Podcamp Thoughts

This morning I was watching some of the video from this years Podcamp, and felt as though I needed to write something for all the people who didn’t get a chance to attend. I have attended Podcamp 3 and 4. Both were GREAT experiences.

The question that I get asked is “What makes Podcamp such a big deal?” The answer is simple… Nowhere else can you get 500 people interested in social media in the same place. Yes, there are online forums and so forth, but this gives “geeks” the ability to meet 3-dimensional people.

Being there I met bloggers, podcasters, video-podcasters, social media folks. The thing I appreciate more than anything is some of the friends I have made, and the coolest thing to me was when someone came up to me and said, “I listen to you all the time, I am a big fan.” A fan… WOW… I have been involved in Podcasting in one form or another for four years and it was the first time I had met someone that listens to my stuff, and that was awesome. There were also people that wanted to get my picture, that was really odd, but very cool. Also I met people that invited me onto thier shows, and I invited them to mine.

I met lots of great people, and made some friends to be on my shows as well as appear on theirs. Podcamp 5 can’t get here soon enough!

Hope to meet you there!

G20 Wrap up

Well now that the G20 is finally over, and things have gotten back to normal here in Pittsburgh I have some thoughts.

While the G20 was relatively quiet largely in part to the fantastic job by the Pittsburgh Police force and all the others that came to help out Pittsburgh’s finest in addition to the PA State Police and National Guard. Now the videos are starting to surface claiming police brutality. In my opinion the Police forces we VERY disciplined in keeping the peace without use of unnecessary force. The groups that are claiming brutality, are the ones that deserved much MORE brutality. Just remember civil disobedience is still disobedience.

Once again Pittsburgh weathered a potential storm and came out no worse for wear, because that is what we do. We take potential problems and turn them around.

Open Letters

I have a few open letters I would like to write while the G20 is still fresh in everyones mind…

Dear Mr. President,

Thank you for selecting Pittsburgh to hold your G20 conference, in an effort to demonstrate how we turned around and have a thriving economy, and REALLY appreciate you shutting down that same economy for 2 full days. I hope that something constructive came out of this annoyance. Additionally, who is going to cover the losses to all the small businesses that had to board up and close due to all the protesters you knew this fiasco would attract? Next time one of these comes around please remember that we have done our duty, and leave us off the short list.

Thank you,

Dear Frat Boy Luke,

What the hell were you thinking? You KNEW the potential problems that accompany the G20, and yet you were all for it. After all the damage is counted up, and all the lost wages are figured out, I hope your photo-op was worth it.

Dear protesters,

The G20 is over, get out of my city!

Memorial Day

In honor of Memorial Day: