PAB2010 panel profile: geeks in a PAB

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You’ll have to look back three years for the last time we hosted a panel. PAB2010 breaks that trend by offering 400% more geek at no extra charge when Dave Brodbeck attempts to moderate Tom Merritt, Ken Hernden and especially Scarborough Dude in a discussion titled What if my boss finds out?

Our panel will focus on our different experiences with keeping, or not keeping, our recreational podcasts separate from our work podcasts. DB does podcasting as an adjunct to his job, TM literally podcasts for a living for TWiT (and formerly CNET) and all four of us have what could be called recreational podcasts. We will discuss the challenges of having either a public podcasting persona and a recreational one or just a public persona (KH as University Librarian, represents Algoma University at national and provincial level conferences and organizations). Finally we have the Dude, perhaps the most outspoken Canadian podcaster out there. How do we keep our professional and recreational lives separate, and indeed, do we. If we hold back, does that affect the relevance of our shows and the legitimacy of our listener interactions?

So who will you be hearing from?

Dave Brodbeck is an associate professor of psychology and department chair at Algoma University in Sault Ste. Marie and he has podcasted every lecture he has given for the last four years. As well Dave has a number of other shows and frequently co hosts TWiT.tv’s Futures in Biotech. Not to be outdown by Tom (see below), Dave has his own Wikipedia page!

Tom Merritt hosts TWiT.tv’s daily tech show Tech News Today as well as a number of other shows inlcuding East Meets West, Fourcast and Current Geek. Tom was a web producer on Tech TV’s The Screen Savers, an executive editor at CNET and recently moved over to Leo Laprote’s TWiT network. Tom has his own Wikipedia page.

Ken Hernden is the University Librarian at Algoma University in Sault Ste. Marie. He (along with Robin Isard of the Algoma library and colleagues from other libraries) won two awards at the Ontario Library Association for Conifer, an open source catalogue. Ken is a co host with Dave and Robin of Tangential Convergence.

The Scarborough Dude is a mystery, wrapped in a riddle, with the most authentic voice in Canadian podcasting. Agree with him or not, he’ll still have a beer with you. He is the guy that keeps Canadian podcasting honest and always speaks his mind. He shares his life with us weekly at his DicksNJanes podcast. Scarborough Dude is proud Wikipedia doesn’t know he exists.

Speaking on behalf of the panel, Dave Brodbeck responded to five very important questions which a jury of his peers reviewed and deemed to be not plagiarized.

What is your best memory of creating media for other people to enjoy?

With my podcasted lectures I have managed to not only raise the grades of my students, but I have, it turns out, helped people around the world taking psychology classs and have even made the odd one laugh, which is cool.

Which media creator has been most inspiring to you and why?

For me, and I am not kidding here, for me it is two of the people on the panel. The Dude is perhaps the most honest person in all of podcasting, and you always know where you stand with him, but he will admit to being wrong, that is rare. Tom is a really wise broadcaster, a pro and perhaps the most literate tech broadcaster/podcaster out there. The esoteric references to books and such, and his wearing of geekdom as a badge of honour really resonate with me.

What do you think is the most important consideration to media relevance?

Wow, well for me it is being yourself. It is that simple.

If you could do it all over again, what would you do differently?

What would it be? Hmm, nope.

How do you hope your PAB2010 session will change the way people think and/or act?

I hope it makes people think about what they want out of media and realize it is not simply some sort of selling tool but actually a way to meet interesting people (and drink beer with them). You can meet people you never would have met through podcasting/social media. I also think that people should have a sort of damn the torpedoes type of attitude, but let’s see what everyone else has to say during the panel.

Photo of Dave Brodbeck by Rob Lee.

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Schedule change

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In order to ensure we wrap-up PAB2010 by noon on Sunday June 20, and that we’re able to vacate the venue promptly so the NAC has ample time to prepare the Fourth Stage for an event taking place later that day, we’ve had to make a few refinements to the Sunday schedule.

As with previous PABs, we expect that large groups will gather for lunch and spend the remainder of the day socializing and taking in the sites of Ottawa. We hope you’ll be able to stick around and join us.

Here is the revised Sunday schedule.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

  • 8:50am Day three opening remarks (Bob Goyetche and Mark Blevis)
  • 9:00am Death and Digital Legacy (Adele McAlear)
  • 9:40am JOLT! When in doubt, have cultists attack (Julien Smith)
  • 9:45am Break
  • 10:00am Cult of Listener: Podcaster as shaman in the post-literate Global Theatre (Adam Gratrix)
  • 10:40am Making Meaning: How to Create Content that Speaks to People (Susan Murphy)
  • 11:25am JOLT! The currency of relevance (Nancy Morris)
  • 11:30am Conference wrap-up (Mark Blevis and Bob Goyetche)
  • 12:00pm PAB2010 ends (hustle out of the venue and spend the afternoon together)

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PAB2010 Speaker profile: Whitney Hoffman

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Whitney Hoffman is a social media dynamo. Her amazing LD Podcast has been helping parents and educators with issues relating to learning disabilities since June 2006 (we’ll pretend that PAB2006 had something to do with that). However, she’s probably best known as one of the driving forces behind the PodCamp community and legal counsel for the PodCamp foundation. If you ask her, though, Whitney will probably say that one of her most important contributions to her various communities is her proudly and genuinely assumed role as “Den Mother”.

Whitney has been an active member of the PAB community since PAB2007 and first spoke at PAB2008 when she delivered her dynamic workshop, Community: Why It’s the ONLY thing that matters. This year she returns to the stage with her session Disruption of Social Contracts. Her original explanation of this session went something like this:

Whether it’s people needing to learn the new unspoken rules of what’s considered polite or required online (ie leaving comments, and being more interactive than passive readers) or more traditional examples, like if Big Banks are seen as trying to screw the consumer at every turn, how morally compelled do you feel to pay your bill?  Is it easier to walk away from your home and mortgage, because it’s no longer about the story of home ownership, but instead it’s now a commodity that should be bought and sold on a whim?  Are we evaluting the importance of everything based on transactional economics?  Quid Pro Quo?

Even in theater, I saw a recent production of Hair where cast members came out and engaged with the audience, and afterwards many went up on stage and danced with the cast…but clearly this breaking of the wall between audience and performer is not always comfortable, but its something we take for granted is a norm online.

As we go through this period of social disruption, what norms will remain?  What will we agree deserves to remain a rule (like driving on the proper side of the road or not stealing from each other) and which may fall (trademark and copyright)?

We asked Ms. Hoffman to answer five very important questions.

What is your best memory of creating media for other people to enjoy?

When I had my first listener write to me, letting me know what a huge help and impact my show had for them- that made everything seem worth it/ I was no longer talking for myself but for others as well.

Which media creator has been most inspiring to you and why?

By far- Terry Gross and Ira Glass. Their story telling style, the way they do interviews has been something I try to emulate- how to make a human connection with your guest makes the human connection with the audience.

What do you think is the most important consideration to media relevance?

You have to ask yourself why you are doing this and why someone would want to listen. Who are you speaking to and why? That person you are trying to reach, or entertain is why we make media in the first place. Keep your audience first in your thoughts.

If you could do it all over again, what would you do differently?

I would find a more streamlined way to produce shows. I would find someone to work with, to keep me going when I got disappointed or lazy or short on ideas and time. Partners and community keep your energy going when your inner critic becomes a real problem.

How do you hope your PAB2010 session will change the way people think and/or act?

I’m hoping that by taking a look at the disruption of all the “rules” we take for granted, and those we intentionally ignore, we’ll think a little more about relationships, community, and also when we should actively break rules and forge a new path.

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PAB2010 Speaker profile: Adam Gratrix

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Adam Gratrix is an independent audio and video producer from Vancouver. He joined the PAB community in 2007, our second event, when he took the stage on a panel about authentic voice. Adam quickly became a strong voice in the community and has been to every PAB since.

Adam returns to the PAB stage this year with his session, Cult of Listener: Podcaster as shaman in the post-literate Global Theatre. During the session, he will propose a different way of thinking in the Internet and Ecology age, and build a case for podcasters to embrace the role of modern shaman.

As with all of our speakers, we put an important series of questions to Adam.

What is your best memory of creating media for other people to enjoy?

Most of the friends I have at this point in my life I’ve either recorded podcasts with or met through, or because of, podcasting. There’s a lot of shared memories tangled up in this media. It’s heart warming to hear the stories other people have associated with the content I’ve put out in the world.

Which media creator has been most inspiring to you and why?

I owe a lot to Scarborough Dude for his encouragement and helping me believe in myself as an artist. I’ve been listening to podcasts for over five years now. They’re an essential part of my life. There’s many shows I could list but The Dude is at the top. His Dicks n Janes podcast is timeless; did you know it used to be a newsletter that circled the globe by mail? Did you know mail used to be sent using paper?

What do you think is the most important consideration to media relevance?

Do people still say “Content is King”? Well, Context is everything. We’re not just consumers anymore; we’re producers, editors, distributors, etc. Nothing is truly conatined. Timeslots are irrelevant. TV shows spawn their own online metacommunities like Lost and Glee. Media has become a deep personal investment. Read any good fan fiction lately?

If you could do it all over again, what would you do differently?

Produce quality podcasts. I started so haphazardly; so unmarketable. Over the years, I developed a unique style and voice but also certain habits that keep me from reaching a wide audience. Above all, I wish I had more confidence in my artistic intuition and followed through on some ideas that just need a little push to blossom. The one that got away is such a boring story but let it serve as a warning for those who hesitate to create.

How do you hope your PAB2010 session will change the way people think and/or act?

I don’t like the term “content producer”. What is content really? Creativity crammed into a fancy box. Let’s be unafraid to call ourselves “artists”. Or if that term seems too wishy-washy, how about “imagination engineers”. Building the media of today with the dreams of tomorrow.

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Local scene episode 5 – Museums

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Hosts Jay West and Jen Covert from the National Arts Centre talk about some of the many great festivals taking place around the time of PAB.

Photo: Musée canadien des civilisations by JPDaigle.

Thank you very much to the NAC, Jay West, Jen Covert and Martin Jones for producing this fantastic series of podcasts to help out-of-town PABsters and their families learn about Ottawa and the amazing things they can do while visiting our city.

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Lunch is served – so are canapés

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We make it a point of investing a lot of planning time and energy into making the PAB experience memorable. One of the lesser-known areas to which we put a lot of attention is food. Very few conferences, especially in social media, invest heavily in social dining experiences that everyone talks about when they reflect on the conference.

For the first four years of the conference, we received lots of great feedback on the Saturday buffet lunch, complete with meat, vegetarian and vegan selections, and a fabulous dessert table of cakes and fruit.

This year we will have a served lunch on Saturday. Here’s the primary menu (a vegetarian meal is available to all registrants on request before June 14):

  • Starter: Roasted root vegetable toss on a puff pastry plank with romaine lettuce confetti, a Dijon twist
  • Main: Hickory perfumed baked Atlantic salmon, parsnip and cauliflower purée, flash fried Asiatic greens
  • Dessert: Baladin of three chocolates, crème anglaise

We will also have canapés following the Friday evening keynote. Coffee, tea, juice and fruit will be available both Saturday and Sunday morning. A cash bar will be available Friday evening and Saturday afternoon.

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