Have you heard of Blubrry? If you're a podcast producer or podcast companion then I recommend you stop by there and see what's happening.

The first thing you will realize is that the site is not sexy. It's a pretty basic approach that focuses on the experience for both the companion and the producer. No flashy ads, no movies that play automatically urging you to get in the game or gamble online.

What you can't see by looking at Blubrry is the new approach to building a podcast community. Looking through the podcasts on Blubrry you won't find thousands of shows, but hundreds. That's because Blubrry is not a podcast directory, but an opt in community. Community members sign up to have their podcast listed and agree to some basic terms that include agreeing to do a very small amount of promotion for Blubrry in return for the possibility of Blubrry negotiating an ad for the podcast.

As a podcaster you get a profile page that includes the ability to add your podcast image plus a nice sized header image as well. There are also links to the podcast home page and a feed image that links directly to the podcast RSS feed. The design is very clean and respects the podcast producer's branding and creativity. There are also links that allow users to Digg a podcast or submit the link to Del.icio.us. Plus, podcasters have the option to add links directly to podcast pages on Odeo, iTunes or Yahoo! Podcasts. If you don't want the links there they won't show up.

In my opinion, the profile page alone tells you that the folks behind Blubrry respect podcast producers. And they're doing so while also offering the potential to make some money. And it's obvious that the way they plan to make money is via ads on podcasts where the revenue is shared with the podcaster and not by links or banners whose revenue is solely pocketed by the site owner.

Now there were a few bugs at launch which are being addressed quickly it seems. And the site does not have features for video podcast producers, yet. Listening to the newly launched Brrycast, I heard Todd Cochrane address the issue of bugs and also talk about planning for features related to videocasts. There's also a plan in the works to help people get educated on the ins and outs of podcast.

And please consider this. This is coming from folks who have no VC funding and are still working day jobs. So even if the functions you're looking for are not 100% present at this time, you've got to give them credit for what they've done so far.

Some people might say that Blubrry pales in comparison to the cash hearty companies that I mentioned in the previous post. They might pale cash balance wise but they're doing very well innovating solutions to connect podcast producers and podcast companions. Their goals are realistic as well. There's no exhortation to quit your day job or promise of great riches. But there is a call to develop great content and take part in a forward thinking community.

That's a call I've answered and I look forward to reaping the rewards, whatever they will be.