Just in case you haven't heard about it, today I'm pointing you to IT Conversations. Phil Windley, has built a very respectable library of podcasts on computer / software topics. The podcasts are a mix of original production and speeches from the Technology Conference Circuit. I admire Mr. Windley's work for the following reasons:
- Timeliness. The podcasts help me keep up-to-date with what the luminaries are thinking right now.
- Unmediated. Instead of reading the media about what someone said, I can hear it directly.
- Trendmap. IT Conversations helps me spot emerging leaders. Mr. Windley casts a wide net and this exposes me to people I haven't heard of before.
- Voice. I enjoy listening to the person speak. Tone of voice, inflection, ... all this adds a tremendous amount of information to the content.
- Ease-of-use. Mr. Windley has done an admirable job of making the content easy to use and is formated to for podcasting or directly consuming over a browser.
Just to pick up on a word I used earlier, what's interesting about IT Conversations is that, through diligence and dedication, Mr. Windley has created a library of content that probably has a dozen podcasts that you will want to listen to Right Now.
One very notable trend that has helped Mr. Windley is the "opening" of the conference circuit. Back in the day, the important conferences were exclusive events that reporters could attend but, due to restraints imposed by the conference organizers, had difficultly reporting on. Sometimes, the entire event happened in an "off the record" bubble. But that was the old model. The day of those conferences has come and gone. The new trend -- camps / mash-ups / O'Reilly -- is a more open model that sometimes doesn't even charge for admission. As a consequence, Mr. Windley can set up his recording rig almost anywhere he wants and capture the moment.
Highly recommended.
