The Google TV app is one more in our RawVoice cache that also includes:

• Roku
• Boxee
• LookeeTV
• Samsung Smart TV

So, it’s official, Blubrry and TPN content creators can be ogled on Google TV in addition to just about every medium available. And audiences can subscribe to a show as easy as pressing a button.

We will demonstrate under absolutely extreme conditions how powerful GoDaddy 4GH hosting is.

We have an amazing product offer as well. Special CES offer 25% off 4GH hosting plans (12 months+) this code will work even if GoDaddy is having a sale! The promo code for this amazing offer is CES2 check it out today!

The RawVoice team has spent the past week getting its new Premium Content Service CueToo.com ready to launch. It is time to start letting those of you that have premium content to sell have a look behind the curtain.

If you would like to be part of our launch at BlogWorld and New Media Expo, and have premium audio and video content ready to sell, we are ready for you.

You can

• sell your media on a monthly subscription basis,
• or just charge a one time flat price.

Do you have an Indy film or a cool “How To?” Cue Too will be the place to showcase and sell your premium content.

We will be demonstrating Cue Too to the Hollywood crowd at BlogWorld & New Media Expo in Los Angeles Nov. 3-5. As a content creator, get your content seen by the attendees and have some bragging rights as being on an exclusive site launch!

Did I mention a few days after launch you will be able to buy and view premium content on the Cue Too Roku Channel? Excited? We sure are!

Contact me today to get your exclusive ticket to the Cue Too Premium Content Service Launch and start making money on launch day!

Todd Cochrane
CEO, RawVoice Inc.
ceo [at] rawvoice.com

Take our tour and explore:

• Creating your own podcast. We will be running a podcast recording station, so you can come try it out and show the world what you’ve got. You’ll need to sign up! Here’s how: Email us at contact@rawvoice.com to schedule your time.
• The soon-to-be-launched CueToo and about how to make money with premium content.
• Version 3.0 of PowerPress and a feast of new features.

We will be announcing, a brand-new way to help monetize your media. Shshshhhhh! It’s a secret. We will announce it in a big way a few days before the show. But we will say we’re 100 percent certain that:

• media buyers are gonna want to see it.
• media companies/creators are immediately going to want to implement it.
• the rest of ya are just gonna dig it.

Oh, did I mention we are speaking and you will want to hear what we have to say? We will be talking about “Optimizing a WordPress Website for Podcasting.” You’ll walk away with:

1. Next steps to raise engagement on your website.

2. Knowing what elements should be on your website to grow your audience.

3. A full list of podcasting dos and don’ts.

We’ve had a lot of construction under way the past year and we know you’ll want to check out all the new “rooms” we have to offer. Have questions? Contact us at ceo [at] rawvoice.com.

Our CEO, Todd Cochrane, weighs in on the loss on Geek News Central.

Audiences can manage their playlist through MyCast whether they have a Blubrry user account or not. Subscribing to a show is as easy as pressing the subscribe button. We have taken care to make the app experience and navigation similar to our set-top box applications, which allow consumers to easily switch from device to device.

The Blubrry Community App lets you:

• Navigate the menu system with ease using our MyCast feature to find new content while on the go or while managing your playlist in front of a computer.
• Check out “Editors Picks” for a new selection of great shows each week on the topics you care about, ranging from cooking to politics to survival.
• Find guaranteed high quality shows. All shows featured on the Blubrry App have qualified their shows through their account manager at Blubrry.com.

With Android, Blubrry provides you the ability to access new markets via hundreds of available content channels that reach a worldwide audience of all demographics.

Whether you are a media creator, advertiser or consumer, the Blubrry App for Android is yet another outstanding tool in your digital media cache. Blubrry truly is your digital media interface. Find out more at blubrry.com.

I have also posted some supporting articles for content creators hosting their media at the following sites. Mevio, Podbean, Libsyn, Podomatic, Blog Talk Radio.

Blubrry is home to more than 8,000 shows from across the universe and allows audiences to create a custom playlist of favorite shows via the MyCast(R) feature. With this partnership, viewers can enjoy great independently produced digital media shows from categories such as music, gaming and comedy to health, science and education.

Digital media content creators who wish to be viewed on LookieTV are encouraged to contact the Blubrry community parent company RawVoice.com for opportunities to be seen and heard on Lookee TV players across the globe.

Lookee TV features:

• More than 1,400 channels on more than 30,000 radio stations and podcasts from all over the world.
• A TV-out function to turn your home television into Internet TV.
• The ability to partner and work with any online source of video and audio.
• Built in media player, digital picture slideshow, FM radio, dual alarm clock and more.

Plus a great deal more.

Blubrry digital media community has led the way in fulfilling digital media distribution needs since 2004, enabling content creators to publish audio and video or blog content channels and manage users. To find out more about Blubrry, go to blubrry.com or call 1.877.729.8642.

The media on demand (MOD/VOD) service will allow content creators, independent film artists, bands, educators and all others who create content to sell their premium content online and through over-the-top (OTT) television. This will give consumers a centralized location to find premium content that is not available through traditional video-on-demand channels. RawVoice MyCast® system will allow consumers to organize and play back on demand all of their purchased media on almost any device at any time.

This service will be introduced through a new channel on the Roku initially, and on its own media portal. Clients will be able to sell their media on a subscription or single play basis. With Roku integration, single click purchases of media will offer the same convenience of standard video on demand service that consumers are accustomed to.

We’ll be demonstrating the media on demand service at NAB and will sign content creators on site. If you can’t make it to NAB, that’s OK. Contact us today if you want to be part of the launch, and we will put you on the list. We’ll have full roll-out of the service in the weeks following the show.

Go ahead! Demand it! At RawVoice, we’re consistently exploring and evolving to meet your ever-changing demands.

 

• HTML5 video player
• HTML5 audio player
• Embed Episode feature
• WebM video support
• Ogg audio/video support improved
• MP4+WebM (for mp4/m4v video, a new alternative WebM URL field has been added. This is ideal for supporting all browser based HTML5 video players)
• Flow Player Classic can now play m4a audio and mp4/m4v video
• New video player settings page added
• Settings pages enhanced with new options such as location, frequency and TV options
• Episode Entry box enhanced with new ‘isHD’ option when video entered into Media URL box
• Episode Entry box now includes option to configure video player width/height on a per-episode basis
• Upload image option added to supplement the video poster image field. Images are uploaded to the built-in image gallery in WordPress

 

There’s a big fat feast-full of other improvements as well that’ll have you dancing in the streets. So toss the confetti, don the beads, rip off your shirts if you wanna and let the advanced digital media makin’, disseminatin’ and celebratin’ begin. Oh, and as always, let us know what you think!

Note: PowerPress 2.0 requires WordPress version 2.8 or newer. Also, a big shout out to all the content creators who helped with the beta testing! Thanks a ton!!!

Not too scary, we hope. To Hammer-time it a little more (you know, ‘break it down’):

• No advertising on your show = free stats
• Advertising with Rawvoice/Blubrry = free stats
• Advertising with Rawvoice/Blubrry + advertising on your own or other network = free stats
• Advertising on your own or other network = upgrade to premium stats to help us advance the system
• Shows that are part of another organized network = upgrade to premium stats to help us support the system

And, to top it off, and this one’s a beta blocker for your racing hearts: Premium stats packages start at a whole $5 a month. That gets you unsurpassed insights into audience consumption; it lets you find out who is linking to you and gives you listener-base demographics and geographical data with worldwide mapping. You also benefit from custom reports and daily email summaries.

That little bit o’ dough will allow us to expand our awesome tools such as PowerPress and hosting for your shows on a world class CDN, and continue to provide you the opportunity to be discovered on Roku and Boxee. In fact, look for a major update to our stats system shortly! But even before that launches, you’ll get bunches of value when you update to  premium stats even if your show qualifies for the free stats.

So, yup, you might just find that this mysterious cousin is pretty awesome to hang out with and, like our premium stats package, is a dynamic, exciting and welcome addition to the family.

The iTunes update directory listing ping service (pingPodcast) allowed podcasters to both verify their feed address that iTunes is pulling, as well as notify iTunes that a new episode has been published. The ping service could be called upon with either the URL to the feed or with the iTunes podcast FEEDID. See examples below:

• https://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZFinance.woa/wa/pingPodcast?feedURL=http://www.example.com/feed/
• https://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZFinance.woa/wa/pingPodcast?id=000000000

The URLS above now redirect to the Apple iTunes online store.

This has been an extremely important function for you, our digital media creators, and we need you to all work toward convincing Apple to restore this feature. Please make your thoughts and concerns known to Apple here. It is imperative that we impress upon them the importance of this service!

We are unaware of why they have removed this feature, but we have reached out to Apple to see if there will be an alternative. According to Apple.com forums, podcast feeds will be pulled once every 24 hours. There’s no comment yet how podcast owners can verify their feed listed on iTunes, as the pingPodcast feature was the only way to verify iTunes was updating your listings with the correct feed address.

Apple has removed information on the ping service from the official iTunes podcast specifications document.  Documentation of the previous iTunes podcast specifications can be found on WaybackMachine.org.  Source

From a reply on the apple.com forums from Apple staff, the “link feature” (aka pingPodcast URL) “may no longer be available to podcast publishers.” The staff further explains “this isn’t anything to worry about, iTunes still handles podcast entries the same way, and you are correct in your understanding that by default, the iTunes Store directory reads every feed once per day”. Source

When used, the pingPodcast service returns both the unique iTunes FEEDID as well as the current FEED URL for a given podcast. The information is invaluableto anyone who wants to verify that iTunes is updating the specified podcast listing on iTunes with the correct feed address. With the removal of the pingPodcast function, podcasters can no longer verify their feed URL address used for iTunes podcast directory. Again, here is the link to make your thoughts and concerns known to Apple.

Until Apple restores the pingPodcast service or replaces it with another API service for podcast listing verification, Blubrry.com will no longer be able to provide support to podcasters who have problems with their podcast listings on  iTunes. It is imperative that they return this function or replace it immediately with another service enabling digital media creaters to verify their feed list on iTunes!

Our digital media community has strength in numbers, and if we work together, we are confident we will resolve this troubling development.

Unfortunately hard drives aren’t as reliable as we would like them to be and every so often they crash. If the data isn’t backed up somewhere, it will take a lot of luck, plenty of money and a hard drive recovery service to possibly restore some of it. The last thing you want is lose all your podcasts, photos, financial data and whatever else you stored on that thing.

There are several ways to back up your important data. Your operating system (OS) has a built-in application and that’s a great start. You can set that up to back up to a completely different hard drive. There also are applications such as Synctoy that allow you to run backups and mirror data in two locations such as a second drive. Generally, a solution like this has both drives in the same location. This works out well if your primary hard drive decides to call it a day, but if you find yourself in an unfortunate situation where your house gets trampled upon by a stampede of laser-wielding unicorns, both the drives could be kaput.

I have a friend who on a regular basis backs up a third drive and stores it in a safe deposit box at his local bank. This is a great idea, but quite frankly that’s a lot of extra time that most of us don’t have. Fortunately for us, in the past few years several online “cloud”-based services have appeared, making digital archival quick, easy and inexpensive. Most of them are straightforward and function fairly similarly. You pay the service a few bucks a month, download and install its application and let it do the rest. The application locates all the important data such as profiles, media, photos, documents, etc. (You can control this if you desire.) It uploads and stores the data in the cloud on the secure redundant servers. On a predetermined, regular basis, the application will scan your computer for new or changed data and back them up. You can now rest assured.

Mozy, Live Sky Drive and Carbonite are only a few of the online backup options out there. Take a look at those and research some others to decide what is best for you. Personally, I use a combination of backing up to another hard drive as well as an online service. I’ve been very happy with it and feel a lot more comfortable knowing that when my house gets attacked by a pack of rabid gnomes, my digital data is safe.

~ Brian, creative director

We’re getting our hands on (and into) just about everything imaginable to help you folks in our communities grow and be successful. Your support and input throughout the year is precisely what has made that possible.

Speaking of progress, check out our sister network at CES on Jan. 6-9 in Vegas! If you can’t be there, they’ll be streaming live on the TPN.tv site!

Have you made your New Year’s resolution yet? If not, well, we’re here to give ya a couple of suggestions:

• If you’re only doing audio versions of your show, in 2011 you might want to consider adding video elements to your shows. To find out why, check out RawVoice CEO Todd Cochrane’s BlogWorld and New Media Expo presentation from earlier this year. It’s called the Triple Play.
• And don’t you be takin’ that free product! The next time a vendor asks you to review a product or service in return for getting a free product, please consider what you are trading for. Product is cool, but it does not make your house payment.

Once again, thank you, thank you, thank you for helping us make 2010 a wildly productive and successful year! We look forward to serving you in 2011 and far beyond!

Happy holidays from all of us on the team,

Todd, Barry, Brian, Angelo, Jeff, Cameron, Mike and Cathy

Audio Advantages

Wide Distribution. Every portable media player, Internet connected phone, desktop media software and Internet connected TV devices can play MP3 audio.

Keeps it Simple. Audio is much easier to create than video, limiting your production time and the hardware needed to get started.

Minimal Investment Costs. You don’t need a lot of equipment to get started. You only need a simple USB headset and freeware such as Audacity and you’re all set.

Audio is easy to create, reaches the widest range of devices and, at minimum, requires you to purchase a headset. Audio does have a few formats you can pick from, so we recommend you read our Audio Formats page for recommendations on what format to use for your podcast.

Video Advantages

Focused Distribution. Video is more likely to be consumed on a computer and in front of a TV than audio. In face, among 200 shows seen on Roku during the introductory 90-day period, visual media growth was 23 percent. Audio was only 3 percent.

Video is not as easy to create as audio and requires additional steps in order to provide the appropriate formats to maximize your distribution to as many devices and applications as possible. We recommend you read our Video Formats page for more recommendations and more details on the different formats.

Audio and Video

If you have the time, well, hey creating both audio and video will maximize your content’s exposure among all mediums and your money making potential through sponsorships.

Get more of your questions answered at PodCastFAQ.com

Average Betty, Angelo Mandato and Barry Kantz

Oh, man! We had such a great time and it was so good to see everyone at last week’s BlogWorld and New Media Expo at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas! The expanded Blubrry team has never been busier or more excited to catch up with our old friends and learn from our new ones. Thanks for all your input. We’re always striving to make Blubrry and all our digital communities better. It was awesome, too, to hear from y’all about how much you love our services!

We talked a lot about how digital media is not only on your mobile devices such as iPhone and Android, but also on over-the-top television boxes such as Roku and Boxee. And did you know that Vudu TV set technology is going to be in every television sold at Wal-Mart? Yup, our Vudu application is ready and waiting for the Vudu Apps’ launch. Just imagine walking into your neighborhood store and seeing your image smiling on dozens of television screens in the electronics isle. It could happen! What’s up next? Well, Google TV is gonna be hot and we’re gonna be right there, too.

Todd Cochrane shows over-the-top technology to Grammar Girl.

The best way to get your digital media on TV and noticed is by following our ‘get featured’ guidelines and getting visual. Doesn’t cost much — you can use Wirecast and VidBlaster to start out with — and you can be streaming your media on sets across the country and the globe. With 23 percent growth in our top video 200 shows in only 90 days, you can see why it’s a must.

Big thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth! Great to see Grammar Girl, Average Betty, folks from Date Night in Vegas, Steven Lee of @wavesoftech, Julie, aka @RoadTripsFeedMe, our good friends Brett Bum and Joe Klein, Srinivas Rao, aka @skooloflife, and loads more.

Check out more pics from our trip on our facebook. And, oh yeah, if anyone got a shot of Mike Dell, could you send one my way? That way, if we missed you this time around, you’ll know what we look like and can be sure we meet up next time. In the meantime, we’re still taking suggestions and would really like to know what you thought of not only us but BlogWorld and New Media Expo in general.

And until next time, thank you, thank you, thank you again!

That’s right, like, remember when Sly Stallone says, “We are the shadows and the smoke in your eyes?” Oh, yeah. We identify! Cuz we’re the nerdy men/women way below you’re standards that walk up to you in a bar and ask you to dance anyway. Point is, ammunition such as our PowerPress Plugin, which seamlessly extends a WordPress blog to a podcasting engine, and our easy-to-use super stats system, are only a couple of the weapons we’ve got out there for ya as your own personal digital media powerhouse!

“We blow away”  – or at least take a mean slap at — “anything in our way” . . . as in, your way. And when it comes to watching, branding, growing and monetizing digital media, be it our expansion to mobile devices such as iPhone and Android, or set-top boxes such as Roku or Boxee, yeah, things are blowing up!!! … um, quickly expanding in a healthy, productive way.

And, yeah, here’s where you’ll find us:

• CEO Todd Cochrane addresses the whole media package of today and seasons to come in his Oct. 16 session The Triple Play: Streaming, Podcasting and Blogging as a Way to Accelerate Your Show’s Growth and Distribution. Be a winner! Get ready to reshape your strategy for the next 36 months!
• RawVoice CIO Angelo Mandato and Creative Director Brian Yuhnke will leave you fearless and breathless in their session Oct. 16 on Blogging and Podcasting Sitting in a Tree … Optimizing a WordPress Site for Your Podcast.
• RawVoice team members will be buffed, poised and ready in Booth 516, sharing not only what we do but also the latest news about the new media distribution platforms.

Get your bad on come see us at BlogWorld and New Media Expo Oct. 15-16 in Las Vegas! Yo, we’re pumping our fists and stoked and excited because we are indeed, ahem, The Dependables! Aka, Team RawVoice! And if this weren’t bad @$$, adventurous and exciting enough for ya, well, we’ll also have drawings for Roku digital media players.

RawVoice: Are you in this picture?

So glad you could join us in this revolution! A revolution that, with the introduction of RawVoice digital media to set top boxes such as Roku and Boxee, has swept the South . . . and the North, East and West. A revolution that has surged upon this great land — make that the globe — to reach mobile devices such as iPhone and Android.

Why, we are indeed an integral part of the land of cavaliers and crusaders ensuring that digital media shall never fail! A civilization, not “Gone with the Wind,” but rather “Easily Accessible and Readily Available on the Airwaves!”

Where shall you go?

• You simply must explore expansionism with RawVoice CEO Todd Cochrane and his session, The Triple Play: Streaming, Podcasting and Blogging as a Way to Accelerate Your Show’s Growth and Distribution.

• And we can hardly hold our excitement at the proposal of Blogging and Podcasting Sitting in a Tree … Optimizing a WordPress Site for Your Podcast, a union to be officiated by RawVoice CIO Angelo Mandato and Creative Manager Brian Yuhnke!

• We have so much more to share with y’all! Audience growth, digital media expansion, monetization, exploration, determination! Come find us on the floor in the exhibit hall and we’ll share the wealth of what we know and . . . you’ll never be hungry again!

We believe in you. You’re the only cause we know. If you don’t join us at BlogWorld and New Media Expo 2010, what shall we do? Frankly my dears, it wouldn’t be the same without you.

RawVoice: Are you in this picture?

Come with us! We’ll open the doors to a magical world swirling with delicious digital media production, promotion and distribution opportunities! We’ve got so much time and so little to show you! Wait, strike that, reverse it.

Truly, if you want to view paradise — and who doesn’t — come with us, let loose your pure imagination and:

• Indulge or overindulge your wildest digital media fantasies! Frappe 70 percent love of podcasting with 35 percent passion of blogging and 2 percent butterscotch to cook up a beautiful union with RawVoice CIO Angelo Mandato and Creative Manager Brian Yuhnke at the session Blogging and Podcasting Sitting in a Tree … Optimizing a WordPress Site for Your Podcast!
• We know you want it, you want it all and you want it NOW! And you can have it! Join RawVoice CEO Todd Cochrane in his session, The Triple Play: Streaming, Podcasting and Blogging as a Way to Accelerate Your Show’s Growth and Distribution, to find out what’s in all this everlasting, ever evolving media for YOU!
• Be transported on TV! With Roku and Boxee, you can be catapulted into the air in millions and millions of pieces and it takes NO time at all to put you back together on TV sets all over the globe AND on mobile devices such as iPhone and Android!
• Hop onboard! Come find us on the floor in the exhibit hall and we’ll share just where we’re going . . . cuz our excitement keeps on growing and our community pride is showing and there is NO sign of slowing!

We’re clutching our golden tickets to BlogWorld and New Media Expo and counting the hours ‘til we see you there! That’s right, we’re committed to turning you into a Blubrry! . . . er, fan, if you weren’t one already.

Sure, candy is dandy but liquor is quicker and we’ve got some fun plans in the mix. But sorry, no little people with bad hair this time around.;) This year we’re focused on investing in you because, we know full well what happens to men and women who suddenly get the audience growth, monetization and mass media distribution they want . . . They live happily ever after!

RawVoice: Are you in this picture?

Ask yourself:

• Is your media being seen and heard on mobile devices such as iPhone and Android?
• Are you an audio/visual force on set-top-boxes such as Roku and Boxee?

If you’re part of the RawVoice/Blubrry community, there’s a good chance you are! And if not, you can and should be! Come check us out at Podcamp Pittsburgh and we’ll show you how!

RawVoice CIO Angelo Mandato and Web Programmer Cameron Williams will be there to discuss all the latest RawVoice advances as well as:

• Our PowerPress powerhouse podcasting plugin for WordPress.
• Our media statistics to build your business on.
• Our media hosting to advance your mass distribution needs.
• Common podcasting pitfalls and how to avoid them.
• Resources on how to start and refine your media and grow your audience.

We at RawVoice/Blubrry are at not only on the cutting edge of digital media technical advancement and promotion, we’re leading the charge! Can’t wait to see you there!

Boxee will have hardware available in your favorite electronics stores in the coming months. But if you don’t want to wait, all you have to do is install the free software on your computer and connect it to your TV with an HDMI or DVI cord (depending on the computer you use). You can use an Apple remote or one of several PC remotes available to navigate to Boxee. So, what’re you waiting for? Give Boxee a try, seek out your favorite shows, and let us know what you think!

Yup. As always, RawVoice and Blubrry are out there on the leading edge of media technology looking out for your best interests. This is just one more step in the evolution of alternative distribution capabilities for RawVoice and our family of media sites. Stay tuned. There’s a lot more coming up!

Let me explain. What you do is submit your podcast feed to iTunes. Apple reviews your podcast mostly to make sure your content can be played on Apple devices. Once they approve your show, you are listed in the store. Your files are downloaded from wherever you store them for your podcast. They don’t come from iTunes’ or Apple’s servers.

Blubrry PowerPress, an easy-to-install podcasting plugin for WordPress, helps you get your iTunes listing – along with other platform listings such as Roku, Boxee and Zune Marketplace – looking good by giving you an easy way to make your feed compliant with those services.

Here’s what to do:

• Go to your PowerPress settings and click the “iTunes” tab.
• Fill out all the boxes and your listing will be complete.

Make sure you have good cover art. You can even change your iTunes cover art right from PowerPress:

• Check the box next to “Upload New Image.”
• Select your image on your computer and PowerPress will take it from there.

Just remember, iTunes can take awhile to update photos or other changes to your listing. They will get around to it.

Please remember, too, that iTunes isn’t the only game in town. There are an impressive number of podcast listeners and viewers that use other forms of podcatchers and set-top boxes. The good thing is, if you make your show look great on iTunes, it will look great on all the others. Also, don’t forget to list your show on Blubrry.com and go through the “Get Featured” setup there. It is well worth your time and effort.

If you are new to podcasting or the Blubrry / RawVoice services, feel free to contact us at support. Also check out the videos and other helpful resources at help.blubrry.com or our forum at forum.blubrry.com.

~ Michael Dell
Technical Support
RawVoice
Michael.dell@rawvoice.com

We take pride in the fact that the Blubrry community offers podcasters great flexibility of participation in our community. No tricks, no gimmicks, no quiet rules that might slip past you that would in any way restrict your ability to practice your freedoms.

Take a look at some of our radically liberal policies that are all about choice for the podcaster:

• You retain the rights to your show.
• You can be a part of other networks.
• You can negotiate outside advertising deals.
• You can add multiple podcast shows to the community.

All we ask in return is that you keep Blubrry in mind and tell your listeners that there are other great shows to check out at Blubrry.com.

In fact, that reminds us of a whole other level of flexibility:

• There are no auto insertions when you do participate in our ad deals.
• You can mention the sponsor in your voice in each podcast if you wanna.
• We can provide pre-recorded sponsor announcements if you don’t feel comfortable delivering the message yourself.
• If you have existing relationships with advertisers you can still benefit from the Blubrry advertising program.
• If you introduce us to an advertiser who ultimately goes forward with an ad deal on the community you will be paid a 10 percent finder’s fee simply for making the introduction.

As podcasters ourselves, we are hearing of changes taking place in the podcasting space that make us wonder who’s really looking out for your show’s best interest.

We’ve heard rumors that some free hosting services might be restricting you to only their platform and only their ad deals. Seriously gals and guys, what’s the real price of “free hosting” when you’re not able to grow your audience, make money on your own and maintain control of your show?

And there’s something else we’ve heard, too. We’ve heard that on one of the paid hosting platforms when your show gets X-amount of listeners and viewers, the host inserts a pre-roll and post-roll ad of its own service onto your content. That’s just not right. It’s not free enterprise. It’s not the Blubrry way.

Keep your eyes peeled! Read the fine print! Look out for your own interests! That’s the free enterprise way; that’s the Blubrry way . . . and we hope you’ll go our way.

CEO Todd Cochrane says lots of things are coming together quite nicely to contribute to this increase: “Advertisers are confident in us delivering a healthy return on investment. Advertising with RawVoice enables them to expose their brand to audiences that are consuming media on a variety of devices in the home and on the go.”

Audience growth has been and will continue to be fueled by the increased quality and quantity of podcasts available at Blubrry and the RawVoice community as a whole. At Blubrry alone we have more than 5,500 shows available for advertising!

AND (note that’s a big ‘and’) our expanded media accessibility on multiple platforms such as Roku, Apple iOS and Google Android-based smart phones is also catapulting our growth.

“Our strategy of multi-platform distribution is exposing new audiences to our content creators on venues that accommodate their lifestyle needs,” says Cochrane. “We are the only advertising medium that can guarantee they are reaching their target audiences.”

Our ever-increasing viewers and listeners have the benefit of accessing our top-quality shows and get to check out great products and services that they want and need. The end result is that hosts are able to sustain and grow their shows “ultimately resulting in more ad deals for our content creators,” Cochrane says.

As Quarter 3 gets under way, we’re all confident the advertising and audience growth will continue to benefit media creators. “We are continuing to focus on multi-platform distribution for the shows that are part of the network,” Cochrane says. “The show producers are reaching millions of people monthly we want to continue to take the lead in finding ways to help content creators maintain sustainable incomes for their shows.”

• I cain’t spell good. That’s OK, neither can we. We’ve got spell check and you probably do to. Just do the best you can.
• I don’t want or need money. Cool. We get that and, hey, we’d be happy to suggest some charities that could use it!
• I don’t have the time. Sure you do. 10 minutes? Really! You can do that while your intro song is playing, while you’re daydreaming at your day job, while you’re listening to your favorite podcast, while you’re . . . well, you get the picture.
• It’s not fun. Make a game of it. Take two Tylenol PM and quickly try to finish the survey before you go to sleep.

• We are a strong, sustainable company that advertisers trust.
• We are podcasters looking out for our fellow podcasters.
• Unlike many (most? all?) other podcasting venues, you pocket 70 percent of your ad deal. That’s seriously unheard of … well, except here obviously.

• Log into your Blubrry account.
• Click the “Manage Account” link at the top.
• Select the “Make Money.”
• Click on “Advertising Survey.”

In addition to the booth time, Angelo will be presenting a session on “Podcasting with WordPress.” 

RawVoice is proud to be a gold sponsor of this entertaining, engaging and enlightening event! We’ll have a few Blubrry T-shirts to give away along with our show notepads.

Chatting it up and sharing ideas with new and old friends are some of our favorite things to do, so we definitely hope to see you there!  Haven’t registered yet? You can do it right now!

Read all about WordCamp / PodCamp Ohio here.

And remember, we’re maximizing your podcast prominence by giving you the opportunity to be featured on the Blubrry home page. We’re placing our outstanding, polished podcasts front and center to be seen — and consumed — by the broader audience.

In addition, podcasts are available on set-top television units such as Roku and on mobile devices such as iPhone, Android, etc.  Get Featured on Blubrry Now! 

Be conspicuous! We invite you to maximize your podcast prominence by being featured on the Blubrry home page. Blubrry, your predominant podcasting resource, will place its most outstanding, polished podcasts front and center to be seen — and consumed — by the broader audience. In addition — and this is way cool — your podcast will be available on set-top television units such as Boxee and Roku and on mobile devices such as iPhone, Android, etc. 

Be sure you closely read and agree to our terms and let us know you want your show featured. If any of this confuses you or you feel you need an exception give us a shout at Blubrry.com/contact.php. You get the picture? Cool. Now get in the picture and on the Blubrry home page!

Get Featured on Blubrry Now!

The Roku Digital Video Player offers your shows unprecedented exposure — seen and/or heard directly on your audiences’ television sets. Sit back in your Lazy Boy and watch your favorite video podcast or clean the house and listen to your favorite audio podcast directly through the exclusive Blubrry Channel on Roku.

And, trust us, that’s only the start. This year marks an apex in the evolution of alternative distribution capabilities for RawVoice and our family of podcasting sites. Keep an eye out: We plan to launch other alternative distribution applications in the coming weeks and throughout the year.

Are you ready to Roku? We’re thinking yes! Let us know what you think!

Our basic statistics service is free, so sign up now and add your show to Blubrry to make sure all your downloads are being tracked, including those from the iPad. Need a bit more than the basics? Check out our Podcast Statistics Premium.

This is only the beginning. Our team has been working hard on some awesome stuff, so keep your eyes peeled! We have a number of exciting announcements to make in the coming days.

In the coming weeks we’ll be making a number of exciting announcements that you’re going to love. During our team’s February meetings we made some radical, strategic decisions that are now in the process of implementation.

We have a bunch of cool stuff coming out that your show will want to be a part of, one being a major redesign to the Blubrry home page. But in order to take full advantage, your Blubrry show profile must be up to date and complete. Log into your account, click “Manage Account,” followed by “Settings” to update your profile.

Here’s how we like it:

• 300×300 or 600×600 album art, aka iTunes Art (JPG or PNG format)
• Accurate program title (no HTML)
• Descriptive program summary (200 characters max)
• Detailed program description
• Five or more keywords
• Talent name filled in
• An RSS feed that validates through http://www.feedvalidator.org
• A header image on your account

If you are a podcaster that mixes audio and video together, we’ll classify your show as a video podcast in our new layout. If you don’t want them combined as video be sure to have two feeds.

For the first time, RawVoice will be taking an active look at shows on our network on a weekly basis and will feature some shows in a special section of the website. Each show in the network will be reviewed in the coming weeks. Make sure yours is in tip-top shape so you have a greater chance at substantially increased exposure.

That’s not all! What we have planned is going to knock your socks off and I can’t wait to tell you more! Don’t miss out. Get your show’s listings squared away now!

~ Todd

RawVoice / Blubrry.com is committed to supporting podcamps. Keep an eye out for one of our team members at upcoming podcamps for your chance to win!

We will be drawing a winner Wednesday evening at about 7pm and will announce the winner both on our blog and on our twitter @blubrry stream.

We wanted to thank everyone who attended and helped make  PodCamp Toronto 2010 a success! Both Jeff and Angelo had a wonderful time connecting and learning from everyone this weekend.

PodCamp Toronto is a great place to catch up with friends in the podcasting community and to meet and learn from other bloggers and podcasters. Can’t wait to see ya there!

At Blubrry.com, we integrated our free statistics and podcast hosting media uploader into PowerPress, our Podcast Plugin for WordPress, to save you time and allow you to focus on creating media — and build your brand — without being locked into a rigid hosting service. Sure, the attraction of free hosting is often too great for people to resist, especially in this economy. However, many of these folks are saving a small amount of money each month and essentially allowing the soul of their show to be locked into someone else’s vision.

Not us. Take Geek News Central for example: During the past five years I have had three new template designs; I added a variety of plugins to support the fast-changing social media scene; and I have been able to add new content channels at will. Many of the features we have added to PowerPress were driven by the podcast community at large and my own desire to grow my show and explore new horizons.

Five years ago, we  podcasters had it tough: nearly everything had to be done by hand. Heck, some content creators are still writing their RSS feeds by hand. I don’t have time for that and I’m pretty sure you don’t either. I love the ability to publish my show in three steps:

• Write the Blog Post
• Upload the Media from my Weblog
• Push Publish

You can’t get any easier than that. Keep in mind that in addition to quick and easy publishing, you are controlling your site, your image, your content  . . . and you never have to worry that the company that hosts your website will go out of business.

It all adds up: WordPress + PowerPress + Blubrry Podcast Hosting + Blubrry Podcast Advertising Services + All of our Great Tools = One heck of a winning combination that no other new media company can offer!

Download the PDF Version of the presentations

Edison ADM Final Podcast Presentation

Shows within the RawVoice family that participated in the survey (as outlined in the November 2009 bulletin) will receive our segment results in the coming weeks.

The results of this groundbreaking look at the attitudes and behaviors of active podcast consumers will include:

• A comparison of the effectiveness of advertising approaches across various new and traditional media channels.
• An examination of post-exposure purchase and trial behaviors for consumers exposed to podcast advertising.
• A quantification of the “halo” effect – the transfer of good feelings about one characteristic to another, possibly unrelated, characteristic — of podcast advertising for prospective brands and sponsors.
• A look at the rapid adoption of mobile audio and video consumption.
• The effectiveness of pre-recorded advertisements, sponsorships and host-read messaging in podcasts.

Support for Plugin ‘Podcasting’

After the announcement that plugin “Podcasting” was coming to a close we reached out to Spiral Web Consulting to see how we could help. They helped us help users ease the transition to PowerPress from plugin Podcasting.  Through their consultation we now include support for episodes created in Podcasting. If you are a Podcasting plugin user considering switching to PowerPress, check out our note near the bottom of this post for additional details.

Find and Replace for Episode URLs

Blubrry PowerPress now includes a tool found under the PowerPress menu “Tools” page titled “Find and Replace Episode URLs.” This lets you quickly find and replace portions of your episode media URLs.

Because the feature verifies each URL and will stop the conversion if the new address URL is invalid, we recommend you back up your database before using this tool. The feature is perfect for users moving their media hosting to a new web site  or service such as Blubrry’s media hosting.

WordPress 2.6 Support

We only maintain support for the latest three major releases of WordPress, ensuring that our plugin remains innovative and up-to-date. Because of this, support for WordPress 2.6 will be dropped in the next release of PowerPress. If you are using PowerPress with WordPress 2.6, be sure to upgrade WordPress to support future releases of PowerPress.

Note to Plugin ‘Podcasting’ users

PowerPress and Podcasting have been for the most part interchangeable. Episodes created by both plugins are stored the same way. The only difference between the two plugins was how the iTunes duration (time in seconds) was stored. PowerPress 1.0.4 now includes this value from plugin Podcasting as well.

PowerPress 1.0.4 now includes an import plugin Podcasting settings option found under the Tools page. This option will import the key settings from plugin Podcasting to PowerPress.

For Podcasting users who are using the custom formats feature, PowerPress has a similar feature called “Podcast Channels” that will allow you to add multiple media files to one blog post.

The feeds for Podcast Channels in PowerPress are formatted differently than those found in plugin Podcasting. When you do make the conversion, you might need to notify your subscribers of the feed changes. If you need assistance re-mapping your old custom format feed to a PowerPress Channel Feed, feel free to contact us so we can assist you. Include the current feed URL and a link to your blog in your contact submission.

So there ya have it! Lots of new information and we know you’ll benefit from all our latest innovations!

Team members Brian Yuhnke and Angelo Mandato will be in attendance to meet with community members, new podcasters and media creators to share information about the Blubrry Community and our host of services.

Be sure to grab one of them and get a T-shirt or some swag!

True, socially our highlight of the weekend was the Blubrry Vegas After Party at the famous Peppermill Fireside Lounge Friday night, Oct. 16. The strolling magician, DJ’s tunes, showgirls and of course Little Elvis set the tone and pushed the kitsch over the top at the Peppermill. Yeah, we can honestly say this was our best party yet  — because you told us so.

Thanks to everyone who attended and made the event such a success! A special thanks to our organizers, Aileen Kenny and Mat Luschek. We hope they’re not busy next year. Even more importantly, we look forward to seeing you there next year!

RawVoice is asking that you consider participation in important research on consumers’ thoughts on advertising within their favorite Podcasts. The Association for Downloadable Media (ADM) Consumers Attitudes on Advertising & Sponsorship in Audio and Video Podcasts research project is a survey that should take your listeners about 10 minutes and does NOT ask for personal contact information.

The ADM, a nonprofit organization serving podcast producers, is looking for the podcast audience’s reactions to topics such as ad style, delivery and placement. The research will help podcast producers best fulfill the expectations of their listeners and viewers.

RawVoice and other podcasting companies in the new media space are participating in this project. Shows within our communities that have their audiences participate in the survey will receive the complete report on the outcomes. Encourage your listeners to take part at http://www.takethesurvey.com/rawvoice. The sooner the better! The survey is going on now and will wrap up in a couple weeks. Please review the survey yourself at the link provided.

If you choose to have your audience particpate please send ceo@rawvoice.com an email, with the link to the announcement on your site and we will make sure you get a copy of the final survey results. We hope that you will choose to have your audience participate in this national survey.

The latest version can be downloaded here.

New Features and Options

• Added 4 new MP3 flash players: 1 Pixel Out Audio Player, MP3 Player Maxi, Simple Flash MP3 Player and AudioPlay player
• Added “Verify” media option next to Media URL box to check entered URL and detect file size/duration information
• Added PodPress Stats Archive view
• Added Password Protect option for Custom Podcast Channels, which allows for Premium Content

Improvements

• Relabeled “Custom Podcast Feeds” to “Custom Podcast Channels” to avoid confusion
• Reorganized settings pages into tabbed sections
• Added new “Video Scale” setting — users can choose between “scale,” “tofit,” or enter a custom scale value such as 1.5
• Added new “E-Book PDF” label for download links of PDF files

All of the key features in PodPress included in PowerPress

The new Password Protection for the Custom Podcast Channels feature is a replacement for the PodPress Premium Content feature.  Unlike PodPress’ Premium Content feature, Blubrry PowerPress Password Protection for Custom Podcast Channels has no limit. You can create as many custom podcast channels with password protection as you want (each with its own RSS feed).

The new “Verify” button is an enhanced replacement of the “Detect” buttons found in PodPress. The Verify button goes beyond detecting only the file size and duration, it also confirms that the Media URL entered is formatted correctly and is valid. The new Verify button does all this with only one click.

PowerPress now includes the highly requested 1 Pixel Out Audio Player used by PodPress. PowerPress includes the latest version, which features volume control.

Suggestions and Feedback

We are committed to providing a well developed and mature podcasting plugin for WordPress. Please let us know what you think, leave any feature suggestions in a comment below and/or let us know directly with our contact us form.

Blog Louder:
Our show theme for 2009 is Blog Louder. With thousands of bloggers intermixing with podcasters we want to show bloggers how to grow their existing audiences through podcasting.  Please stop by our booth to say hello and ask questions; be sure to pick up a T-Shirt and one of our world famous show notepads.

Blog Louder, Party Harder:
Leave room in your Friday night schedule as we will be having one of our famous parties. This is an after party you will not want to miss! We have pulled out all the stops: food, drinks, entertainment will be the order of the evening. See details at blog.blubrry.com

Sessions by our Team to Attend:

Friday 12:45 PM – Setting up WordPress for Podcasting – Wordcamp Las Vegas Track
Angelo Mandato, host of Plugins, The WordPress Plugins Podcast, will discuss how to setup and configure a WordPress blog for podcasting. This will be an interactive presentation, audience participation is strongly encouraged.

Saturday 11:45 AM – How to prep your show to make it Advertiser Friendly
Todd Cochrane: In this session you will learn exactly how to make your show and website meet the criteria advertisers are looking for. With four years of experience in podcast advertising, Todd will share with you details you will need to take your show from hobby to a revenue generator. Learn the advertising terms, pricing criteria and sensible expectations of what your show is capable of making in revenue.

Saturday 4:15 PM – Promoting Podcasts through the Directories
Rob Greenlee, Todd Cochrane, Gary Weland will talk about getting your podcast promoted through sites such as Zune MarketPlace, PodcastPickle, Blubrry.com and others. We will talk about tips and tricks that will make sure your directory listing is effective.

Three Sidenotes:

1st Have you seen the new Corporate Website design? Check out RawVoice.com.

2nd Have you checked out our newest vertical the Travel Cast Network? We are looking for category leaders to help us launch more verticals email ceo@rawvoice.com with your idea.

3rd Have you told your audience to nominate your Podcast for the People’s Choice Podcast Awards? You have 7 days left to be nominated by your listeners.

Visit us at the Blubrry booth  — No. 316 in the exhibit hall — at BlogWorld/New Media Expo and we’ll get ya hooked up with the required ticket. Oh, and please RSVP to our facebook invite, too, so we know we can count on seeing you! This is Sin City at it’s best and, hey, it’s Vegas! We promise not to kitsch and tell!