consume | Croncast - From Cool to Cul De Sac Kris and Betsy Smith http://www.croncast.com This is the keyword feed for consume. Once cool, Kris and Betsy are now living on a cul de sac and breeding. Betsy really should be on the road making mad cash but that would interfere with breastfeeding. Podcasting for Download every M-W-F by 3:00 P.M. CST. en-us Palegroove Studios 2004-2008 No Croncast, Kris, Betsy, Comedy, Parenting, Funny, Palegroove, Croncast, eBay, Goodwill This is the keyword feed for consume. Once cool, Kris and Betsy are now living on a cul de sac and breeding. Betsy really should be on the road making mad cash but that would interfere with breastfeeding. Podcasting for Download every M-W-F by 3:00 P.M. CST. This is the keyword feed for consume. Once cool, Kris and Betsy are now living on a cul de sac and breeding. Betsy really should be on the road making mad cash but that would interfere with breastfeeding. Podcasting for Download every M-W-F by 3:00 P.M. CST. http://www.croncast.com/images/croncast_itunes.jpg consume | Croncast - From Cool to Cul De Sac http://www.croncast.com This is the keyword feed for consume. Once cool, Kris and Betsy are now living on a cul de sac and breeding. Betsy really should be on the road making mad cash but that would interfere with breastfeeding. Podcasting for Download every M-W-F by 3:00 P.M. CST. Croncast - Kris and Betsy Smith info@palegroove.com http://www.croncast.com Palegroove Chicago Dogs (I ate fish) http://www.croncast.com/rssk/1559/Chicago-Dogs-(I-ate-fish)_dogs_consume.php Blog Chicago Dogs (I ate fish)

These hot dogs were waiting for tourists or an ardent Bears fan to consume at Portillo's on W. Ontario St.



Tags: dogs consume fan portillo ontario ]]>Chicago Dogs (I ate fish)

These hot dogs were waiting for tourists or an ardent Bears fan to consume at Portillo's on W. Ontario St.



Tags: dogs consume fan portillo ontario ]]> Sun, 30 Mar 2008 16:50:23 -0500 tag:croncast.com,1559 These hot dogs were waiting for tourists or an ardent Bears fan to consume at Portillo's on W. Ontario St. no dogs, consume, fan, portillo, ontario Make better RSS feeds by not making them http://www.croncast.com/rssk/1318/Make-better-RSS-feeds-by-not-making-them_RSS_CNET.php Blog
Within reason my guess would be that most of you answered, yes then no. I know on my sites, even this site, I would have answered the same.

The solution isn't to create more feeds. The best solution is for publishers to create no feeds at all. Let your readers make their own.

Here are a couple examples why this is a better method for content syndication than relying on your own editorial skills.

Example 1: How not to do it make good RSS.



Don't get me wrong on this, CNET is offering nearly all of its content up for syndication. This is an excellent strategy to create value from older content. However, do readers really need the option of subscribing to 100 plus predefined RSS feeds? Simply, no.

Finding feeds for the topics you are interested in is difficult. The worst of it is that you can only access them individually, i.e.; you want 10 of feeds, copy and paste them one by one into your feed reader. Sounds like a party to me. If you have more skills you might use a service that rolls all of them up into one feed for you. I would guess that about three people have done this.

Why overwhelm your readers like this? And besides, it is pretty intimidating for someone new to the RSS game. Shouldn't they be able to access your content in a way that makes it relevant to them?

Example 2: How to do RSS right.



What you see above is one of two flavors of how to let your readers pick what they receive in RSS feeds. It's a simple and easy to use text input that allows readers to enter keywords and phrases that they want in their feed. There's nothing fancy, easy access to old content in the straight-forward way that RSS is delivered; updates of the newest items first and set number items in the feed, usually twenty-five.



What the second screen shot shows is the magic of thinking differently about RSS feeds. This image demonstrates what happens when someone clicks on the 'advanced' link. The reader is then given control over every aspect of the RSS feed. They choose the content, when it is delivered, how much content, in what order (none of this newest stuff first mumbo jumbo - great use for episodic content) and how many updates to get at a time.

Who is better to choose than the person doing the consuming? RSS needs to be like Burger King where a customer can have it their way.

When this concept is applied to large volumes of content the value of it increases with each new article or podcast. Imagine if you could have this type of access at the NY Times or with your local paper. Even the obits from 30 years ago are now of value again. Value to the reader and value to the publisher with ad inventory.

The future of content syndication isn't in prescriptive channels created by publishers. The future is in the subjective choices of the consumer. They neither need or want every product that you have to offer.

We need to be smarter about our syndicated content via RSS and take into consideration how to make that user experience more satisfying. Whether it is by allowing users to pick topics or order of updates, something needs to change. Why? Because it is all about attention; the premium of which is measured in subscribers, influence and the influence of those subscribers.

Tags: RSS CNET readers consumers interaction ]]>
Within reason my guess would be that most of you answered, yes then no. I know on my sites, even this site, I would have answered the same.

The solution isn't to create more feeds. The best solution is for publishers to create no feeds at all. Let your readers make their own.

Here are a couple examples why this is a better method for content syndication than relying on your own editorial skills.

Example 1: How not to do it make good RSS.



Don't get me wrong on this, CNET is offering nearly all of its content up for syndication. This is an excellent strategy to create value from older content. However, do readers really need the option of subscribing to 100 plus predefined RSS feeds? Simply, no.

Finding feeds for the topics you are interested in is difficult. The worst of it is that you can only access them individually, i.e.; you want 10 of feeds, copy and paste them one by one into your feed reader. Sounds like a party to me. If you have more skills you might use a service that rolls all of them up into one feed for you. I would guess that about three people have done this.

Why overwhelm your readers like this? And besides, it is pretty intimidating for someone new to the RSS game. Shouldn't they be able to access your content in a way that makes it relevant to them?

Example 2: How to do RSS right.



What you see above is one of two flavors of how to let your readers pick what they receive in RSS feeds. It's a simple and easy to use text input that allows readers to enter keywords and phrases that they want in their feed. There's nothing fancy, easy access to old content in the straight-forward way that RSS is delivered; updates of the newest items first and set number items in the feed, usually twenty-five.



What the second screen shot shows is the magic of thinking differently about RSS feeds. This image demonstrates what happens when someone clicks on the 'advanced' link. The reader is then given control over every aspect of the RSS feed. They choose the content, when it is delivered, how much content, in what order (none of this newest stuff first mumbo jumbo - great use for episodic content) and how many updates to get at a time.

Who is better to choose than the person doing the consuming? RSS needs to be like Burger King where a customer can have it their way.

When this concept is applied to large volumes of content the value of it increases with each new article or podcast. Imagine if you could have this type of access at the NY Times or with your local paper. Even the obits from 30 years ago are now of value again. Value to the reader and value to the publisher with ad inventory.

The future of content syndication isn't in prescriptive channels created by publishers. The future is in the subjective choices of the consumer. They neither need or want every product that you have to offer.

We need to be smarter about our syndicated content via RSS and take into consideration how to make that user experience more satisfying. Whether it is by allowing users to pick topics or order of updates, something needs to change. Why? Because it is all about attention; the premium of which is measured in subscribers, influence and the influence of those subscribers.

Tags: RSS CNET readers consumers interaction ]]> Fri, 25 Jan 2008 17:00:20 -0600 tag:croncast.com,1318 Did you pick the content of the RSS feeds that you are syndicating from your site right now? Or did you let your readers pick? Within reason my guess would be that most of you answered, yes then no. I know on my sites, even this site, I would have answered the same. The solution isn't to create more feeds. The best solution is for no RSS, CNET, readers, consumers, interaction Think differently about RSS and its uses http://www.croncast.com/rssk/1210/Think-differently-about-RSS-and-its-uses_live-photo-blogging_RSS-as-API.php Blog
I knew this was going to be an interesting experience. Why not share it in as many ways as possible (distribution to: Flickr, Twitter, blog and RSS) with as many people as possible? One input with multiple outputs across the various Croncast audiences.

Making it happen is a lot easier than you think with email and RSS.

First. it is the camera phone that takes decent photos. Second, is the phones ability to send email with photo attachments. Third, is a place to email the photos that has an RSS feed or other API connectivity to other applications. Tons of sites like Flickr, Seesmic and Tumblr offer these and can even do some of the distribution for you. Get these three things in place and sharing your experiences in near real-time has never been easier.

Currently, it does take a little more skill to distribute the photos to Twitter. However, if you get creative you can breathe life into photos that wouldn't normally have existed after it was consumed/viewed in a photo sharing site or through an RSS reader. It is worth the effort to figure this out, it's the next stage of content distribution online.

How do I know? Google Reader shared feeds are the perfect example. Typically once someone reads a post in their reader it has reached the end of the line. But if someone shares it with Google Reader it then gets added to the individual users shared RSS feed and resyndicated. A new life for that content. The same goes for photos that end up in Flickr or a Flickr RSS feed.

In my case, live photo blogging and my ability to cast a wider net wouldn't be possible if it wasn't for the Flickr RSS feed from my account. It is the magic API that feeds (pun intended) the river of resyndication that allows me to give that new life to our content.

Here's how it goes down:

1. Upload photo from phone to Flickr with subject line used as image title
2. In the body under the photo begin with an asterisk (*) if I want the photo, title and description to be a blog post also
3. In the body under the photo begin with a carat (^) if I want the title and a link to be a tweet
4. Add both asterisk and carat (*^) for blog and twitter
5. A PHP script grabs the Flickr RSS feed and reads it for asterisks and carats every two minutes and sends the photo, title and description where it needs to go
6. If it goes to the blog the title and description will be run through a keyword generations script
7. If it goes to Twitter only the title is sent and a shortened url is created to link to the photo

What all of this does is allow me to create multiple channels of distribution that can reach the different audiences that follow us. There is a bit of overlap with multiple audience members subscribed to the same services but quite a few are not. We have the Twitter audience, the blog audience, the flickr audience and the RSS audience. We also have our podcast audience but they are not really a part of this type of delivery

Summary: Look for ways to utilize sites like Flickr as a content management portal, if even from your mobile phone, to cast a wider net across your network. Work to find that one point of contact that has the lowest threshold for allowing you to get your media and thoughts online with the ability to resyndicate your content without having to lift a finger. Well, too many fingers. And make sure that it has an RSS feed!

Tags: live photo blogging RSS as API flickr twitter seesmic tumblr ]]>
I knew this was going to be an interesting experience. Why not share it in as many ways as possible (distribution to: Flickr, Twitter, blog and RSS) with as many people as possible? One input with multiple outputs across the various Croncast audiences.

Making it happen is a lot easier than you think with email and RSS.

First. it is the camera phone that takes decent photos. Second, is the phones ability to send email with photo attachments. Third, is a place to email the photos that has an RSS feed or other API connectivity to other applications. Tons of sites like Flickr, Seesmic and Tumblr offer these and can even do some of the distribution for you. Get these three things in place and sharing your experiences in near real-time has never been easier.

Currently, it does take a little more skill to distribute the photos to Twitter. However, if you get creative you can breathe life into photos that wouldn't normally have existed after it was consumed/viewed in a photo sharing site or through an RSS reader. It is worth the effort to figure this out, it's the next stage of content distribution online.

How do I know? Google Reader shared feeds are the perfect example. Typically once someone reads a post in their reader it has reached the end of the line. But if someone shares it with Google Reader it then gets added to the individual users shared RSS feed and resyndicated. A new life for that content. The same goes for photos that end up in Flickr or a Flickr RSS feed.

In my case, live photo blogging and my ability to cast a wider net wouldn't be possible if it wasn't for the Flickr RSS feed from my account. It is the magic API that feeds (pun intended) the river of resyndication that allows me to give that new life to our content.

Here's how it goes down:

1. Upload photo from phone to Flickr with subject line used as image title
2. In the body under the photo begin with an asterisk (*) if I want the photo, title and description to be a blog post also
3. In the body under the photo begin with a carat (^) if I want the title and a link to be a tweet
4. Add both asterisk and carat (*^) for blog and twitter
5. A PHP script grabs the Flickr RSS feed and reads it for asterisks and carats every two minutes and sends the photo, title and description where it needs to go
6. If it goes to the blog the title and description will be run through a keyword generations script
7. If it goes to Twitter only the title is sent and a shortened url is created to link to the photo

What all of this does is allow me to create multiple channels of distribution that can reach the different audiences that follow us. There is a bit of overlap with multiple audience members subscribed to the same services but quite a few are not. We have the Twitter audience, the blog audience, the flickr audience and the RSS audience. We also have our podcast audience but they are not really a part of this type of delivery

Summary: Look for ways to utilize sites like Flickr as a content management portal, if even from your mobile phone, to cast a wider net across your network. Work to find that one point of contact that has the lowest threshold for allowing you to get your media and thoughts online with the ability to resyndicate your content without having to lift a finger. Well, too many fingers. And make sure that it has an RSS feed!

Tags: live photo blogging RSS as API flickr twitter seesmic tumblr ]]> Mon, 26 Nov 2007 10:39:03 -0600 tag:croncast.com,1210 Over the weekend, as some of you may of you noticed, I live photo blogged my Saturday afternoon date with Betsy and our trip to Goodwill. For me it was a time to watch Betsy as she navigated her adopted habitat and to see her operate in a way that is far from the norm in our everyday lives.I knew this was going to be an interesting experience. Why no live photo blogging, RSS as API, flickr, twitter, seesmic Listen up John Elway Dodge's of the world http://www.croncast.com/rssk/687/Listen-up-John-Elway-Dodges-of-the-world_Chip-Sansom_Born-Loser-Comic.php Blog Les for pointing out this comic that ran today.

His message came titled "Comic inspired by Croncast?" Hmmmm . . . would be funny.

Maybe Chip Sansom is a listener, Ohioans (or is it Ohionites?) love us.

Tags: Chip Sansom Born Loser Comic Croncast comic inspiration podcasts for consumer opinion ]]>Les for pointing out this comic that ran today.

His message came titled "Comic inspired by Croncast?" Hmmmm . . . would be funny.

Maybe Chip Sansom is a listener, Ohioans (or is it Ohionites?) love us.

Tags: Chip Sansom Born Loser Comic Croncast comic inspiration podcasts for consumer opinion ]]> Thu, 12 Apr 2007 12:59:21 -0500 tag:croncast.com,687 Thanks to Les for pointing out this comic that ran today. His message came titled "Comic inspired by Croncast?" Hmmmm . . . would be funny. Maybe Chip Sansom is a listener, Ohioans (or is it Ohionites?) love us. no Chip Sansom, Born Loser Comic, Croncast, comic inspiration, podcasts for consumer opinion Betsy and her husband Kris Apr 02, 2007 http://www.croncast.com/rssk/671/Betsy-and-her-husband-Kris-Apr-02-2007_Croncast_Weight-Watcherness.php Podcasts Croncast 2007-04-02 align= Croncast - 2007-04-02.mp3
Show: #344
Length: 39:56
Size: 27.4mb
Format: mp3

Betsy and her husband Kris April 2, 2007

It's good to be back!
Thanks to everyone who sent messages and comments
Four weeks of not being told you're fabulous has taken it's toll on Betsy
It's a thankless job being a house wife
Betsy really needs the show, she just won't admit it
I do like success Mr. B I just don't like to work very hard
iTunes users leave us a review in the iTunes music store
I've never been stuck on one thing
Yes, I was well rounded
I still have the sharp shins
The family knows me as the idea guy
But I stick to it like peanut butter
I am like that crazy inventor guy
The creepy guy who's in his garage all the time?
I have been waiting for this
Head first into break and I was excited
But Bears, you did nothing around the house
This will be a turning point in our marriage . . . Kris will start participating
Winter brings garbage
The sky opens and beer cans fall
Kris's sliding man pants while he works
Getting that backside tan
Can you turn around and lift your shirt
You'll have a pregnancy like slider to measure the tan for a man who does things
I get less sunshine now that I am working from home
And I've started losing weight
I have . . . like it is panic
Your Weight Watcherness of the last 4 weeks are putting the screws to me
My face is saggy . . . my tummy is jubbly
You'll have lost 6 or 7 ounces
Packing it in before was the truth
I am going to end up with a post-pregnancy belly
Watch yourself big boy
You never asked me to do anything on break other than bring in the garbage can
What if I buy you a ladder?
I'm done I cede the floor to you Betsy, now tell the Volvo story
Tidal wave in the car
Zeus was nowhere to be found
She calls me, "I was driving in my car . . . "
The way I don't ever want to hear Betsy start that way
I know that I am going to end up back at Volvo of Lisle
Yes, I was correct
We hit'em up to try to get it taken care of
The gist of it is that we are screwed
"You should call customer care and start there."
"Work your way up"
Reputation management matters but auto dealers don't care
This is a fluke but the Volvo reputation for a consumer begins at the dealership
They are the ones that should care
Once it is repaired Betsy asked for a price for them to buy it outright
Big mistake
Once she told them no new Volvo that she would buy a new car from another dealer it was over
Sure it is all soccer moms around here but it doesn't matter
Now we'll keep it til the warranty runs out unless something so bad happens that they will actually take responsibility for the car being a lemon
I never leave the house now
Which brings me to my point . . . I am going to sell your car Mr. B
You can't sell my car, baby
The farthest I went from the house in the last week alone was 35 feet
Talking taxes on Wednesday . . . strikingly vivid
We thank everybody for the emails, comments and the calls
Thanks for everyone who filled out the survey
Leave us a review in iTunes


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



Podcast RSS Badge

Podcast RSS Badge


Tags: Croncast Weight Watcherness croncast returns Volvo of Lisle reputation management ]]>Croncast 2007-04-02 align= Croncast - 2007-04-02.mp3
Show: #344
Length: 39:56
Size: 27.4mb
Format: mp3

Betsy and her husband Kris April 2, 2007

It's good to be back!
Thanks to everyone who sent messages and comments
Four weeks of not being told you're fabulous has taken it's toll on Betsy
It's a thankless job being a house wife
Betsy really needs the show, she just won't admit it
I do like success Mr. B I just don't like to work very hard
iTunes users leave us a review in the iTunes music store
I've never been stuck on one thing
Yes, I was well rounded
I still have the sharp shins
The family knows me as the idea guy
But I stick to it like peanut butter
I am like that crazy inventor guy
The creepy guy who's in his garage all the time?
I have been waiting for this
Head first into break and I was excited
But Bears, you did nothing around the house
This will be a turning point in our marriage . . . Kris will start participating
Winter brings garbage
The sky opens and beer cans fall
Kris's sliding man pants while he works
Getting that backside tan
Can you turn around and lift your shirt
You'll have a pregnancy like slider to measure the tan for a man who does things
I get less sunshine now that I am working from home
And I've started losing weight
I have . . . like it is panic
Your Weight Watcherness of the last 4 weeks are putting the screws to me
My face is saggy . . . my tummy is jubbly
You'll have lost 6 or 7 ounces
Packing it in before was the truth
I am going to end up with a post-pregnancy belly
Watch yourself big boy
You never asked me to do anything on break other than bring in the garbage can
What if I buy you a ladder?
I'm done I cede the floor to you Betsy, now tell the Volvo story
Tidal wave in the car
Zeus was nowhere to be found
She calls me, "I was driving in my car . . . "
The way I don't ever want to hear Betsy start that way
I know that I am going to end up back at Volvo of Lisle
Yes, I was correct
We hit'em up to try to get it taken care of
The gist of it is that we are screwed
"You should call customer care and start there."
"Work your way up"
Reputation management matters but auto dealers don't care
This is a fluke but the Volvo reputation for a consumer begins at the dealership
They are the ones that should care
Once it is repaired Betsy asked for a price for them to buy it outright
Big mistake
Once she told them no new Volvo that she would buy a new car from another dealer it was over
Sure it is all soccer moms around here but it doesn't matter
Now we'll keep it til the warranty runs out unless something so bad happens that they will actually take responsibility for the car being a lemon
I never leave the house now
Which brings me to my point . . . I am going to sell your car Mr. B
You can't sell my car, baby
The farthest I went from the house in the last week alone was 35 feet
Talking taxes on Wednesday . . . strikingly vivid
We thank everybody for the emails, comments and the calls
Thanks for everyone who filled out the survey
Leave us a review in iTunes


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



Podcast RSS Badge

Podcast RSS Badge


Tags: Croncast Weight Watcherness croncast returns Volvo of Lisle reputation management ]]> Mon, 02 Apr 2007 07:46:22 -0500 30:00 tag:croncast.com,671 no Croncast, Weight Watcherness, croncast returns, Volvo of Lisle, reputation management Croncast - John and his friend Kris - Ep. 3 http://www.croncast.com/rssk/339/-Croncast---John-and-his-friend-Kris---Ep-3_dvd_kris.php Podcasts Croncast 2004-12-01 Croncast-2004-12-01.mp3

Day mo'fizzin 3 with John Wohlers and we get all geeky and Kris goes on a DVD bender.

Length: 36:48
Format: mp3
Bit rate: 64k
Size: 17.2 mb

Today's Show

Intro
Welcome to December
Waving doesn't cut it
Retrospective over last two days
John digs in his Life Box
God Damn computer ads and rebates
The birds!
Quirks are my being
What's in liquid detergent?
The man busts in
The cost of refining
DVD grief - authoring and consumer gyp
Kris is Scenarist Level One certified
DVD-List lurk
Will consumer and prosumer ruin professional DVD?
Spec masters and DVDSP
DVD cameras fuck the consumer
Do consumers get open-source?
Podcasting user experience
OPML
Kris says mux MP3 like DVD .vob and .ifo
Evil Genius Chronicles bitTorrent
We should do it up in the ID3v2 tag
Jimmy Jett and rating system
Wrap it up
Friday Dec. 3 at UTR in Chicago with Broken Vegas
Play BV tunes in your podcast - get them here.

Podcast RSS Badge">



Tags: dvd kris consumer john croncast ]]>Croncast 2004-12-01 Croncast-2004-12-01.mp3

Day mo'fizzin 3 with John Wohlers and we get all geeky and Kris goes on a DVD bender.

Length: 36:48
Format: mp3
Bit rate: 64k
Size: 17.2 mb

Today's Show

Intro
Welcome to December
Waving doesn't cut it
Retrospective over last two days
John digs in his Life Box
God Damn computer ads and rebates
The birds!
Quirks are my being
What's in liquid detergent?
The man busts in
The cost of refining
DVD grief - authoring and consumer gyp
Kris is Scenarist Level One certified
DVD-List lurk
Will consumer and prosumer ruin professional DVD?
Spec masters and DVDSP
DVD cameras fuck the consumer
Do consumers get open-source?
Podcasting user experience
OPML
Kris says mux MP3 like DVD .vob and .ifo
Evil Genius Chronicles bitTorrent
We should do it up in the ID3v2 tag
Jimmy Jett and rating system
Wrap it up
Friday Dec. 3 at UTR in Chicago with Broken Vegas
Play BV tunes in your podcast - get them here.

Podcast RSS Badge">



Tags: dvd kris consumer john croncast ]]> Wed, 01 Dec 2004 11:26:17 -0600 30:00 tag:croncast.com,339 Croncast-2004-12-01.mp3 Day mo'fizzin 3 with John Wohlers and we get all geeky and Kris goes on a DVD bender. Length: 36:48 Format: mp3 Bit rate: 64k Size: 17.2 mb Today's Show Intro Welcome to December Waving doesn't cut it Retrospective over last two days John digs in his Life Box God Damn computer ads and rebates The no dvd, kris, consumer, john, croncast