End of An Era? New Media Expo Founder On Selling Show To Blog World Expo
Jan 10th, 2009 | By Elisabeth Lewin | Category: Making Money with Podcasts, Podcasting, Video
Video director and new media pundit Tim Street was at MacWorld this week, where he interviewed New Media Expo founder Tim Bourquin about his recent decision to sell the NME (formerly the Podcast and Portable Media Expo) to the organizers of the Blog World Expo. The combined show will be called the Blog World and New Media Expo.
We speculated about the impact of this merger with Blubrry CEO Todd Cochrane during his 24-hour Podcast Marathon last month. Hearing Bourquin explain the thinking behind the sale helps better understand the situation.
Bourquin was a pioneer in several facets of podcasting; he organized the first commercial podcasting convention, back in 2005, and he was among the first to develop and sell a popular podcast series (Endurance Radio, an endurance-sport podcast) at a profit.
In Street’s interview, Bourquin talks about the changes he has seen as, the podcast industry becomes one more piece of the media creator’s toolkit. “You’re not just a blogger; you’re not just a video podcaster. You’re a media creator,” Bourquin says. “Everyone is broadening their horizons when it comes to creating content.”
As for Bourquin, it looks as though he is not just passing the reins of the New Media Expo to the Blog World Expo folks, he’s leaving podcasting behind. Acceding to listeners’ pleas, he and his brother Emil are going to do one more “wrap-up” episode of their popular Podcast Brothers podcast. He has no other podcasting plans on the horizon.
Does this mark the end of an era?
What do you think the impact of Bourquin’s departure from the podcasting scene will be? For those who’ve attended both the NME and the Blog World Expo, what will the combined expo look like?
Actually, I’m going to be podcasting more than ever. Both the Small Business Podcast (www.SmallBusinessPodcast.com) and Trader Interviews (www.TraderInterviews.com) are getting new lives this month as we re-launch them.
I actually have more time for podcasting now that ever so I definitely have big podcasting plans this year.
Tim Bourquin, Founder
New Media Expo
I would not read to much into this change. I think that this sale is not a sign of anything other then a reaction to an economic decline that creates consolidation in any industry. While it is true that podcasters are and should become more broad digital media distributors that use many different distribution platforms. This view goes both ways as many new media creators that distribute via places like YouTube only also need to distribute via podcasting as well. The distribution platform of podcasting is stronger then ever and will continue to grow (even through these tough economic times). I am very bullish on RSS-based digital media distribution and its future. I do see video podcasting blending in more with just regular subscription based video/tv distribution platforms. In the long-run audio podcasts will be the most regular used media form with RSS syndication as video will have many other alternative distribution platforms to use.