The expo wrapped up on Sunday and I’m still in the area for business, so I haven’t had a chance to gather my thoughts on the expo and what was my personal takeaway. This was my first year at the expo and I had a great time meeting new people, connecting with those I already knew and, of course, dodging traffic while crossing traffic from the Marriot to the convention center. So, without further delay, here are three things that I walked away with from the conference:

1. It’s not just about podcasting. We’ve seen that in the subtle conference name change over the last few years and now the transition is near complete with the removal of “podcast” from next year’s conference name. I don’t know if this was a concious and organized effort on part of some of the speakers and the conference organizers (Tim?), but the talk was all about “new media” as the future and “podcasting” as just a small part of that. I couldn’t agree more. In fact, I overheard someone say “Calling yourself a ‘podcaster’ is like calling yourself a ‘RSSer’.” It’s not about the tools you use, but about the content you create and the connection you make with your intended audience (whether for commercial or non-commercial reasons).


2. Don’t forget the newbies. There was a strong contingency of conference attendees who were new to podcasting and used the conference as a discovery tool. I know I had many newbies in my session on Sunday. Let’s not forget them in our charge to bring podcasting and new media to the top of the heap.


3. Monetize your brand, not your podcast. This one comes from several sessions I attended and discussions I had where the focus turned to the crowd favorite, monetization. The two guys behind Ask A Ninja taught us that monetization isn’t just about selling ads on your podcast or video show. It’s also about monetizing your established brand. 20-30% of their gross revenue comes from merchandising efforts. Wow.

There were many, many more idea threads started throughout the 3 days, but these are the ones that have stuck with me over the last few days. Once I get home and settled, sort through business cards of people I met and begin to read what others are writing about the conference, hopefully even more ideas will bubble to the surface.