Andrew Baron, he of Rocketboom fame, has revealed his core strategy for a new videoblogging/video podcast venture called Abbey Corps.

In a post earlier this week, Baron took a slap at the vertically integrated network models being practiced by PodTech and PodShow. In that post Baron comments on his model stating, "...I will go on to explain why I believe it's a much better business than Podshow or PodTech."

PodTech CEO John Furrier weighs in on that post with a comment and offers, "I see us as possible partners not competitors. PodShow and PodTech have been pushing out alot of great content and continue to aggregate more producers." Sounds like he's not up for a little scrap with Baron, who definitely pulls more weight than Furrier in the world of video podcasting.

The comment about the "great content" being pushed out by the famously funded vertical podcast networks of Silicon Valley amuses me. PodTech has the ScobleShow which I wouldn't call great. Neither would new PodTech hire Loren Feldman of 1938 Media who recently called the show "horribly boring." Quick, name another show on PodTech!

Then there's PodShow, who are great at producing nothing new. Their core stable of shows (like Rock n' Roll Geek, Daily Source Code, Dawn and Drew) still remain the most interesting on the network. What's new? Not much in my opinion.

So fast forward to Christmas day when Baron reveals more details on Abbey Corps. They will not be vertically integrated, which I think is a good move. My definition of a vertically integrated network is one that owns the media, owns the servers, sells all the ads, engages in exclusive contracts for content.

I think that the vertically integrated model is a poor one in a world where anyone can start a channel and siphon your audience. Baron disagrees with that opinion stating, "So whats wrong with these new networks? Nothing is wrong with them! They seem to be working. I'm very thankful they exist because my friends have jobs doing what they love to do and the audiences are happy." Very conciliatory Andrew. Your competitors are funded after all.

Baron gets it right when he points out the ridiculous expenses of the vertical networks, "...such as bandwidth, design, production, talent management (drama), IT, PR, legal, to name but a few." Yep, and a kid with a microphone or a video camera can come along and start a channel for next to nothing and start siphoning audience.

Baron's new network will focus on developing talent, while allowing them to own their brands. In his own words, "Abby (sic) Corps is about enabling content creators by building community." Okay, now how do you make money?

First I want to say Merry Christmas to everyone. I'm busy early on Christmas morning keeping tabs on what's happening online. And just when I'm feeling good about what's happening I end up getting angry and frustrated.

I know, it's not really worth it but I'm a passionate person. I listen to songs like "My Way" and wake up at night thinking about the Rangers who scaled the cliffs at Normandy on D-day or soldiers manning checkpoints in Baghdad. There are sacrifices happening that we rarely think of and for that reason I stand on the soap box and am willing to take fire.

One of the reasons many people are disenchanted with mainstream media is the fact that they position themselves as elite in a world of simpletons. They talk at us as if we're children who need to be schooled. They deliver stories that are so ridiculous and rehashed that it's a stretch to call a lot of it news. Case in point. Every year the national news throws out some argument on what foods are good for you. Chocolate, Coffee, Pasta, Wine, etc. The answers are always the same but rather than go in depth and attempt to produce something meaningful they go the easy route and rehash. After all, most people are just plain stupid, right?

People like me have turned away from mainstream media because I'm fed up with it. I want news and opinion delivered from the gut in a non-elitist way. A way that speaks to people plainly and recognizes the individual. I'm not really sure what that means myself. It's kind of like the old saying about porn. I know it when I see it.

Well the first videoblog on Amanda Congdon's new channel ain't it. I didn't expect much here. I'm not a fan of Rocketboom and I never watch it. I used to watch it, but I got entangled in some nasty rhetoric over comments related to unsubstantiated allegations of police brutality. Wonder if they ever followed up to try to clear the names of the police that were accused on that episode? No matter, I stopped watching after that since I tend to avoid any entertainment with secret political agendas that go to the left or the right. Makes my head hurt when I'm trying to relax.

In any case, I thought I'd give Starring Amanda Congdon a try. Big mistake. The approach and the content in the first episode is condescending to the average individual. Amanda's smart in that she speaks to her fans and makes them feel good about themselves. Like any good politician she panders to her base. I'm definitely not that base.

Amanda's querying of people on the streets of New York amounts to nothing more than an exercise in proving what she already believed beforehand. The average person is clueless and unworthy of Time magazine's award of Person of the Year as it relates to independently generated media. No, if you don't know about what she's talking about you're not a Person Of The Year. As she says in her narration, "Not everyone participated in the media revolution." In order to qualify you evidently need to publish a blog, podcast or video blog. That's one way to look at it. That's the elitist way.

Another way to look at it is that many people who never blogged, podcasted, video blogged or utilized YouTube, MySpace and a thousand other social networks that pop up like puppies in a kennel during breeding season are included in the ones who Time magazine was talking about.

They're the cops who make sure you get to work safely and get home from nights of partying. They're the firefighters who run into burning buildings and save people and computers from harm. They're the bus and train drivers who get you to and from work so that the roads have less congestion and the environment improves. They're the immigrants who come here to build something and don't have time or money enough to spend on a high speed internet connection. They're the soldiers who raise their right hand so that you don't get a draft letter in the mail one day telling you to pack your bags for sunny Baghdad.

These and many more are the people that are invisible to elites. They're worker bees buzzing in the background. And to some, they're not a part of progress. It's a shame they're not a 'smart' or 'useful' as the talking heads.

In my book, the people of the year are not just the podcasters, bloggers, video bloggers, youtubers, whatever. They're also the ones that make sure you have the time, the right and the safety to do what you do. They are the people who grease the wheels of society in return for meager pay and shifts on Christmas Day.

I know what it's like to be invisible like that. I loaded trucks with immigrants in Brooklyn to pay my way through college. I was a construction laborer with guys from Africa, Italy, Poland and Irleand for two summers in high school and college. I served four plus years in the Army (signed up after college) with people from small towns and big cities, spanning just about every race and religion we know. These types of people and those who respect them are my types of people. Because they're the ones making all this happen.

If Katie Couric or Amanda Congdon or some blogger who loves to call himself an A-lister (or me for that matter) go away and do something else tomorrow what does the world really lose? How about a beat cop in Bed Stuy? Or a firefighter in the Bronx? Or the train conductors? What happens if the garbage collectors or truck loaders decide to spend all their time on MySpace and YouTube? I guess they then join a higher order of being.

Anyone who decides to start evaluating this person of the year thing in their own terms should think twice before arbitrarily reducing the cut. After all, I'm not telling anyone to go away or stop doing what they're doing. What I am asking for, as my gift on this Christmas Day, is recognition for and respect of those who might not have what you have or know what you know.

People will likely call me 'jealous' for posting my opinion. Lord know Amanda is popular in the echo chamber. If you do say that then make sure you know what I'm jealous of. And don't say anything related to money if you haven't seen my tax returns for the last five years. I work hard and do well for myself. But I do the best I can to stick to my roots and remember where I've been.

So I'm here to say that more likely than not you (and many others who will never read this blog or listen to my podcasts) are a Person Of The Year. I just know you've done something to help this revolution along. There are some in this medium who want to hand it back to the mainstream press with their tendency to elitism. After all, they can read from a teleprompter and memorize short snippets from scripts.

My final thought is this. The real new media is about attitude and approach, not format. Because you can't put wings on a cat and call it a bird.

The recent death of James Kim has made an impact on the world of podcasting like none other to date. Here is a young guy, technically proficient in these new technologies and active in podcasting via his position as a senior editor at CNET.

James was a host of the MP3 Insider audio podcast and Crave video podcast, both featuring the latest news on technology that podcast aficionados really love.

I got to know a little bit about James by checking out both of those shows, listening to and watching him express his thoughts on the Zune and gadgets for the holidays. The process reminded me of something I had thought about before but tucked away in a corner of my mind.

The thought was innocuous enough but takes on a whole new meaning when you consider our fleeting mortality. The thought was, "Who will be experiencing these podcast shows when I'm gone?" I was thinking like thirty or forty years from now, but that could also mean next week or month.

I've created enough content in the past year and a half to fill up many hours of listening and viewing time. There's music, interviews, travel tips, soundseeing and lots more available for consumption. The content really makes up the sum of my true passions in life. And it really is a window into who I am, or was if someone is experiencing it after I'm dead.

So when people ask me about reasons to podcast on a personal level I have to remember these thoughts. Create content about your passions. Creat content that you're moved to create. Heck, you don't even have to distribute the content via a podcast. But you might be surprised at how many people enjoy what you're doing.

At the very least, family and friends will have a window into who you are and great memories once you've moved on to the next life's operating system.

Word is out on the 2007 Podcast and New Media Expo.

Early bird registration has opened up over at http://www.newmediaexpo.com.

The location is the same as the previous Expo but a third day has been added. According to the email I received, there will be an "expanded focus on video podcasting and production..."

If you book now you can get in on all the sessions for $199.

Evo Terra over at Podiobooks.com announced recently that the donation split for authors has improved to 75% for the author. That's up from 50% to the author previously.

Evo and his team have worked hard to create a site that allows audio book authors to distribute their works for free using podcast technology. And at the same time they have created a place where audio book fans can find and subscribe to high quality DRM-free books. Listeners have the option of leaving a PayPal donation for each book, hence the payout split.

They really are doing a great service for authors. This model allows for the authors to focus on writing and/or recording their books without having to worry about the podcast technology side for the equation.

Each book has a discussion page where listeners can leave comments and the author can respond. Podiobooks.com authors also have tools to help them measure subscribership to each of their books by chapter. Good stuff.

How do I know so much about the goings on over at Podiobooks.com? I've been on board with my own podiobook since the early days of the site.

Someone just pointed me to a page on the NPR Podcast Directory that includes an image link that invites the user to "download to zune". The image link (which I dare not post given the rumors about Microsoft's licensing for their Zune images) sits next to the standard "Download MP3" link for the NPR Directory.

Both links point to exactly the same place and do exactly the same thing. They start the download of an MP3 File.

After taking a closer look at the directory I can see this link on every page. Some pages have a link that goes to the Zune Website page that tells you how to transfer audio files over to the Zune.

Have the folks at NPR crowned the Zune the winner of the next gen portable media device wars? Not likely. I can't imaging that NPR is not being paid for such gratuitous placement of the Zune logo on their pages.

I hope they're being paid well. Because most anyone in the know has heard that the Zune is far from a true contender in the battle to house and play portable media for the masses.

I found myself in a situation recently that I thought was worth mentioning here. One of the podcasts that I produce has two feeds, one audio and one video. As such, they have separate listings in iTunes. Maybe I'll talk about the merits of this approach in a future post.

About a month ago I noticed a very prominent shift in the media stats for the audio and video files. Audio downloads went up by about 50% and video downloads went down by 50%. I couldn't figure out what had happened. I didn't even think to check iTunes.

Several weeks went by and the video stats creeped back up but they were still pretty far below normal levels. I didn't have time to do a thorough investigation. Then I got an email from a subscriber telling me that my link to the video feed in iTunes was resolving to the audio feed. I quickly opened iTunes and went to my video podcast page. Alas, not video. It was pointing to my audio feed. I actually had a pair of the same feed listed in iTunes.

I was furious. How could this happen? I emailed a friend who is very knowledgeable on these things and has a contact who works on iTunes. After an email to podcasts[at]apple[dot]com I got a pretty quick response. I was told that the iTunes feed was redirected to the audio due to the presence of the 'itunes:new-feed-url' tag in my RSS.

I tried to remember how that tag could have gotten in there. Then I remembered that I toyed around with the PodPress podcasting plugin last month. PodPress is a good plugin that I recommend and use quite often. There are some pitfalls with it though and this iTunes tag is one of them.

One thing to point out as well is the fact that PodPress is best suited for a site publishing a single podcast feed. I have not figured out how to get it working on a site with multiple podcast feeds. The other thing to watch out for is a section titled 'Podcast Feed URL' in the Standard Settings section of the PodPress dashboard.

The Podcast Feed URL field needs to point to your actual RSS feed that you want iTunes to pull from. So if you use WordPress to power your podcast you site will have a feed something like http://www.mysite.com/feed. If that's your main podcast feed that that's what goes in the field. But say you're using FeedBurner to enhance your feed. Then you want the FeedBurner feed address in that field.

The wrong address in the Podcast Feed URL field will hose your listing in iTunes. So if you're setting things up with PodPress take care what you enter in that field. And if you're not 100% on whether or not you will use FeedBurner then perhaps you should wait on submitting to iTunes until after that decision is made.