history | Croncast - From Cool to Cul De Sac

elliot didn't get any stitches. but how about some space age metal!

Thu, 08 May 2008 16:43:58 -0500

as elliot blazes new medical treatments for the family, we are left with nothing to say, but he was lucky to have caught the gardening hoe on the head. better the top of his dome than an ear or finger finding their way under it.

he was quite upset when it happened, to be expected, but his little friend that was wielding the hoe was crying even harder. i think the blood freaked him out the most as he refused to come into the house.

as a parent, this situation didn't bother betsy or me that much given his past medical history.

Tags: medical elliot hoe harder crying

Betsy and her husband Kris Nov 28, 2007

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 09:55:45 -0600

Croncast - 2007-11-28.mp3
Show: #439
Length: 22:14
Size: 22.0mb
Format: mp3

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The posts are posts
The most totally Gary email
"I'm in a village where people go to die"
"Someone couldn't wait and died on train"
Life itself is a destination
Mr. B is all happy
You've made it someplace
Yeah, void before it started and void when it ends
I knew you would turn it around and make it negative
When I was hit by a truck I learned this truth
Sure I flew 30 feet
How do you know you flew 30 feet?
There were witnesses
In the country?
No, it wasn't the country I was in town
Kris, could you keep farm animals in town?
Yes
Then it is the country!
I can see the bike-a-thon
Ride you big wheel around the block, pig bbq, oh someone is dying
If you are windshield smudge before you are 10 you're not a smart one
The banana seat bike catapulted me
I can see your dad measuring 30 ft
Right, everybody in town carried a tape measure
Is there a point to this story
All, I am saying is life is your destination
Live it while you got it
Lawn chair collectors
That's a hotel chair
Gigi starts yelling
We're all on the edge of our seats, Kris
They got into rc cars
When you are not the one being farmed?
The human condition means we are all farmed
Mr B
Betsy explains how it is done on the farm
I had gravel but there are many a boy that would want gravel over grass
You can be negative all you want
Today is the greatest day ever Mr. B
I am dressed in my sloppy best
Betsy takes us way back
Is there ever a need to dress up in your world, Betsy?
No
I say the same things to you
Once you understand this story you will understand me
The broom story from the last show didn't do it?
Betsy tells a story that I have never heard
Her dad bought his wife a car
We drive out to pick it up from a country driveway
It is parked behind a convenient store
It looked like it belonged in your father's yard
It was three different colors
No class, no style but it had balls
It was the original hyrbrid
Dekalb Ag car
She was disappointed
I was 15 and drove all the time
I didn't want to go get a license
It was a formality, detail
As long as I don't leave his subdivision I could get out of it
And I entered a 4 way intersection that turns out to be a 2 way
I hit a girl in a little pinto
My friend said, shit you're 15 you won't get your license until you are 21
My evil side takes over
I realize that she is 16 and doesn't know what to do
This is when I take over
We shouldn't call the police
We can let our dads talk and take care of it
The rest is history
This is possibly Betsy's funniest story ever
You are going to be a scary adult

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Tags: Pinto my dad small town fundraisers big wheels banana seat bike

Betsy and her husband Kris Nov 19, 2007

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 09:46:14 -0600

Croncast - 2007-11-19.mp3
Show: #435
Length: 34:52
Size: 23.9mb
Format: mp3

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Baby, I been 33 for a week and realized something
You are beautiful
You've go a style all your own
Did senility set in?
You've got the reverse mullet
I need to get this woman a PBR
You got the part up front and business in the back
A very serious paradigm shift
So sorry for you sucka
You gots to see the business coming
You have requested I sell everything I own
Mine, my stuff
I bring up your rings
What did you tell me, Betsy?
Yeah, whatever
You can get your second wife bigger rocks than these
Diamond guns
I'll have diamonds falling out of my shirt sleeves
And now after taxes we can live off of it for a month
Spending money breathing
Garrick said, "It's expensive to wake up in the morning."
Paying to get through the day
Gotta get paid while you sleep
People do buy it now while I am snoring away
We bought ourselves a little time
Thanks to Chris Brogan, Rob Shore, John C Havens and others for leads
Head over to Croncast.com and check my resume
Oh, what are you doing?
Big stress doesn't lend itself to thinking about the holidays
His TV is buying a doll and a fruit tray
I'm queen of the wives
Speaking of this
Evan and I got into trouble with this last week
"what do you wives do?"
We said "Naperville" the wives don't work
I could be making $10 slanging slurpees
And you would still be at home
We could get a Jaguar gift certificate
Maybe the Volvo should disappear?
I called ChildServ to see if I can get on schedule
Back to my story
I was Christmas shopping
I am not going buy anything Made in China
Especially not a doll
What?
Have you gone all blue collar?
They'll poison your toothpaste and feed you Aqua Dots
I don't get this
I buy retail once a year
It's ok if it is gifted to Goodwill and you get it?
Hell yes
Even American Girl Dolls are made in China
So I am working this doll tip
You can't find any dolls that are not made in China
Betsy is out to change the world
She has always been fascinated with China
Chinese history books are all over the house
I grill Betsy on it as she avoids
This isn't about improv
I think the Cultural Revolution were interesting
I am trying to make this easy for you to understand
Olympic questions next
It'll be fine as long as no one gets pregnant
Dexter on Showtime has been great this season
WGA strike
Screw the studios . . . these writers should get on with it online
Thanks to CaptRespect and MacGeek for support!!

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Tags: made in china Naperville Goodwill CaptRespect MacGeek WGA strike

Kris Smith - New Media Expert For Hire

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 13:16:39 -0600

Time to plug myself like I have no shame!

Thus, in the true spirit of being shameless, I will create this unabashed self-promoting bit of text to tell you about the Kris Smith that many of you don't know.

Planet earth had just escaped the Y2k bug so we bought our first computer since they didn't destroy the world they must be okay. So in early 2000 I taught myself how to use Wavelab to edit audio and later that same year I took my first programming class to learn HTML. The rest is history, as they say in the biz.

In the last seven years, I've accomplished more things in digital media and web development than I could have ever anticipated:

1. Developed and coded the first version of Castlock a New Media and metrics platform
2. Founded the world's first company dedicated to podcast production
3. Worked with and produced for Fortune 500 companies
4. Spoken at conferences and universities across the United States about RSS, New Media and podcasting
5. Developed moderated media RSS feeds (mmRSS) for episodic and archived content delivery via RSS
6. Gained a network of professional colleagues across the globe
7. Interviewed celebrities and professional athletes
8. Became certified in DVD authoring software used for major motion pictures

If you have the hankering to check out my full repertoire and could use a self-starter with innovative skills, you can visit my Linkedin page, download my resume or search "Kris Smith" in your favorite search engine.

Tags: RSS guru Podcasting professional PHP Castlock New Media expert RSS expert

Kris Smith - New Media, RSS and Podcast Expert

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 16:43:14 -0500

Kristopher Smith
http://linkedin.com/in/ksmith
Naperville, IL 60565 (630) 445-1719 ● kris[at]palegroove.com

Career Objective

A leadership position with a company interested in benefiting from the opportunities presented by leading edge new media technologies where a commitment to innovative ideas and entrepreneurial spirit is recognized and rewarded.

Qualifications Summary:

Accomplished entrepreneur and strategist with a demonstrated history of success integrating new media technologies into existing platforms and campaigns for Fortune 500 companies.
Combined expertise in RSS and podcast development with an extended network of relationships with independent, corporate and mainstream media.
Developed and licensed Castlock, a robust new media management and RSS metrics platform that enables users to manage large libraries of content and maintain statistics privately.

Professional Experience

Room 214, Boulder, Colorado ● 1/2007-11/2007

Vice President, New Media

Leadership force for product development within an organization that integrates new media, public relations efforts, web marketing methodologies and technologies under cohesive systems that drive measurable calls to action via the Internet. Company services were solicited from some of the most recognized PR firms and creative agencies to positively impact corporate sales, brand awareness and communications.

Major Contributions:

Developed moderated media RSS feeds (mmRSS) for episodic and archived content delivery via RSS
Orchestrated product development and integration of emerging technologies such as Twitter and other social media API's into Castlock, a robust new media management and RSS metrics platform
Created and delivered new products from the Castlock code base, RSSignite and Episodr
Spearheaded integration of new media including podcasting and RSS into new client product offerings and marketing campaigns
Invigorated existing client marketing campaigns with new media elements
Directed digital media production from concept to final deliverable
Initiated research and development for RSS strategies and effective RSS search engine optimization
Served as company spokesperson at industry and new media events around the country

Career Note: As a representative of Room 214 and respected authority in the new media field I delivered the following presentations:

Podcast & New Media Expo (Sept. 2007) Ontario, CA."Compression Killed the Video Star"
PodCamp NYC (Apr. 2007) New York, New York. Panel "Podcast Open Metrics Initiative."
eLearning 2007 (Mar. 2007) Chicago, IL. "Using RSS Feeds, Podcasts to Deliver Distance Education"
Podcast Academy 5 (Feb. 2007) Duke University. "Understanding Authenticated & Personalized RSS Feeds"

Joint Commission Resources/Joint Commission, Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois ● 5/2005-12/2006

Associate Director, eLearning

Promoted to direct eLearning digital product development for Joint Commission Resources. Led innovations in delivery of information required to comply with the accreditation standards of the Joint Commission on Accredited Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). JCAHO accreditation and certification is the standard of excellence in health care organizations.

Major Contributions:

Identified opportunities for new revenue streams utilizing innovative content delivery systems
Evangelized blogging and podcast initiatives to integrate new media technologies within the enterprise
Directed a division to develop digital products and manage legacy products focusing on increasing sales
Engineered courseware implementation, software, coding and course development for field cadre and central office employees
Disseminated educational training information to 400 global field staff via a custom RSS application

Palegroove Studios, Naperville, Illinois ● 2/2005-Present

Founder/CEO

Pioneered the start-up and development of the world's first podcast production company. Advised Fortune 500 clients on utilizing this medium to extend their brands. Developed podcasts from conception to deliverables which includes consulting with client on: show content, format, script writing, transcripts and creation of royalty free musical intros,outros and sweepers. Developed and licensed Castlock, a robust new media management and RSS metrics platform. Produced over 700 podcasts since 2005.

Podcasts Produced:

MasterCard, The Home Depot, Abbot Laboratories (2007)
Nascar Alltel Racing Podcast (2006 & 2007) produced podcasts in conjunction with XM Satellite Radio
NFL Alltel My Circle Podcast (2006 season) produced with nationally recognized radio talent from official team media outlets
Nascar Coors Light Racing Podcast for Coors Light (2006)
Fab 5 Summer '05 Podcasts produced for MTV Networks Affiliate Marketing (2005)
Developed and independently produced Croncast (2004-Present) delivered 3 times a week since November of 2004 and recognized by a number of media outlets including: The New York Times, Detroit Free Press, FOX News, and NBC (Chicago)

Career Note: As a successful entrepreneur and recognized expert in the podcast industry I delivered the following presentations:

PodCamp West (Nov. 2006) San Francisco, CA. Keynote panel "The Future of New Media"
Portable Media Expo (Sep. 2006) Ontario, CA. "Leveraging Your Knowledge as a Podcasting Consultant"
Podcast Academy 4 (Sep. 2006) Ontario, CA. "Web Design for Corporate Podcasting"

Waubonsee Community College, Sugar Grove, Illinois ● 5/2000-5/2005

Distance Learning Technical Support Specialist

Trained and supported university and college faculty throughout Illinois on the integration of technology into the classroom as part of ILLCO, a state funded initiative
Designed and developed all graphics, wrote code, recorded, edited and encoded all audio for a Flash virtual tour of the college campus for use online, CD-ROM and hybrid DVD
Recognized as innovator within organization promoted four times in five years

Languages

PHP, MySQL, RSS, XML, HTML

Audio/Video

Sound Forge, Acid Pro, WaveLab, Vegas, Waves, Fruity Loops

Blogware/Podcasting

Castlock and WordPress

Design/Interactive

Flash, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator

Courseware

WebCT, aTutor, Scenario Studio, and HorizonLive

Education

BFA Visual Communication with an emphasis in Digital Design 2005

American InterContinental University, Hoffman Estates, Illinois

Associates of Arts Degree December 2000

Waubonsee Community College, Sugar Grove, Illinois

August 1993 - December 1994

Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois

Tags: RSS guru Podcasting professional PHP Castlock New Media expert RSS expert

Making use of my Google Reader shared feed

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 15:37:04 -0500

The 'kris is reading' section of the site is now fully functional. Go and check it out. I'll be here when you get back.

Glad to have you back.

So what the hell was that, right?

I have finished up, for now (some touching up to do), what I think is a pretty cool way to use a shared Google Reader feed. I think I stumbled upon an interesting concept that enhances sharing information online and makes it more personable.

The history of how I got to this point is at the end of this post. I'm going to try to describe what you just saw the best way I can. Here goes nothing:

1. I parse my Google Reader shared feed and cache it in a database. This is done with a script that runs on a cron every two minutes to get new items - post title, description and timestamp
2. I stamp the item with the current time that I most likely read the item
3. This is cool - I run a script to generate keywords (subjects) from the shared item. The script needs to mature a bit but it is pretty effective.
4. I then pull the cached posts up in to the 'kris is reading' section of the site and order them by the time that I read them. Really the only way to organize them coherently since the post timestamps vary based on the author's time zone
5. I display the keywords below each post. Each keyword is a link that will search all of my other shared items for related posts. Each keyword has a link to technorati. Each keyword is an entry into RSS feed for that keyword subject.
6. I have added a 'Search my read items' function so that you can search my shared items for whatever you like. If you want to find items that I have read about about ceratin topic like, Facebook, you can.

What's happening is that I am giving you, the reader of my shared feed the ability to use me as a content filter. And the best part is that you didn't have to ask me to read up on a given topic that you are interested in. I didn't have to add it to a to-do list, I was already doing it. And now I'm able to give you access to it in a few ways:

1. Here's everything that I have read and shared from Google Reader
2. Here's everything that I have read - now search it by subject
3. Here's everything that I have read - now subscribe via RSS to a subject (keyword) and get updates every time I read an item about your subject without ever having to come back to my site

The other really cool part is that the source publishers benefit from my sharing adding the drill down with search, keywords and keyword feeds.

In this scenario I have become a 'social filter', so to speak. Then my readers get to step up to the plate and filter even further. A 'hyper-social filter', so to speak. I am able to share an item from a publisher that my current readers might have never found. Possibly (and possibly in the same sense that someone might find your content in search engine or directory) my readers will visit the publisher's site and subscribe to the source feed.

In a strange way it gives an individual like myself the chance to create a low threshold directory with the ability to be distributed simply by marking items that I like. It takes Google Reader to a new place beyond a feed reader and makes it a platform for syndication. Google Reader becomes a powerful tool to create new channels of distribution for content that usually meets its end on a subscribers computer. Now it has legs.

How can I see other people using this? Tons of ways.

1. The same way that I am using it to create a history of my own reading with the ability to share right down to the topic level.
2. By individuals respected as gate keepers like librarians. Example - whether the source feeds were running on their library content or the internet they could mark items from those feeds and then give the feed based on a topic to a patron, i.e. happy computer savvy student who doesn't need to come back and ask for help again.
3. Could be used to share information behind a firewall from corporate blogs. Great way to fatten up a corporate knowledge base by picking and choosing from your qualified authors.
4. You could create micro-repositories based on topics
5. A million other ways that I haven't thought of yet. Not even quite sure I could come up with a million.

How I got here:

A few months ago, before Rick split to California, the full Naperville nerd posse was together one last time. I was busting out a story about how I was parsing out my Google Reader shared feed and displaying it for site visitors on my 'kris is reading' page. I was way stoked about it. But like many times in the past, it came to light that Rick and beaten me to this with the 'links' section of his blog. He was taking his shared feed, burning it and displaying it on its own page and in his blog navigation. Brilliant!

My consolation, instead of being first (important in nerd circles), was that I had learned how to do this with my own code . . . a valuable prize I am finding out.

So about a month ago I changed up the code to cache my shared feed items. Which was good for two reasons:

1. I could display more than the 25 items in the feed
2. I would have a historical record of what I was reading in my own blog.

And, again, I was not first again. Damn it! This step was inspired by the Tumblr link blog of Josh Bancroft. Seeing the posts cached and the ability to navigate them 20 or so items at a time was brilliant. I could see a ton of stuff that Josh was reading but also see what was motivating him enough to write posts from.

Should I know better than to try be first in doing something? Yes, but my nerd side does get the best of me sometimes.

I doubt that I am first in working over a shared feed this way but it was fun to build and I am sure it will be useful in making something else. Hell, maybe it will inspire someone else to do something cool.

Tags: Google Reader shared feed kris is reading Josh Bancroft link blogs

Move to Naperville and hang with us

Sat, 25 Aug 2007 20:28:35 -0500

Speaking of Mr. Klau, you can purchase his former abode here in Naperville. With this purchase you can not only have beautiful home with a sweet basement bar but you can hang with some of Naperville's finest nerds.

If you buy it, yes you reading this post, you'll get a dinner for two with Betsy and I to give you the dirt on your new town. Rick, Robin, this will sell your house!

This I lifted this from Rick's post about the house (if you are a Democrat check out the last line of this post):

And maybe most significantly, we loved how close we were to some of Naperville's gems: Ribfest (walking distance to that most gluttonous of charitable events!), Last Fling (seeing They Might Be Giants a couple years ago was a highlight), and the Riverwalk. We spent a ton of time walking around downtown - between the library (#1 in the country!), the restaurants, Andersen's bookshop, events like Oktoberfest, there were plenty of opportunities - which was just a mile away.

We added a bit of history to the house, hosting Barack Obama for a fundraiser during his 2004 Senate run.

Tags: Naperville Homes Ribfest Barack Obama Rick Klau Andersen's Bookshop

Thanks to everyone

Mon, 09 Jul 2007 09:52:40 -0500

Well, the live show is history and things can go back to normal . . . as normal as they get around here.

On a serious note, we want to thank everyone, not just those who were able to attend the show last night, but EVERYONE who has listened to the show, listens to the show and has made producing the show so much fun. I'm sure we'd still be cranking these things out if no one were listening but we might not be sharing them. So thank you for lending us your time and ears.

Video from the show will be coming in the next few days thanks to Mike Marusin and Evan Brown. For now you can listen to the show and see some flickr streams from Mike and Brian Beatty.

Tags: Croncat live Naperville podcast Mike Marusin Brian Beatty Evan Brown

Dave Slusher does me wrong - open reply

Fri, 08 Jun 2007 12:23:29 -0500

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