Portable Media Expo - final thoughts

Its 5am here in California and I’m awake. It’s either the excitement around the Portable Media Expo or the fact that my body still hasn’t adjusted to the time difference. It’s a good job I’ve been waking early because there was  lot to see and do, and the pace has been relentless at what’s been dubbed the Woodstock of Podcasting.

What was striking about the expo is the level of enthusiasm and energy around podcasting. There are lots of people out there who are excited about the prospect of making podcasts. There are also a hell of a lot of people who are keen to make money out of podcasts – I can’t remember the number of times I heard ‘monetization’. The message back from the speakers was – just make great content. I hope the creativity isn’t lost in the dash for cash, and that podcasting doesn’t mirror the way that broadcast radio seems to have gone here in the USA.
The challenge to existing big-media is to raise it’s game – it was great to hear “podcasting will make radio better” from a delegate in one session. I hope it does. What would be great from my perspective is if established media manages to harness the energy enthusiasm and passion expressed here. 
Some other thoughts:

■ It’s not all about iPods – more people listen to podcasts on PCs and mobile phones are more ubiquitous, have the capability and will provide mass-market access
■ People don’t know what podcasting is – the majority of people in USA never heard of podcasting or don’t understand what it means
■ Finally, it’s a great way to connect with audiences

Oh and a final thought, this was billed as the first podcasting conference, but I’m sure I remember attending the Britcaster PodCastCon in the UK in September – surely us Brits weren’t there first?
But hey, the Yanks were bigger.

I found a selection of photos here, and there were a whole bunch of podcasts from the Expo: PodcastPickle.com, Podcasting Underground,  New Media Musings,  Radio Leo (KFI Radio podcast),  Accident Hash,  Podcrawl,  TechPodcasts.com,  Learn Out Loud,  Dr. Floyd

Matt