Audio Pod Chronicles

Republican Albert Maruggi, founder of Provident Partners and host of the Marketing Edge podcast, and Democrat Kesler Woodward, a renowned painter friend of mine from Fairbanks, Alaska, responded to my Twitter invitation today and gave their takes on Barack Obama's speech yesterday on race relations.  Albert mentioned the New Communications Forum April 22-25, 2008 at The Vineyard Creek Inn & Spa in Sonoma County, CA. Check out Kes's art and accounts of his creative process here.I'd love to hear from you, so please feel free to leave an audio comment at 206-339-4717. Or e-mail me at PodChronicles@gmail.com.Music for the podcast is "Going to the Sun" composed and performed by Montana musicians Christine Dickinson, Janet Haarvig and Matthew Lyon, from their Glacier Journey CD.

My wife and I drove from Denver to the Panhandle of Texas to help out with the Obama campaign. This episode contains interviews at the watch party last night and some observations of where things stand the morning after. We leave as soon as I get this podcast finished for the long ride home.

Video evangelist Steve Garfield met me this morning at Sweet Finnish at 761 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain, where each month for the past two years he has hosted Boston Media Makers in a back room filled with fascinating media creators, artists, and gadget freaks who have a chance to meet and share enthusiasms and info. BMM meets the first Sunday of the month at 10 a.m. for two hours.  In this interview, Steve remembers how he first got into blogging, then video blogging, a genre he pretty much invented, and now live mobile "storycasting."   Steve shows how a playful, experimental, happy engagement with new technology can yield results far beyond a mere effort to "monetize" internet innovation.  He does talk about the nuts and bolts of moving toward making a living in this space, as well as what he's learning right now about the new frontier of mobile live broadcasting.    The music for my podcast is "Going to the Sun" composed and performed by Montana musicians Christine Dickinson, Janet Haarvig and Matthew Ly

Last night I participated in a Democratic caucus in Denver as a Precinct Captain for Barack Obama. This podcast contains interviews with fellow caucus goers and the general sounds of a very full school auditorium My precinct, 521, went 60-40 for Obama, and Colorado gave Obama a tidy 67% share of the caucus votes. Music for the podcast is "Going to the Sun" composed and performed by Montana musicians Christine Dickinson, Janet Haarvig and Matthew Lyon, from their Glacier Journey CD. Further information at http://earthpassage.com/glacier.htm

This is an audio portrait of The Phoenix Concept, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility for homeless men.  Contributions may be sent to The Phoenix Concept, 2162 Lawrence St., Denver, CO 80205. The phone number is 303-293-3620.Music for my podcast is "Going to the Sun" composed and performed by Montana musicians Christine Dickinson, Janet Haarvig, and Matthew Lyon, from their Glacier Journey CD. Please feel free to send your feedback to PodChronicles@gmail.com or leave a comment here on the show notes page.

Jerome (Jerry) Lau of Construction Support Services, Inc., in Centennial, Colorado, has spent 50 years developing expertise in hydromechanics.  Jerry has never written a poem about water, but the depth of his understanding of the topic struck me as similar to the level of attention an artist must devote to his or her subject in order to succeed.  He recently finished a water-leak study of our building, and this morning he spoke with me about his work.  The power of his expertise means he doesn't have to advertise or market the services he and his partner provide.  His customers find him by word of mouth (and the occasional podcast). If you'd like to contact him,  email me at PodChronicles@gmail.com.Music for the podcast is "Going to the Sun" composed and performed by Montana musicians Christine Dickinson, Janet Haarvig and Matthew Lyon, from their Glacier Journey CD.mp3 version

A special Christmas week interview with my wife, Darlene, in which we discuss strategies for spouses married to social network addicts, quilting compared with podcasting, how to live in two cities, and how to transform Christmas shopping from a form of torture into an ordinary challenge, compliments of author Harville Hendrix and the dialog technique described  in his book How to Get the Love You Want.  I'm a big fan of The M Show podcast featuring John Wall and the lovely Carin, his wife, so this interview is indirect homage to them.The music for my podcast is "Going to the Sun" composed and performed by Montana musicians Christine Dickinson, Janet Haarvig and Matthew Lyon, from their Glacier Journey CD.

An interview in Maynard, Mass., with Randy Corke, left, president and chief marketing officer of RPM Communications, and Simeon "Sim" Margolis, co-founder of Utterz.com and head of new media at RPM.  They credit Christian Burns, Eric Rice, and Chris Brogan as among the key users who helped Utterz gain impressive early success since its official launch in September. I love Utterz, because it enables me to use my iPhone to transfer immediate photos, audio, and text (and video as soon as the iPhone has it) to my blog, to Twitter, and Flickr, as well as to the Utterz website.  In classic startup style, our interview was punctuated by a really loud fire alarm, due to construction in the building, but we finished the interview with a different mic and I eventually was able to find my way out of the building.  Thanks to Twitterers KityKity, ConnieReece, AverageJoe, and BethDunn for great questions, not all of which I had time to use in the podcast. Sim gave shoutouts to Utterers Robert, ChrisBrogan, ThePete, iJustin

The comment line number for my podcast has been changed to 206-350-8045.  Sorry for the confusion!--Len Edgerly

An interview November 27, 2007 at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard with Nolan Bowie, senior fellow and adjunct lecturer in public policy, after a class in his course, "New Media and Democracy."  Addressing issues of propaganda and the internet.

Jeff Pulver hosted a social networking breakfast this morning at the S & S Restaurant and Deli in Cambridge, Mass. This podcast episode contains excerpts of conversations I recorded during the two-hour event.  Included are Bryan Person, Israel Drori, Chris Brogan, Joyce Bettencourt, Michael Mikek, Oleg Puzyreff, Ian Carpenter, Steve Garfield, and Jeff Pulver.  That much creativity in one room left me energized and glad for the chance for face-to-face time with people I find so intriguing when I encounter them on my computer screen. Many photos were taken and uploaded, mostly to Facebook, as well as some to Flickr.The music for my podcast is "Going to the Sun" composed and performed by Montana musicians Christine Dickinson, Janet Haarvig, and Matthew Lyon, from their Glacier Journey CD.

I met Paul Foley through Steve Garfield's Boston Media Makers, and today Paul joined me for a conversation about his explorations of multimedia tools and the Internet.  An accomplished freelance environmental portrait photographer, Paul sees a squeeze developing in the market for such work, especially in print.  In his mid-50s, he is ready to cross the digital divide into story telling through still photography, video, and audio. He's also looking to social networks such as Twitter for worldwide distribution.  After our interview today at my Cambridge place, Paul e-mailed me a handsome portrait of himself that I used as the thumbnail for this episode.  Music for my podcast is "Going to the Sun" composed and performed by Montana musicians Christine Dickinson, Janet Haarvig, and Matthew Lyon, from their Glacier Journey CD.

Loïc Le Meur, the charismatic Frenchman who is starting a video conversation startup named Seesmic, spoke with me in the hallway today at Video on the Net (VON) in Boston.  Loïc explained why radical transparency in his venture is not a risk, but a competitive advantage. That's why he and his team are posting videos five times a week, showing every detail of the startup and asking for help from the approximately 2,000 people subscribed. They give lots of it.  Tres interessant! The waiting list to join Seesmic stands at about 5,000 and I'm right in there, hoping to get a chance to try it out.  Loïc is wisely waiting until the alpha program is well tested before opening up to everyone who is eager to join the video conversation. He says in this interview that we will only have to wait another month or two.  Photo by Nate Aune. Thanks, Nate!

Veteran Podcaster Dean Whitbread, a founder of the UK Podcasters Association, was in town this weekend for Podcamp Boston 2. We met online mainly through Twitter, and I enjoy following his smart and artful blogs, The Blog of Funk and Dean Whitbread.  The iTunes Music Store contains his audio podcast, the Pod of Funk, and his video podcast, deek deekster: innit, both highly recommended. He also introduced John Cleese to podcasting. All this gives Dean lots of experience in podcasting and blogging, so it was a great opportunity to learn from him.Also on this episode, I hear from Simon Young of Auckland, New Zealand, who left an audio comment at the Pod Chronicles line, 206-202-0890. Simon and his wife have a new consulting venture, iJump, helping organisations jump into the social media playground. I first heard about him in an interview he did with Anna Farmery of The Engaging Brand podcast, and I was very impressed with what he had to say about different kinds of writing styles.Music is "Going to the Sun" com

I'm glad I had a quick trip scheduled to Denver this week, because it gave me a chance to experience the stunned joy of Colorado Rockies fans looking forward to the club's first-ever World Series.  I turned to two of my most baseball-savvy friends for explanations, Kes Woodward who was in town from Fairbanks, Alaska, and Michael Drummy, a longtime Red Sox fan who moved to Colorado 10 years ago.  This episode has other voices, all helping tell an amazing sports story.Music is "Going to the Sun" composed and performed by Montana musicians Christine Dickinson, Janet Haarvig and Matthew Lyon. From their Glacier Journey CD .

At my 30th reunion of the MBA Class of 1977 from Harvard Business School last week, I asked 13 of my classmates what was the most important thing they had learned at HBS. The answers were as varied as the people with whom I shared the B-School experience.  Was it the people? Was it a way of thinking that amounts to applied common sense?  All of the above and more.  It was fun and enlightening to be with these folks again, and I'm grateful to everyone who spoke with me for this podcast episode.  See you in 2012!

Erin Trapp, director of the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs, talks about how a new cultural center could reinvigorate Denver and help establish the city's claim as the Creative Capital of the West, as Mayor Hickenlooper likes to say. In this interview in Erin's office today, I learned some things I didn't know about the historic Carnegie Library/McNichols Building, where a cultural center might be created in Civic Center Park.  The Audio Pod Chronicles theme music is "Going to the Sun" composed and performed by Montana musicians Christine Dickinson, Janet Haarvig and Matthew Lyon, from their Glacier Journey CD 

Rob Simon, the founder 30 years ago of Denver's well-known alternative weekly, Westword, has in the past few years turned his creativity and entrepreneurial talent toward podcasting. His company, BurstMarketing, created the impressive Cherry Creek Arts Festival podcast and continues to help business clients find solutions in podcasting.  In this interview on Sept. 4, 2007, at Common Grounds Coffee Shop at Wazee and 17th Streets in Denver, he talked about what makes a successful podcast and about what he's looking for in the podcasting contractors whom he's hiring to help keep up with the opportunities.   Special thanks to Twitter friends Goldiekatsu and Genuine for suggesting questions to ask Rob!

Yesterday I took Amtrak's Downeaster from Boston to Old Orchard Beach, Maine, hoping to capture words and sounds reflecting my lifelong love of trains. I also hoped I'd find someone to interview.  Enter Peter McHugh. I think you'll enjoy his story.Flickr photo by Eric Olson (username: broccolbee) "Going to the Sun" composed and performed by Montana musicians Christine Dickinson, Janet Haarvig and Matthew Lyon. From their Glacier Journey CD