attended | Croncast - Life is Show Prep

slid down it

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 21:52:24 -0400

the junior high school that i attended.

Croncast Listener Survey Results

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 18:28:13 -0400

Well, we've shared with you, and now you've shared with us. Below is the survey data that over 200 of you filled out during the past year. I thought you guys might like to see what other listeners think of the show (good and bad), spend online, how much loot they make, if they have or don't have kids and a ton of other stuff.

Thanks for sharing!

Update: Likes and Dislikes have been moved to their own post.

Demographics
What is your age?
	Answer	Responses	Ratio
	<12	1	1%
	18-24	8	4%
	25-34	90	42%
	35-44	83	39%
	45-54	22	10%
	55-64	9	4%
Totals		213	100%

What is your gender?
	Answer	Responses	Ratio
	Male	118	55%
	Female	95	45%
Totals		213	100%

What is the highest level of education you have achieved?
	Answer	Responses	Ratio
	Less than high school graduate	3	1%
	Graduated high school or received equivalent degree (e.g., GED)	9	4%
	Attended college but did not graduate	40	19%
	Graduated from 2-year college	23	11%
	Graduated from 4-year college	79	37%
	Masters Degree	44	21%
	Doctoral Degree	10	5%
	Other Professional Degree (MD, LLB, etc)	5	2%
Totals		213	100%

Please indicate which best describes the total combined income before taxes of all members of your household.
	Answer	Responses	Ratio
	Under $5,000	5	3%
	$10,000 - $19,999	5	3%
	$20,000 - $29,999	12	6%
	$30,000 - $39,999	15	7%
	$40,000 - $49,999	12	6%
	$50,000 - $59,999	25	12%
	$60,000 - $74,999	20	10%
	$75,000 - $99,999	32	16%
	$100,000 - $149,999	53	26%
	$150,000 - $199,999	16	8%
	$200,000 or over	9	4%
Totals		204	100%

What is your employment status?
	Answer	Responses	Ratio
	Full-time (35 hours or more)	156	73%
	Part-time (less than 35 hours)	16	8%
	Student	12	6%
	Retired	5	2%
	Temporarily unemployed	1	1%
	Homemaker	19	9%
	Other	4	2%
Totals		213	100%

What is your current marital status?
	Answer	Responses	Ratio
	Married	146	70%
	Single, never married	45	21%
	Divorced or Separated	18	9%
	Widowed	1	1%
Totals		210	100%

Counting yourself, how many people are currently living in your household?
	Answer	Responses	Ratio
	1	24	11%
	2	67	32%
	3	39	19%
	4	54	26%
	5	20	10%
	6	3	1%
	7	1	1%
	8	2	1%
Totals		210	100%

How many children under the age of 18 are currently living in your household?
	Answer	Responses	Ratio
	None	103	49%
	One	38	18%
	Two	48	23%
	Three	15	7%
	Four	3	1%
	Five	1	1%
	More than Five	1	1%
Totals		209	100%

Which of the following best describes your primary place of residence?
	Answer	Responses	Ratio
	I rent the apartment/co-op/condo where I live	35	17%
	I rent the house in which I live	21	10%
	I own the co-op/condominium where I live	6	3%
	I own the house in which I live	137	65%
	Other	11	5%
Totals		210	100%

What language is spoken most often in your household?
	Answer	Responses	Ratio
	English	203	95%
	Spanish	1	1%
	German	2	1%
	Norwegian	1	1%
	Other, Please Specify	7	3%
Totals		214	100%

Purchasing
Have you shopped online in the past 30 days?
	Answer	Responses	Ratio
	Yes	194	92%
	No	16	8%
Totals		210	100%

How much did you personally spend on internet order items in the last 12 months?
	Answer	Responses	Ratio
	Nothing	4	2%
	$1-$49	8	4%
	$50-$99	13	6%
	$100-$199	23	11%
	$200-$499	52	25%
	$500-$799	35	17%
	$800+	76	36%
Totals		211	100%

How often did you attend the movies in the last 90 days (3 months)?
	Answer	Responses	Ratio
	Once a week or more	3	1%
	2-3 times a month	21	10%
	Once a month	50	24%
	Less than once a month	71	34%
	I did not attend the movies in the last 90 days	66	31%
Totals		211	100%

When did your household last purchase or lease a vehicle?
	Answer	Responses	Ratio
	In the past 12 months	57	27%
	1-2 years ago	52	25%
	3-4 years ago	54	26%
	5 or more years ago	35	17%
	My household does not own or lease a vehicle	11	5%
Totals		209	100%

How many credit/debit cards do you own?
	Answer	Responses	Ratio
	None	9	4%
	1	25	12%
	2	62	30%
	3	42	21%
	4	38	19%
	5	11	5%
	6 or more	17	8%
Totals		204	100%

How much did you spend for computer software for home use in the past 12 months?
	Answer	Responses	Ratio
	Nothing	37	18%
	$1 - $99	49	24%
	$100 - $199	37	18%
	$200 - $299	38	19%
	$300 - $499	18	9%
	$500 or more	25	12%
Totals		204	100%

Careers
How large is the organization in which you work?
	Answer	Responses	Ratio
	Less than 20 employees	28	18%
	20 to 99 employees	24	16%
	100 to 999 employees	40	26%
	1,000+ employees	60	39%
	I don't know	2	1%
Totals		154	100%

In which industry does your company primarily operate?
	Answer	Responses	Ratio
	Arts/Entertainment/Recreation	6	4%
	Banking/Finance/Insurance	12	8%
	Business Services	4	3%
	Computer Hardware	4	3%
	Education	18	12%
	Government/Military/Defense	14	9%
	Internet	11	7%
	IT - Systems Integration	13	9%
	Manufacturing	8	5%
	Media	4	3%
	Medical/Healthcare	14	9%
	Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services	7	5%
	Real Estate	4	3%
	Retail/Distribution/Import/Export	3	2%
	Telecommunications	2	1%
	Other, Please Specify	29	19%
Totals		153	100%

What is your job title?
	Answer	Responses	Ratio
	Chairman/CEO/COO/Partner/President/Owner/Principal	11	7%
	EVP/General Manager	1	1%
	Vice President	5	3%
	Director	8	5%
	Manager	38	25%
	Staff - non management employee	90	59%
Totals		153	100%

With which of the following job functions are you primarily involved?
	Answer	Responses	Ratio
	Arts/Creative/Design	6	3%
	Business Development/Strategic Planning	7	4%
	Consulting	11	6%
	Customer Service	8	4%
	Education/Teaching	11	6%
	Engineering	1	1%
	Executive	4	2%
	Finance	7	4%
	Healthcare Provider	4	2%
	Human Resources	4	2%
	IT Services	27	15%
	Legal Services	2	1%
	Production/Operations	19	11%
	Research	5	3%
	Sales/Marketing	6	3%
	Software Development	2	1%
	Technology Support/Help Desk	6	3%
	Other, Please Specify	51	28%
Totals		181	100%

Listening Habits
Do you subscribe to the RSS feed for this show?
	Answer	Responses	Ratio
	Yes	188	83%
	No, I listen to or watch this show without subscribing	39	17%
Totals		227	100%

How many episodes of this online show have you listened to or watched?
	Answer	Responses	Ratio
	None (I just saw this link to the survey on the site)	1	0%
	2-3	1	0%
	4-5	3	1%
	6 or more	223	98%
Totals		228	100%

How often do you listen to or watch this show?
	Answer	Responses	Ratio
	I always listen to/watch each new episode	211	94%
	I sometimes listen to/watch each new episode	11	5%
	I rarely listen to/watch each new episode	2	1%
Totals		224	100%

About how much of each show episode do you generally listen to or watch?
	Answer	Responses	Ratio
	I always listen to/watch the entire episode	215	96%
	Usually at least 75%	10	4%
Totals		225	100%

On average, how many times do you listen to or watch each episode?
	Answer	Responses	Ratio
	One time	210	93%
	Two times	13	6%
	Three times	2	1%
Totals		225	100%

How do you most often listen to this podcast?
	Answer	Responses	Ratio
	On my computer	60	29%
	On my MP3, iPod or other portable player	141	68%
	On my cell phone	2	1%
	Other, Please Specify	3	2%
Totals		206	100%

How do you most often listen to or watch this podcast?
	Answer	Responses	Ratio
	On an iPod, MP3 player or other portable device with NO Internet capabilites	17	90%
	On an iPhone, PSP, cell phone, or other portable device with Internet capabilities while NOT connected to the Internet	1	5%
	Other, Please Specify	1	5%
Totals		19	100%

Satisfaction
Subject	Importance	Satisfaction	Gap
Audio Quality	8.22	9.53	-1.31
Video Quality	3.29	5.43	-2.14
Overall Quality	8.66	9.38	-0.72
Content	9.05	9.10	-0.05
Host(s)	9.32	9.52	-0.20
Reliability (new episodes available when promised)	7.77	9.04	-1.27
Length of episodes	7.07	8.82	-1.75
Frequency of new episodes	7.78	9.02	-1.24
Placement of ads or sponsorships in podcast	4.44	8.25	-3.81
Website design	5.40	7.86	-2.46
Website content	5.77	8.00	-2.23
Overall Satisfaction		9.31

Tags: Croncast Survey Kris Smith Betsy Smith Advertise Cronast Demographics

SXSW Wrap Up

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 21:04:16 -0400

It's been nearly a week since I arrived back home and I've recuperated enough from the festivities, work and recording to make this post. Never mind that I saw Billy Bob Thornton and his band play, I was working angles!

What I can say is that it was an event that was really about connecting with nerd brethren. My BlogTalkRadio cohorts and I recorded tons of content and did multiple live shows. But at the core of all of it was connecting with people that we typically only interact with online.

Aside from connecting, I did have another experience worth mentioning here. Like every other conference I have attended there is a simple take-away if you keep your eyes open. Much like TechCrunch40 and the hand washing lesson. That was a great one.

The lesson learned from SXSW interactive was this:

Thousands of attendees, very few media makers.

That's it.

The AMD B5media Bloghaus was filled day after day with the same people. They were a minority of the attendees numbering around 100 I would say. Of that number, even a smaller amount were making media of any kind - blog posts, audio or video. I would guess 40, tops.

I was left wondering why there weren't more attendees outside of the Bloghaus posse making media instead of consuming it. I don't know the reason.

I am having trouble articulating exactly what it meant and means to me. So I will leave it at that. Lots of people at a media making conference and only a handful actually doing it.

Tags: amd bloghaus austin texas interactive media makers

How to save your unconference

Sun, 22 Jul 2007 12:53:08 -0400

As far an unconferences go WordCamp 2007 hasn't been that different from many of the others that I have attended; hit and miss, but mostly miss. David Spark sums up the experience pretty well.

Here's my two cents as an attendee at many events like this:

1) Unprepared speakers
2) Awesome hallway conversations

The only way to have an unconference that gets people excited about coming back again, i.e. PodCamp New York, or speaking about the event is to manage number 1 above. Bring that hallway enthusiasm to the stage.

Unconference organizers should be in contact with their speakers dialogging about how to make their event useful to attendees, memorable, something that makes an impact in their daily lives. Nobody wants to sit and listen to what are essentially product diatribes or be spoken to like they are children.

How to save your unconference:

1) Plan, plan and plan some more. Plan everything and have a plan for it your plan doesn't work (because it is an unconference doesn't mean that attendee expectations are lower when they walk through the door than they would be for the $1000 conference that you bemoan)

2) Tell your speakers to get prepared (this is a golden opportunity to share experiences that can help people not make the same mistakes)

3) Create attendee tracks (create unconference value by allowing a channel for filtered conversations a.k.a. hallway conversations)

This post might not come off like it, but I am a big fan of unconferences. However, I am beginning to think that the best conferences might be a mix of the traditional and the new step-child. Maybe that is what I'll experience at Gnomedex next month. We'll see.

Tags: WordCamp 2007 unconference halwaay conversations Swedish American Hall

Croncast Live Naperville Jul 09, 2007

Mon, 09 Jul 2007 08:47:55 -0400

Croncast - 2007-07-09.mp3
Show: #384
Length: 32:56
Size: 22.6mb
Format: mp3

Betsy and her husband Kris Jul 06, 2007

Join Croncast Cronies . . . thanks to all those signed up already!.

First of all we need to thank everyone who came out to the show last night! Thanks to everyone who attended and those who become Croncast roadies in the process to help me wrangle gear and toys that littered the stage.

Turns out that we were both a little nervous and it comes through on the show but it was a ton of fun to do. More practice, more better.

So for those of you who couldn't make it out we've got today's show for you recorded from The Comedy Shrine. In the very near future, thanks to videographers Mike Marusin and Evan Brown we should have some video to share. For now you can check out these Flikr photos from Mike and Brian Beatty.

Special thanks needs to go out to Betsy's dad for helping to make this happen and to Dallas and Rachel Blair for driving out from the East Coast to come and listen to some strangers get down about their suburban platitudes. Time for some show notes.

Kris blows the intro but leaves it in because this is what happens nearly every show
Maybe there needs to be less light for you Kris
More basement like and it would work for you
You look warm
I had to get puffy cuffed
You guys get the full on puffy cuff
The intro happens again
Rolls right in to Mike's comment
Betsy takes it to task
What me go out and get a job?
I've have awesome stuff happen
Bring home cockroaches in my purse
Well, if I continued my current line of work
People have been doing it for ever
Sort of like prostitution
I'll buy it as a favor to you
Teri Horton, Who the Fuck is Jackson Pollack?
It's all about the fucking provenance
People are trying to take advantage of her
They show her sitting around the VFW hanging out
You can hear the live audience
We've been pretty excited
But most you haven't (listen to hear the tone it is a joke)
We work hard for you
This is show #384
I'm just kidding!
Sure it is passive aggressive but it
We have a lot more fans in the Pacific Northwest and New York, New Jersey areas
Yeah we could have filled two more tables
Betsy put together an outline for the show
Betsy and Jeanie going on the "greatest road trip ever"
Jeanie is all about the free drive
I still can't believe you are going
I've got one with adhd and a toddler who bites
Don't you remember Slowsky?
The Volvo is Slowsky reincarnate
The Valhalla middle class outreach program
Here comes Jeanie
She doesn't look like a truck driver does she?
I can't believe that you didn't carry a gun in your semi
Betsy on a zip line
You are going to die
We've all been honest with you
Jeanie, now you know I am going to put my fat ass on a zip line
Yes, Betsy I will shoot a gun from a Hummer for you
This is our basement . . . nearly
Just shooting targets
Maybe kill a deer remotely
Betsy rationalizes it as thinning the heard
I'll take the kids to hang out at John Elway Dodge
Jeanie was thinking a massage but now it's guns
The only place that I think I could shoot off a machine gun in peace in solutude would be my dads backyard
Need an inexpensive divorce in Illinois or fast bankruptcy?
If so visit www.gshiltslaw.com
Thanks to Gary for making the show happen
Jeanie tells the story of her dad finding a body
Attendee off the street A.J. also found a floater at Niagra falls
Betsy gets her dad going about the trips
Gary sets it straight with Sleazers butcher shop
What about the zebra steaks?
Betsy shows off her sweet scores of the week
Her Gucci bowling bag
The fisher price teddy bear
Well what the hell is wrong with a used bathing suit?
That's going to do it for us
Behind the scenes outro

Audience Survey, please fill this out for us
Look for the graphic on "Audience Survey" on the main page

Tags: The Comedy Shrine Terry Horton Gary Shilts Valhalla vacation Jeanie

Dave Slusher does me wrong - open reply

Fri, 08 Jun 2007 12:23:29 -0400

The following is a comment that I left for Dave Slusher regarding his podcast from yesterday lambasting me on "podcasting day job" from a presentation that I gave in 2006. It is waiting approval at his site, and in case it doesn't meet the specs I thought I would post it to the public here. To hear what I am writing about you can download it and listen to 20:40 - 24:50.

I usually don't respond to this type of stuff but this deserves another perspective . . . like one from me, the guy in question. Thanks to the friend that pointed this out. He also rips Scoble, so I am in good company.

My comment:

Okay, where do I begin. Dave, you and I are not strangers. We know each other from podcasting and have spoken on more than one occasion. We've both been at this podcast thing for a long time, you since Aug '04 and me since Nov '04, we've both got some perspective.

I respect your thoughts on my presentation, but I don't agree with you.

The presentation in question, "Leveraging your knowledge as a successful podcasting consultant" from PME 2006 was based on sharing my experience working for clients to produce podcasts from my basement. It was to help give a framework to those who wanted to make some extra bucks. Shit, I even give out my own business template for pricing and structure to those who attended and to those still asking for it.

Success, for me has been doing what I love, audio production, writing code and using my creativity in projects that pay me. Would you have me buy the argument that only "real" creativity comes from the absence of greenbacks?

In February of 2005 I opened my consulting company and two weeks later I had MTV as a client. Was it also bad that in my presentation I shared how I lost them as a client? Maybe the fact that I recommend to podcasters that they should talk to a business attorney and an IP attorney so that they can avoid pitfalls like libel or onerous contracts?

In my life, I too am trying to save for retirement, college for the kids and a safety net. If I can make a buck podcasting for other people . . . big or small to put toward them by making podcasting my day job it doesn't feel like I am punching the clock. It might mean that I am working "just another shit job" in my basement. However, it doesn't feel like a shit job. It feels like I am doing something that I love. That should account for something in the personal satisfaction category, I rank this job a 1.

You and I simply differ on how to make money podcasting. You like the advertising/sponsorship model and I prefer to both produce my own personal podcast and use my skills to make works for other people. My personal podcast has been delivered 3 times a week for 2 1/2 years with my wife every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Want to question my passion for podcasting?

On this, I'm not asking to debate this topic but simply recommending that if anyone is interested to hear the presentation in question head over to http://pa.gigavox.com/ and look for big goatee and bald head for the right session.

The bottom line for me is this is what someone who enjoyed both of our sessions had to say about them:

"Dave Slusher from Evil Genius Chronicles. When he speaks, I'm there."

"Kris with Palegroove Studios gave the most honest, non sales pitch presentation on podcast consulting. He shared real world numbers, which is rare in this day and age."

Given our interactions in the past a comment about me like this shouldn't surprise me but as one podcaster to another, I'm sorry that you need to . . . wait, someone is asking for another mocha something, biab.

Back, I'll let the public decide if I am an evil prick trying to destroy "podcasting" by taking corporate money to work a shitty day job doing what I love from the comfort of my own home or if I got lucky and found a way for myself to make a living for family and our futures doing what I love from the comfort of my home . . . at my day job.

Tags: Dave Slusher Evil Genius Chronicles podcasting history ID3 Podcast Magazine day job

PodCampNYC gets done

Tue, 10 Apr 2007 06:59:56 -0400

It's taken a day and a half of recovery but I'm ready for a quick post about PodCampNYC. I had a great time, met a ton of nice people and talked podcasting, RSS and mmRSS for a rock solid 12 hours.

If I was forced to make a decision about which of the PodCamps that I have attended my favorite would be this one. John C. Havens and his team of volunteers did an amazing job of organizing a very large scale event on a limited budget. For those of you not familiar with PodCamp these events are free to attend. They are called "unconferences" since the only thing that is the same is that you get to brand your event with the title PodCamp.

PodCamp is a ground up, grass roots type of deal that is put on by someone with a passion for the medium. And PodCampNYC was no different. For me, best one yet. I'll have a complete run down of why on my work blog, Capture the Conversation later today.

Me with John (taken by C.C. Chapman)

Tags: unconference John C. Havens PodCampNYC mmRSS podcasting conference

Belated TECH cocktail 2 homage

Tue, 17 Oct 2006 13:04:02 -0400

Me and Ed Kohler.

Last Thursday, like many (about 350) other Chicago area nerds with ambition, I attended TECH cocktail 2. It was a great time. For me, I ended up hanging out most of the night with my usual posse - Mike and Rick, but got to spend some extra time with show listener and fellow tech Brian Beatty who took the photos you see here. Check out Brian's photo stream of the event.

Thanks to Eric and Frank for putting this event together and making sure that it has the right vibe. And I would be a total bastard if I didn't thank Jeff Pulver for picking up the tab for my Sprites and everything else after the first hour.

Like I mentioned on the show following the event there was some video shot by Technology Evangelist that might get released. If you see it released and I haven't mentioned it send me a link.

I gotta share this photo with you . . . Rick looks like I just told him the dirtiest joke in the world about a Priest, a bartender and a midget.

Tags: TECHcocktail2 TECH cocktail Chicago Naperville nerds

Routing synapses: Portable Media Expo thoughts

Thu, 05 Oct 2006 10:46:55 -0400

It has taken me nearly a week to find some time to sit down and write about this year's Portable Media Expo. My brain takes so long to process situations that when you stack about 200 new situations right on top of one another my synapses begin to flutter a bit like a dancer dropping it likes it's hot. If you missed that analogy just turn on MTV and watch any rap video to see things dropping and gyrating.

So as this stuff has shaken out in my thought process I keep seeing the faces of those I shared some words and grub with . . . Nicole Simon, Garrick Van Buren, Greg Cangialosi, Mark Chernesky, Rick Klau, Eric Olson, Paul Figgiani (Paul got a hug), Tim Bourquin, Scott Fletcher, David Lawrence, Frank Barnako, Holland Cooke, Giovanni Gullacci, John and Erin Paxton and Craig Patchett (he told us not to drive Slowsky).

On the social side there was Evo and Sheila, Dave Slusher for 3 mintues on the way to his seesion (I think the best session of the Expo) . . . damn, that is the end. I should have hung out more!

New train of thought, thinking of my sessions I wanted to thank everyone who attended especially the 40 or so people who showed up for the one on Saturday at the Portable Media Expo. There I met some great people with podcast consulting and production motivations like myself. It was fun to share how you too can loose a client like MTV Networks and how you can gain a client like Alltel and produce for NFL players.

The take aways from the Expo are varied for me. It was a great time to meet and hangout with other podcasters and listeners (Tom Davies you rock). The meet-upability of the Expo is hands down the biggest reason for attending if you have been podcasting for some time. If you are new to the community then I would guess that the Expo was probably extremely overwhelming as the sessions popped off and the social component took hold.

I can't say that I was really disappointed by things but did have some low moments:

1) Pink spandex at the Marriott and the wood inside
2) Being told repeatedly that no one in podcasting is making any money (Ahem, because you're not doesn't mean that others aren't)
3) Rehashing the same discussions that have been going on since the beginning

Now that I have my memories in some semblance of real activity and spared you the personal details of many of those interactions I want to say thank you to Tim, Emile and the PME staff for producing this event and allowing podcasters to be themselves . . . pink spandex shorts and all.

Tags: Portable media Expo PME pink spandex Alltel

Croncast - Betsy and her husband Kris Ep. 41

Wed, 23 Feb 2005 11:55:09 -0500

Croncast - 2005-02-23.mp3

Show: #80
Length: 17:41
Format: mp3
Bit rate: 64 kbs
Size: 8.10 mb

Croncast - Betsy and her husband Kris Ep. 41

This is the show that I said we would do last Monday. We kind of hurry through today's show because the guy who was coming to take photos was late.

I get into the wild game dinner that I attended as a kid at a local junkyard . . . salvage as the folks here in the suburbs would call it, the buffalo that lived across the street from me as a kid, Betsy gets into how her dad took her to an illegal farm or as I now will call it, "A slaughter it yourself grocery" with many other kinds of wild game that I have never had the pleasure of eating . . . like alligator gibblets.

Again it is probably another don't eat while listening show. We have to stop doing these. But it is a funny show and gets straight to the point. Maybe we should always have peopel come over so we can just get to the meat.

Tags: croncast betsy wild kid call

Croncast - Betsy and her husband Kris Ep. 33

Wed, 09 Feb 2005 10:15:32 -0500

Croncast - 2005-02-09.mp3

Show: #70
Length: 19:29
Format: mp3
Bit rate: 64 kbs
Size: 8.92 mb

Croncast - Betsy and her husband Kris Ep. 33

Today's show is a Betsy hostile takeover. Not really But she talks a lot today about her pregnancy, forgetting about her auctions, the PTA meeting she attended last night *laughing like you wouldn't believe as I type this*, hot lunch, no time for pizza man, haze of Marlboro smoke that Kris grew up in and finally Bety's suburban mommy guilt.

Did Betsy or Kris say these?

"I was supposed to live in the city and be single and having sex and doing drugs until I fell over at 40."

"I need a beer and a cigarette . . . this baby's still in me."

Tags: betsy kris croncast husband ep