Podcamp Philly 2009

I went to Podcamp Philly 2009 yesterday held on the Temple University campus, hoping to meet some people involved in social media and to learn as much as I could. The good news is that I wasn't disappointed. I met a lot of talented people who are energetic and filled with passion to make things happen. I liked that. During the opening session, we were asked how many of us were first-timers attending a podcamp and I would say that more than 3/4 of us were newbies. I wasn't expecting that (and neither were the organizers), but it was interesting to be in my home city and to see who showed up.

I think the most important thing that I learned is that I have a lot of learning yet to do in understanding who are the movers and the shakers in the social media field in the Philadelphia area. The sessions that I chose to attend dealt with search engine optimization (SEO) as I thought this topic I was weakest. By the end of the day, my head hurt with all the information I had learned. And although I was glad that I brought my laptop so that I could write up my notes, I was surprised that there wasn't any wi-fi or direct network connection so I could have internet access. I believe there was some issues with Temple University and I (and other attendees) were frustrated with the lack of internet access. I had envisioned being on Hoot Suite sending out tweet, but that wasn't meant to be. Not only did I not have internet access for my laptop but, for some reason, Temple is a dead zone for T-Mobile's service. I had to walk out of the building to near the street to be able to pick up a sliver of service so I could send out messages on Twitter. In speaking to other attendees, I know that a few had similar problems with AT&T's service too. I definitely wasn't anticipating that. Having no internet wasn't the end of the world, but I'll admit that I was rather jealous when I sat behind Matthew Ebel in a session and he was all fired up. (Matthew, awesome shade of purple for your nail polish. I really liked the color! Very cool!). 

Taking the lack of internet connectivity aside, I learned a lot about social media, was able to give some advice about podcasting and my brain still hurts about all I've learned about SEO. A quick story before I go. While attending the "Jumpstarting Your Podcast - From Nothing to Raging Success" session run by Steve Cherubino I was surprised to see so many people packing the room wanting to learn about how to start podcasting. At one point during the session, I was able to share some of my knowledge of podcasting with the group and then I realized that next month I will be podcasting for four years. My collectible card game podcast, The Magic Sock (Magic: The Gathering related), started out as a fun way for me to learn about podcasting. Four years later, I have a solid listener base, a working relationship with the PR company that promotes Wizard of the Coast's products and access to the R&D staff who work at Wizards (who I can interview for my show). I've learned a lot over those four years, but what I am most excited about is how much podcasting has changed and how using social media has opened doors for me. It's a wide, wide world filled with possibilities. Now I just need some time to process all I've learned and see how I can take that knowledge, applying it to my work.

To sum up, Podcamp Philly 2009 rocked and I'm glad I had a chance to go. If anyone is interested, follow me @ronvitale and send me a note. I'll gladly share my notes from yesterday's sessions.