Does Podcamp Ireland want to be a SocialMediaCamp?

Loudspeaker?
Photo owned by Bohman (cc)

I love the energy of PodCamp Ireland. I love the people that flock to it. And I love the way it’s growing year on year, but I’m kind of confused about where it’s going. For example, the title tag-line on the site reads “Podcamp Ireland: Social Media Strategies, Social Networking, Online Marketing”. I find it strange that the word ‘podcast’ doesn’t appear anywhere in the title. Strangeness. I thought that this was a unconference about podcasting.

I understand that it’s interesting to show the importance of podcasting in the enterprise, but the spirit of the camp seems to be more about marketing and Social Media from reading the blog and listening to the podcast. Has the message superceded the media? I don’t believe it should, do you? And if it has, why is the camp keeping the moniker of PodCamp when it really wants to grow up and be a SocialMediaCamp? I think the message and the branding is a little confusing.

I’m skeptical about a lot of Social Media experts. Many of them that call themselves experts are the guys that are looking for bob-a-job gigs, while the real rockstars are actively using the technology as part of the daily toolset. We’ve come to a point where the term ‘Social Media’ almost equates to a black mark. So if PodCamp becomes SocialMediaCamp, what new things could the organisers bring to the table? A lot of the interesting and insightful commentary I read comes from the UK and US, isn’t the pool we have too small at present? I’m sure I’m not the only one that doesn’t want to hear tired, recycled commentary of how microblogging will solve the energy crisis or cure AIDs.

I don’t want this post to sound like I’m criticising the PodCamp Ireland team. They do trojan work every year. I don’t think I’ve seen such active work dedicated to podcasting, blogging and microblogging a message out into the ether. A testament to this, is the wide and varied group of attendees that go to PodCamp. They put on a great show. Notable amongst the team is Ken, who has worked very hard to grow PodCamp in Kilkenny. I’m just asking a question about where PodCamp is going.

So, where should PodCamp Ireland be moving? Is it really a SocialMediaCamp? Can Ireland even host a SocialMediaCamp given the lack of real Social Media expertise in Ireland? And how commercial should a SocialMediaCamp be?

August 20th, 2008 at 4:58 pm • Filed in Geekery



Comments

14 Comments to “Does Podcamp Ireland want to be a SocialMediaCamp?”

  1. Damien Mulley Says:
    August 20th, 2008 at 11:16 pm

    We’ve noticed that there are some who throw mud from the sidelines and make noise but we’d like to get their commentary on social media and it’s a great example of the web 2.0 space where people are free to comment. We encourage this honest feedback. It’s a good metric to include when strategizing.



  2. Bernie Goldbach Says:
    August 21st, 2008 at 7:31 am

    As one of the organisers, I think the “pod” got into the “camp” because most of the people who wanted to come together in Kilkenny have portable media devices and they asked to chat with people about smarter ways of using them. So we have a technology strand at the event, perhaps spiced up by a technology company showing its wares.

    We didn’t want to exclude anyone who didn’t use earbuds and we didn’t want to make anyone who is attached to mainstream media feel out of sorts so we stuck the word “social” onto the tagline since our experience during the past two camps in Kilkenny was rather social. Some of the best sessions were conversations in the round, laptops closed, mics off. A few of them will run in September.

    If we help primary and secondary school teachers learn to articulate a message for their maths-oriented students and help them to form that message into a short audio or video clip, we’re well on our way to the real agenda. We want to show samples of how science, mathematics, computing and technology play together in the knowledge economy. Based on contributions from professional technologists, sound engineers, podcasters and broadcasters, we’re going to stimulate some discussion in a friendly environment. And if we fail, there’s always Kilkenny to enjoy for the day.



  3. Alexia Says:
    August 21st, 2008 at 8:47 am

    @Bernie:

    >”most of the people who wanted to come together in Kilkenny have portable media devices and they asked to chat with people about smarter ways of using them”

    Does this mean that they are podcasters? Use podcast equipment? I’m confused by this. If I decide to lug a record player about, it’s a personal media device. How about a mobile phone?

    Looking at the attendee list, I can only pick out a few podcasters, certainly not more than 50%. I may be missing them all. Why don’t they all publish their podcast links. Ken is the only one I see doing that.

    >”So we have a technology strand at the event, perhaps spiced up by a technology company showing its wares.”

    A technology company pimping wares? Who is the company? I must have missed this on the site. What’s the format for this? Like to disclose how much they are contributing?

    Has this happened before in a PodCamp? How does this change the spirit of the event?

    Tagging the event as social, I get. But the “Podcamp Ireland: Social Media Strategies, Social Networking, Online Marketing” tagline, I don’t. This doesn’t reflect the spirit of PodCamp. I’m wondering where strategies and online marketing come into it. Are there commercial presentations on these too?

    I love the educational message of PodCamp and I think it has a lot of value as a workshop of in the practicalities of introducing kids to video and audio. I’m just wondering if the approach is a little schizophrenic. I find the dilution of the media disappointing and the mixed message commercialisation at educational-bent event concerning.



  4. Bernie Goldbach Says:
    August 21st, 2008 at 9:16 am

    A phone that can share personal media is a welcome device at any Podcamp and I know some people are stuck with players that cannot share but that shouldn’t make them feel unwelcome. It’s just that most of the demonstrators can beam you their stuff directly from their phones or laptops.

    We expect a table of interesting media devices from either a local shop or a major player like Nokia or SonyEricsson. We’re not flogging them and we won’t refuse their offer to help offset the €6000 cost of running the event but they haven’t offered to buy their way into the logo set as a sponsor.

    Social media is anyone’s term. I teach an accredited third level module in the topic and one of the things I hope podcamp Ireland does for me is help focus the deliverables on the module. In fact, these side discussions help this process along for me as well.

    Thanks for the post and the deep thoughts.



  5. Alexia Says:
    August 21st, 2008 at 11:09 am

    @Bernie:

    Considering that mobile phone penetration is above 100% in Ireland, relying on this as a metric of: a) podcasters attending or b) the percentage of attendees starting to podcast is nonsensical. I would love to see how many new podcasters started podcasting after last year’s event. And indeed, how many are continuing to do it. Real stats.

    So, the commercial deal has not been finalised with a single company? Yet, they “haven’t offered to buy their way into the logo set as a sponsor”. This goes for all the companies you are talking to? But the deal hasn’t been set in stone, right?

    I agree social media is not set in stone. Everything we when we interact both online and offline is social media, one could argue. It’s a fuzzy subject, isn’t it? Part of the problem, right? Adding the Social Media tag to the event adds a whole layer of fuzziness. How does this fuzziness add to the day, where podcasting and it’s education is a concrete theme? Oil and water, right?

    Anyone else have thoughts?



  6. Alexia Says:
    August 21st, 2008 at 11:17 am

    By the way, I’m still wondering where “strategies and online marketing” fit the puzzle. We’re still thinking of the children, right?

    Oh, and thanks for popping by to comment, Bernie.



  7. Bernie Goldbach Says:
    August 21st, 2008 at 2:03 pm

    We have a few people interested in podcasting as a way of connecting generations and those 70-somethings will be sharing their stories in Kilkenny, perhaps hoping their great-grandchildren will try some creative multimedia storytelling to fill the time in the nursing homes. We need to offer this kind of technical watering hole (e.g., a Podcamp) to meet this important social need. I hope Grannymar comes to share as well because even her podcasts have become “occasional” instead of regular. Mine too.

    We’re not pursuing sponsorship as ardently as we should but that’s because the three of us know we’ll pay for the loose ends like we did last year.

    We’re using the word “podcamp” in the way Christopher S. Penn set out its use when he invented it. Under those terms of reference, we can weave “social media” into the mix. Even though the mention of “social media” might make things fuzzier, badging the event that way makes it softer and fluffier for others. That’s the feedback we got when we first mooted the programme a few months ago on the blog and in the channels.



  8. Damien Mulley Says:
    August 21st, 2008 at 6:59 pm

    Heh



  9. Brian Greene Says:
    August 21st, 2008 at 9:30 pm

    >Can Ireland even host a SocialMediaCamp given the lack of real Social Media expertise in Ireland?

    yes we could and we could invite people who do not live & work in ireland to attend / speak also. You seem to think ireland has no expertise in this very new area. I disagree. If we harness the expertise of our techies and media people to create a two way conversation like Rick spoke about on the podcamp ireland podcast then PCI is the place to do some of that harnessing. I have no doubt that we disproportionately have the media expertise. travel the world of radio & tv and find an irish voice involved front of mic or camera, wake up to the most popular radio show in the UK for 20 years and it is and irish voice you hear. We lost that lack of self confidence in this country long ago. We even have global media moguls popping up in Ireland. The UKs biggest radio group is owned by 3 Irish men & O’Brien keeps growing.

    >And how commercial should a SocialMediaCamp be?
    not very, but the organisers shouldn’t be broke either. there is an issue with not been able to charge in, but there are ways around that.

    re the name – i have no problem – re the tag – i dont pay too much attention to them.



  10. Alexia Says:
    August 22nd, 2008 at 10:03 am

    @Brian: I think we’re on completely different wavelengths.. I’m fine with that, though.



  11. Sabrina Dent Says:
    August 22nd, 2008 at 8:26 pm

    We do have social media expertise in Ireland. What we don’t have is a critical mass of Irish clients interested in taking advantage of that with any kind of real visibility. There are no big Irish brands really leveraging this stuff in ways I can see now. On the other hand, I see some small emerging brands who are grabbing hold of social media and using it to become big brands. That’s going to be interesting.

    I do really think that PodCamp should be rebranded SocialMediaCamp. Podcasting is part of that anyway, so it’s more logical and certainly more accessible.



  12. Pat Phelan Says:
    August 22nd, 2008 at 10:40 pm

    Bringing my 8 track



  13. brian greene Says:
    August 23rd, 2008 at 11:07 am

    in camp terms we may reach critical mass having got 60 signed up attendees and they are the early birds, we are more than one month out to PCI 2008. Perhaps we could discuss its 2009 title in September?. I watched the UK podcamp implode due to politics, the spirit of podcamp ireland is preventing anything like that happening here, thanks be to the organisers.



  14. Pulling back the PodCamp onion skin even further only brings tears : Alexia Golez Says:
    September 1st, 2008 at 11:37 am

    [...] Ireland is still on the brain. The feedback I got in the comments was cloudy, to be honest. I’m a girl that believes in clarity. Don’t tangle me in [...]



Leave a Reply