The Cory Docotorow ‘Cast Is Up, and More…Transcribed
February 24th, 2007
The Waxxi ‘cast with Cory Doctorow is up for your listening pleasure. There were more questions coming in via IM/email this time than via phone, which is an interesting dynamic. Cory really delivers an incredible amount of knowledge, thought and sharing in answering one question, never mind dozens. Have a listen.
For those who prefer text, here is another (great) question from the chat, by Diggal:
(1) Why do you think Boing Boing is so popular, and (2) do think online blogs will take over print, TV and other traditional media?
So, Boing Boing I think owes its success to a few factors. One is, we have good taste. I think we pick out neat stuff. That’s cool. I think, though, that there are lots of people who have good taste, and one of the things that we do that goes beyond having good taste, is we are very, very, very explicit in our headlines and our summaries. You can tell from reading a Boing Boing headline exactly what the Boing Boing story is about. You can tell from reading the first sentence, everything that’s in the story. You can tell from reading the whole post, everything you need to know about the link.
And that’s, I think, an enormous advantage over other blogs, which often post things like, “Funniest thing I’ve ever seen. Can’t describe it, just go look.†When you’re looking at 10,000 undifferentiated headlines in your RSS reader, it’s really hard to pay attention to those things. They don’t alphabetize well, they don’t make any sense, as compared to these very, very explicit headlines.
There are other reasons of course. Clay Shirky famously described the power law distribution of blogs. His thesis is that the rich get richer when it comes to inbound links and to attention and traffic. Which is to say, the more links you have pointing at your blog, the more chances there are that any given person will find your blog; the greater the chances that any given person will find your blog, the greater the chances that someone will make a link to your blog; the greater the chances that someone will make a link to your blog, the greater the chances that someone will find your blog. So, in other words, we’ve been around a long time, and that makes us popular, too.
Will blogs take over traditional media? I think the future composts the past. You know, opera wasn’t’ taken over by radio. It might have been overtaken by radio, but it wasn’t taken over by radio. By the same token, I don’t think traditional media will disappear, but I think that the role that it plays will be greatly shifted.
There are certain kinds of stories that you might want to tell, and certain kinds of messages you might want to convey that are just better suited to being discussed and conveyed in a distributed fashion by individual bloggers and small groups of bloggers who have this distributed conversation linked together by services like Technorati, Google Blog Search, trackbacks, and comments that just aren’t as well suited to being distributed and promulgated by big, monolithic broadcast media.
Will DRM Die? From the Waxxi ‘Cast with Cory Doctorow
February 18th, 2007
During our interactive podcast with Cory Doctorow, the first question asked of him was one we think he felt very comfortable answering. As for the conversation, we’ll be posting transcripts here, and of course the audio will be up on Waxxi shortly.
Question, (via email) from Karen in Chicago:
Will DRM die, and if it does, what will be the conduit?
Cory’s profoundly simple answer, was this:
I think, ultimately the force that will drive DRM out of the marketplace — is the marketplace. There is no market for DRM. There is no customer who woke up this morning wishing that three was a way that she could do less with her music.
Here’s his answer, in its entirety:
“Well, I think DRM is definitely reeling. I was just preparing some stuff for the class I teach tomorrow, and I was going through Siva Vaidhyanathan’s wonderful book, The Anarchist in the Library, and he reminded me of something I’d totally forgotten about.
There was a guy in Germany who bought this CD in 2003 or 2004, and it wouldn’t play on his computer because it had DRM on it. He wrote EMI a letter saying ‘I bought this CD and it won’t work!’ EMI sent him back this incredibly awful note saying, ‘Look, thief! You better get used to it, because within months every single CD sold in the entire world will have DRM on it, and there’s no going back now.’
Now, the interesting thing about this is that EMI has just announced that they’re planning to a make a huge portion of catalogue available without any DRM at all, just as mp3s. Not just taking DRM off their CDs but actually just selling mp3s on the Internet. So that’s pretty amazing.
And, I think ultimately the force that will drive DRM out of the marketplace – is the marketplace. There is no market for DRM. There is no customer who woke up this morning wishing that there a way that she could do less with her music. So, to the extent that these companies have shareholders, and these shareholders have got their eyes on the ball, they aren’t very happy about the fact that these companies aren’t making music available in the form that consumers want to buy it in.
Companies that are making music available in better forms are selling more, and ultimately all of these companies have to compete with the free market – the infringing market. iTunes has shown that people will buy stuff even if you can get it for free.
So, you can compete with free, but it seems pretty implausible to think that you can compete with free by making something that sucks. It’s really hard to compete with anything if you start with a product that sucks.”
The audio really brings Cory’s words to life, along with his passion and intense intellectualism. Next up: Boing Boing, Steve Jobs, Google Book Search, and more.
The Waxxi ‘Cast with Cory Doctorow
February 14th, 2007
We’d like to thank everyone that attended Monday’s interactive podcast with Cory Doctorow, including of course, Mr. Doctorow himself. Some joined by IM, some by phone, and many – both. As expected, it was a fascinating, reeling conversation. Someone once said of Cory, quite accurately, that he was the ultimate interviewee. Fire off a question and what you get back is clear, concise, and brilliant mindshare; an explosion of thought, passion and analysis.
We discussed topics from Disney to DRM, the world of science fiction to the world of the copyfight, Google Book Search, Wikipedia, his upbringing, and (much) more. We’ll post some of the conversation here, and of course the podcast will be available on Waxxi, shortly.
Interestingly, during the recording we experience a slight technical glitch. Suffice to say, it felt more like twelve or so podcasts worth of technical difficulties all rolled into 10 minutes’ time. But what happened in the end is actually the fun part of the story. A participant named Rich (calling from the UK) swiftly took over the conversation, asked Cory questions, and took some from the crowd – like he had done it 1,000 times before. The crowd went wild! They loved it. And, after listening to this great banter for a bit, I came back in when the timing was just right, and continued on. Now that’s participatory.
We’ve always said at Waxxi, the Floor is Yours. We believe the interviewer should take a back seat, and the people should drive the conversation.
Our gratitude again goes out to Cory, as well as a few others:
* the dedicated, hard working, fun loving Waxxi team, which includes our partners-in-design, Inflatble3
* the participants, who included bloggers, students, entrepreneurs, executives, journalists and a fantastic on-the-fly-moderator, Rich (you’re hired!)
(side note: thanks also to Trail, a UK-based band, for providing the music playing on hold, prior to the start of the ‘cast. MySpace link is here.)
Participate or Perish
December 4th, 2006
Used to be that ‘Differentiate or Die’ was the survival catch phrase for organizations in just about any industry. Seems now, the word of the day is one that we like very much: interactive. Don’t believe us? Ask around:
“We can have the coolest content or technology, but changing human behavior is hard,” said Mitch Feinman, senior VP at Fox Mobile Entertainment. “But if you give people a reason to participate, they will.”
Eric Bader, senior VP of MediaVest Worldwide had this to say:
“Too much of what we’re seeing is for branding and awareness — it’s the easy model to graft onto digital,” he said. “But what we’re looking for from digital media is levels of interaction.”
“For us, it’s a lot less about finding ways to use mobile but the ubiquity of the phone to allow you to participate in a campaign,” Bader said. “That it’s interactive is more compelling to us.”
And, (fairly new) CBS Interactive president Quincy Smith:
“The real opportunity for media, in this day and age, is ostensibly the interactive platform, not just online, but mobile and gaming. Basically, promise a way for content companies to get closer than ever to their audience, to build community around their audience, to learn from their audience so they can put out better professional content.”
For months we’ve been preaching this: if we’re in the world of two-way (or social) media, then why are so many platforms still linear? Let people participate. And by that we mean more than commenting (although commenting is great). One of Waxxi’s mottos is: The Floor is Yours. That means, when it comes to a podcast or vidcast, it’s not all about the interviewer, or interviewees. It’s what the people (the viewers, audience, listeners, customers) bring to the table; what they bring to the conversation, experience, and content.
In short: Let Them Participate.
We’re here
December 4th, 2006
Yes, it’s been a while since we’ve posted. We’ve been very bad bloggers, but very busy travelers, presenters, producers and participants. Personally, I’m still trying to figure out how others who have launched companies, and maintain incredibly busy schedules, are able to blog so much, so often. As a social media organization, though, we need to get back in the blogging saddle. So we are. Blog on.
One Very Social Saloon
June 18th, 2006
Last week, at a gathering at San Francisco’s Hotel Utah, a powerful group of social media types, podcasters and bloggers corralled. Shel Israel hosted the event in honor of Jackie Danicki and Adriana Cronin-Lukas.
Jeremiah Owyang helped spread the word, as he does so masterfully, as well as putting people who should be talking together, together. One of them being, on my behalf, Mario Sundar. Mario is a passionate, inquisitive, and incredibly knowledgeable person with whom I’m interested in becoming more acquainted. Thanks for sharing some time to speak (and for the very kind words), Mario. We must continue the conversation.
Gratefully, Adriana was quick to introduce me to Mike Hudack of Blip.tv. And Jeremy Pepper was quick to point out how much he sounded like Vince Vaughn (it’s true. Jeremy was spot on). If you haven’t seen what they’re doing, take a look at Blip. We are.
It was great shaking hands and chatting with BrainJams‘ Chris Heuer and Kristie Wells. [mental note: keep in touch with them. we like what they're doing.] And just down the bar, not there for the event, was Buzz Andersen who does some interesting work with Apple’s Soundtrack Pro.
A nice surprise was seeing Mike Arrington again (the last time was at a much larger party at the TechCrunch House) who agreed on the spot to join our next interactive podcast with guest Michael Parekh. More to come on that…which will prove to be one heckuva global conversation.
What I’m finding so interesting is the concentration of immensely driven, passionate innovators, thinkers, creators and knowledge workers here in the Bay area. We’re thrilled to be a part of it all.
(closing tip: if you’re in London on June 21, be sure not to miss What My Space Means, held by the Engagement Alliance).
Waxxi’s Debut Interactive Podcast
May 25th, 2006
Our first interactive podcast with Robert Scoble and Shel Israel was not only fun and insightful, but historical. People were able to communicate, comment, share and ask questions to Robert and Shel directly, whether via chat/IM or via phone. The content is smart, interesting and the energy level is high.
Since the event ran over an hour and a half, we’ve split it into two parts. There are a few ways to listen:
1) Click on either Interactive Podcast or Naked Conversations on Waxxi’s home page. You may download parts one and two, or play it within the page. There, you may also subscribe to the podcast’s RSS feed.
2) Listen live here to Part One and here for Part Two
A few things to note:
Fuzzy Wuzzy was a Cordless Phone. What you’ll notice in the beginning of Part One is a bit of fuzziness, especially on Robert’s line. That’s something we learned not to do in the future: have guests call in on cordless phones. Landlines with a quality headset a must, everything else (cordless, VoIP, cell phones) a no-no.
Radio Quality, Digital Sound. My voice will sound different, in terms of recording quality, than the others. That’s because I did my part from a studio. And I worked with folks with more than four decades of broadcasting experience. The goal, as Shel mentioned, was to help move podcasting forward.
To Edit or Not to Edit? Should the interactive podcasts be completely, well, Naked? In the aforementioned ‘forward’ thinking process, we felt it would only improve the listening experience to edit out some of the “uhs” “ums”, seconds of dead air here or there, and to record an intro and a close.
Chat is as Important as Voice. We implemented a chat client very close to the launch, and were not able to alert everyone to that fact until the day of the event (next time, plenty of notice so that international callers don’t have to worry about staying on a direct phone line to the US just to have their questions answered). The chat/IM was equally as important to the interactive experience as having people call in. It also allowed for commenting, and facilitated the flow of the conversation quite nicely.
We’ll detail each part in future posts, but in the meantime nobody does it better than Jeremiah Owyang. Thanks again to everyone who signed up, participated, and interacted, and to our incredible guests.
Enjoy the listen.
update: We gave Jeremiah a sneak peek (he’s good at pulling those eStrings). 
His announcement of Waxxi going live is here.
Thank You, One and All
May 21st, 2006
After many hours of post-cast work in the studio, and answering many emails, IMs, blog posts and calls, I can finally blog about Waxxi’s inaugural, historic interactive podcast.
Before writing about the details of the event, which Jeremiah Owyang did with lightning fast timing and hurting fingers (indeed, a Web Prophet), and which Mish, Peter Dawson and Robert Scoble live-blogged, we need to send thanks to many.
To our guest speakers:
Shel Israel, renowned consultant, accomplished and in-demand speaker, writer, genuinely nice guy, and soon to be globe-trotter. It all started at a really fun party over a glass or two of great wine. Thanks for being open to something new. Thanks also for the kind words, and continuous support. We hope you’ll come back for a future Waxxi cast to talk about the findings of your next book.
Robert Scoble, who I feel like I know yet I’ve barely met (only briefly when he signed my copy of Naked Conversations at said party). Why? Because he’s real. He’s a real guy talking about real things, Microsoft-related and not. Thank you for being bold, brave, honest and forthright. Thank you for opening up our tech/business/shareholder value-driven world to something more important: life itself. And thank you for taking time to spend with us today, so close to the time that you left your Mom. I hope you and I get the chance to sit down together someday soon.
To each and every one of the participants today who took the time on a Saturday morning/afternoon/evening (depending on where you were in the world). It was an energetic, insightful first session, albeit not without a bump or two in the road. Mr. Raftery, we owe you at least a pint of Guiness after you welcome your newborn to the world.
To TechCrunch’s Mike Arrington. Thanks for liking the concept, and because of that alone, helping introduce the world to Waxxi.
And last – but certainly not least – heartfelt, very special thanks to our hard-working, always on, and very patient team of developers, designers and consultants:
Bob Joyal, formerly with Fast Company; Frank Gruber, of Somewhat Frank (Frank, you rock!); Frederick Giasson of Talk Digger fame; Val Landi, Silicon Valley IT veteran and author of A Woman from Cairo; and our partner-in-design, Chicago’s Inflatble3.
Thanks, to all. We wouldn’t be Waxxi without you.
Bloggers and Non-Bloggers Alike
May 4th, 2006
Frank Gruber, who authors an excellent blog focusing on Web 2.0, posted about waxxi and our event today.
So, who will be taking part in our interactive podcast on May 20th, other than Robert and Shel? Well, bloggers like Tom Raftery, Zoli Erdos, Alex King, Pete Dawson, Jeremiah Owyang (and many more) for starters.
There will also be neo and even not-yet-bloggers in the crowd –or people who want to explore the idea for themselves or their company.
It should be a lot of fun. We imagine some interesting conversations will result, both during and after the kickoff event (download the PDF here).
(disclaimer: Frank Gruber is currently acting as a strategic consultant to waxxi)
A Naked Conversation with Robert and Shel
April 30th, 2006
These, they are exciting times. In a mere 21 days, our inaugural interactive podcast, featuring Naked Conversations co-authors Robert Scoble and Shel Israel, will be upon us. Hundreds of people globally will be able to participate, and have an opportunity ask questions of Robert and Shel the same way one or two interviewers would do in a traditional podcast.
Some are curious how this “interactive”, or participatory, podcast will work. Well, it’s easier than it sounds.
Here’s a 3 step process that explains it, hopefully, pretty clearly:
1. Go to waxxi.us and click on Register. Then follow the yellow brick road. (or the simple instructions you get along the way).
2. Once you’ve confirmed your registration, we’ll send you a toll free dial in number and a unique user code. (this allows you in to the virtual event that day, and allows us to see who you are when you are ‘raising your hand’ to ask a question)
3. On May 20, 2006 at 10:30 AM PDT call the toll free number, and the fun begins. (to find out when that is in your part of the world, go here)
You don’t have to ask a question or make a comment. You can just listen and observe – the same way you might do at a conference speech or presentation. But, for those who have read the book (and even those who haven’t) and have questions or observations about business blogging, this is your shot to pick their brain.
We’ll have simultaneous chat/IM so the “hallway discussions” can take place, and everyone who attends will be invited to continue the conversation online.
There will be some pretty interesting people in the audience. We hope you can join us!
