If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area and have a mobile phone that can catch podcasts, then subscribe to this RSS feed: http://ericrice.audioblog.com/rss/baytraffic.xml and let me know if it works...

Windows Mobile or if there are any other operating systems supported, that'll work too.

And yes, that's real traffic info. E-mail me or call.

The voting-for-podcasts thing is perplexing to me, as it's less about the infamous long tail and more about the high point on the tail.

I've taken a slack-ass, lackadaisical approach to encouraging people to vote for my show, which is to say, "not encouraged much". First off, where do I tell people to vote? Podcast Alley? Podcast Pickle? The countless other directories that will emerge?

And what does that gain for me? Is it a validation of this grassroots movement? Is the top of the Tail required for the people that don't think about (nor realize) the way things are presented to them in mass form?

I went shopping today in my neighborhood, which hits about one million people in a region of 10 million people. Add that to the numbers that make up the United States alone, and you've got a fairly big number of people conditioned to have a certain expectation for what is good and what is not, simply by the ordering and the ranking that's given to it.

David Letterman has a top 10 list. Ebay sellers have feedback--the higher the number, the better the reputation. And the list goes on. Even on an interpersonal level, we might ask each other, "What's your favorite movie of all time?" forcing us to once again, rank to the top of our own personal Tails.

This is line of thinking is not intended to devalue the power of content in the Long Tail. In fact, I bring up these issues to illustrate how blogging, podcasting, and even videoblogging, could possibly turn into the big monoliths that some would believe, they are intended to disrupt.

Can decentralization and democratization stand up to generations of expectations? And if not, then please, feel free to vote for my show.

This is hilarious and it comes from Brick Flicks. Man, I love the internets.

To people who know nothing about it. But, now, they are experts!

Hi!

"Living in a fisheye lens, caugh tin the camera eye..." -Rush, "Limelight"

A closeup of a Hasselblad lens reflecting my neighbor's house.

I'm noticing that every invite to Yahoo 360 that I've been getting has Marc Canter's picture attached as part of the e-mail invitation, no matter who the user is... Or are there several of him? Is the entire blogosphere actually made up of only Marc, throwing down some wicked networking software.

Time to roll a twenty-seven sided die to see what comes up next.

Engadget #24 and Autoblog #3 are now online.

Just on the heels of our announcement of our podcast recording and RSS publishing features, we've got some new features in the video department, and some enhancements to the players. Demos coming soon.

Audioblog.com News :: Updated audio and video players; AVI upload available

Exploding Radio, Number, uh, screw it, I lost count. I'm looking for one person local here in the SF Bay Area who has a cell phone with podcast/RSS software installed on his or her phone. I'm working on a project that will sorta piss off a few bigger conglomerates. I like poking things with sticks, if you haven't already figured that out.

P.S. It helps if you commute on the freeways. ;-) Carpool passengers welcome to inquire, too.

Yah, it's on. I gots invites. Yahoo 360.

"Officials in Thailand and Sri Lanka report that residents are evacuating coastal regions in the Indian Ocean after an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of at least 8.2 struck off the coast of Indonesia Monday"

"Sri Lanka also issued a warning that the earthquake may spawn a tsunami that would reach Sri Lanka's shores by about 3 a.m. Tuesday (4 p.m. ET Monday) and urged those living in low lying areas to move to higher ground."

CNN.com - Powerful quake strikes off Indonesia coast - Mar 28, 2005

Maybe five.

And so it goes...

Disney blogger Jim Hill, 46, says his expulsion from the Happiest Place on Earth was handled in deft Disney style - "They were being so serious, so Disney, so polite and professional - but at the same time treating it as if it was a nuclear bomb threat in their park it was laughable," he said Friday, recalling his encounter last week with park security in Anaheim, Calif.

AP Wire | 03/25/2005 | Blogger bounced from Disneyland for giving unauthorized tours

You have a fan club: Yahoo! Groups : Wehatethenewlook

And good grief, I'm still in my prime and I can barely read this. And it took forever to find the Reply buttons over the ads that I didn't see.

Woman in leggings: What the fuck is this shit? You gonna hand me three motherfucking sugar packets? Do you have any idea how big this coffee is?
Cashier: We don't put sugar in your coffee. Sugar packets are on the counter.
Woman in leggings: Listen, my boyfriend's a cop. And he owns, like, three Dunkin' Donuts franchises. What do you mean you won't put sugar in my fuckin' coffee? I want to speak to the manager.
Manager: Excuse me, but I heard you. There are sugar packets on the counter. Take as many as you like.
Woman in leggings: You guys are total assholes.

If you do just one thing this weekend, then it should be reading Overheard in New York. Seriously.

Bonus link: How to wax your ass hair from Tod Maffin's How to Do Stuff podcast.

After our conversation at SXSW, Matt May writes about 'fanscription', a concept of fan/listener-based transcription of various podcasts.

There have been suggestions in his comment area about using a Wiki and of course, the use of volunteers.

That's cool and all, but I'm going to throw out the question of compensation. Volunteer efforts totally rock, but this ain't no easy task. How could a fanscriber/translater be compensated? Is it Google Ads revenue on a transcription page? Is there a set rate for this? (Side note: I've wanted my pages translated to other languages for quite some time, but had no idea where to start. Perhaps I'll give Joel a call)

Ideas welcome. I have more than enough podcasts on my plate. ;-)

Recently I noticed that Branden Steineckert, drummer for The Used (the guys whose music and backstage antics you've heard on my latest show), has a skateboard company called Twenty Twenty.

That got me thinking about videoblogging and the skateboard community.

I never skateboarded growing up, yet I've had plenty of admiration for skateboarding. It's a California thing, I think, as we're so surf-and-skate-centric. A byproduct of my exposure to this culture has resulted in my watching a whole heck of a lot of skate videos. In fact, there must be thousands of videos of people skateboarding.

Now the way in which these videos are made is fascinating to me. You have to film and skate. And that's waaaay beyond my skill set. But I'll happily admire from afar.

To wrap up the thought process, let me say this. If you're part of the culture, or know people who skate, then encourage them to add and tag their videos! They are videobloggers and they don't even know it! I mean come on, I'm using! exclamation! points! so it's obvious I'm excited about this.

Of course, this isn't limited to skateboarders, either. Surfers and snowboarders have videoblogged for quite some time as well.

Hit up Mefeedia or download ANT, then come on by the videoblogging group on Yahoo and you've got an instant community ready to lend a hand in helping you get your videos online.

I didn't name this article, I just answered the questions in the car. From Marketing Shift: Eric Rice Podcasting For Dummies

Woo! I was interviewed on Madge's show. We talked about videoblogging, cameras, podcasting, Audioblog.com, and Pootie Tang.

NSFW = Not Safe for Work (although that theme song does need to be turned up loud)