by Lee Gibbons, CEO

As mentioned in his “Sign off” episode of the Apple Phone Show (Episode 63), Scott Bourne has reached the decision to leave Podango Productions to fill a post as strategic advisor to Photrade. We love that Scott is following his passion and dedicating his energies to is deep love for photography.

The San Francisco based studio will remain open and be managed by Liana Lehua, who will take on the hosting duties for the Apple Phone Show and continue her terrific work on Girls Gone Geek, Moms Gone Geek, Unboxed Sessions, and other shows.

I just wanted to take an opportunity to thank Scott publicly for the mentoring, leadership, and expertise Scott brought to his role at Podango Productions. There are few people I have worked with that have the integrity and drive I witnessed in his daily workings.

So, from the entire team at Podango, and especially Doug and I, thank you, Scott, and good luck in your future efforts with Photrade! We look forward to our ongoing affiliation with you and your influence as a shareholder and mentor as we go forward.

by Lee Gibbons, CEO
Scott Bourne, President of Podango Productions and host of the popular Apple Phone Show on Podango, got some fun press, which isn’t new, just interesting because of the story I had heard but hadn’t seen printed about him throwing his Treo into the SF Bay. This article by Julio Ojeda-Zapata of Pioneer Press appeared on Twin-Cities.com. Here is the excerpt:

“It’s your iPod,” says Bryan Brignac, of Minneapolis. “It’s your computer. It’s your map. It’s your datebook. It’s your life in the palm of your hand.”

It’s a device some hope will make their lives easier. Scott Bourne got so disgusted with his misbehaving cell phone - a Palm Treo - recently that, on an impulse, he skimmed it across the San Francisco Bay. “I wanted to see if it would skip like a rock,” he said. “It went three times before sinking.”

Bourne is hoping an iPhone will eliminate those headaches. “The reason I’m so excited about the iPhone is my hope and expectation that Apple will perform as it does with other” hardware, such as iPods and Macintosh computers famed for their elegance and ease of use, said the former St. Paulite, now a San Francisco tech executive and host of the new “Apple Phone Show” podcast.

Knowing Scott as I do, this story made me laugh. He isn’t a guy given to fits of rage. He probably acted on impulse, but I guarantee he got much more glee out of seeing the Treo skim across the water than he from seeing it go for around US$100.00 on eBay.

I would go throw my Treo 600 into the Great Salt Lake, but I don’t want to lose it from my small museum of cell phones that chronicles my cell phone use since 1992. I am in line for the new iPhone. It will mean switching carriers (I have been with Sprint for seven of my fifteen years of cell phone use.). It may also mean that I change my mind about my Treo and the Great Salt Lake, too.

by Lee Gibbons, Podango CEO

(above: The Studio, Leo)

Merlin Mann (43 Folders and a million other cool things) was in the studios in SF yesterday recording a new MacBreak Weekly and put up some nice photos on his Flickr account. Thanks, Merlin.

Other really great things are happening with the Studio as well. Not the least of which is that Scott Bourne has give birth to The Apple Phone Show, now #6 in iTunes Store Tech Podcasts.
We are also generating a steady stream of business that is building each week, clients of every shape, size, and purpose are finding out about the studio and seeking more information about how we can help them succeed in their new media efforts. It is gratifying to us that people get that we get it. When they visit the studio, it becomes very clear that we have begun to separate ourselves in good ways from other podcast services providers. I guess is means even more when you read the last post, then this one, because it isn’t as though everything is always roses, either. Just that we are moving steadily forward on multiple fronts.

If you are interested in scheduling a time to see the studio, please shoot us an email (info AT podango.com) or comment here.

by Lee Gibbons, CEO

My Father used to tell a stories of young people who would come in to his office at the university complaining of the high cost of their tuition. He loved to share the quote with them, “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance!”

At the end of this month, March 28-30, podcasters and vidcasters will have a unique opportunity to learn from three masters. Leo Laporte, Scott Bourne, and Alex Lindsay are putting on training they have called Gear Media Tech. It will be held at the Zeum Theatre (Moscone Center), San Francisco. It will cost just $299.00 but I assure you that you will be thousands of dollars smarter for having attended and learned from these guys.

Here is something you might not have noticed, and I know you won’t have heard it from them, since they don’t tend to toot their own horn very loudly. Last time I checked, the TWiT network, which was founded by Leo and on which Scott and Alex also have shows, has 20 of the top 100 tech podcasts on iTunes!

In other words, if you miss this training you are missing out on learning from three of the very best joinly offering first hand knowleldge of how to do podcasting and vidcasting right. As a matter of fact, I was so excited when Scott Bourne first talked to me about this training six months ago that I committed on the spot to a sponsorship. Why? I know that the room will be filled with people who are serious about podcasting, and I know they will come away from this event appreciative of the knowledge they get there. I wanted Podango’s name associated with this level of expertise, quality and professionalism.

You can learn more about the event by going to the site, or go and register now. I am very confident it will be the best money you have spent on podcasting and vidcasting this year.

by Lee Gibbons, CEO

Podango is amazingly fortunate to have garnered the trust of Scott Bourne. With the announcement of Leo Laporte’s signing of a major TV deal, the TWiT.tv properties that Leo is not personally appearing on are finding other homes. (For more information (listen to episode 24 and 25 of the iLifeZone to hear Scott’s description of the TWiT situation.) Scott has chosen Podango as the new home for iLifeZone!

So, we welcome Scott, along with his co-hosts and guests, including amazingly smart folks like Chris Breen (Editor in Chief of Macword Magazine), Derrick Story (the Digital Story), Alex Lindsay (PixelCorps) (”permanent special guest”), Coleen Wheeler (O’Reilly) and others. Most importantly, we welcome the people who love the iLifeZone show. Good to have you all with us at Podango.

If you are unfamiliar with the iLifeZone and you are a PC user, don’t feel badly. But, if you are unfamiliar with the iLifeZone and you are a Mac user, you are seriously missing out. Give it a listen. I expect you are going to love the show. The quality of the coverage of all things Mac/Apple/iPod is terrific, and the personalities and chemestry will hook you.

Stay tuned for more announcements like this one! Podango is beginning to roll. For instance, check out the post by Chris Knudsen in this blog regarding how David Lawrence is leveraging the Podango platform to create a new blogging/podcasting service called The Latest At, covering the daily happenings at the web’s most popular websites. Check these out: TheLatest.AT/MySpace, TheLatest.AT/YouTube, TheLatest.AT/Facebook, TheLatest.AT/Perez Hilton, etc.

by Lee Gibbons, Podango CEO 

At Podcast and Portable Media Expo, one of the bright, rising stars I had the opportunity to meet (thank you Scott Bourne!) is Leesa Barnes. In her October 19 Podonumics blog post, she joined in with the voices that have been booing Starbucks Coffee for their Coffee Conversations Podcast, which is now reportedly dead after just three episodes. (My purpose here is not to pile on, but to highlight Leesa’s post and riff on her theme, briefly…) Her post first explains that she actually listened to three full episodes of the podcast and that it really is that bad. (I also listened to all three, and yes, it is a great example of how not to do this type of podcast.) But true to Leesa’s classy style, she doesn’t just heap on negative, tearing down the Starbucks talent, etc. She nails the causes, gives some reasons WHY they are missing the boat, and shares some great ideas of what the might have done differently. Her super creativity aside, Leesa illustrates the kind of thinking that should go into the format of shows related to products. 

Leesa points out that a shift in focus from their product to their customers is what could turn the podcast around.  That is right. Pragmatic Product Marketing has been teaching for years the concept that “Inside-Out Thinking” is a bad thing. In the realm of product definition, the practice of thinking that the best ideas are going to come from inside your building (or head), and failing to engage the customer. I would diagnose Starbucks as having Inside-out Syndrome. They have assigned a very knowledgeable guy to teach us coffee. No one would say that he doesn’t know his stuff! Everyone but his Mom and whomever conceived of the concept for the podcast would unanimously agree that the concept sounds like it grew up inside Starbucks and does not reflect or connect with customers. 

In advertising 101 they teach “sell the sizzle, not the steak!” In other words, sell the experience of enjoying the stake, not the quality of the meat, how beef is classified for its flavor, or little known facts about the humaneness of the slaughtering process! That is what is missing here. And while they attempt that with the whole wine taster v. coffee taster approach of the one podcast, which BTW they managed to turn into a “this cow comes from South Texas, where they are grass fed, with plenty of roughage…,” The point is that selling the sizzle is NOT the point here. It is that Starbucks is missing the ultimate opportunity with podcasting. 

What they are missing out on is the inherent intimate, personal connection that podcasting delivers. This intimacy makes it matter a whole bunch that the message never reek of selling but of honesty and authenticity in extending the brand experience. I would go as far as to say that if you are struggling with a decision of what to include in your podcast, having choose between selling and being authentic, you simply don’t get, in your personal core, what your value proposition is: why people really buy your product.  

The take away here is people truly do want to connect with podcasts in a very personal way, even when it is being produced for business purposes. The lowest common denominator in successfully making that connection is authenticity and trust.  Great post, Leesa! 

by Lee Gibbons

Today, on PodcastingTricks.com, you will find an interview with Podcasting pioneer, mogul, guru, podcasters’ friend, uncle-like, … Scott Bourne, where he interviews me about Podango. I consider it to be a good representation of what Podango is about. I appreciate Scott’s vision and enthusiastic support of the model and what we are trying to do with it. He is a very pragmatic and astute interviewer. He asked me the questions that I think most podcasters are interested in having answered.

He also hit me with a question or two, off mic, about Podango’s model that I have taken to heart and am working to answer. I will post specifically about them in the coming few days.

At any rate, I wanted you to know about the interview, and I encourage you to find ways to get to know Scott and his work. I have found him to be very open and helpful. I am sure you will also.