Conference Podcasting - Where IT and great minds meet
Article for e|thursday in the Irish Independent by Marie Boran
(full article available online here)
Brian Greene, podcasting, blogging and social media consultant with Talking Voices.com, says podcasting, or the recording and on-demand broadcasting of audio, is not just for those who can’t make it on the day.
“Now people are going to conferences to meet and greet other people and to network, not necessarily to attend the speeches.
“They listen to the podcasts on the journey home because there’s a more valuable event going on at a conference: in the corridors and breakout rooms.”
Podcasting for events isn’t just a matter of hitting the record button and waiting. It is an integral part of building the whole conference feel. “These are becoming the tools of the conference trade, which will become the norm in the future.”
As well as capturing all the speeches, Greene interviews speakers and sponsors afterwards and carries out audience vox pops to capture the atmosphere of the event.
Even pre-event build-up can be generated on an organisation’s website, hosting podcast interviews with participants in the run-up to the big day in what Greene calls a “trailer-cum-teaser”.
“Podcasting has extended the reach of the conference. Conferences are happening before they happen. They can live on forever because of the recording.
“While the physical conference remains the same, things are changing on the periphery and podcasting has changed it on all fronts.”
Because the physical conference remains unchanged, it requires the same invitations, bookings, payments and invoicing requirements that can be a nightmare for the event organiser.