detail1594
A Panel Discussion
Podcast Metrics
John Federico, Dave van Dyke, Alex Laats
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[runtime: 00:57:14, 26.2 mb, recorded 2006-09-30]
Podcast metrics are the foundation from which the podcasting industry can grow, according to three panelists at the 2006 Podcast and Portable Media Expo. Alex Laats, Dave van Dyke and John Frederico, from Podzinger, Bridge Ratings and Audible give their take on how monitoring podcast usage and creation is helping the podcasting industry.
There are a number of approaches to getting meaningful data from podcast usage, each with their own advantages and drawbacks. Alex Laats, from Podzinger, details how his company is staying on top of search queries and listener duration figures to generate a picture of popular content. Podzinger turns audio content into text, and that way lets users search through and consume text before downloading any audio or video content.
John Fredireco, from Audible, explains how their rights-managed audio books were a great way to test various usage and distribution theories. They took advantage of the broad reach of their easily playable format in order to study the effects of DRM and limited distribution of content. Together with Dave van Dyke's analysis of usage trends among different groups, they each had interesting conclusions about the uptake of podcasting, and how monitoring usage can help podcasting grow.
Patrice Curtis wrote her first computer program when she was 15, and decided it wasn't for her. Instead, she became a consumer gadget freak, and one of the only women to become a hard-core video gamer in college. After a career in the U.S. foreign affairs arena as a program manager and analyst (including living abroad), in early 1998 she turned back to her love for technology.
Dave van Dyke is the former Vice President and Station General Manager of CBS/Infinity-owned and operated KCBS-FM in Los Angeles who now over-sees two successful radio management advisement businesses whose goals are to prepare the radio industry by mapping the future of the medium. Van Dyke is widely-recognized for his research, programming and operations successes rebuilding radio stations and taking failing radio properties and turning them into high cash-flowing corporate contributors. Expertise in sales, marketing, promotion and branding also contribute to his successful track record. His combined programming, sales and station management skills make him unique in the radio business providing broadcast organizations broad managerial expertise at the highest level.
John Federico, a self-described and self-taught gadget geek, has being playing with computers and other information technologies since he got his first part-time job to pay for a Timex Sinclair ZX-81. Prior to Audible, part of Federico's fourteen years as a marketer has focused on developing businesses for companies like Advance Internet, NJ.com, NetCreations (now ReturnPath), MarketSource (now Youth360), and MaMaMedia. In addition to his marketing, product & business development responsibilities at Audible, John is co-host of EarBuds: The Audible Podcast.
Alex Laats, chairman and CEO of PodZinger, co-founded PodZinger as part of BBN Technologies Delta Division. A proven entrepreneur and communications expert, Laats provides the vision and leadership for PodZinger's groundbreaking audio and video search business.
Laats has started, funded and advised early-stage technology businesses since the early 1990s. In addition to his duties as CEO of PodZinger, Laats currently leads BBN Technologies' Delta Division, where he actively develops and manages new business opportunities based on BBN's technology.
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