Welcome Back! New Beginnings

Special thanks to Launchpad, our new meeting venue. 

     For me personally, 2010 was a great year for exploration and innovation. I think many of us tried some new things with our new media projects and there was a lot of trial and error. That's a good thing. We're all learning as we go along, and people are experimenting with some exciting new things. Now is a great time for the indie media community in NOLA to get together to brainstorm, trouble-shoot, and support each other.

     Our first meeting of 2011 is now scheduled for February 8th at 6:15 pm at Launchpad New Orleans. If you produce podcasts or web videos, or maybe you're interested in starting a podcast or web series, we encourage you to join us in the conversation. We're open to all levels of interest and experience.

     What can you expect from Nola New Media in 2011? Our blog and web site will be updated more regularly, with news and events in the regional new media community. We hope to expand our online directory to include a larger variety of regional podcasts and web series, including separate lists for independent productions and corporate media. I'm working on some special guest speakers to join us each month and some fun activities for us to get involved in as a group. And I don't know about you, but I'm all about bringing back some guerrilla marketing and a new volume of Nola New Media selections to distribute to the community. They were a big hit last year.

    Don't forget to RSVP to our event invite, so we know about how many to expect. I look forward to seeing your faces, both familiar and new, in February!
    
 - Aura Fedora
    Podcast Enthusiast, Nola New Media Founder

"It is the province of knowledge to speak And it is the privilege of wisdom to listen." - Oliver Wendell Holmes 

New Podcast App for Blackberry Users

From podcastingnews.com ... a new app for Blackberry Users makes podcast content available on the go. 

http://www.podcastingnews.com/2010/08/11/wizzard-blackberry-podcast-partner/

Found: Google TV

Integrated technology is making access to content easier and more enjoyable. Google recently announced the pending release of Google TV, an available device (or TV's with the device built in) that integrates a web browser with DVR capabilities, as well as Android apps. This is a great way to enjoy web-based content without being attached to a laptop or your desktop (or that even more depressing thought, watching movies on your smart phone. ) Google released this video to demonstrate how it works. Fun stuff!

June Meeting - Get in on the Action!

Our meeting of the minds for the month of June will be on Tuesday, June 15th, 7pm at NOVAC. The address, details, and map can be viewed in the box to the right. If you use facebook, you can also RSVP to our event there. 

This month, we have some exciting announcements to make. We'll also start planning our promotional event! If you have any interview, skit, or talent booking ideas you would like included in the event, start thinking about them now, and start discussing them, too. 

Please feel welcomed to come if you are new to Nola New Media or haven't been to one of our meetings in a while. We would love to have your input, share our announcements, and help answer your podcasting questions, too.

Also:

There will be cookies. Word.

Creating Original Community Content Once Again

In the early days of television, local stations had their own original programming. Far beyond the daily newscasts and local sports there were variety shows, children's programming, and local interest shows. New Orleans was no exception to this, with fare like Morgus Presents! or WDSU's "Colgate Comedy Hour"... and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

It's safe to say that whether it's the radio or the television, local programming is not what it used to be. Thanks to new technology, that's about to change. With the inception of digital TV, the gradual emergence of HD radio, and the capability to produce independent content on the Internet, there are now a multitude of options for every taste and talent. And there is no shortage of talent and ideas in this city.

Yet in order to keep content from getting lost in the sea of options, it's important that we create a presence within the community. As I said in the previous blog entry, one of the things that people said would generate their interest in consuming new media or indie content was a recognizable presence in the community on a local level. We have the opportunity to experience vibrant growth within the creative class if we are able to create an atmosphere of communication, collaboration, and consistency. This means working with established media outlets in the city, participating in community events, and maintaining sources for people to be able to easily locate this new content. It also means helping newcomers to independent media find their voice and their audience.

If you know someone who already has a podcast or creates webisodes in or around the New Orleans area, we encourage you to share our web site and group with them. If you or someone you know is interested in finding out more about new media and independent media, please feel free to join us. We are open to all skill levels and levels of interest.

We are currently working on collaborative content, crossovers, and a live event. Details on these are soon to follow. Keep watching our blog and twitter accounts to find out more!

Sincerely,
Aura "Fedora" Shannon
Founder, Nola New Media
Creator & Host, backstage on the bayou

Answering Questions and Creating a Community Connection

     We've learned a lot while crowd sourcing at recent events around town, like the Alternative Media Expo and Launch Fest. The biggest eye-opener has been that so many people aren't sure exactly what a podcast is, or don't realize the potential of how podcasts can improve their quality of life.
     When I first started out, Podcast Alley provided a lot of helpful information. It's still an excellent resource, and this article gives a good overview. You can also read the full Wiki article on podcasting. If you are already a podcaster, these are good articles to refer your behind-the-times friends and relatives. (Though, let's be honest. Even among the tech-savvy, new media is not as well-promoted and organized as it could be.)
     As a consumer of media, if you haven't already discovered the benefits of enjoying podcasts, there are many reasons that they are worth checking out. For starters, you don't need an I-pod or even a separate mp3 player to listen to podcasts. You can simply download the programs of your choice on your computer and listen to them while you are doing other things, much the way many people listen to talk radio programs while working or engaging in other activities. In many cases, podcasts are available on a website or blog on a media player you simply click to hear your music or broadcast, eliminating the need to download anything on your computer if it has limited memory. If there is a podcast you find you enjoy enough to listen to regularly, you can subscribe to it via an RSS feed, or services such as I-tunes.
     Some people complain that they can't focus on what's being said while doing other things. I think that this is a side-effect of poor production on the end of the podcast creator. A well-produced podcast, much like a radio show, should be easy to follow and engaging. You may have to listen to a few before you find some that you like, but luckily there are many options to choose from, ranging from individual amateur podcasters to content from some of your favorite mainstream media, such as CNN, NPR, and MTV.
     In surveys we had people fill out at the Alternative Media Expo, some people responded that they didn't listen to podcasts because they were too busy or didn't have time. I found this a little bit amusing, because one of the primary benefits of podcasting as a form of entertainment or source of news is that it allows for multitasking. You can listen while you commute, jog, do housework, work on the computer... you name it! And because the content is "on-demand", you don't have to revolve your schedule around a program. You can listen to it whenever you like.
    Another complaint that people shared in their survey answers was that it was too hard to find new podcasts    
or to find recommendations on podcasts that were relevant to them. Many said that they would listen to more podcasts if others recommended or referred them by word of mouth. On a local level, that's a problem we hope to alleviate and this is something I will cover more in depth in my next article.
     Until next time...nerd out! And feel free to share your podcast-listening experiences here with us or post any questions you may have.

Welcome to Nola New Media

Welcome to Nola New Media! We are a group of independent web media producers in the New Orleans area who meet once monthly to talk technique and technology. We represent a diverse group of individuals with varying levels of experience and interest. Many of our members work or have worked professionally in the entertainment and media industries, whether full-time or on a freelance basis, though some are hobbyists with an avid enthusiasm for pod casting and web series development.

Nola New Media is open to anyone in the area with an interest in pod casting or web video production, regardless of level of experience. We help one another with everything from trouble-shooting technical issues to better developing our content and craft. We also hope to be involved in special projects and events throughout the year.

Our blog is a hub of information on these topics as well as a source for news from our members and participants. In the task bar on your right, you will notice a blog roll of participating members with content currently available on the web. Each of those links is plugged in to a feed, so you can see when the most recent content was posted. You'll also notice our twitter feed with all of the latest news, as well as some discussion topics and links.

We will soon have articles and blog entries from members and exclusive collaborative content here, so be sure to add us and subscribe to our blog. You won't want to miss out on any of the great surprises we have in store!

Our next meeting is on Tuesday, April 20th, 2010 at 7:00pm. Event details are available in the left column, as well. If you're interested in seeing what we're all about, please come. And don't forget to follow us on twitter!

Please feel free to comment. We would love to hear from you, especially if you have any suggestions for what you would like to see on our blog.

Until next time,

Aura "Fedora" Shannon

Host/Producer Backstage on the Bayou

Founding Member, Nola New Media