Chip Griffin: Pardon the Disruption

Disruptive Dialogue: Brian Oberkirch Discusses Relevance of Location to Tech Startups

"We don't even have to really debate whether or not people can start web companies in a variety of places," Brian Oberkirch says, "but how do you do it when you are not in a place like the Bay Area?" That's the topic of discussion in the latest Disruptive Dialogue.

(Click here to listen to the 13 minute interview.)

The discussion took place in the wake of a blog post that Brian wrote recently titled "Location, Location, Location (doesn't matter as much."  Based in Louisiana, Brian knows a bit about working outside of Silicon Valley as a web entrepreneur and advisor.

Topics discussed include networking ideas, thoughts on sharing office space with other web types to build a greater sense of community, and the notion of companies having remote, virtual teams.

I suggested that perhaps companies in the technology hotbed may focus more on building to flip, while outside of the Bay Area, entrepreneurs seem more focused on building sustainable companies that may well get acquired, but that's not the sole focus.  Brian thought that the there is definitely a different mindset in a "company town" like the San Francisco region that looks to behemoths like Google and Apple, but he wasn't certain that there was a difference in the sustainability aspect.

Brian notes that talent in Silicon Valley is just as hard to find as elsewhere, just for different reasons.  The talent pool may be larger for engineers in San Francisco, but the demand is much higher as well.

Bottom line, according to Brian: "Location may not be as much of a barrier as it used to be."

What Ails Podcasting?

This week Shel Holtz kicked off quite a discussion with his post "Why Hasn't Podcasting Gone Mainstream?"  I have been participating in the dialogue in the comments on his post, but I think it merits a complete post of its own here.

Shel argues that it is a problem of infrastructure.  He says that watching video online is easy, while audio is comparatively hard. 

One survey found that more than half of all podcast listeners don't use a portable device. Is it because that is too difficult or is it because that's where they want to listen?

I certainly understand the argument that listening to podcasts isn't exactly simple if you want to sync to a portable device, but I don't think that's the answer to the challenge by a long shot.  It is part of it, sure, and I include it among my 10 reasons for slow podcast adoption (below), but ultimately if people want to hear truly compelling content they will work hard to get it.  Just look at the lengths people will go to get Police concert tickets or to buy a Wii.

Here then are the top 10 reasons I can think of why podcasting isn't yet mainstream.

1. It's the Content, Stupid.  There’s some good podcast content out there, but far less than most of us who are directly involved believe.  It is hard to judge one’s own work and that of colleagues.  And lest we forget what works in radio today, let's review: music, talk shows, and news.  Yet how many podcasts fall in to those categories?  Yes, we can (and should) cater to niches, but we have to find a new way to do it.  Personally, I believe the answer lies in uniting text, audio, and video under one roof to reach niches (rather than the silo approach most are using today), but that's something for a different post.
2. Podcasts are too host-centric. Think about how different the content of podcasts is versus successful radio.  Many podcasts tend to be rambling, somewhat self-serving commentaries (my own included from time to time).  Most good radio is interactive between host and caller or host and guest.  Very few survive on the backs of the host(s) alone.
3. Radio facilitates snacking, podcasting encourages dining.  Radio is taken in digestible chunks for durations determined by the listener.  Podcasts are created in durations determined by the creator.  You can’t tune in for the last few minutes of a podcast easily. Podcasts don’t require, but they do encourage, more commitment. There is no serendipity as you must select your show explicitly (usually). And if you are only going to listen to a portion, it will generally be at the start of the podcast which—let’s face it—is not always where most podcasts have their best content.  As with talk radio, the best content often is somewhere in the middle since the beginning is often introductory, housekeeping kind of stuff.  If you don’t get hooked right out of the gate, then you likely will stay away.  Whereas you could tune in to talk radio and get hooked by something 2/3 of the way through that day’s show.  Yes, with radio it is a crapshoot, but there are advantages (and, yes, disadvantages) to that format.
4. People don’t listen to radio when tethered to their computers or similar devices.  They listen when in their cars or on the porch or at the beach.  Only geeks like us have our devices with us 24/7.
5. Average people don’t want to listen to work-related content during off hours.  Employers don’t want employees listening during work hours.  Hence, business podcasts don’t take off beyond a small niche.
6. I can’t have real-time interaction with a podcast, either directly or vicariously.  AM talk radio thrives in part because of timely caller interaction. Podcast comments draw out a discussion that would be better if it were had all at one time, rather than in snippets over the course of several weeks.
7. The mainstream is turned off by the use of geeky terms like podcasting and RSS. People think podcasts need to be listened to on an iPod, even though I recall reading some data at one point that suggests most people listen to them on their computers directly.  Anytime you have to explain the content format to someone, you lose.
8. Podcasts aren’t as easy to listen to as we would all have people believe.  I have to mud wrestle with iTunes on a regular basis to get it to update my subscriptions in a timely fashion and then properly sync them to my iPod.  And I know what I am doing, imagine how it is for casual users. 
9. Flexibility doesn't equal simplicity. The same things that make podcasts more flexible also make it more challenging for the casual listener. Give people too many options, and you will actually see engagement decrease.
10. Royalty problems block music shows. “FM” podcasts (music ones) are obviously hamstrung by licensing issues.

Rather than dismissing old media, in this case radio, as many new media mavens are fond of doing, we ought to study it and learn from it.  Fundamentally, I don't believe in new media per se.  As Christopher Penn commented not long ago (I forget where), "media is media."

Disruptive Dialogue: Chris Brogan Discusses How "Media Makers" Can Build a Real Business

Chris Brogan graciously agreed to speak with Disruptive Dialogue about his advice to "media makers" who want to make a living off of creating media.  This is a topic he has written about on a number of occasions, but perhaps most comprehensively in a blog post over the summer.

(Click here to listen to the 15 minute interview.)

In the interview, he stressed that his advice applies primarily to those who want to make money directly from their media content, as opposed to people who create media for their friends and family or even professionals who simply aim to raise their profile and build their reputation.  This is, in his words, for "someone looking to pay their way."

At first, many successful podcasters or video bloggers "lived by their show name."  Chris wanted to make sure that people understood that what they ought to be creating instead is a production company brand rather than simply a show brand. In so doing, it becomes easier to create spin-off enterprises, to sell a particular effort to another company, or fold a failure without taking the brand down with it.

In addition, Chris talked about how he has a less than 2 minute segment in each Marketing Over Coffee podcast to help build his own brand ("Social Business Class").  This represents an example of what he describes as designing content that can be "slotted in" to a larger content production.  He notes that sometimes larger media enterprises may be looking for chunks of content to incorporate into their efforts, and if a media maker creates his material in such a way that it can be easily adopted, it may be able to expand its reach through partnerships.

The comments on Chris' original post were echoed in this interview in which he discussed the fact that a successful media enterprise will often create a community which will enable revenue opportunities beyond advertising.  But fundamentally, media creators must be sure to understand the needs of advertisers and ensure that they are collecting the appropriate traffic and demographic data that potential sponsors will want to know. He laments that many content builders don't have the "business sense" that they need to make a living at what they do and urges them to gain that knowledge.

The interview then turned to a discussion of the merits of audio versus video as a business model, including a brief look at Shel Holtz's post on that very topic today. Chris noted that his original post has frequently been misconstrued to be making a case against audio in favor of video.  In fact, he notes that he loves audio-based media and that a lot of video actually works better as audio because the video doesn't add value.  In particular, we talked about the Scoble Show which we both often listen to rather than watch, although we agreed that Robert does some of his shows where the visible content adds significantly to the understanding and impact.

"I don't think people who are investing money are right now very interested in audio overall," Chris warns. He senses more innovation in the video space which excites investors, and he recalled a recent conversation where he noted how hard it is for consumers to record and post audio online as opposed to video which has a lot of consumer-friendly solutions available.

Chris notes that the Student Loan Network not only has the Financial Aid Podcast, but they also have begun to dip into video in order to do things like show how to make a perfect cup of coffee (to save money by not going to Starbucks).  It underscores his point that the future will be made up of "media makers," not single silo audio, video, or text creators.  Blended, or multimedia, offerings will be the ones that succeed.

(Click here to listen to the 15 minute interview.)

Knowing What You Don't Know

Brad Feld wrote a post recently titled "Know What You Suck At"

I don’t hear people talk enough about what they aren’t good at.  First meetings are peppered with “I’ve done this”, “I’ve done that”, “I’m good at this”, “I’m experienced at that.”  However, rarely does someone volunteer that they suck at something.  I’m often amused by the pregnant pause that comes after I ask “so – tell me something that you are lousy at.”

Brad goes on to list things he doesn't do well (including driving, which I would echo myself).  He couldn't be more right with what he says.  We all have things we don't do well, and that's why we need to be aware of them, avoid doing them when possible, and surround ourselves with others who do them better.

But just as dangerous as not admitting what you don't do well is not knowing what you don't know.  As entrepreneurs, we often have to do things outside of our comfort zone.  in the early days of a company, everyone tends to where multiple hats.  And chances are everyone is stuck with something they don't like and probably don't even really understand.

As I was setting up a new company recently, I was faced with some routine tasks that needed to be done, but because I don't do them myself regularly, I didn't know the fastest and most efficient way to get them done. Things like opening bank accounts and getting tax ID numbers for the company, for instance.  Rather than making a potentially very costly mistake, I turned to one of the guys in another one of my companies for advice and assistance to make sure it got done right the first time.

And that's what we all need to be prepared to do.  Stop and ask an expert (or at least someone wiser than ourselves) when we don't know something.  Don't guess.  Don't make it up.  Get the knowledge that you need to do the job right.

Of course, sometimes there is no right answer, no clear body of knowledge that will help guide the way.  Sometimes you must operate on gut feel, and that's OK too.  Just so long as you don't believe you know what you are doing and admit your wining it or making a W.A.G.

Disruptive Dialogue to Return

My Internet radio show, Disruptive Dialogue, is coming back.  It has been on hiatus since the last episode was recorded and released on July 4.  I had put it on the shelf because of time constraints and because, although I was getting positive feedback on it, I didn't feel it had really found the right format and didn't differentiate enough from other podcasts (except that it was my somewhat unique point of view).

But it dawned on me today while listening to an NPR report about Jeff Jarvis' Networked Journalism conference last week that the role for Disruptive Dialogue should be just that: a dialogue.  So I will be coming back at you with interviews and conversations (and maybe even some debate) with leading voices on the same topics that write about here.

You can expect a good bit of dialogue about the future of media, the role of social media, how entrepreneurship and content mix, and much more. 

A few other changes you can expect:

• I'm dropping episode numbers.  I never really liked them, and I'm taking advantage of version 2 to eliminate them.  Shows will be titled, just like blog posts are, to help listeners understand what will be included.
• No more obscure show notes.  Instead, I plan to write a brief post summarizing the conversation so that anyone who doesn't have time to listen can still walk away with value -- beyond simply the table of contents list. 
• The term podcast is going away, as you may have noticed in the opening sentence of this post.  Disruptive Dialogue is an Internet radio program.  For many potential listeners and guests, the term podcast conjures up an unnecessarily technical view of what's going on.  If you can click and listen to sports radio or NPR on the web, why marginalize what we do by assigning an obscure (and misleading) term to it?
• New content will not appear on a pre-arranged timetable.  The Internet removes the necessity to confine oneself to a specific publishing schedule or length.  To do so is simply creating arbitrary rules.  Instead, new shows will come out when I have a dialogue that is worth sharing.  That may be a few times one week, and none the next. 

I have already lined up some interesting people to begin the dialogue, and I hope you will tune in.  As always, I will include updates on new shows at both my blog, Pardon the Disruption, and on the Disruptive Dialogue web site itself.