at sand it might be said. All I know is there’s more on my mind than business - though that’s got its share of issues and is burning more cycles than others.

I was reminded by my mom - she didn’t go today either. She is generally scared to go to the cemetery on her own. She didn’t know I got home yesterday - maybe I didn’t either. Dunno.

I’m disappointed with myself is what it boils down to. Where’s the other end of that rainbow when you need it?

Pappoe sent me a link to a WSJ article that talks about a Norelco campaign that’s been running to sell their new body shaver.

You can see it here:
http://www.shaveeverywhere.com/

The article is really interesting in that it talks about how a campaign was created and some of the key segments in its growth. My favorite part is this:

The campaign has the benefit of being extremely inexpensive: Philips’s initial spending on the effort is less than $500,000, Mr. Kratky says. In contrast, buying a single spot on prime-time television alone can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

I’m not waiting for the spoofs to come out.

Well, we’re into the second installment of my response to an e-mail comment from Pete Caputa. Pete and I have been chatting via e-mail making sure we were ok with what was being said. We have both decided that we really don’t mind any criticism and think there’s a lot more to be learned by dissecting our mistakes together in public than simply hogging all the hollering. Ultimately, constructive criticism is indeed a form of support, if not the most important kind.

Which brings me to focus. Most everyone who knows me well will tell you that my mind moves all over the place. I’ll be the first to admit I suffer from entrepreneurial ADD. I don’t know how to not generate ideas and test the edges of the things I am working on. It’s my nature to second guess myself, perhaps to a fault.

Those same people, however, will tell you that in the last year or so I truly did have my head down in a significant manner as I focused on the conference business - I know since they bothered to mention it to me. We’ve been through quite a bit on this side of the fence, more than I could ever explain but I am planning to share some of that knowledge in the next couple of installments.

Needless to say, I think that focus can be a difficult thing to manage. If you follow my friend’s advice, you would seemingly keep your head down and fight the good fight. That’s right to a certain extent. I liken it to following a scent on the trail. You can focus on the scent as much as you want, just make sure you’re not walking off a cliff to stay with it.

As a young startup, agility is one of the main assets we have available to us. n Most often, however, we attribute that agility to our “feature set” and get tunnel vision with our direction. It’s important to self-correct when necessary - the key being to know when that course correction is needed. We were in a situation like this with syncPEOPLE. It didn’t matter what we wanted to sell, we were getting different information from the customer and we couldn’t ignore it - you almost never can. I’ll expand on that tomorrow.

Today, I’ll share a different example. I met Pete through my blog some time in 2004. The very first time I met him in person, I happened to be in his area and popped in to see how things were going. During that day, we went through his product, WhizSpark. I was looking through the interface and general usability, providing any input I could. It was my opinion that the app was probably too hard to use and could use some significant tweaking to ease the user processes. I offered as a possibly better option that they could simply do the work for the client, essentially using the system on their own and selling the service.

There was pushback on both fronts. The code was committed which meant, for reasons only they can explain, that they couldn’t change it. Why not? I still don’t know the answer but I left it alone. As for the service route, well, they had committed that they were making a do-it-yourself solution. They didn’t want to be in the service business (though it was clear they already were). That was then. Today, almost 2 years later, they’re offering a service option.

Could this have happened earlier? Of course. Could they have made more money with it? Maybe. Was focus an asset or a hindrance in this situation? That’s for you decide.

Just a quick ping to anyone attending Mesh. I haven’t checked out rooms or anything (or bought my ticket for that matter) but I figured let’s see if anyone’s looking for a roommate for a couple of nights.

I’m getting in on Sunday. If you are, mail me: greg AT socialroots DOT com.