Amanda Congdon, co-founder and anchor of RocketBoom, gave the closing keynote today (May 16, 2006) at Syndicate NY which consisted of several videos of RocketBoom.
What does syndication mean anymore? Amanda admitted that she does not actually know what it means and she mentioned that a Gilmore Gang podcast she was on recently helped her find her find the meaning. She admitted that syndication has changed and it is now all about aggregation. The playing field has been leveled.
Content is king.
It all about content and if the content is good it will bubble to the top and I agree. Amanda was excited about the fact that video blogging is its own industry and you can create your our success path. You don’t need to be signed by a film or production company. We all can be producers and the good content producers will bubble to the top (democratization of content). She went on to say:
“The video blog is a completely new medium with a more casual more direct tone.”
Amanda talked about the value of video blogs on niche topics and the potential rich advertising and the overall business models. She stated that RocketBoom is going after niche ads particularly video ads as post roll ads. Also RocketBoom may offer some premium products on a subscription basis.
Small is the new big. Everyone has several jobs and nimble which makes it easier to move faster. It helps to ensure that the work is a direct reflection of the original vision. Amanda gets excited about the fact that RocketBoom a company so small an nimble has such an international reach.
Amanda also helped promote podcasting in general by plugging Podcast Ready a company that helps ease the use and adoption of podcasts with more than just an iPod through its online services and software. Interestingly, Podcast Ready offers a browser tool button that allows you to click on it from any web site and the software will help find the podcast feed associated with the site.
Summary
Amanda Congdon offered an interesting, quirky video filled keynote on RocketBoom and video blogging emphasizing a few ideas that I already subscribe to. Producers can now keep there integrity as artists and as human beings and ultimately be successful and content is king.
For additional Syndicate info check out: Syndicate Conference
