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Sept. 4, 2024

The Future of Podcasting Conferences

Why Smaller Podcasting Conferences Might Be the Future

We reflect on the recent Podcast Movement in DC, likened to a "podcast summer camp," and discuss its challenges, from noisy venues to balancing industry presence and independent podcasters.

Dave shares insights from a smaller, more intimate podcast event at a Holiday Inn, highlighting the cost-effectiveness and stronger connections made.

We explore the potential future shift towards smaller, niche conferences, and Daniel proposes innovative ideas like value-for-value-based events using cryptocurrency.

From the power of in-person networking to the benefits of hyper-focused sessions, this episode is packed with insights on how these gatherings could reshape the podcasting community.

Plus, we entertain the idea of a future-focused podcasting conference, bringing together tech advancements and creative minds. So, stay tuned, and let's explore the future of podcasting together!

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Chapters

00:00 - None

00:24 - Podcast Movement Relfections

00:45 - All in One Room

03:28 - Union Worker Woes

04:28 - The Catch 22

10:08 - From Small to Big to Small?

11:37 - Haning With Like Minded People

12:18 - Big Announcements at PM

13:50 - A New Movement to Small Conferences?

15:33 - Single Track Events - Affordable Hotels

19:19 - Niche Shows In the Future?

21:12 - Real Life Niche Shows

23:12 - A 2.0 Conference?

26:16 - Podcamps Back in the Day

29:33 - Why In Person is Better

30:49 - Online Attendance

33:08 - No Agenda Meetups

34:12 - Thank You Supporters

34:30 - Podgagement Affiliate Program Update

Transcript
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The future of podcasting conferences. This is the future of



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podcasting, where we ponder what awaits the podcasters of



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today. From the school of podcasting,



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here's Dave Jackson. And from the audacity to podcast,



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here's Daniel j Lewis. Daniel, future of podcasting



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episode number 49, the future of



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podcasting conferences. I, I just came back



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from Podcast Movement in DC. The capital of podcasting?



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Yes. And, or as I like to call it, podcast summer



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camp is really what it felt like. It was, I had a



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great time. It was great to catch up with a lot of people, met some



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new people. And in general, it was a good time, a



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little different. They had all the sessions



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minus the keynotes were in this ginormous



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concrete room where all the vendors were. So the vendors were happy because



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everybody was in that room to get to the different stages.



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That's the good news. It was rather noisy, and people like to point



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out that there was no carpet. And that is true, and I was very, very



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happy to not be standing at a booth. Now Lipson did have carpet in



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their booth, but if I had to stand there all day on on concrete in



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a booth, my feet would be I'd wanna cut them off. So that was a



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little different. How they got around it, because it did make it noisy,



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is when you went to sessions, they had wireless headphones. And



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you could basically just grab a pair and stay in there all day, and then



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you would just click a button and it would go to different channels. And, eventually,



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you would hear the sound of your speaker, the person on



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stage, show up in your headphones. So that was kinda needed. It



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solved the problem of, hey. The audience isn't gonna be able to hear me. The



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side effect of that was, as a presenter, a, if you



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had a massive plosives going on, you had no



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idea. And I know I always try to make



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people giggle. And so when you kinda tell a joke or something funny, and



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you can't tell if it landed or not because you can't hear them, so that



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was a little different. That reminds me of the



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first podcast movement ever. It was Clinton from



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Comedy Forecast, got a few podcasters together, including myself, to do



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a comedy routine during one of the



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gatherings of the evenings. And so I got up there. I prepared



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this whole script and everything. It was hilarious, by the way. Thank you.



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I got to hear it before anybody else. And I was like, oh, Daniel's gonna



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kill with this. It was amazing. And then I felt



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I I mean, I could see a couple people laughing.



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I think you were one of them, and maybe someone else could hear me. But



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no one could hear me, which was just so much the



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metaphor of what podcasting is like, shouting in a noisy room, hoping that



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anybody will listen to you. But that's what it was like



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then for just that little thing. Yeah. That would



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be stressful to do a conference every session like



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that. I had the thought of, oh, why don't they do something like



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everyone pull out your smartphones, use your earbuds if you already have earbuds



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or use this thing that we provide to you and you could livestream it. But



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then you would have the delay because there would be the conversion to



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digital, the live streaming, the transmission through the Internet, all of that. So that



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wouldn't work. So their in person thing, it kind of surprises me



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that they would go with that as being less expensive



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than probably some other kind of acoustic treatment. Yeah. I



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just know when I was working with the New Media Expo,



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and we had a session coming up, and we had 4 speakers.



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It was a panel, and we had 3 chairs. And so I called,



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the guy that was running it. I'm like, hey. We need another chair. And he



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goes, are you sure? And I'm like, well, yeah. We don't want



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this person that came here to talk to have to stand. And he's like,



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oh, alright. And so it was in Vegas. We



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had to have a union worker bring over a chair, and it cost us



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$300 to have somebody move the chair. And I've heard



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Dan Franks talk about podcast movement because, you know, there'll be times



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when they'll have free coffee. Know, there's like a coffee station or whatever,



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and it's insane numbers of 1,000 of dollars



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for free coffee. Because when you've got 2,000 people drinking



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coffee and they've all went out the night before to some Iheart



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party, there's a lot of coffee the next morning. And there's the



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markup too for the event. It always costs more to have



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the food brought to the event. Yeah. But it's it's kind of



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a catch 22 in a way because this particular one



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I've always seen podcast evolutions as like the one



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where the big networks go and, you know, they do,



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upfronts where, hey. Here's what, you know, this particular



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advertising agency can bring, and here are the really popular shows that you wanna



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advertise on. They do that kind of stuff, and there are a lot of meetings



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at that. And Podcast Movement was supposed to be kind of for



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the independent podcaster, and they were definitely



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there, but not in the numbers, you know, like in the



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past. And some people said, well, it was during the week,



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so you had to take off work if you had a job. Other people



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mentioned that not only did you have to take off from your job, but it



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was the 1st week of school for many people. So that might have kept people



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away. And so, consequently, there were a fair number of



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people that were from, you know, for lack of better phrase,



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industry, where I remember the last two sessions. I didn't get to go to them,



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but I really wanted to hear them. One was, like, how to



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record a podcast in today's modern situation or whatever it



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was. And everyone on the panel was from radio. And I was like, oh,



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this is a different point of view. I'd really love to hear this. And there



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was another one that was, again, kind of ad agency kind



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of panels. And that's fine. I mean, that's a that's one little bubble part of



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podcasting. But it seemed like the industry people had kinda



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snuck into what used to be the indie podcast.



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I'm not sure why people weren't there before, but you it was at the



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Gaylord Hotel. And if you've ever been in a Gaylord, it is a



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small city under one roof. It's amazing. They're



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I mean, it's just you see it. You're like, I can't believe this. However, those



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are not cheap even though Podcast Movement always negotiates



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to get a a cheaper price. But when they're normally,



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whatever, $300, and they get them down to 2.50 a night, that



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adds up real quick. And I don't remember what the price was for a room.



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But by having that Gaylord, then you do get the industry people in



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because they're used to you know, they're big shot smarty pants, so they they need



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a big they're not gonna stay at the Holiday Inn or the Motel 6. So



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it's kind of a catch 22. You need those people because those are also, in



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many cases, your advertisers that will have their logo on the



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front page, so you need that. But on the other hand, if you have them



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in these really giant hotels, well, then maybe the average



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podcaster can't afford it, especially if he has to take a week off



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from work to pay for it. So it's it's just tricky how you do



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it. You know, smaller venues, smaller hotels, from from what I



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understand, and you can talk to this because I know you did a a Cincinnati



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event. It sounds like doing a small event



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is almost the same amount of work as doing a big event.



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It's just a big event has more risk involved because you've got more hotel rooms



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that you've paid for and things like that? Actually, I would say no.



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It's probably not because well, it depends



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on the level of quality that you want to attain.



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I did Podcamp Cincinnati. I did most of the work on that.



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I had some volunteers helping with a few things here and there, especially day



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of, like, for setting up and checking in and all of that stuff.



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But organizing it, scheduling it, all of that



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stuff, that was pretty much all me. You remember how tired I



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was. But bringing up Podcamp, that's a



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blast from the past. And the whole reason why we're talking about this in



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light of podcast movement, and we were planning to talk about this



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anyway before podcast movement now that we just had a podcast movement,



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the timing is still relevant. I thought of how it's



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interesting to see the well, not rise and fall. It's not



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like that but do imagine that on a graph, like the rise and fall on



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a graph, but I'm not saying that the rise and fall of conferences



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but of the type of conferences that we've had



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where in the beginning of podcasting, it was all of



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these small conferences. We had Podcamps



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all over the place. Now are there any Podcamps, like,



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actually called Podcamps at all? I haven't heard of 1 in a while.



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It's kind of funny because it does remind me the reason



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podcast movement came to be is because



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of the New Media Expo had blogging. They had



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video. They had podcasting. I forget what else.



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But it was all these different genres of content creation under one



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umbrella. I have a picture. It's me, Dan, Jared, and



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Rob Walsh. And we kinda were all going, wouldn't this be



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cool if it was just podcasting? Because back then, when



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you were a podcaster, you weren't really because, again, video was really



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expensive and insane to even get into. So, that's kind of where



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podcast movement was born on. What if we just talked about podcasting?



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And now that podcasting is so big, you do have kind of the



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smaller podcast or hyper niche, and then you have the



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big shows with the big budgets. And in some cases, it's not that they're



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celebrities. They just end up being celebrities because they got so



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popular. And I think that's something that may be a little



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different is like, we didn't see the girl



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from caller daddy. We didn't see like, we saw the guy from,



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Diary of a CEO. He was a keynote, but you didn't see him after that.



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He came in, did his keynote, was you know? Now he might have been someplace,



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but I didn't see him. And not that it's really fractured.



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It's just there are different people on different levels, and that should



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be a good thing if we can get the people that have found



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some success to, you know, share with the people who are just starting, that would



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be awesome. And I think that shows the growth and maturity of the



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industry, where in the early days, it was like, hey. Are



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there any other podcasters out there? Let's try to see



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if enough of us exist or can travel to the



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same place to maybe share a space with another



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conference. You know, there might be a podcasting session



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at a conference. There might be a podcasting track at a couple of



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conferences, like New Media Expo or Social Media Marketing World, these,



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like, social media or new media style conferences, and then



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podcast movement was born. And at the same time, there were



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smaller podcasting conferences. But what it feels like is happening is



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we started with these small independent



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regional conferences, then we grew up



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into the big national and international conferences.



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And it feels like now we're getting back into the small



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again because some of the things that you said and some of the things I've



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heard from other people who have attended some of these conferences is they



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often feel like there's no one like them. Like, I



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know one person who attended one of these big conferences. He



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has a podcast that he does just for fun. He does make some money from



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it, but he does it just for fun. And he went to a conference, and



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he said, I'm never going to a conference again because it's



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all about how do you make money, how do you build a business, how



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do you and I feel like maybe he just went to some of the wrong



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sessions, but that there was that perception.



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And he wanted to go just to hang out with other podcasters



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and have the conversations or learn about things like, hey. What do you do



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when you feel like you have nothing to podcast about? What do you do



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when you feel like your audience doesn't love you anymore? What do you do when



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these things or do you ever run into these struggles? And



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I see now while these big conferences will continue and I



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think definitely should because it's good to have industry



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level events where industry level stuff can



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happen. And indie podcasters can go to that kind of thing.



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And certainly, I think, have a space there and deserve to still be



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able to speak there as well. That's where you can hear cool announcements. Like



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it was during podcast movement that Apple announced



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the new Apple Podcasts on the web. It's not an Android



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app, but at this point, maybe that won't actually happen. But it does work



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on Android now. So that kind of thing, that happened, it



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seems, timed that specifically to happen during Podcast



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Movement. And lots of these big companies have the meetings at Podcast



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Movement or these other really large podcasting conferences.



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Those should definitely continue, and I recommend podcasters make their



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way to one of these big conferences at some point. Yeah. That



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is a key point because they did have that podcast movement



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one evening. I didn't go to the opening kind of networking event. I was



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at a, I was actually at NPR watching a tiny desk concert, which



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was great fun. And that's because of my podcast story because I



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knew somebody who won tickets. But, anyway, I think it was, like, the 3rd



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night. They just had they had these big huge hallways, and they



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just set up a table and put a sign. It was like, this is the



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Christian podcaster meetup. This is the I own a



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studio, meetup. There was one for nonprofits,



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one for and so it was kind of fun to just go down the hallway



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and just network with people. And that really is, I think, one of the biggest



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benefits. So you you do kind of get that, is there anybody here like



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me? And that's, I think, one of the biggest benefits because



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sometimes we just feel like we're the only person in the world that's, you know,



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talking about this subject. So when you find somebody else, you're like, oh my gosh.



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I'm not weird. There is somebody who still likes this. Well



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and that's where I see this new movement of



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conferences happening that now we're getting back



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into the small conferences, but not small like they were in the early



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days where it was just any podcasters wanted to get together with any podcasters.



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Now I see those niche podcast conferences happening.



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Like, the Spark Christian Media Conference for Christian



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podcasters. There are other podcasting conferences



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for other niches. And that's what I would love to



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see more of in the future is, hey. How about we have



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a podcasting conference all about sports



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podcasting? And that's it. Every session is something



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about sports podcasting. It might be only a 1 or 2 day



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conference. It might have only 1 or 2 tracks. That is



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okay. When you niche down to something like that, in fact, you



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might only want a single track



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because if it's already niche, it's very possible everyone who's



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coming wants to attend every session in that niche



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because they are tightly involved in that niche. Yeah. In the early days



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of Podfest, I think they considered the second one. I



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considered the first one. But it was in Florida. It was



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next to a Ramada Inn that was okay. It wasn't super



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fancy. And it was one room. There's one room for it.



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And I remember the vendors were on the walls, the back



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walls, and then there were tables in the middle, and then you had a



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stage. And everybody got to get the exact



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same information, and then there'd be a break. And we'd all go out in the



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hallway or whatever and talk about what we just saw. And then



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after, you know, the break's over, you'd go back in. Same thing for,



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Joe Pardo used to do I I think he now calls it Indy



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PodCon. Back then, it was called, Mid Atlantic



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something, and that was one of my favorite conferences ever. He



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always called it Philly, but it wasn't. I don't know where it was, but it



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it was, you know, outside of Philly, And there was a Wawa, which is just



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an oversized gas station. And if you went across the street, there was



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a Wendy's, and it was in a Holiday Inn. And between



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I don't mind Holiday Inn. Get more value based than that?



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Yeah. And because, really, all we did at the Holiday



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Inn, number 1, it was nice that where the



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a water at the Gaylord was $9 for a



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bottle of water. And at the Holiday Inn, you know,



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a beer was maybe $3. And this is probably 10 years ago.



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And if you you know, like I said, if you wanna go crazy, you could



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go to Wendy's across the street. But I remember by the end of that and



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there were probably I'd say a 100 to a 120 at that



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one. And by the end of I think you got



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there in the middle of the day, like, on a Friday evening. We had a



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little meet and greet. There might have been, like, a opening ceremony, and then it



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was almost all Saturday, and then everybody went home on Sunday. So it was really



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almost a one day kinda thing. And by the end of it, you



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had met everyone there. And I met some of those people



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at Podcast Movement. Like, I hadn't talked to them in a long time. It was



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great because, one guy's name is Raff, and he does a



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served podcast. It's all about helping people in the



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military transition back into just being a civilian. And



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when he told me about all the stories he had, and it's just not as



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easy as it sounds, I I stayed up probably till 2 or



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3 in the morning talking to him at that conference going, you gotta launch



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this thing. Because every time he'd say something, I'm like, that was episode 1. Why



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aren't you releasing these? And so you do build



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relationships with that. And I think even Joe brought in



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food. That was the other thing. He didn't really charge a whole lot, but, you



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know, you have to be careful because you do kinda get what you pay for.



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But that was an amazing event. And I think,



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if I remember right, I think Blueberry, Libsyn, you know, some of the



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hosts did help sponsor it because, again, it it's



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there's a lot of time put into it, plus you wanna market it and



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things like that. So that that's my favorite time. And what's kind of,



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I I don't wanna say sad because I'm with you. We need big conferences. It's



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nice when we get everyone together. But the minute we have



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a really good small event, people are like, this is amazing. And it



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makes sense because you're like, I want everyone to experience this great



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thing that I just went through. But the problem is when you make it ginormous,



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now you've got to find a hotel that will hold you. I was at one



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conference, and it was the last day, and people are starting to check out.



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And the guy's going over his bill, and he's like, well, I paid for a



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resort fee that I never used. He's like, I was in was



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in the conference, and he was just going through the bill. And he's like, why



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do they have these things at such large hotels? And I was



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like, because there are thousands of us now. You can't do



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3,000 people at the Holiday Inn. There's there's not that many



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rooms. So the bigger the hotel, the bigger the price,



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the bigger the risk if they're buying a bunch of, rooms in advance. So it



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is kinda tricky when it gets bigger, and, it's a lot of



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work. And you think about what can you really fit into



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the big conferences anymore because you can't really have



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just a full day of a sports podcasting



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track or a TV after show podcasting



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track or a Christian podcaster track or, you know, all



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of these things. There's just not the space for that. And besides that, there



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are all of these other things happening at the same time at a large conference



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like that. So that's where I see the future of these



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podcasting conferences is going to become niche



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again as we'll have the small events



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of a couple dozen or a few dozen people, and that can be totally okay.



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Like, you and I also went to that event that David Hooper hosted



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in Nashville several years ago. And



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there, he he brought in Little Caesar's Pizza for everyone. It was



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at a place where we could have fountain drinks there that we could



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easily have during the breaks or anything like that to have with the pizza.



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And that was great. I made some great connections there too. And, also,



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when it's small like that, it truly does become a



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more intimate connection because you can get the audience



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involved much more. And that's what they did in that



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small one day conference. They got the audience involved.



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They got them up on stage doing certain things,



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workshopping certain ideas. You can do that a lot more with



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a smaller thing. So if you listening right now



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have been thinking, I really wish we could have a track



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about this at Podcast Movement or Podfest.



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Maybe you could do that yourself. Have a conference in your



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area. Find a local conference room or meeting



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space that's big enough, that's close enough to food, maybe close enough to



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some inexpensive hotels. And that could be far less expensive



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for people to attend if they want to. You



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wouldn't get the big name celebrities, probably



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not, unless one of them lives nearby and podcasts about that



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thing or is in that niche. But do you really need



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that? I think it's these smaller things



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that might interest podcasters a bit more sometimes



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to go to, not on a recurring basis, but to be able to



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try more and more of them. I could see maybe



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presenting at something like a TV show or



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movie fan podcast conference where it's all about how to podcast



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about TV shows and movies. I could present a session there and I could



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if I was still hosting a podcast about a TV show, I'd love to network



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with other people also podcasting about TV shows.



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We've seen Christian podcast conferences. I wasn't able to make



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it to the latest one. I really, really regretted that. I really



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wanted to be there. I just couldn't make it happen, But that



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can be a thing too. And, like, speaking also of in that Christian



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realm, I went to National Religious Broadcasters



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Convention, an RB show in Nashville earlier in



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2024, and I got to speak there on podcasting. And



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that is religious broadcasters. It's mostly the



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big broadcasting corporations and



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ministries there. But I was surprised



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that there were even some smaller podcasters, some



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independent people looking around, talking to vendors,



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going to some of the sessions. A lot of stuff didn't really apply to them.



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I'm glad that they got value from my session, which was about how to start



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a podcast. But it was that same kind of thing where the indies were in



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this space where they could get some value from it but



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not the whole thing. The whole thing was too big for them. But



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they still got to be inspired. They got to see some of



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these people speak. They got to meet some of these people,



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these, quote, celebrities, unquote, that they might not have ever



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gotten the chance to see, meet, listen to, or anything like



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that because it was a big event. But then



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at the small events, you get to have the conversations, the connections



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that you don't get at the bigger things. So I feel like the



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future is going to become small again



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in size, but also more focused



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with the niches of these different conferences. And even



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especially with stuff now like what we're doing in podcasting 2.0,



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like the streaming satoshis and all of that, the value for value and



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boostergrams and all of that. Imagine a conference, a



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whole conference that could work like that. We recently had that music



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festival where it was all value for value for the music festival. Imagine a



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conference like that where you could get in maybe



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for free. Maybe there's a small ticket charge just to



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cover certain expenses or something. But then maybe, like, you



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distribute your satoshis or whatever currency it is



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to the sessions you go to, or maybe they're automatically distributed



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to wherever you go. Like, when you check-in on the app into a certain



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session, then automatically your, whatever, 100,000



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satoshis goes to that speaker. And then for your next session, your



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100,000 satoshis goes to them or whatever the value is. 10,100,



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whatever that thing is. But that could be a really neat idea of



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building a conference like that. I think it should still be niche



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enough to attract that kind of audience that could do that kind of



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thing. Like, a Bitcoin conference would obviously work with something like



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that. But a cryptocurrency podcasters



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conference, perfect for something like that because already everyone



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going there knows cryptocurrency. They're familiar with



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that exchange, and it's just a little bit more of a stretch



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for them to do that. So the perspective, I think,



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is being opened up by what Podcasting 2.0 is showing



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is possible to do. Even just with an RSS



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feed that we've discovered, like with the value block and things that you can do



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and wallet switching and all of this kind of stuff. You could do that



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same thing in a conference. But even without that technical



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aspect, I want to see more



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smaller, local, niche podcasting



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conferences, whatever the topic is.



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Because you might get one session on that subject at a big



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conference, but you could have a whole conference about that one thing.



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Yeah. And the other thing about that is what



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if you say, well, I've I've booked this place. It holds



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a 150 people, and then we sell out of tickets.



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That's when I'm like, well, that's proof of concept. Now you can raise your



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your ticket price a little bit and do it more maybe do 2 a year



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instead of 1. I would much rather go to a conference



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where everything you see is like, oh, this is exactly what I need. I know



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Steve Stewart has done that at Podfest. They have a whole



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track for editors, and they do try to make tracks. It's usually like



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beginner, intermediate, monetization,



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promotion. So they kinda try to niche down. But to have not only



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to say now, hey. I want to do a a podcast



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event for authors so we can talk about how to promote your



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book and how to podcast and value for value for authors or



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whatever. It's like, wow. These guys are talking exactly, you know, what I came here



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to hear. So that would be, be interesting.



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And I know you mentioned Podcamps. Podcamp was a really small



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gathering. Well, it was intimate. And it was usually



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I think in some cases, it was, like, at a library. I don't know. I



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only went to 1, and they had it in a very small theater on



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a college campus. And the whole point was you'd have I



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think anybody could speak, but you had to kind of register ahead of time.



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I think I could be it's been a a while. And then you



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were encouraged that if somebody started talking and you're like, this isn't for



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me, you're allowed to just get up and leave, vote with your feet, and go



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find another room. And so I went to podcamp.org. Do



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not go there. It hurts your eyes. It's it's a pod it's a



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page from, I don't know,



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1998, maybe. I don't know. It's it's bad. It's a old weird looking



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Wiki. I know Chris is it Chris Brogan was the guy that started those



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back in the day? So maybe we need to, reach out to



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Chris and go, hey. Let's dust off podcasts. Because they were a lot of



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fun. It took a little organization. How long do you think



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somebody needs to promote it to get people to show up?



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Probably 3 to 6 months from the Yeah. The 3



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to 6 month region could be just saying this is going to



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happen on this date, location, and schedule pending.



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But, like, with the Podcamp, a lot can happen last



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minute. It fits into this idea of unconference



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comes really from a bar camp was a different idea of



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programmers getting together and some people just getting up and doing



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a session, some people just sitting together and programming together, and some people



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having conversations in the hallways. That's where this kind of unconference



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idea comes in where, yes, there might be a schedule, but there are



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also blanks that anyone is welcome to fill in that blank. And I've



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seen that happen a couple of times before where someone just says, hey. I'm



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gonna do a session about this. Anyone who's interested, come down to this



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room and join me for this session. And they get a few



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people show up, connections made, lots of fun had.



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When it's smaller, it doesn't have to be big.



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I know that sounds like or super profound



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maybe. But what I mean by that is you go to podcast



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movement, and you see they've got these huge



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props on the stage. And many of them



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are branded specifically to that



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conference at that location. So it's not like



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it's the same podcast movement prop year after year. Well, they did



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have a prop like that for a while. I don't think they're using it anymore.



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But the branding was specific. They've got



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screens all over the place, big fancy lights, all of this stuff.



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You know, it's a whole show really, just the conference



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itself. A smaller conference doesn't have to be that



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big. A smaller conference can be a



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projector on a screen, And that's your stage.



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It can be smaller. Some of these conferences might even be



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the possibility of having a conference so small that you don't even need



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a sound system. Although, I always recommend a sound system and



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always record whatever you do at a conference, record it.



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But there's so much potential in these smaller



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niches. I know the default is gonna be like, well,



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wouldn't it just be easier if you did it online? And sure. But



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I think we can all agree it's not the same. Yeah. And I was trying



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to figure out why I identified it. It's because



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when you go to these conferences, you end up making memories.



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Mhmm. Whether whatever you do even if it's just hanging out in a



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hotel lobby, chat with those 4 guys. I remember it was



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me, Todd Cochran, and oh, I can't remember. But there were, like, 3



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guys. But I remember we were all being super vulnerable. And I was like,



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man, if this is being recorded but we're all able to kinda let our guard



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down and and really talk about it. And like this last time, I went



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to a a tiny desk concert at NPR. I got to see the



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Clydesdales with, my buddy, Bruce. I went to lunch with



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Monica Rivera. You know? And these are things that you just can't do



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online. It's you know, you can do the little networking sessions, and let's all do



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an icebreaker. And there's nothing wrong with that, by the way. That's better than nothing.



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But I was trying to figure out, like, what's the difference between networking



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online and networking in person? I'm like, I think there's just something about



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shaking somebody's hand, giving somebody a a hug, or whatever it is. It's



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that personal it's just another form of communication, I guess, that



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just makes it, I think, a little deeper. Yeah. And I think of how



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many conferences, online conferences, and summits that I've



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registered for. Do you know how many I have actually attended



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to the level of engagement that I would have attended a live



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conference? Take a guess. 1?



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0. Okay. And I've paid for some of



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them too. And I think it's so much is mindset



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of some people might think, oh, I can watch this or I can,



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quote, attend, unquote, this while I'm doing other things.



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And then you just forget or you get distracted or you don't make the



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time for it. Whereas if you're going somewhere, you're taking time off



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maybe, but you're present physically and much



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more mentally because you're present physically. So here's the



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question to you, Dave, the challenge. When are we going to



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do the future of podcasting conference?



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Well, that is a good question. You could do something like that. We could have



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a one day conference where every session during the



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day, it's a single track conference. Every session is



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something about preparing your podcast for the future. Now a lot of



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that would be stuff like podcasting 2 point



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o things. Some of it could be things about upgrading



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certain podcasting technology, like maybe really talking about why



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you need to replace your old live music



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mixer with something like a Rodecaster Pro or whatever the newest



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technology is. Or it could be certain conceptual



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things, like how to prepare your podcast



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for your death or how to cancel proof your podcast



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or certain things like that that are all focused on the future of



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podcasting as a whole as well as the future of your



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podcast and how to ensure the future of your podcast and



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leverage these new things to make your podcast better.



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We could do that in a one day conference, maybe even a 2 day conference.



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Don't nail us down on it, anybody. But Yeah. Definitely, something like



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that could happen. Columbus, Ohio is halfway between my house and your



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house now. Thinking that. Yeah. Know, that would be crazy if we



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did that because that is also where we supposedly met.



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Yes. I think so. A long time ago. Yeah. That would be



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interesting. Just an example and, again, it's kind of always



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weird when you quote no agenda because their audience is



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huge, but they have people doing meetups. Their



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audience has their own little, like, gatherings. It's it's not so much a



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conference, but it's that, again, physical connection of seeing people eye



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to eye. And they're usually at a restaurant, so they're eating food together, and



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it just builds that bond. And, you know, it doesn't have to be



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super crazy. I used to do the Northeast Ohio podcasters meetup,



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and we met, it was really cool, at a local radio station. And so



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they let us use kind of their conference room, and and that was cool. But



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then when COVID hit, we moved online, and



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then we got really used to doing it online because we weren't



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eating food. It was just basically hanging out and leaving, and so we didn't really



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lose anything by going to, online. But, yeah, the wheels are



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turning in my head. Since you looked at this loony old man.



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Exactly. Alright, Daniel. Well, we've been gone a little



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bit, while I was out and about. Have we received any Boostagrams?



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We got a bunch of streaming Satoshis and a couple of Boostagrams from



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Sam and CreativityFound. So thank you so much for sending



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those, and make sure that you're using a podcast app that can



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send value back. So think about what value you got from this



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podcast. Consider sending that back through a podcasting 2.0



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app. And if you want to make some money, I have an



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opportunity for you that Dave has given me permission to share. I have



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revamped the Podgagment affiliate program. So even if you



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don't use Podgagment yourself to engage your audience and grow your podcast, which I



Speaker:

think you should, but you can recommend it to other podcasters



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and earn some nice commissions from it and even some



Speaker:

other cool things that can happen by being an affiliate. If you're interested in that,



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I'd love to have you as an affiliate. Dave is an affiliate, and



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he promotes it. He gets paid too. I love sending Dave money every month. I'd



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love to send you money every month too. You can check it out over at



Speaker:

podgagement.com/affiliates.



Speaker:

And the link will be in the show notes. And I think that'll do it



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for, this episode of the future of podcasting. If you



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know someone who's been thinking about maybe creating a a



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some sort of event or is just interested in



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podcasting 2.0 and the future of podcasting, go to that share button



Speaker:

and send it on over to them. We would greatly appreciate that. Or just tell



Speaker:

them to go to future of podcasting.net. But that is gonna do



Speaker:

it. This one is in the books. Keep boosting. Keep podcasting. And



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maybe start your own podcast conference or 2.