.. to quote Stevie Z..

Just got home a little while ago from Podcasters Across Borders. This was a great event, and I couldn’t be more pleased with how it turned out. I’m fried, but it’s a good kind of tired – actually, it’s one of the best kinds of tired – the tired you get after a successful event.

Every year I’m reminded of what makes PAB different. The vibe, the people, the sharing of information and affection – Neil Gorman called it love. I think he’s on to something. Here was a room full of people who were using the fact they are content creators to come to connect and show appreciation for each other – it was and is very powerful.

Our hope this year was to help people “Bring it to the next level”.. The speakers sure did. These people brought their “A” game to the event, and we all benefited from it. It was very hard to remind ourselves that these people weren’t professional speakers, but passionate content creators.  If you boil down the weekend to it’s essence, that’s really what it was all about- creating compelling content and reaching your  community.

2 days of content and ideas being shoved into your brain can make for a tired bunch of people, but the room was focused, collaborative, and very positive. For an event like this to work, the attendees have to decide that it’s going to work. This group did that and more.

We tried a different physical layout this year.. we had decided to go with a wider room layout instead of long like last year.. added to that, Mark had the idea to see if the hotel could supply couches for the area nearest the podium. People loved it – it created intimacy (and comfort!) and really helped set the vibe for the room. The couches are here to stay I think

Some interesting stats I compiled about this weekend :

• Debates over delivery mechanisms : 0.
• People who asked why you need an iPod to listen : 1 (ok, he was joking)
• Corporate led/influenced sessions: 0.
• Amount paid to each speaker for presenting: 0.
• Hugs exchanged : hundreds
• Days I would like to wait before I see all these people again: 0.

I’ve traditionally called the week after PAB the “Post-PAB letdown”, and while sure, we go from having a million conference things on our minds and try to reclaim thinking about “normal” life, I know I feel different this time. It may sound corny, but this vibe transcends physical space.

This year, I leave PAB feeling challenged, inspired and motivated. After being in this space since the “early days”, it becomes easy to get used to what we’re doing and how we do it.. To get a nudge and feel the spark re-lit is truly wonderful. I’ve come away with ideas for things I’m going to try, both in podcasting and elsewhere -

Thanks to everyone who had anything at all to do with this weekend. Every single one of you is what Chris Brogan would call a rockstar, but I’ll just call you my friends.

Posted by Bob on Sunday, June 22nd, 2008 at 11:46 pm.