Jennifer Navarrete

Category: Post

  • NaPodPoMo: National Podcast Post Month 2008

    Last year, I was watching all the Twitter folks chat about NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and NaBloPoMo (National Blog Post Month) and thought, “Oh, that’s cool.” Then I saw videobloggers chatting about NaVloPoMo (National Vlog Post Month) and thought, “Hey, if the videobloggers can create video every day in the month of November, then I should be able to podcast, too.”

    So I began my search for the podcasters who were participating in the November fun. Lo and behold, I discovered there was no such group. I was astounded. How could the writers, bloggers and vloggers be participating in the November daily postings but not the podcasters? It just seems crazy to think that as active and chatty as podcasters are that we didn’t have something to rally around.

    So following the lead of NaNoWriMo, NaBloPoMo and NaVloPomo I created NaPodPoMo or National Podcast Post Month. Of course I did this on October 30, 2007 and NaPodPoMo was set to start on November 1, 2007. Not a lot of advance planning or opportunity to let folks know this even existed. I’ve always been a “fly-by-the-set-of-my-pants” kind of gal, but this was ridiculous even for me.

    I set out to let my peers know what I was doing by making the announcement on Twitter and posting to the Podcasting YahooGroup. Those two simple steps launched NaPodPoMo and introduced me to a whole new group of podcasters I had never heard before. It seemed so daunting at first. These thoughts ran through my head, “A podcasts in a row for 30 whole days?! What was I thinking?”. After a while it was, “Hey, I’m halfway through this and I’m having a great time.” Finally, towards the end, “It’s almost over. I’m going to miss NaPodPoMo.”

    When the 30 days were complete, I discovered alot about myself and met some amazing folks along the way. So, now when I think about this year’s NaPodPoMo, I think, “I can’t wait to get started!”

    Cheers!

    NaPodPoMo created badge created by Shawno

    P.S. Below is a copy of the post I sent out to both the NaPodPoMo Alumni and the Podcasting YahooGroup.

    ______________________________________________________________________________________________

    It’s that time of year again.

    No, not Fall,

    NaPodPoMo!

    From November 1-30th we’ll be participating in the annual event which is the National Podcast Post Month.

    The conversations are already happening on the NaPoPoMo Ning site so swing on by to add your voice. http://napodpomo.ning.com

    The rules for the November 1-30th NaPodPoMo are simple:

    •Post audio in any form every day

    That’s it!

    Feel free to be creative. You can post a traditional podcast or use Utterli, BlogTalkRadio, TalkShoe, etc… Some folks have even incorporated video into their posts.

    There is no time limit. Got a one minute tip show or an hour long diatribe? As long as you post audio every day, it all counts.

    The site is open for new registrations. Tell your friends and start training now for the podcast marathon that is NaPodPoMo.

    http://napodpomo.ning.com

    Remember, hydration is key ;-D

    Cheers!

  • Blog Action Day 2008: Poverty

    When we think of the word “Poverty” do we think of a homeless guy on a busy street corner with a cardboard sign in his hand? Or do we think of an impoverished part of town where the houses are small and the families are large? Or perhaps we think of the images we see on late night TV of war-torn Third World Countries.

    When considering the Blog Action Day 2008 topic of Poverty, it occurred to me that given our current economic climate Poverty is not as far away as we might think from the average American family. How many lost jobs, lost homes and lost hope before you are in what would be considered Poverty? All to often we are finding it’s a quick road from loss of work to loss of home. Thankfully, in the US we can count on various social service groups for hot meals, warm blankets and a place to sleep for the night.

    Is this ideal?

    Not by a long shot.

    Can you survive this way?

    Yes.

    But at what cost?

    The true cost of poverty is the loss of hope and self-worth. No amount of hot meals and blankets can feed the soul.  For that we need faith and belief in the future.

    Is there a future after poverty?

    Yes.

    In a perfect world, Poverty would not exist. It should at best be a temporary situation. One which we all have the power to change. However we have to believe there is a better future.

    We must have hope.

  • Too Busy to Blog?

    What happens when so many phenomenal things are happening that you just don’t have the time to write about them? Sure, I tweet about everything that is going on, but Twitter is simple. I can almost do that with my eyes closed. Writing a blog post about all the cool stuff does take more of a thought process than 140 characters and certainly more time. To give you an idea about what I’m talking about, here are some of my tweets from the last few days:

    10/3/08 @epodcaster: Good Morning! Getting ready for some First Friday Co-Working fun at Firecat Studio. Topic: Guerilla Marketing for the Entrepreneur

    10/4/08 @epodcaster: AIR San Antonio is off to a great start. The teams are working hard with their non-profit partners. Great job Sharon, Susan & Todd

    10/4/08 @epodcaster: basking in the SMC Austin & San Antonio Mixer afterglow. Great time and phenomenal conversation.

    10/7/08 @epodcaster: Good Morning! Getting myself ready for today’s Social Media Breakfast in Austin. Looking forward to chatting it up…after coffee of course”

    And finally, I submit the tweet that got me thinking about writing this blog post:

    10/7/08 darylcognito: @epodcaster it would be interesting if you podcasted or blogged about those events.

    There is no doubt that each one of those tweets could easily be it’s own blog post. Tweeting about these events is certainly easy and can be done on the fly. Whereas a blog post takes a more concentrated effort. Given that I’m becoming more of a mobile tweeter, blogging does take a back seat.

    However, Daryl makes a good point. It would be interesting to podcast or blog these events. While a tweet does give a glimpse of what is going on, it doesn’t really get into the meat of the event. I’ll compare it to eating an hors d’oeuvre at a fancy restaurant when what you really wanted was a big fat juicy burger. Sure it’s still food, but nowhere near as satisfying.

    The solution? It’s a good thing to expand beyond the 140 character limit of Twitter. As a matter of fact it’s a great thing. The challenge will be for me to recognize those blog worthy tweets. Feel free to chime in, like my Canadian friend Daryl did, to let me know if I’ve missed the obvious post.

    Cheers!

  • Thoughts on Barcamp San Antonio

    On the off chance you’ve been living under a rock and haven’t heard the news, we just held the first ever Barcamp in San Antonio this past weekend. It was an amazing success and by far the easiest camp-like event I’ve organized. Considering I’ve done two Podcamps and a Startup Weekend in the last 16 months that says a lot.

    When we were planning Podcamp San Antonio in May 2007, it was a challenge to obtain sponsorship, spread the word and facilitate registrations for a first-time event. Fast forward 16 months to Barcamp San Antonio which had generous companies contacting us to sponsor, pre and post press coverage and “sold out” registration twice! So what has been the difference?

    I believe it’s a combination of a few things: First, the Camp-phenomenon is finally becoming main stream. Second, because of previous events, San Antonio is more aware of camps. Third, We have been lucky enough to have increased coverage in the traditional press.

    Something else which has helped to bring our participation level up is the camp-to-camp attendance within the state. By attending camps in Austin, DFW and Houston we’ve been able to increase awareness statewide of what the Tech/Creative Class are doing in San Antonio.

    When I first started attending Camps and talking about San Antonio, I would hear, “Oh, you’re from San Antonio? We never see or hear from folks in San Antonio. You guys are so quiet down there. We wondered if you all had any tech geeks and if you did what you all were doing.” It surprised me to hear these comments.

    While I am a Native Texan, I was not a Native San Antonian. The fact that folks outside of San Antonio were unaware of the local tech culture seemed unfathomable. By being an active part of the community at large and encouraging other to do the same, that perception has changed.  What I hear nowadays is, “Hey, it’s the San Antonio peeps! So glad you guys made the trek. When are you holding your next event? We’ll be there! I’ve got an event I’m planning, can you help us spread the word?”

    I do believe folks who are part of the Camp movement epitomize the whole, “Learn, Share, Grow” mentality. We inherently want to help not just our local community but by extension the communities in our state, country and world. Camps are found on almost every continent. (If anyone knows about a Camp being held in Antarctica let me know.) There is an energy surrounding a Camp which is so powerful it’s almost a physical entity.

    By attending camps around the state and organizing camps in San Antonio, I’ve found other creative folks who are just as passionate about tech, media and the community as I am. It’s both refreshing and enlightening. Most of the time we work in obscurity within our chosen medium and rarely find other like-minded folks to share these passions with locally. Sure, we’ve got our online community to inspire and motivate, but the face to face connection never goes out of style.

    So my thoughts on Barcamp San Antonio really revolve around the whole growth and shift in local and state-wide interest and involvement.  With annual Camps planned in April, May, June and September, the time has never been better to be involved in the Tech/Creative Class in San Antonio.

  • Startup Weekend San Antonio

    Startup Weekend San AntonioOn May 16-18th 40 people gathered together to create 3 companies from scratch. It’s a new phenomenon that is sweeping the nation: Startup Weekend. It was created by Andrew Hyde in Boulder Colorado with events held all over the country and Canada.

    I knew some of the folks who had thrown Startup Weekend Houston in September 2007 and heard more details about the experience from Erica O’Grady at Barcamp San Marcos in October 2007. I immediately thought it would be a great concept to bring to San Antonio.

    I started discussing this with my network of podcasters, entrepreneurs and social media folk to gage the level of interest. Todd O’Neill, Organizer of Co-Working LaTaza, suggested the person I needed to connect with was Dean McCall of Ideagin. Todd introduced us on Twitter, we met in person at First Friday Co-Working at Firecat Studio and Dean jumped aboard. Since it takes a team to make first-time events like these happen, Dean knew that Celeste Diaz Ferraro was the perfect person to round out the Startup Weekend San Antonio Organizers.

    Erica O’Grady, of Peanut Butter Media, was Startup Weekend’s Representative and helped us kick off the amazing 2 1/2 days of fun. She was phenomenal! Having been at the Andrew Hyde’s first ever Startup Weekend in April 2007, attended four other weekends including organizing the Houston event she was the perfect person to offer her soft guidance throughout the weekend.

    Twenty-one ideas were pitched and by the end of Friday night it was narrowed down to three:
    iDre.am: A dream interpretation site
    ForceXchange: an auction and community site for folks in the security forces from border patrol to military
    RentEscapes: a second home/vacation home community site.

    By day two, with company names chosen and domain names purchased the programmers were busy creating the architecture for the sites. Those not programming busied themselves with logos, business plans, marketing plans, video scripting, social media strategies etc…

    The San Antonio Technology Center     was abuzz with all the planning but there was time to wind down with afternoon chair massages and evening musical entertainment by Matt Barker.

    On Sunday morning although folks were sleep deprived they were still energetic and ready to see all three companies launched. Philip Wheat of Microsoft stopped by on Sunday afternoon to give away goodies from Halo 3 Xbox games to Vista Ultimate software. By the time it was all said and done two out of the three companies had live sites: iDre.am and ForceXchange RentEscapes has plans to launch within 30 days, are staying in touch with one another and have had subsequent meetings since Startup Weekend San Antonio.

    Overall, I would say my personal experience with Startup Weekend was a complete success. I met some of the most innovative, entrepreneurial and tech savvy folks in San Antonio. Not to say there were only San Antonians at Startup Weekend. There were folks from the Rio Grand Valley, Austin, Houston and Raleigh, NC. I’ve made some fast friends that I will stay connected to via Twitter and Skype.

    Where do we go from here? All three teams are moving forward with their respective projects. I’ll keep you updated as things progress. As for Startup Weekend San Antonio, we’re fielding requests from folks who were unable to attend but caught the UStream of the fun. I’ll be meeting with Dean and Celeste later this week to recap the event and discuss when to hold the next event.

  • Is Your Account For Sale? Andrew Baron’s Twitter Account On eBay

    For Sale Sign

    Is selling your social network community account like selling a car, a house or a business? Can it be a simple transaction for some cold hard cash? Christopher Penn has a post giving the example of credit bureaus selling a list of names in their database to lend support to the idea of selling a large community account database. Is the credit bureaus selling lists of names any different than what Andrew Baron has done by posting his Twitter account for sale on eBay?

    I say yes.

    Yes, because of the intimate nature of a social network community like Twitter. Of course I could just unfollow and block him (or whoever) from following me. There is a bigger issue involved in this action. Trust. I trust the folks I’ve chosen to follow with trivial and sometimes not so trivial aspects to my life. On a daily basis we communicate bits and pieces of our lives. Now I have to wonder if the person I developed a relationship within a community will still be the same person later.

    It is true that Andrew could have sold his account without informing anyone beforehand. Had he done so the new owner of the account could have wielded considerable influence. Recipients of the tweets would be none the wiser to the change in ownership. I do applaud his choice to be transparent, including the community in the sale. In a sense allowing us to be part of the process through the conversations, comments and tweets during the auction.

    At the same time I am not crazy about the place this takes us the social networking community. We all know there are spammers who have discovered sites like Twitter. They’re the ones who are talking at us and not with us. Following 3000+ people with only have a few hundred following back. You can spot them a mile away because their tweets have links in every single one of their posts. So database mining, linking, selling isn’t new to Twitter. What is new is having someone with “community cred” put a For Sale By Owner sign on their personal social networking community account.

    Other than trust, another thing that comes to mind is the selling of a community when it is tied so closely to your personal brand. A business brand is one thing. If you sold your business then it would stand to reason that all properties (real or virtual) would be transferred to the new owner. So if you sell your Twitter account what about your other community accounts? What about Pownce, Plaxo, LinkedIn or Facebook accounts? Are those also for sale in a separate auction?

    What if the highest bidder is an entity that promotes things that are the polar opposite to your own beliefs. Say you are a “I’d rather go naked than wear fur” person and the new owner is a “Baby seals make the best fur coats” person. Do you want that tied to your personal brand?

    My own thoughts are that such an action diminishes the value of social network communities. The true power of these communities is their intimate and personal nature. The folks I’ve met through Twitter are folks with whom I have enjoyed interacting. I have developed a sense of who they are and they of me. I have had the pleasure of meeting quite a few of the folks from my Twitter community. The power of the social network community is further enhanced by these face-to-face meetings. As of yet, I have not been disappointed or surprised. Everyone has been exactly who they are on Twitter. Even though we are meeting for the first time, it’s like I’m meeting with an old friend. So now take that dynamic and put it up on the auction block for sale to the highest bidder. How exactly does that translate?

    I understand that Andrew left a comment on Chris Brogan’s blog that the auction of his Twitter account on eBay is an experiment. So perhaps the sale of the account isn’t real but a gimmick or perhaps research material. The auction ends in 10 days. I am sure there will be many blog posts, articles and debate surrounding this long after the auction is complete. One thing for sure, Andrew Baron has certainly stirred things up.

  • PodCamp San Antonio: Numero Dos

    Podcamp San Antonio

    In one month, May 3rd to be exact PodCamp San Antonio: Numero Dos will be in full swing. The PodCamp festivities will begin on Friday, May 2nd. We’ll be hanging out on Red Gizmo’s patio inside the Blue Star Arts Complex. Come on down and enjoy the art, music, food plus some of Blue Star Brewery’s tasty brew. I’m really looking forward to reliving some of last years experience, but this time with an artsy vibe.

    First Friday is one of the events we always make an effort to take friends and family when they visit San Antonio. Everyone always has a good time. For me this will be even better because I’ll get to combine several things I like into one fantastic night: Art, Brew, Fun and doing it all with my Podcasting Buds.

    Although, we’re going to have a great time Friday night, the real fun starts on Saturday morning. We’ll kickoff PodCamp San Antonio: Numero Dos at 9:00am in the El Habana room at the El Tropicano Hotel. There were several places we could have chosen to be our PodCamp location, but one thing I like doing is showcasing and highlighting different aspects to the Alamo City. There is an amazing and rich culture in San Antonio. One that goes beyond the Riverwalk and the Alamo.

    The El Tropicano Hotel is on the Northern end of the Riverwalk. Which is exactly where the Expansion Phase (ie. construction) is taking place. For a moment I wondered if we should hold PodCamp here, but that thought quickly disappeared once I walked into the hotel. 1960 Acapulco Retro describes it perfectly. You feel transported back in time as you walk around the lobby of the hotel. The decor looks right out of a movie set. The latin music in the background helps to bring the scene full circle. El Habana shares a wall with the tropical birds and iguanas in the hotel’s aviary. How cool is that? This hotel offers a one of a kind experience that’s for sure. If we wanted to showcase something unique about San Antonio, I knew we had found it El Tropicano. We’ll wrap up the session by 5:00pm and make our way down to relax along the Riverwalk. We had such a good time last year at the Naked Iguana we may just wind up there again.

    For those not ready to end the PodCamp fun, we’ll meet at Cafe Latino to enjoy some tasty brew out on the patio. Gary Ard has done a fantastic job creating the perfect place to relax and enjoy a delicious cup of coffee. The patio comes complete with 3 Hookah Tents for folks wishing to partake in this Turkish custom. Jackie and I will record the Morning BrewCast LIVE!  It’s sure to be a good time for all.

    I look forward to seeing everyone next month for PodCamp San Antonio: Numero Dos.

  • And the meme goes on: 5 Things You May Not Know

    Thanks to fellow San Antonian and self-described Code Monkey, Vidya (@mapetite on Twitter), I’ve been tagged and charged with the task of sharing 5 things about myself you may not know…yet. Which is sort of a challenge for me at this point. I mean what don’t you know about me yet that I care to reveal?

    Here goes:

    1. Although I am a huge Lenny Kravitz fan, I consider the Beatles my all-time favorite band.The Beatles

    2. A few of my all-time favorite classic films: Bringing Up Baby, It Happened One Night, Gone With The Wind, Splendor in the Grass Bringing Up Baby

    3. My salsa is a friend and family favorite. My secret recipe is called Aunt Jenny’s Salsa.

    4. Although I’m not very good at pool, I do have my own pool stick.

    5. I enjoy the occasional romantic comedy in either paperback or film.

    One more thing before I can cross this off my list is to name the folks I’ll tag: Todd O’Neill of Doing Media, Susan Price of Firecat Studio, Nathan Lott of Lott’s Thoughts, Leslie Baldwin of Springanew and Christina of This Girls Life. And with that, I can now cross this meme off my list of To-Do items.

  • Barcamp Austin III

    During the early part of March, the masses come down to Austin for SXSW. But it’s not the only ticket in town. Not by a long stretch. There are lots of other great things to do in Austin at the same time. For me that means BarCamp Austin III.

    Will Hurley, or @whurley as he is more commonly known, has been the evil genius behind this fast growing annual event. With the help of Giovanni Gallucci (@giovanni) and a whole host of great volunteers, the previous barcamps have been a good combination of sharing and fun. Truth be told, I modeled PodCamp San Antonio after last years open, loose and laid back BarCamp Austin II. Well, minus the bar part.

    I knew things were going to be different at this years barcamp when I first saw their smoking logo. It was confirmed when we walked into the GSD&M|Idea City building which was host to the event. From the high tech sign-in to improv to the iPhone Dev Camp it was the best BarCamp ever. Ladies and Gentlemen the bar has been set and it’s been set high. The swag wasn’t too shabby either.  I do have to give kudos for having shirts styles especially for the ladies. It was a very nice and often overlooked bonus.

    Different from last year were sessions held in separate rooms vs. having all the sessions in one main area with room for breakouts.  This was good in that it allowed for more sessions to happen. The drawback for me was missing out on sessions I wanted to attend because they were all happening at the same time.  My favorite presentation was the Half-Baked session in which we created a company to pitch to VC in 15 minutes.  It was invigorating. You know how I much I love my coffee. So, when I tell you that session did more to wake me up than the coffee I drank earlier, I want you to know just how energizing the experience was.

    Now with all these folks in and out of sessions there is a tendency to get hungry and thirsty. Well those needs were met thanks to great sponsors like Wahoo’s Fish Tacos, Independence Brewery and Sweet Leaf iced tea. I know I certainly enjoyed the grub and tasty brew.

    The big surprise was the BattleBot presentation of Steel Reign or as it’s now being referred as, “When Robots Attack”.  I’m still scratching my head wondering just what the AC unit said to Steel Reign to tick it off so much. Well, Steel Reign showed it who was boss.

    The barcamp fun continued on with the evening portion of the festivities. A concert by   Soulhat was followed by karaoke fun with Karaoke Apocalypse. What’s more American than hot dogs, beer and a concert?

    If BarCamp Austin was a youngster and BarCamp Austin II was a rowdy teenager, then I would have to say that BarCamp Austin III was a akin to debutante ball. Yes, BarCamp Austin is all grown up and with style to spare!

  • Microblogging

    Twitter
    Jaiku Pownce

    With all the cool ways we have to stay connected to one another it’s no wonder that the simple things seem to win out in the end. Blogging in and of itself requires a bit more thought and planning. Whereas microblogging is done quickly and on-the-fly. It suites my fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants style.

    I’m able to express my thoughts, ask questions, get feedback and so much more. All in small bits. What’s even better is that the feedback is instantaneous. If I need an answer to something I know I can count on my friends in the Microblogging-sphere to come to my aid.

    Having been an active member of Twitter for the past 9 months, I consider it an essential part of blogging. It has been well worth my time to participate in this small but daily bit of conversation. As a matter of fact, you might say it’s my preferred method of communicating.

    The sense of closeness within in this tight knit community is never stronger than when our fellow microbloggers need help. Sickness and sorrow have moved my fellow microbloggers, Connie Reece & Dan Mosqueda, to create fundraising initiatives towards breast cancer research and unexpected funeral expenses. An amazing accomplishment for such a simple medium. I applaud the folks who take this simple but effective form of communication to a real and human level. That is what it means to be a part of the microblogging community.