Listen in for tips on how to build a community using social media and why it is important to record high quality audio when podcasting.

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As you will have seen from so many people around the blogosphere who have posted about their experience of PodCamp Ireland 2007, it was a tremendous success.

Though I have to let you into a little secret - Bernie did nothing for my blood pressure when at after the opening address on Saturday morning (we were due to start at 10 am) he whisked away Conn, Neville and John McGuinness TD for photoshoots and and interview for Intruders TV!

Fortunately my ever supportive husband was at hand to help re-write the agenda for the day and Brian and Dean from Talking Voices did a sterling job stepping in at short notice to get the day kicked off with a session about creativity and innovation.

Neville Hobson was really generous with his expertise - I think he took part in no less than one full session and two panels and he sold out of his book.

I also managed to persuade (twist the arm) of two of our tremedous sponsors to take part in panels - without our sponsors we just would not have been able to host the event.

So thank you to everyone who took part - particularly Ken who did a fantastic job lining up the venue (which we thought at one stage would be closed for refurbishment) and who stood steadfastly at the sound desk all day.

Thank you to everyone who joined us from teenagers who blog to granny’s who podcast, from poets who want to podcast to musicians who were not sure where to get started with new media. it truly was a diverse event.

My only problem was that I had little time to record any podcasts, but I managed to sneak in a few quick interviews which I will have edited and make available this week.

Thank you to all of you who provided feedback on the event - I’ll be posting your thoughts an feedback here over the next week.

In the meantime I hope you found the event inspiring and do share your successes with us won’t you in terms of your journey into the world of social media.

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It wouldn’t be a PodCamp if we didn’t all come away with lots of time-shifted rich-media to share! Official podcasts of the sessions will start appearing here soon. But we want to hear your podcast experiences too! Remember to use the tag podcampireland for your blog posts, photos, podcasts etc, and we’ll feature a watchlist on that tag here at podcampireland.com.

To start the ball rolling, here’s an interview from Intruders.TV with Minister of State John McGuinness TD who was kind enough to officially open the days events on Saturday morning.

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This episode of Digiculture is dedicated to PodCampIreland, and in particular to the diverse group of people I expect to meet over the next 36 hours.

Inspired by that, I’ve delved into the Digiculture archives to find a previously unreleased conversation recorded in the elated atmosphere of the Irish Blog Awards earlier this year.

The podcast features talented podcaster Grannymar, who I’m delighted to hear will be joining us tomorrow, her daughter Ellybabes, and Roger Galligan of IrishBlogs.ie. Robert Scoble makes a cameo appearance, and there’s more Kilkenny music from Saving J.

Tomorrow we’ll add to these conversations, and hopefully capture more of them to share in further podcasts. Beimíd ag caint!

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But why is that important is this fast paced world? Isn’t everyone meant to look after themselves? After all, we live in a world where we expect our children to be self sufficient and able to stand on their own two feet so to speak.

I remember coming to Ireland many many years ago - long before it became my home and that is one of the things I was struck by - the really strong sense of community and belonging amongst the people I met.

I then found that echoed in the workplace when I eventually moved to Ireland.

However in the later 1990’s and early 21 century, it seemed to me that we moved to a far more individualistic world - not just here in Ireland.

I wonder if the rise of the online community through social networks and platforms such as blogging are starting to take a hold as we search for connections with others who have a similar point of view and want to share similar experiences?

Here are three things I think are critical when building communities in business - be that offline or online:

1. Common interest - strong communities are built around an area of common interest, experience and language
2. Collaboration - the strongest communities thrive because of the members preparedness to collaborate. That is not to say that competition does not exisit - but where it does, it is harnessed for competitive advantage
3. Connected - thriving communities stay connected - building and nurturing the network across their members over time rather than letting relationships wither and die.

Consider when you have been engaged in a strong community - were you all the richer for it? What made you want to be part of that community? How can you take that learning and apply it to expand your professional success today.

We will be talking about building communities at PodCamp Ireland - Neville Hobson, one of the people who will be speaking at PodCamp Ireland will be leading a session on building communities.

I hope you’ll join the PodCamp Ireland community!

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Yes just 21 days to go to PodCamp Ireland and the organising team are working flat out - especially Ken who has been busy sorting out all the logistics with the hotel - I won’t get into it here but he has had a major challenge on his hands with a refurbishment being announced just a week ago at the hotel we are using.

Bernie has been equally busy connecting with sponsors.

Without them both, PodCamp Ireland would not be taking place. Thanks guys.

Yesterday we had a planning meeting and we have decided to host seveal content streams which we believe will cover the kinds of areas you are all interested in hearing about.

Over the next few weeks we will be writing blog posts and we will also have a few podcasts for you to listen to covering the types of topics we hope people will speak about.

So here are the streams:

• Audio and video podcasts
• Blogging
• Building communities through social media
• Music and design/artwork connected to social media.

We’re planning content from those completely new to social media through to technical content for the advanced among you.

So what do we need from you?

1. Make sure you register for PodCamp Ireland
2. Please tell a friend and bring them with you - social media is after all about building communities
3. Register here on this site or at the wiki to say you are coming - we need numbers to plan catering
4. Consider speaking at the event - remember I have offered to support you if you are a little nervous about doing so. You will be amongst friends and I can guarantee that everyone who comes to events like PodCamps are really supportive. And if you would prefer not to list your details at the Wiki until you have spoken to someone, feel free to connect to one of the organising team and you can even phone me or email me.

Remember this event is for you - so we’d love your input.

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Elly commented that she was concerned that BarCamps and the forthcoming PodCamp Ireland puts people off that are non technical.

Ina commented that at BarCamp Dublin there were few women and Elly confirmed that there were around 10% of women who registered for BarBamp Dublin.

And Damien commented that we should get rid of Wiki’s.

Bernie suggested that to get people to come to scuh events that we need to personally invite them. I know that’s what I have been doing and also encouraging them to speak just as Elly encouraged me to speak at BarCamp Dublin.

What I can tell you is that on average there are usually less than 20 percent of women at events relating to social media, often because they are concerned that it will be a technical event - though there are some highly proficient women in technology. That in fact is why I co-founded The Podcast Sisters - where we talk, write and teach all things related to social media especially for the non geek.

What I can tell you is that the event is more than a name. I hope us assuming the term PodCamp and all that goes with it does not put people off.  We are using the name PodCamp because we believe and have signed up to what PodCamps stand for.

Yes we have a Wiki but we also wanted to make it easy for you to register so we have a registration page in place in case you are uncomfortable with Wiki’s. 

And as for PodCamp Ireland being focused around technology, that is certainly not our intent. In fact you will be hard pressed to find someone less technical than me as my fellow PodCamp Ireland organisers, my business colleagues and my husband will confirm! What I do know though is how to use these social media platforms to build your brand, enage your people, attract more clients and enjoy greater success.

So what can we do to encourage you to come to PodCamp Irelandand ensure it is an event that you will want to come to whether man, women, Irish, not Irish, techy geek or non-geek, new to social media or a veteran?

This is an event for you and we want to make it a success.

If you are worried about stepping forward as a speaker and need someone to help you prepare what you will say, email me and I’ll coach you in your presentation so you will shine!

And don’t forget to let us know what you want to hear about. Leave your comments here or email one of the event organisers and we will see what we can do.

So Damien, Elly and Ina we are listening. And with everyones help PodCamp Ireland will be an event we’ll be talking about for years to come - and for all the right reasons.

So are you ready to register now?

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Second Life offers businesses an exciting opportunity for engaging with a global market. The seminar is taking place on Thursday 13th September 2007 at The Clarion Hotel, Lapps Quay, Cork between 6.30 – 8.30pm.

While the event is free you do have to register.

The Second Life seminar will cover:

• The Case for Virtual Worlds
• A Case Study of Virtual Dublin
• Workshop session on Second Life
• Developing an Avatar
• Exploring retail and promotional opportunities etc. 

If you are not able to attend you can always listen to a podcast I did with my fellow Podcast Sisters about an introduction to Second Life.

And perhaps if anyone reading this is an expert in Second Life for business, you might like to register to join us at PodCamp Ireland and host a short seminar there.

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But my heart sinks when I see business leaders making some fundamental errors which will hold them back from realising the great results you can achieve through business blogging and corporate podcasting.

Here are three common errors to avoid when developing your business blog:

1. Not branding your business blog – by branding I recommend you look at the following three areas
(a) Ensuring that the name of your business blog connects to your business and the services you offer
(b) Making sure that the design of your business blog follows through from your corporate identity. There are many low cost and no cost blogging tools available which one of the reasons why business blogging has become so popular. That is fantastic – but please do not scrimp on investing in the design of your business blog to reflect your corporate identity and also making it easy to navigate for the readers of your business blog.
(c) Creating content that meets the needs of your target market and niche – consider your blog as a way to represent your unique expertise in your field.

2. Not connecting your business blog to your corporate website – if you have a corporate website make sure that you have a link from your website to your business blog. I do recommend that this link is not just a hyperlink to your blog which is authored on a separate platform. To ensure that you benefit from traffic to your business blog, I recommend that you use a blogging platform such as Wordpress.org where you can host your business blog alongside your website.

3. Not adding an about page – you might not realise it but your about page on your business blog or website is the second most likely page that people will click through to. It is important to have details about you and the team authoring your business blog as people want to check out who you are – they are genuinely interested in the authors of your business blog and they are also interested in assessing your professional credibility in the areas you are writing about.

If you want to read about four other common mistakes that are made when building your business blog you will find them here.

And of course if you come along to PodCamp Ireland you’ll be able to pick up lots more tips and guidance to improve your business blog.

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