Friday, November 24, 2006

Fishing for Business? Try Casting a Pod!

Greetings from Atlantic City… the site of today’s column as we celebrate Thanksgiving 2006 here in beautiful South Jersey. Aside from the casinos, most shops were closed on Thursday, but after munching down some turkey brunch it was off to the Showboat. Trophy Wife plays the game show slots and I ventured over to the Taj to take some of Mr. Trump's money after a quick trip to the Boardwalk Dollar Store. By the way - keen observation about the Taj's blackjack tables on Thanksgiving afternoon - Was there anybody still in China on Thursday?

Today’s title reminds me of the hullaballoo about the government getting access to Google’s search records. Most guys google sexual terms and their names which is a clear giveaway to not only a person’s interests but his identity also! I googled my name one time and found an Australian fly fisherman who has the same name! Hence, today’s headline with the fishing analogy.

So one day I was sitting in my office minding my own business and I got a phone call from a gentleman named Pete Davis.. and the next thing you know I was a guest on the premiere episode of his podcast!

Lets be like Heroes and travel back in time a few months to the summer.. I had already done a few occasional pod casts on NWOW, and as I got the hang of it I decided I wanted to launch a new business related podcast too. I wrote up a few scripts about mortgages and finances with an eye towards an August premiere. The point of the podcast would be a regularly scheduled 2-3 minute commentary which would then be posted here on Blogspot after premiering a day earlier on Clickcaster..

I feel an odd kind of loyalty towards Clickcaster. I discovered that website in a very odd way. After I started syndicating my podcast through rss.. . I googled “Nate’s World of Words” one day and found my blog and pod cast episodes were being carried on the clickcaster.com website. Boy was I honored; and the more I saw of that site, the more impressed I was. Y'see when I do a podcast here on NWOW, I store my audio files at a site called Streamload, and then I type in html codes into my blog which creates the handy dandy embedded player - or the option to click the column's title to get to the audio and/or video on the reader's default media player. The problem is…. Streamload was recently taken over by a company called Media max, and during the transition period I was having a lot of trouble with the embedded files I have here that link directly there. I still can’t get Jacquie Jordan part II back on-line via media max because the file has a mix of audio and video.. Yet it worked perfectly well when it was on Streamload.

One of the cool things about Clickcaster - you just upload audio or video files directly to their website and they do the rest... no html codes to type,.,... its easy as can be! Woo hoo. it was almost like Apple computer had invented it.. it was so easy.. yet an incredibly copy-able concept!

I have been doing the new podcast for the last few months.. I carry a microphone in my computer bag and my co workers know that when my office door is closed, I am probably recording a new episode. The audio file is then uploaded to Clickcaster, and then a day later here on blogspot. One advantage for Blogspot that Clickcaster doesn't do anymore - I can program the audio file so it plays on a listener's windows media player and displays my contact info as part of the name of the audio file! This is a very important component to drum up business. While the listener hears the episode - the phone number shows up in the official title when its downloaded to an mp3/ipod or zune. Pretty nifty, eh? All I do is include the contact info when I name the audio file.

I just started it a few months ago, and this kind of venture takes awhile to catch on, so it is still too early to see if this is going to work out. However I still monitor the demographics on MySpace, and as the age group there edges past the under 25 crowd, I can foresee a lot of businesses posting podcasts there too. - Heck, Charles Nelson Reilly has a myspace page… and he is in his mid seventies! Keep in mind, the music industry has been using myspace as a marketing tool for quite awhile and has made a lot of money from it!

One day I get a call at my office from a guy named Pete Davis who said he had just heard my podcast! I knew it wasn’t an NWOW Podcast because I have never given out my work number on it. He told me that he just started doing a podcast about businesses that use podcasts to bring in new customers. He also is a big shot with Clickcaster and he invited me to be a guest on his show. We taped it, and it has now been posted at www.clickcaster.com/clickbiz. Interestingly enough, he was very interested in this blog, even though the show was about the mortgage podcast. That interview is now available for your listening pleasure by CLICKING HERE . Special thanks to my old radio pal Jacquie Jordan who wrote the book "Get on TV", for providing me with some excellent pointers on how to be a good guest.

I hope you enjoy it.. And now lets go to the football picks…

66-88 so far this season….and after thurs 1-2 for the week. Blech!


JETS 6 faves over Houston - The spread is a tad large but the Jets are still clinging to a slim playoff hope.

Giants 3 faves over TITANS - Keep in mind that if the Giants win and remain tied with Dallas, a win against the Cowboys next week would ice the division. As long as the Giants don’t look ahead like I am….

Saints 3 doggies over ATLANTA - 2 very enigmatic teams.. The Saints do play decently on the road however…

BALTIMORE 3 faves over Pittsburgh - Last night’s Chief victory puts the Steelers in a tough spot since they pretty much would need to run the table to make the playoffs.. Nine wins in the AFC wont be enough and it looks like it all ends in Baltimore.

Jacksonville 3 faves over BUFFALO - After what they did to the Giants.. What kind of chance would you give the Bills?

NEW ENGLAND 3 faves over Chicago - This has been a heckuva road trip for the Bears.. But New England is no Giants Stadium… See Pumpstradamus below

Bengals 3 faves over CLEVELAND - The Bengals also have a tough road to the Wild Card… but it looks less unlikely than the Steelers plight.

MINNESOTA 6 faves over Arizona - Amazingly the Vikes like the other 4-6 NFC teams are still very much alive for a wild card.

San Francisco 5 ½ doggies over ST. LOUIS - Another team whose bandwagon I have jumped on - San Fran actually has a shot at a playoff berth in that oh so mediocre NFC.

Carolina 4 ½ faves over WASHINGTON - Long day for the Skins fans… Anybody notice the Capitols are tied for the most overtime losses in the NHL? And only 3 teams in the league have not lost in OT and they are all in the Pacific Division.

Raiders 13 ½ doggies over SAN DIEGO - Notice how the Raiders always lose but cover the big spreads?

Philadelphia 9 doggies over COLTS - My theory about teams that lose their QB and then face a huge deficit the following week? There are other players on the team also…and I think they will rise to the occasion! Therefore, the Eagles will lose.. but will make it respectable.

SEATTLE 9 ½ over Green Bay - Is Heroes a repeat on Monday? Did they save the right cheerleader??

Today in honor of Thanksgiving weekend we present the Pocahantostradamus Pick of the Week: Pump is 7-3-1 and with a win this week will clinch at least a .500 record! For the game we travel to Plymouth Rock where the Mayflower arrived - and the New England - Chicago game.. Sayeth the Pump: "Plymouth Shlymouth - Lets hear it for those heroic cops who put their lives on the line over Thanksgiving during that Chicago hostage standoff - in their honor, I take the Bears!"

No comments: