PCPGH 3 Post Mortem - Day 1

Wow, I did not have any expectations for Podcamp Pittsburgh (PCPGH3) and that is not a bad thing. I was indeed excited at the prospect so maybe there was some level of expectation. The sessions looked interesting and that was enough for me.

So here is what I got out of it:

• met lots and lots of great folks
• gained new knowledge about social media and podcasting
• identified many resources

That's in addition to two days of free breakfast and lunch (and even FREE parking one day).

Here are some of the sessions that I attended on Saturday-Day 1 and some info that I glaumed from them.

SATURDAY
Podcasting 101
I probably should not have been in this session. I have a good amount of knowledge on the topic, but I thought I'd get some new info since technology changes rapidly

• get a usb mic; possibly from Plantronics

Taking Your Audio to the Next Level

• video blogger Steve Garfield
• TapeOp Magazine: just good info
• Ted Talks: learning from those who know, really
  

Podsafe Music
I came in late to this session, but I was able to pick up a few things like:

• Ioda Alliance: global digital distribution for indies
• Harmony Central: I wrote it down, but I don't know why
• GearSlutz: apparently a place to learn to tweek your audio
• Podsafe Music Network

Using Analytics
I use Google Analytics as well as Stat Counter. It was nice to know that one of the first things that the session leader mentioned was that all the stats will differ for each service. Some key points that he mentioned:

• What do you want people to do?
• What if they don't do it?
• Constantly re-evaluate what you are doing
• What leads to an exit?

Here are two other stat sites that he mentioned:

• Woopra: real time web tracking
• AW Stats: very detailed stats
  

Oh, and check out compete.com to see what the competition is doing.


Which Web 2.0 Tools to Use for What
I did like this session, but the session leader was highlighting info from the PCPGH webbie on Socal Media, so I thought I'd check that out later and went to another session.


Podcast Hosting and your Blog
These types of sessions are always interesting because the session leader will typically focus on what they use the most. For example, if they have a PC and use Word Press for blogging, which was the case here, but it could be they have a Mac and use Moveable Type for blogging. However, there was a lot of info to garner from this session. Since I came it late, it was nice that many of the resources discussed were written on the white board.

• Blip.tv: like YouTube but not including better quality video; good for audio too
  
• Talkshoe.com: for call in shows
• Blogtalk.com: also for call in shows
• Gcast.com
• Tubemogul.com: for video, but I think audio too
• filezilla: for file hosting (an extension of Mozilla)
• pod press: for podcasting via Word Press
  
• fantastical.com: for transferring a blog from one place to another; or other complex web issues
  

My apology ... just got tired of linking.

My note taking could be much better. I have other tidbits scribbled on my notepad including a note to check out: moo.com. I had my sis check it out before I had a chance and she seemed to think it was pretty cool.

Okay, that's it for one day. At least from the sessions. I gathered even more info from talking to folks and getting their biz cards and just chatting it up.

Check back tomorrow for Sunday-Day 2's breakdown at Podcamp Pittsburgh.