I’m just back from a spot on a panel at the brand-new Portable Media Expo and Podcasting conference in Ontario, CA.
It was nice to run into a handful of forward-thinking radio folks there, but by and large it was notable more for the absence of radio folks than for their presence.
Yes, it’s a new event and a smallish one. And yes, portable media and particularly podcasting are not industries even remotely the size of radio.
But when you wander through the exhibit hall you can’t help but be impressed by the fresh-faced enthusiasm of the pioneers in this industry. A sense that anything is possible and our best days are before us.
The NAB this ain’t.
It’s a reminder of the importance of the dream that propels you through your day, your year, and your career. The idea that you’re on the edge of something that stands a chance of changing the world, or at least a little piece of it. The idea that revolution begins at the fringes and invariably ripples from there.
Given that podcasting, by my definition, is in the same business radio is in, it’s surprising that there was not one senior group person wandering these halls with a shopping list. Because the shelves were stocked to overflowing with fresh ideas that are bound to be profitable.