It is important for podcasters to start out on the right foot when setting up the RSS feeds for their podcasts. The RSS feed is their main connection with their subscribers and losing control of that feed can be disastrous to communicating with and maintaining their audience.
This presentation was recorded as part of the ELearning Guild’s Online Forums in 2010. I still find it to be a great overview of why new media is important and how it can be used in a variety of environments — not just elearning.
My friend, and fellow Friends in Tech Member, Steve Riekeberg recently launched a new podcast about podcasting. If you are looking for great introductory information into the world of podcasting, this is a great place to start. — Douglas
Podcast Perspective is the podcast about everything podcasting and new media, bringing practical tips, tools, and techniques to take your production to the next level. My passion is podcasting and new media! Whether you’re a veteran, or you’re just getting started, I want to help you turn your show in to a great one!
How do you make a living in New Media? I received this great question a few weeks ago and wanted to answer it publicly in hopes that others may benefit.
Here is the question…
“Hi, Mr. Welch. I’m a mom. My son is going to college majoring in (guess what) new media. As a parent I’m wondering how my son is going to make a living in new media, and not feeling like I knew enough about it, I found your Welchwrite.com site. I watched your speech to the Independent Filmmakers, and I have a clearer understanding of what new media is and the best way to use it, so thanks for that. However my fundamental question remains: how does one make a living in this field? Please help. Thank you.”
..and here is my answer…
There are several ways of building a career based on New Media. Two typical career paths include:
Taking the entertainment route and becoming a producer of your own New Media content, such as producing your own audio or video show
Using your New Media skills to help others produce their content.
Entertainment Path
Here in Los Angeles, many people are taking the traditional entertainment industry approach and attempting to create their own New Media properties in hopes that they can gather an audience, support themselves and perhaps even rival the success of mainstream entertainment.I find this a harder road to follow, as there is a lot of competition, but there can be great rewards for those who hit upon the right property.
This approach to a New Media career tends to be the preferred method for those working, or hoping to work, in the entertainment industry, such as actors, comedians and musicians, as they already have a talent to showcase and New Media provides them an easy distribution method for their work. They can use New Media to show “what they do and how well they do it” to a large number of people and gather an audience around them. This can then lead to mainstream exposure or, in some cases, provide significant income to support themselves from their New Media shows, along with the income from ancillary products like live shows and merchandise.
It is important to remember that there are levels of success in the entertainment industry, despite its focus on the “star system.” While a New Media personality may not garner the money and attention of a Hollywood star, they may find that they can gather a dedicated audience who see them as a star in their own, smaller world, and also provide enough monetary support to provide them a life which many would see as successful. You shouldn’t get caught in the trap of thinking that you must become the next Madonna or Kevin Smith or Jon Stewart. There are many levels of success and New Media could make you very successful indeed.
Consulting Path
Another approach to a New Media career is to become an employee or consult with those people who want to establish their own New Media presence. Your skills at creating and managing New Media are in demand from a wide variety of companies and clients. This is the direction my own New Media career has taken. While I produce my own shows around my personal interests, my long experience in podcasting and New Media allows me to help others create their own New Media properties as well as speak and instruct on New Media topics.
The major benefit to this type of New Media career is that, much like computer consulting, you can work in a wide variety of companies and industries. You might work creating video promotions for a major retailer or develop in-house video materials for a local manufacturer. You could help a local chef build their profile through an Internet cooking show or teach a non-profit how to better communicate with their supporters. Since New Media crosses all boundaries you can look for ways to combine your New Media knowledge with other expertise you might have.
For example, if you are a paralegal or have other law-related experience, you bring more to the table than just your New Media skills. You are well positioned to work with a law firm or law-related public advocacy group as you have skills and expertise on both sides of the equation. Perhaps your are a musician. You bring specific knowledge to your consulting that other musicians can use. This combination of skills give you many more options when choosing between jobs and can open up significant opportunities.
Whether you choose the entertainment or New Media consulting path through your career, I think you are positioning yourself well for the future. Mainstream entertainment is fragmenting under its own weight and high production costs, so I see New Media as a rising market while mainstream production is a diminishing one. There are simply fewer and fewer opportunities in mainstream production with each passing year, so careers there become more and more difficult. New Media provides the ability to combine your New Media expertise with your other talents and create your own unique career based on your own wants, needs and desires. This flexibility is one of the best features of developing a career using your New Media skills.
So, get out there and start building your New Media career today! I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the opportunities that are available to you.
I had some open time in the last few days and I have spent some time finding sites and shows that can help you make your New Media projects even better.
Sometimes it is entirely too easy to believe that every video you produce must look like every other video on the Net. It has to be something stupid, it has to look exactly like mainstream TV, it has to have a presenter, it has to “mean” something, it has to look like every other video on the Net.
While you might want to make videos like take the standard form of interview, music video or silly clip, sometimes it pays to stretch yourself and do something entirely different. One type of video I create regularly is something I call and “environmental” video. This has nothing to do with sustainability and saving the planet. Rather, they are designed to give you the feeling of what it might be like to be in the environment, just for few minutes.
Sometimes these videos have several cuts from different angles and sometimes, like the video linked below, they have only one static shot with natural sound and some background music. While these videos certainly aren’t for everyone, I hope they show you that every video on the net need look like every other video. Experiment with different themes, different styles, different views of even the most common object and you will be surprised at what you get.
His early work in the theater prepared him well for a life of speaking and teaching about technology, computers and New Media and the amazing benefits they bring into our lives. Douglas spent 5 years at Walt Disney Imagineering, but eventually struck out on his own and has been working as a freelance consultant for almost 15 years. Douglas is also the founder of New Media Interchange (http://newmediainterchange.com), a free group dedicated to bringing the power of New Media to everyone. You can find links to all of Douglas’ projects on http://DouglasEWelch.com.
We were happy to visit with Douglas E. Welch today on The Bigg Success Show today. Douglas is an expert on building the career you deserve and spreading the word about your talents using social media. Among other things, he’s the host of two great blogs and podcasts: Career Opportunities and Careers in New Media. Here’s a recap of the conversation:
This first one deals with recording a podcast “double ender” — a remote interview where each person records there end of the conversation and then it is assembled in an audio editor to create a high quality interview.
On Sunday last, NMI Founder Douglas E. Welch, held his 4th Annual LIVE Reading of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” and the audio is now available for your holiday pleasure.
Douglas says, :”I think this would be great listening while steaming your Christmas pudding, cooking your Christmas goose or enjoying that refreshing “bowl of steaming bishop!”
I have been a member of Friends in Tech, a technology podcasting group, for years and each year we put together several holiday specials specifically for our “Geek-minded” listeners. This year we produced a geekified parody of “A Christmas Story”.
Over the years we have developed a workflow that allows everyone to record their parts separately and then several members, acting as the editors, assemble the final production with music and sound effects. This allows us to put together a complete presentation in just a few weeks, even though we are scattered all over the country.
We also bring in special guest voices from the podcasting community to “share the love” among our fellow new media producers. If you are looking for a project for your group, an audio play can be a great place to start. It energizes your people and also reaches out to the community to increase your visibility. — Douglas
“Mattie Stevens, a young boy of the early 80’s, dreams of owning a Commodore 64. He sets out to convince everyone this is the perfect gift. But, along the way runs into opposition from his parents and everyone around him including old Santa Claus”
I had a question from a member of New Media Interchange the other day about how to forward a custom domain to point at a blog set up at WordPress.com. Here is a screencast video showing the process. While this is specifically for GoDaddy users, the principle will be the same for most other domain and web hosting companies.
Last night, 
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