Don't forget to check your links...

Okay, so there's this new podcast out there for Podgrrls.net -- Divalicious -- amazing ambient, tasty trance, groovy global beats, all girls all the time. And I put up the RSS file on Podgrrls.net and neglected to test the link.

Turns out the /rss/ directory was protected because I'd been testing something earlier, and I had been posting the RSS feed files to /ff/ and /wim/. It's an easy thing to do, when things are changing rapidly, to forget that you changed some sort of configuration. And it's the kind of thing that often gets ignored by the rest of the folks out in the world, 'cause they don't know/care about configuration issues 'n' such.

But if you're running the show, and you post something out there, make sure you check your link(s), so that your promotional initiative(s) are not in vain. It's altogether too easy for people to go elsewhere (permanently) if something blows up in their face, right out of the gate.

I cannot emphasize enough it is vital that your stuff works, the first time people try it out. Especially if it's an emerging technology like podcasting.

It's just too easy to lose people, otherwise.

Stats count, as of 1/6/06

Fuelbook VBT RSS: 195 hits
Fuelbook VBT MP3: 9 downloads

(Just as a point of reference, I first got 91 RSS hits on 1/3/6, up to 160 RSS hits on 1/5/6), and this was just from submitting to the directories.

VeryPeri podcast RSS: 53 hits
VeryPeri podcast MP3: 5 hits

Podtopia podcast RSS: 63 hits
Podtopia podcast MP3: 1 hits :(

All of this has happened, since I submitted to the podcast directories over this past week.

And I just sent out a passel o' press releases to my main outlets, so we'll see what happens next week -- I combined immediate distribution with Monday-morning distributions.

We'll see what happens to the hits when the press releases "hit". We'll see if anyone is noticing.

Keeping coherent

"Coherent" is not just about seeming sane. It's about being consistent and on-topic. If there's one great stumbling block that appears in front of me, time and again, it's incoherence --- as in, divided interests, conflicting priorities, etc. Getting pulled off in different directions by different initiatives. With everything that goes on in this brain -- and the fact that I can see everything plain as day, from concept to finish , and I sorely want to "have at it" to make it so -- I'm surprised I get anything done.

A cornucopia of ideas and the ability to make them ALL happen, is both a blessing and a curse.

I really need a full staff.

But I don't have one (yet), so I've got to make do on my own. In a way, this PEAPOD mix is a way for me to stay on-topic with my work... it lets me explore different aspects of a single idea, so that I'm able to have variety, as well as consistency. And if I do it right, there's coherence, as well.

It's kind of an ADHD approach to things -- and rather than taking ritalin to suppress the urges, I've developed a highly effective way to harness that energy and get a whole lot done in the process.

I think about all the kids on ritalin, and it saddens me. If they were only taught how to harness that energy and make it work for them, they'd be the saving grace of this planet. They have the energy and the drive to get a whole lot done -- if they have the proper tools and mindset -- and a whole lot NEEDS to be done. What a waste, that those who don't have their skills and drive and energy have them on drugs to keep them in line.

Such a waste.

But I'm not here to bemoan the prescription of mind-deadening drugs to our planet's greatest hope (that's another topic for another blog). I'm here to talk about coherence. As in, having the same links to the same projects on different websites and blogs. As in, tying everything together and seeing connections between different initiatives, and cross-referencing them for mutual support. It's almost like multi-culturalism on a micro scale. It's seeinig the diversity and strength in each different aspect of my work, and calling out the ways in which each aspect is unique and also contributes to the other initiatives. It's seeing connections, and NOT insisting that I tone down my efforts and make them consistent in content. It's about seeing synergies (much as I hate to use that word) and making the most of them, so that the energy behind this initiative is coherent on a macro scale.

It's about seeing that this PEAPOD Mix is indeed NOT about only Print and Electronic and Audio -- it's about Publishing On Demand. It's about the combination of the different media for a common purpose -- Publishing. And it's "leveraging synergies to maximize exposure" (much as the expression makes my plain-spoken side cringe), or cross-referencing the different activities to highlight different aspects and promote the whole initiative in the process.

Long live ADHD. Put down the ritalin and start planning your multimedia initiative today!

Next on the docket for "Fuel" promotion: press releases

... sent out to the world via my list of online press release services. I've got a collection of these services, all of which offer free services (or advanced features for a fee), and now I've got to craft a press release to send out about the "Fuel" Virtual Book Tour... and "Fuel" of course.

The pressure's on now, because I just sent out an announcement to my personal contacts list about my projects, and if I did my job and piqued their interest, they're going to be watching my work and waiting for me to do what I intend to do.

It's a good thing, actually, 'cause it keeps me on track. After working in solitude for so many years, I got used to not having an external party to answer to, in my own work. I could build my websites and write my stories/essays/poetry, 'cause I was pretty danged sure that nobody was going to be paying much attention. A great deal of freedom, that... but it didn't foster the best habits of follow-through. If your project takes wing in cyberspace, but nobody notices, does it even exist? Forget about trees and forests. Projects in cyberspace can literally fail to exist, if nobody notices. If you don't have any reciprocal links, or your page ranking is in the doldrums, and your content is constantly stale, you might as well not even have a project at all.

Which is where the web gets tricky. A lot of people jumped into this line of business, over the past 10 years, thinking that all they needed to do, was put something out there, and it would suffice. Unlike a lot of people, I got into this line of work *precisely* because I knew that just putting something out there, was not going to be good enough. The deciding moment for me to jump into web work came, when I thought to myself during the 1995 Super Bowl, when the first company had their url at the bottom of their Super Bowl ad, "If someone is going to create those sites, someone is going to have to maintain them -- and that person (well, one of them, anyway) is me."

With the web, as with life, you're always moving -- either you're moving forward, or you're moving backwards. There's no in-between. If you fail to continue to move forward and contribute and grow and change, you fade away... and eventually, essentilly don't exist anymore. If your content is stale, your site hasn't been updated since 1998 (and says so at the bottom of all your pages) and your strategy for moving ahead isn't in place and active, you will not only alienate your visitors, but lose your relevance, lose your backlinks, and slowly but surely fade out of the picture.

This is even more true with blogging and RSS and podcasting. All of these media are dependent upon constant growth and change. You can't just put a podcast out there once, and walk away, thinking that's enough. You can't just create a blog and then let it sit there. You can't just throw out an RSS file and only update it once a month, and have anyone continue to bother with it. All these media depend -- demand -- constant attention, constant growth, a consistent strategy, and consistent implementation, which can't be scattershot and "hail mary".

When you're working the dynamic web, you have to keep moving. Like a shark... like all of nature. All the world is in constant motion -- either forwards or backwards -- and the web is no different.

For all its singularity and uniqueness and newness, the web is JUST like this ancient planet.

Making do... getting it done

I spent Saturday re-recording the first book tour reading with my noise-cancelling headset microphone (As Robin William's character says in "The Bird Cage", Madonna! Madonna!), but I'm just not happy with the result. I've got a lot of whiny hiss in the final recording, and when I remove the noise, it comes out sounding tinny. The bitrate is higher with the line-in microphone, but I'm getting a lot of extra noise, for some reason. So, I'm going back to the original reading, for the sound quality.

Looks like the internal microphone is the way I'm going to go. In future readings, I'll bump up the animation in my presentation more -- give it more of a performance. But I'm tired of waiting and mucking around with the sound files, and it's a new year, so I'll just get this out there, so folks can see what the first reading sounds like. And they can send me feedback. And I'll focus on improvements in subsequent readings. My ultimate intention is to piece together all the audio from my different readings, into a single audiobook -- also to be downloadable from Lulu.com -- so if I get to the end and I want a better feel for the first two chapters of the book for the final audiobook, I'll just re-record them there.

It's all a learning curve. But the curve gets less steep, as I go on.

Now that I've done my first complete reading, it's time to document the process for "Creating your Virtual Book Reading Tour", the creator's manual I'm going to publish with Lulu.com. Having a virtual book tour is so very cool, and I'm sure other authors are going to want to do it, too. So, I'll create a guide to show folks how to do it. And over the coming weeks and months of doing this process, I'll refine the guide, if need be. But at this point, I've got just about everything I need for the first edition -- except for the screen shots -- so, now I just need to capture those, and I'll be on my merry way.

Now, the documentation I'm doing will be dual -- print AND online. The book is "totally portable media" in one slick package, while the online documentation will be broken up between steps, and will become an online self-guided course, eventually. That way, folks can move at their own pace and have info right in front of them.

The online format actually offers more space to put information -- and bigger graphics, in color. The restrictions of 9x6 inches and only black and white text, can be a problem -- especially for pointing out smaller details of Audacity and the sound files. Online, I can have full-color, full-size graphics which convey information much easier. It's just a different way of conveying information, and both print and online have their strengths.

The main thing is, to convey what you want to convey, and do it as thoroughly as you possibly can.

And convey I shall.

I've transferred the MP3 to the server, and I've set up my podcast page. You can see it at all in action http://www.podtopia.net/fuelbook/. Subscribe to the feed, or download the file today, to hear what's possible.

I've also submitted the feed to 21 podcast directories (hint: it's a whole lot of work, but if you can create a text file with the information that the directories ask for, over and over -- like the RSS url, the name of the podcast, the url of your site, your e-mail adddress, etc -- you can just copy and paste to your heart's content). Bless all the directories that believe the info in your RSS feed and just reference it, instead of demanding you enter all the information for them (again, as far as I'm concerned). Bless the folks that just let you "ping" them -- or, submit your RSS feed to them for their automatic inclusion.

I've learned a lot, this first time through. Now, it's time to capture that learning and pass it along. I think it's important to time the publication of the creator's guide with the press releases going out, because when people get a taste of this, they're going to want to do it, themselves. And I need to take advantage of that wave, when it hits. I'm kinda paddling around in deep water, now, and I need to be ready to catch "The" wave when it comes. So, this week will be about getting the print manual together and writing up press releases to send out at the end of this week.

And, of course, notifying my friends and family that Fuel is finally becoming a reality -- in more ways than they could imagine.

Next steps: Create press releases to notify the world that the Fuel VBT is available. Document the VBT podcast production process, publish the print manual, create the online self-directed course, and do press releases around that. All in good time. Right now, it's time for my daily walk. And then a nap...

It's going to be a busy month! I can't wait!