• Assault on Precinct 13 movie download

on October 10 & 11, 2009, with a social meet-n-greet on Friday night.

Whether you are a beginner, intermediate, advanced, or just curious, come out and hear social networking experts talk about their craft.  Hell, if CNN can get on the Twitter-Facebook Express, so can you!  We have seen great examples of the use of social media in the last year from the protests over Iran’s election to the G20 Summit in little old Pittsburgh.

If you’re in the greater Pittsburgh area or some place that doesn’t have a podcamp, come on down and take advantage of this FREE UNconference.  Plus, you can meet me!   Unfortunately, due to medical reasons, I was unable to help organize this year, but I know the people who have and let me tell you, you are in for a good time.  Sign up today and hope to see you there! ~Jason

P.S.: Be sure to pick up a pen or two, donated by this podcast & blog.

I will gloat a little here and say that yes, I could increase the number show listeners by changing the format of the show and topics covered.  That probably will not happen because it would be way out of my comfort zone and is not my current goal.  I like to get information out to my listeners which is new and from a certain point of view.  I find it to be in my own style.  Like me or not, it’s what I want to do.  Of course I would love to do this for a living and make money at it, but alas, that is not happening anytime soon less a pitch fork stab me in the ass and force me to do so.

Once I get more established with my new psychologist he would probably say that I don’t like to change once I’m comfortable with something.  That’s true.  I’m a stubborn, pompous ass that loves to hear other points of view and make my OWN decisions… which do change over time.  PodCamp Pittsburgh

really helped me see that I want to present a certain point of view that may be unpopular but necessary for people to hear.

The movie climaxes (several times) with Wayne and Garth selling out their cable access TV show and everything going to hell.  Well, the more we want to make money in podcasting, I think the more likely we are to go the way of the Waynes and Garths of this world.  I don’t want to see independent voices stifled, especially mine.  Yeah, I may not be in the healthiest state, but I’ll keep up my FREE work as long as at least one person is still listening.  This is ME, not what someone else wants from me.  It’s really the only place that affords such a luxury.

Jason Cable believes in PodCamps all around the country.  I’ve sponsored PodCamp Pittsburgh 1, 2, & 3 because I believe in social media.  Things such as YouTube provide us with endless entertainment.  Many blogs provide us with news and sociological case studies.  Podcasts offer the same as blogs but can be somewhat more easily devoured on-the-go.  Myspace, Facebook, and LinkedIn help us get in touch with people from our past.  Twitter allows us constant communication and create these networks of friends, some we don’t even know.  PodCamps help answer the who, what, where, when, why, and how of all of this.  It’s also a damned good excuse to drink.

Where does all this lead me?  It leads me to the heart of those intimately involved in podcamps… we want to inspire and motivate you and I to become a better (or new) social media consumer and creator.  Every year I try to get co-workers and/or friends to come to podcamp.  This year I finally did it!  I got a former co-worker and an old friend to attend.  This old friend was so inspired to create a blog while AT podcamp!  THAT is why I sponsor podcamp.  Things like that keep believing that a group of nutty ‘burghers just has to keep it going because it is important to the community.

Social media extends our ethnocentric bonds and delivers far more information that is possible with TV, newspapers, magazines, and radio.  This is just the beginning.  I remember back in 1996 we thought the Internet was connecting people from across the world to share their ideas and more.  Well, today we hear that and laugh because we are more connected to others than ever before.  This is an exciting time in our human development and I’m proud to say that I’ve seen it grow from a toddler in 1996 to something on the verge of something we can only imagine.

Thanks to PodCamp Pittsburgh’s organizers, sponsors, and participants.  Thanks to all readers of this blog.  Thanks to the listeners of this podcast from over 50 countries.  Let me focus on this and some idiots focus on Washington.  Thank god we are able to express our thoughts and ideas freely.  Thank you all!

What brought you to Social Media and what keeps you hanging around?

Well, I’ve told the story quiet a few times, but I got extremely angry about an article that appeared in The Advocate about 3 years ago.  I thought that this new type of broadcasting called podcasting was a great way to get my point out there.  150 episodes later, I still love to use it to let off some steam.

Which social networking tool gives you the shakes when it’s not updated or is experiencing down time? (Podcasts, Blogs, Micro-blogging, etc)

My podcast and blog CANNOT be down!  It drives me crazy if that happens.  Luckily, I have a great provider and a dedicated server that I maintain.  It costs $90/month, but is very worth it!  Twitter I don’t use for long stretches because their availability sucks and it pisses me off.

I do get frustrated when my favorite podcasts disappear or no longer create new content.  It makes me sad, so I understand your frustration some times.

What kind of insight could you offer to others on a topic at PCPGH3? If none, then what do you most want to hear more about?

First, I’d like to hear more about using social media to get me out of the house!  :-)  No, seriously, as anti-social as I tend to be, I would like to get out more and conduct interviews with people on the street, politicians, and visiting pseudo-celebrities.

I feel that I can offer some great insight on worldwide audiences, diversity in social media, how to present oneself vocally in a personal show, and on the technical ends.

Originally, I was hesitant to join any of the social networking sites, but have come to realize that they are a great way to get in contact with old friends and maintain relationships due to people moving, changing phone numbers, etc.  When is enough enough?  I’m done (for now).  I think we have enough to keep us busy.  Luckily social media aggregators are coming out now such as Flux (among others) which claim to make our lives easier.  I am going to try it when I get a moment when I’m not updating 10 sites.  I see some acquisitions in the future to keep competition down.  While this it is good to have fewer of these sites, I think the competition is good.  Unfortunately, MySpace doesn’t take any hints from FaceBook in the advertising realm.  It’s a shame really.  Well, let’s see what happens.