According to the FAQ page on their site, the purpose of PodCamp Philly is to:

• Share information
• Build & develop relationships
• Grow the new media community

My main interest in PodCamp was to learn more about podcasting.  My colleague, Mary Motz, and I will be starting a podcast called Online Biz Insiders this month, and I wanted to get a best practices view for managing it.  Plus, my husband and I have enough audio equipment in our home to fill the basement, so why not pull stuff out of storage and use it on a daily basis?

The first session we attended was called, “Recording Podcasts with Skype,” by a DC-based podcaster named Charley Hays (@charleyhays).    Charley does a lot of interviewing  for his Cross Driven Radio podcast, and doesn’t use a ton of equipment to do so.   For the simplest podcasts he suggests using a Skype headset, or a mic and headphones; Skype to bring in the audio from the folks he’s interviewing; and Windows-based Pamela digital recorder to record.   His typical set-up however, uses an audio mixer, so that he can bring in intro music from his iPod, his mic, the interviewee on Skype, and have control over the audio levels.  Then he takes an effects send out of the mixer into his portable digital recorder.  With this method, he usually does do some post-production work to the edit the recording to his liking.

“Digesting Food Culture Podcasts,” by Nicole Taylor (@foodculturist).  Nicole lives in Brooklyn and hosts her Hot Grease podcast via the Heritage Radio Network, that talks about food culture and sustainable living.  She reviewed the Top Food Podcasts, and the 2010 Food Trends (Southern Food or Niche Food, Food Trucks, Urban Agriculture, Recession Meals and Food Politics), as well as the Hot Five – the 5 Things on Fire in Food.  The Hot Five were 5 foodie podcasters – some audio only, some video only – to follow.  My husband and I love food and found Nicole’s presentation interesting, but boy, did it make us hungry!

I knew that PodCamp Philly was the unConference for me, when my husband, who is usually skeptical of new media, starting brainstorming podcast ideas with me at lunch.  (Awesome! ;-))

The first afternoon session we attended was presented by Ray Ortega (@podcasthelper and @producepicker), called, “Live Podcast to Hard Drive Recording.”  Ray demonstrated how he produces the SpyderCricket podcast with Jay and Kate (@spydercricket).  It was great to see Jay and Kate in action, and they were excited to have a live studio audience at PodCamp Philly.  As Jay and Kate spoke, Ray would walk out to the audience and describe how he setup the equipment and sends the recording directly to his digital recorder, and does no post-production editing.  The SpyderCricket podcast episode lasted about 15 minutes – ending with Jay and Kate playing a song by The 88.  Ray was adamant to explain that they had followed the proper protocols in getting permission to play the music for the podcasts.  As I look at my notes from this session, I see about 10 resources I need to research.

For the 2pm session, I attended the “SEO for your blog or website,” by Bill Rowland (@billrowland) and Bill Sebold from True Action Media.  This was one session for which I had the least amount of knowledge (or at least I thought I did) and knew it was one of the most important for me to attend.  Here are the 5 points from the preso:

1. Use keywords from Analytics to optimize your site.

2. Use keyword-rich title tags.

3. Google <hearts> content.

4. You don’t *need* to blog for SEO.

5. Use Google AdWords keyword tools.

Finally, the last presentation I attended was called, “Podcast Promo Workshop,” with Alan Chaess (@chaess).   While I thought the presentation would discuss marketing efforts for promoting your podcast, I was pleasantly surprised to learn about *how* to record the promo recordings for a podcast.  Alan talked about the process he uses for requesting podcast promos or show ID promos from others.  And, the highlight of the presentation for me?  *I* got to record a promo for PodCamp Philly!  Wahoo!   Alan was patient to coach me in my script and pacing for the recording.  It took me a few takes to get it just right, then Alan showed off his Audacity editing prowess to mix in some promo music, adjusting the levels until he was satisfied.

My take-aways from PodCamp Philly?  I felt completely welcomed and it wasn’t all “geek-speak.”    With the love my husband and I have for audio production, we are setting up a podcasting studio in our home (hey, I said we have the equipment – why now use it?).  I was bummed we were only able to attend one day of #pcphilly2010.  Thank you to the organizers and volunteers – you did an amazing job and we’ll be sure to return next year!

Knowing my penchant for helping folks use video in their business, Steph asked me to crate a video for her recent contest entry. This contest is called Real Women of Philadelphia and is sponsored by PaulaDeen.com and Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese.

In any case, check out Steph’s video below. As expected the recipe is quick and easy, uses just a few utensils, and is terribly addicting.

Isn’t Steph just a natural?

Because my buddy, Gloria Bell, is involved in great organizations, I am profiling another one that she serves personally – Making a Progressive Philadelphia – or MAPP – which launched in October of this year. The mission of MAPP is to “fund thoughtful, committed citizens who can positively transform the City of Philadelphia neighborhood by neighborhood through the use of micro-grants.”

As examples, MAPP will give micro-grants to a neighborhood watch group that may need flashlights and whistles – or to a community garden that needs a rain barrel.

MAPP currently has 18 volunteers that help with everything from Community Relations to Social Media to Grant Review – as well as volunteer Explorers who visit neighborhoods to discover committed citizens and groups making a difference. Gloria, who owns Red Stapler Consulting, is on the team handling social media strategy and outreach for MAPP.

Want to help? MAPP is looking for corporate as well as individual donations to help fund grants. You can donate or volunteer by visiting the MAPP website.

a sample post on ShareUrMeal.com

The WilsonVA Blog will profile an organization doing good works each month.  If you know a organization doing good works that you’d like me to profile, please contact me at Carla@WilsonVA.com.  This month we feature ShareUrMeal.com.

If you consider yourself a foodie and use Twitter, you’ve probably seen the hashtags (#foodporn, #sexonaplate) and photos of food.  Foodies love food and are not afraid to show it – especially on social networks.  One local non-profit took what we foodies were already doing – posting photos and commenting on food – just one step further to help those in need.

I’m speaking about ShareUrMeal.com, which launched in October 2009 in Philadelphia, PA.  I spoke with Gloria Bell, one of ShareUrMeal’s 15 volunteers, about the organization because I wanted to bring awareness to the good works of their organization.

Here’s how ShareUrMeal works – and how you can help them help the hungry.  Take a photo of a dining experience with your digital camera or phone.  Email the photo to post@shareurmeal.com.  For every picture posted, $1 or unit of food is donated to the hungry in the metro Philly region.

ShareUrMeal’s organizers, headed by Devon Segel, partnered with local corporations and the United Way to make it all happen.  ShareUrMeal coordinates the movement, and the United Way coordinates distribution to local food pantries and organizations for the hungry.

Although based solely in the Philadelphia region, ShareUrMeal hopes to expand this movement to other cities.  I asked Gloria if there was a goal for the number of posts, or amount of money they wanted to raise.  She replied, “We intentionally did not make a public goal – and we don’t want to make an effort to start creating goals.  Feeding the hungry is an ongoing problem, so we want ShareUrMeal to be an ongoing effort.”

Gloria volunteers with ShareUrMeal.com because, “…for every minute we donate, it’s helping someone else.”

Want to help ShareUrMeal, too?  You can post pictures of your dining experiences on ShareUrMeal.com.  Simply email your photo to post@shareurmeal.com to post anonymously or create your own profile page (like I did) and post there.  If you want to help ShareUrMeal.com with donations, you can find more information on their website.

Please leave me a comment below and let me know your feedback!