Quick'n'dirty Podcast 35: Wine + Techmology = Cool

Yes, I know I misspelled the word "technology." That wasn't by mistake. If you don't get the joke, maybe you should be spending more time watching Ali G. reruns...

In all seriousness, yesterday was a really fun show. It started with me raving about newly discovered podcast platform/technology iPadio (H/T to friend Bryan Person). My co-host, Jennifer, hadn't had a chance to spend much time with with the service yet but agreed with my assessment that they showed promise. Here are the four things I really like about their service:

1. The sound quality -- at least on the iPhone -- is crystal clear. I assume the recording on other devices is equally good (you listen for yourself with my test podcasts).
2. You can record offline (assuming you have an app) and upload when you have connectivity. This is good for planes or car rides where cell coverage can vary.
3. When I decided to give iPadio a test and mentioned so on Twitter, James O'Malley (he mans their Twitter presence) immediately chimed in and offered up his help if I needed it.
4. Their CEO, Mark Smith, followed up with me after my first test and let me know about a cool project they participated in recently.

Next up, we had one of our most interesting guests to date in Paul Mabray, chief strategy officer of Vintank. Not only is he funny (his Twitter picture says it all) but his company is bringing technology and innovation to one of the oldest industries in the world, namely, wine.

During our 25 minute conversation, Paul covered some of the reasons why it's tricky to innovate in the wine industry including state regulations, dirth of eCommerce know-how and a general lack of knowledge of the end customer on the part of most of the vineyards/wineries -- an issue caused by selling almost exclusively through intermediaries. As if humor and smarts weren't enough, one of the other things that Jennifer and I really appreciated about Paul/Vintank is that he brings 16 years of wine industry experience to the table. Yup, this guy knows the space inside and out.

Speaking of smart, our featured, "Twitterer of the week" was Lon Cohen aka @Obilon. While I wasn't as familiar with Lon as Jennifer was, he has an impressive background. His LinkedIn profile points to his background in strategic online marketing, communications, social media, SEO and content management. He also demonstrates a healthy dose of snark in his tweet stream which as anyone that follows our show knows is a huge plus in our book.

Last but not least was our point / counterpoint. This week, we talked about "what comes first, philanthropy or fans." Jennifer talked about an example of a company that offered to send a pump to Haiti if they reached a certain number followers. Her gripe was, why not just buy the pump and send it and then encourage follower-ship based on the good deed. I argued that while it would be a noble for company X to send the pump up front, the reason they can afford to buy the pump in the first place is that they've made a strategic bet that the social buzz they create through this PR stunt can drive meaningful marketing results. Where Jennifer and I both agreed was that being singularly focused on quantity vs. quality of followers.

On the housekeeping front, here are three things Jennifer and I would like to to put on your radar:

• As of April 29, Jennifer and I are going to move our "live broadcast" time from 6 PM ET / 3 PM PT to 3 PM ET / 12 PM PT. We are also trimming our show from 45 to 30 minutes (same format, just crisper).
• We are officially looking for an unpaid intern / producer (we will pay in love, kindness and recognition). Time commitment is likely 1-2 hours / week. Ideally person has some podcast editing skills, knowledge of social networks and highly organized. If interested, DM Jennifer or me for details.
• You can listen to past shows here, or read recaps on Jennifer's ZDNet blog or my Stroutmeister blog.

Until next week, booyakasha.