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At Digital Hollywood, I caught up with Julie Supan, VP of Marketing for Ning. Ning, a site that lets you set up your own custom social network, has just announced the launch of a virtual gifts platform that allows users to buy and sell virtual goods using Ning s virtual currency. I thought it was an exciting announcement as I have written a lot about how to make social networking profitable by turning communities into economies. Julie describes how Ning s 1.6 million social networks can now start making money by selling virtual gifts. The net revenue(after Paypal fees) from the gifts is split between Ning and the social network. Ning s virtual currency called credits, converts into US funds at a rate of approximately 1 credit to $.02. To help get users started with virtual gifting, Ning will give 100 complimentary credits to all users. All Ning virtual gifts will be priced at 75 credits each, so Ning hopes that each user will get to send one virtual gift as a way to try out the feature. I hope Ning finds more ways to extend how social networks can use the currency to pay users to take surveys or other actions that will help the networks make some real money. Here s the interview with Julie:

The last two days, I attended BlogWorld Expo, held in Las Vegas.  The show covered a wide range of topics interesting to bloggers and podcasters, including topics for bloggers who want to turn their new media efforts into commercial successes, newbies wanting to get started and companies trying to develop strategies and processes for working with social media.  I focused my time on the tracks relating to turning your blog or podcast into a commercial success. From those tracks, I came away with four key takeaways for bloggers and podcasters who are trying to become commercial successes at what they do. 1.  You have to be willing to work hard.  Whether you re trying to break through or already well known, you need to put in the hours to make it work.  The evidence suggests that the most successful bloggers 3-5 times every day.  Whether it s blogging, podcasting, video, or micro-blogging, consistently producing lots of content is a key component of success. 2. You need to be the expert, or a least perceived as the expert.  And you need to put in the time to stay ahead of others in your field.  Expertise leads to credibilty which can lead to trust and conversion. 3.  You need to develop and follow a process for successful new media marketing, capturing attention, engaging your audience, building influence and ultimately getting your audience to take action.  I saw a great presentation on the topic from Jason Van Orden and will be providing detailed notes in a later post, so stay tuned. 4. Most of us need produce a signature product to be commercially successful.  Making money via advertising just doesn t seem to pay enough to make it work unless you have a huge audience.  Whether it be an ebook, a coaching class or a continuity program, product seems to be the way people make good money.  If you can develop a successful continuity program, that seems to be the most lucrative product.

I think you are going to be blown away by show 500, no tech just me. I give away some cool prizes so make sure you listen. Also you will want to be involved in our Time Capsule project get your entries in over the next couple of weeks. This show and much of the podcasting space would not be the way it is today without my sponsors, your ongoing support of them is very appreciated. Strap in and oh yea get ready to dance a little You supporting the Show Sponsors keep the lights on here, Thank You for your Support! [Try GoToMeeting free for 30 days at GoToMeeting.com/techpodcasts. No credit card needed.] Check out our Free Magazine Offers! [Save 15% off Hosting at GoDaddy.com!] use Code Geek5 Complete List of GoDaddy Promo Codes for huge Savings! Follow @geeknews on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/geeknews My Personal Facebook Profile Join the Geek News Central Podcast Facebook Page Show Comments please call 1-619-342-7365 or e-mail geeknews@gmail.com Show 500 Celebration! For one show only no tech only talk!

Firefox decided to not play nice tonight which has resulted in no show notes for the first time. Just proves that what can go wrong does. Lots of content in tonight s show you will not find anyplace else. Please support the Show Sponsors as they keep the show rolling here! [Save 10% off any order at GoDaddy.com!] use Code Todd Save 20% on one Year Shared Hosting Accounts at GoDaddy.com use Code Todd20 [Try GoToMeeting free for 30 days at GoToMeeting.com/techpodcasts. No credit card needed.] Follow @geeknews on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/geeknews My Facebook Profile FriendFeed GNC Room!! Show Comments please call 1-619-342-7365 or e-mail geeknews@gmail.com

Podcasting has been around for just over four years now and people are still struggling to make money podcasting.  What s the problem?  Maybe we just haven t discovered the business model(s) that work.  There are lots of ideas out there and I thought it would be a good idea to make a list ( and make some money doing it - Note: If you click on links on this post and try the services, it will make me money.  Many of the links use affliate program links to illustrate one of these business models.  I use all of these programs and refer you to only the ones that seem good.  Hope you don t mind me making some money from writing about ways you can make money:) Here s my list.  I ve ordered the list from the what may be the most obvious ideas to the not so obvious ideas.  Read to the end to find something you may not have thought about. If you have another idea add it with a comment.  Or you can comment on these ideas. 1.  Sell your content This seems like it should be the most obvious idea of all.  Make content, sell content.  The execution however may be somewhat more difficult.  The easiest way to do this is to put your content onto CDs or DVDs and sell them on your site, like Ask A Ninja and Will It Blend. Another way is to sell some or all of your content via a subscription basis.  This can be accomplished by making members only sections of a website or using a service like PremiumCast.  If you want a members only section to a website, there are ways to do it using Wordpress, or you can use a forum or a membership website from someone like Wild Apricot. NOTE: If someone buys something, get them to sign up for your mailing list so they can get your PodZine Newsletter.  Don t have a list?  START NOW.  DO NOT WAIT. DO NOT PASS GO.  GO DIRECTLY TO START A MAILING LIST.  IT COULD BE YOUR MOST VALUABLE ASSET.   Ok, enough screaming about getting a list.  I use Aweber.  It s inexpensive, easy and works great. 2.  Donations Think NPR.  Think Public Television.  Ask people to donate money or buy you things from an Amazon Wish List.  Both of these ideas are easy to execute.  You can get donation button code from Paypal and Amazon Wish Lists are really easy to make an publish.  Here s my Wish List. And if you want to make a donation to Digital Podcast you can do so using my PayPal Donation Button. If someone donates, give them a free subscription to your PodZine with some bonus, like a personal thank you picture or some other creative thing.  See mailing list comment in idea number 1. 3.  Run ads within your podcast Another obvious idea.  But you have to sell some ads.  Bummer.  This is often where this becomes a problem for podcasters.  Selling ads is hard work.  There are some Podcast ad networks you can join, although I have no idea how much they pay.  If this is for you try here or here or here. If you want to run ads, but don t want to sell ads or use an ad network stay tuned, because the last two ideas on the list may be what you need. Make sure you have an ad in your podcast with instructions on how to sign up for your free PodZine subscription. See mailing list comment in idea number 1. 4.  Promote a sponsor within your podcast This is one of my favorites.  Leo Laporte does a great job of this.  He has some deal with Audible and promotes a book each week. I have seen presentations where people behind Grape Radio and Endurance Radio talked about selling sponsorships for decent amounts of money.  To execute this, find someone who would really benefit from some exposure and sell them on how great it would be to promote them to your audience. Give people who sign up for you free PodZine some bonus from your sponsor as another way to promote your sponsor.  See mailing list comment in idea number 1. 5.  Run ads on your webpage and use your podcast to drive traffic This should be easy to do, if you don t mind low CPM rates.  Adsense and Yahoo Publisher are worth trying.  Other Adsense like programs include Adbrite and Adengage. You can also set these up as a way to sell ads on your site.  Adbrite and Adengage will also work with explicit content.  Just be careful not to run Adsense on the same page as something similar.  That s against the Google rules. Chitka is another option.  They run ads on your site with specific products within categories. There are also online ad networks that have lots of banners you can run.  Adsense can be set up just to run banners and you can find lots of other banner ad networks such as ValueClick and ClickHype out there.  CPM rates tend to be very low however. If you want higher CPMs, you will have to get busy selling your own ads or get creative in creating your own high paying ads which I will explore in the last two ideas on the list. Don t forget to advertise your PodZine on your webpage. See mailing list comment in idea number 1. 6.  Sell your own product Maybe you make blenders or some other widget.  Use your podcast to sell your widget.  Don t make a widget?  Make and sell an ebook that would appeal to your audience.  You can also set up affiliates to sell your ebook using something lick Clickbank. If you want to sell your own T-shirts, cups etc. get a CafePress store. Or maybe even sell a premium version of your PodZine with special content. See mailing list comment in idea number 1. 7.  Sell Professional Services If you don t make stuff, you can sell time.  Not very scalable if it s just you, but depending on what you do you may be able to make good money. Create a contest for people who sign up for your podzine subscription.  Winner gets 30 minutes on the phone with you.  Or some such thing. 8.  Sell Training Training is another great way to make money selling time.  If you don t know how to build a training course, then take a course about building a paid membership training site.  If you are looking for some help in making an online course or a information product Bill Myers Online is a good resource for developing online products. Promote a 30 minute training session contest for people who sign up for your PodZine. 9.  Affliate Sales This is where things get really interesting.  You don t have to sell you own products, services, ads, ebooks or time. You can make money selling other people s products, services,  ebooks or time.  You can find an affiliate program for selling just about everything. An affiliate program is where you make a commission or a fixed payment when someone buys something that you linked them to. If it can be sold, you can probably find an affiliate program for it. For example, here s an affiliate link to a book, a record, and a microphone.  You can even use these tools to build yourself an online store for you site. I m working on a page with affiliate sales links that would work for different podcast categories. I will post it when I m done. Even better, if you don t want to sell ads, you can run ads on your podcast or website to promote your affliate store or the products you are selling via the affiliate program.  This way you have sales cost, you control the ads, you control the presentation and you get the full commission. Good affiliate programs to check out for products are Commission Junction, Amazon, and  ShareASale.   There are lots more if you look around. You can also sell ebooks if you want.  ClickBank is the king of ebook sales.  Just be careful in there as they also have a lot dubious quality products.  I ve found I have to buy the product first to make sure it s not bogus or some consumer rip off. Many companies also have their own affiliate programs.  You can usually find a link to the program at the bottom of websites if they have a program, although sometimes you have to ask via an email.  If there is something you think you can sell, get in contact with the maker and cut a deal.  For example, I wanted a sound effects package for podcasters and got the link by asking. Don t forget to tell your PodZine subscribers about the great products you re now selling. 10.  Affliate Lead Generation Selling stuff can be hard.  The good news is you don t have to sell to get paid.  You can get paid for just providing a lead.  There are tons of programs that pay you for providing traffic that turns into leads.  Some are great, while others can be a bit dubious so beware. What kinds of leads can you make money on? If a lead is worth something to someone, you can probably find a way to get paid for providing it. For example, here are lead generation programs for Controlling diabetes Controlling sleep apnea Selling timeshares 1 Cent Business Cards Free gift cards from Walmart, etc and the list goes on and on. Some of these,like the control diabetes offer, are really good offers for consumers , others are not so clearly good for consumers. For example, the free gift card offers harvest lots of info and funnel the consumer into a lead generation process which sends them off to some other affliate program without ever giving the consumer a gift card.  So be careful with what you recommend.  My recommendation is to only recommend what you would use and what your audience will find truly valuable. I m also working on a page with affiliate lead generation links that would work for different podcast categories. I will post it when I m done. If you are interested in this kind of program, here are links to programs to lead generation programs I ve used: MaxBounty, RevenueLoop, Advaliant, and you can Google for many more.  By the way, those are affiliate links too. Bonus: Mine Your Podzine If done correctly, your PodZine list could turn into one of your biggest assets.  First, you get a direct channel to your audience in addition to your podcast.  Second, unlike your podcast, your PodZine can carry links.  Links to the products and services you recommend.  If you like something, make it a habit to tell your audience - put it in your PodZine.  Be sure to check to see if there s an affiliate program for it, because then you will get paid to promote stuff you like.  I suggest only promoting stuff you really like.  It s more fun, more genuine and probably works better over the long haul. And some programs are email only.  For example, there is a free business card campaign that pays our $12 per lead, but is email only.  This is something that might fit nicely on a business oriented podcast s PodZine. If you need help setting up your PodZine, I recommend Aweber.  If you want an alternative, I ve also seen people use Constant Contact, but have not tried it myself. Let me know what you think.  Which of these pays your bills?  Got other ideas.  Post a comment and let me know.

It s Friday the 13th but this is a bang up show. Amazing what happens when you actually have some normal sleep and not suffering from Jet Lag. There is a pile of good tech news. Also I have some strong words for Ustream.TV tonight. Support my Show Sponsors it keeps food on the table here! [Save 15% off on any order >$20.00 at GoDaddy.com!] Use Code Geek5 More GoDaddy Promotion Codes Here [Try GoToMeeting free for 30 days at GoToMeeting.com/techpodcasts. No credit card needed.] Twitter Me http://www.twitter.com/geeknews My Facebook Profile FriendFeed GNC Room!! Comments to 619-342-7365 e-mail to geeknews@gmail.com Listener Links: Twitter Scam I think Tab Mix Plus Many Analog TV going off air Anyway Salvation Army Donation Australia Australian Red Cross Show Notes: Malware Sites Target Digg Users Neuros LINK Satellites Collide Postal 2.0 Apple Massive Security Update Asus Reduces PC Models Asus sells 4.9 Million Eee PC Bounty on Downadup Worm YouTube Joins Downloadable Media Bandwagon Google No Longer Selling to Old Media Twitter Click Danger Netflix on a Massive Upswing in Subscribers Charter Filing Bakruptcy SecondRun.TV New Sniffing Technique on BitTorrent Palm Pulls Plug on Palm OS Ancient Tribal Dance Copyright Protected Rep Conyers needs to be Called Out! Original Content Creator Protectionism Vizio no longer to Sell Plazma TV Shorty Award Winners Progress to ISS Mozilla Bespin Spokenword.org Launches Whats wrong with this! Macbooks Owners Frustrated EMI Boss P2P Battle Useless Green Packaging gone Bad Silverlight for Linux Users Great Personal Branding Article Got to have one of these! New Starbucks Business Model Pioneer No more TV Sales iPhone Breakup

Major case of Jet Lag tonight and we lost the ustream.tv Feed half way through the show tonight which makes me to start to wonder about the reliability of their service. I catch you up on what is happening with a full bevy of tech.. But it is always fun doing the show with very little sleep over past 36 hours. Support my Show Sponsors it keeps food on the table here! [Save 15% off on any order >$20.00 at GoDaddy.com!] Use Code Geek5 More GoDaddy Promotion Codes Here [Try GoToMeeting free for 30 days at GoToMeeting.com/techpodcasts. No credit card needed.] Twitter Me http://www.twitter.com/geeknews My Facebook Profile FriendFeed GNC Room!! Comments to 619-342-7365 e-mail to geeknews@gmail.com Listener Links: Televisions with Contacts Kindle 2 Virgin HiTech Offerings OLPC Reboots Mac s in Government? Look at the Inauguration Picture Wireless Change Facts by Sweetwater DTV Switch Could Leave Many in Dark www.virtualbox.org Show Notes: Living Doll of Cancer Cells Can I Scan you Please? Bolivia next South Africa 23 Linux Applications Kindle 2 Review Geek Valentines Chart Free Vomit Comet Rides for Ideas President Obama names new Cybersecurity Chief Psystar wins a round in Court VUDU Box 149.99 50% Discount Archos to release Android Phone / Tablet PC AMD 5 New Chips Steve Ballmer Speech to Politicians Top Throw away Email Address Services New York Magazine talks to Twitter Firefox no Bundling with Windows please New IM Wars? Online Book-Keeping TweetDeck and AlertThingy Head to Head STS 119 delayed More Worm Attacks 3 Apps only on Windows 7 Starter Edition RIAA and Congress team up against Traditional Radio Blogging you can make Money? Sync Contacts and Calendar Spain Energy Positive Dial Up Still Big

First show in Okinawa Japan, broadband is great, was able to stream the show live. Lot s to talk about and I am enjoying the local food greatly. I am staying at a nice hotel. Actually more like a mini condo. I have a small kitchen as well.. Support my Show Sponsors it keeps food on the table here! [Save 15% off on any order >$20.00 at GoDaddy.com!] Use Code Geek5 More GoDaddy Promotion Codes Here [Try GoToMeeting free for 30 days at GoToMeeting.com/techpodcasts. No credit card needed.] Twitter Me http://www.twitter.com/geeknews My Facebook Profile FriendFeed GNC Room!! Comments to 619-342-7365 e-mail to geeknews@gmail.com Listener Links: Luser Show Notes: Google Earth App Store DRM cracked DTV Delay Expected (Idiots) BlackBerry Storm Applications IE or Firefox more Secure? Disk Encryption Netflix and HBO? Google and Badware Notices IE Looses ground How do you name your Computers Korea to get 1Gbps by 2012 Can you Reply All Red Light Camera Games Cloning Moves Forward Amazing Space Image Cheap Home Security Video Production Tips Revver Offline 3 Plus Days Passport RFID war Driving Fairshare to track Blogger Article Rights Irish ISP Sell out to Labels IE8 Security Improving Ares I Blew Up on Purpose

Ok folks the Asia Tour starts next show. I have yet to get my head wrapped around the time change this time. But I hope to maintain something very close to a normal schedule will advise. Next stop Japan! Support my Show Sponsors it keeps food on the table here! [Save 15% off on any order >$20.00 at GoDaddy.com!] Use Code Geek5 More GoDaddy Promotion Codes Here [Try GoToMeeting free for 30 days at GoToMeeting.com/techpodcasts. No credit card needed.] Twitter Me http://www.twitter.com/geeknews My Facebook Profile FriendFeed GNC Room!! Comments to 619-342-7365 e-mail to geeknews@gmail.com Listener Links: 2TB WD Drive Offline Gmail Ubuntu Pocket Guide Time for Hawaii Internet Upgrade Music Artist IreneB Played at End of Show Apple Approves Podcaster Application NPR Global Warming in Future BBB Wacks T-Mobile Show Notes: NASA may Abort Backup Pad Pandora Mobile Internet Device Britain to Legislate ISP P2P Response Charter Communications 60Mps Down $140.00 Broadband in Every UK home by 2012 Fanne Mae Servers almost destroyed tomorrow Firefox 3.1 Delayed Tech Layoffs Mount how about your Company? ISP s get in bed with RIAA to Save Bandwidth (Told You So) iTunes Single Some DRM Free Upgrade Available Google and MeasurementLab.net to Watchdog ISP Net Neutrality Camtasia 6 to get FLV Support Back Mars Rover has Gremlins Spitzer Watches Weather of Planet Offline Gmail!! Michael Arrington Takes a Break Google Apps and Domain Renewal Means Bad News OLPC Tries to find itself Portland Clear Service Rocks Next iPhone Gaming Console NASA says whee should we point Next Intel Eight Core Xeon FeedDemon to Sync with Google Reader I hope so! Podcasting is Dead? NOT!! Comscore Fastest Growing Sites??? Pick of the Day Pipl.com Citrix Cuts 10% iLife 09 Upgrade Marginal

Flash | QuickTime | iPod | Apple TV | Mobile | Windows Media This week The Clip Show goes psychic to psychedelic with a journey through two podcast that will truly blow your mind. The Heap and an extra special message from you host Jim Kirks. Thanks for watching! show links: cosmic sky, zen vlog, the heap, donations

This week on the podcast with all the news from the New Media world The Heap visits Geekgirl.tv, the WB's return in internet form and Twitter is not as popular as some guy might have thought.show links: geekgirl, dawson netwok, twitter

This week equals more Sansone than any show has had since well Yahoo s the 9. We head out to the mall for a few non-laughs with the staff. We also throw a couple of coins into a game and tech show for the masses. All that and all the news that we could fit into The Heap. Thanks for watching and please toss us some money, we need your help!show links: westacre.tv, coin-op.tv, the heap, donate now

This week in new media news we talk about the Rick Roll or Youtube Awards, TiVo gets podcasting and our friend Jeff Pulver gives us a CUBE.

The Heap is heaped together in one long sentence this week to save on time. Jim talks lifecasting, video on the internet and brightcove.

Chuck is still at the helm of The Heap this week as he clues us into the new Zune, a name change at Jetset and Chris Brogan set to change the world. Don t miss the best one minute in podcasting news.

We Just wanted to let everyone know that we have (as promised) re-recorded episode number 8 “Web Analytics A Measure of Success Part II”. The audio quality is back on track and much improved. You may notice some contextual differences as we didn’t re-record it word for word. However, we did cover all of the major topics and user questions to the best of our abilities. We hope that you enjoy the show! Cheers, Paul & Dan

Recent Radio Orphans News: Radio Orphans Podcast: We're excited to announce our 100th episode of the Radio Orphans Podcast. Hosts and fellow orphans, Jaw Knee and Finneaus would like to thank all our listeners along with a special shout to all the artists that have so graciously allowed us to podcast their music. Please visit Radio Orphans Podcast to listen and or subscribe to our free weekly podcast. New Tune: Radio Orphans have released a new tune entitled "The Money Nose" a Radio Orphans garage inspired rocker, available as a free download or stream. Just click the handy link for auto play, or right click and save to disk: The Money Nose This deep link courtesy of MP3.com. Please visit our main page at MP3.com for more information. Podcast Play: Cadence Revolution Podcast played our song "Runway (Holding Short" in Show number 12. A podcast based in Canada, Cadence Revolution is a weekly workout music podcast featuring new and indie artists. Please visit : Cadence Revolution for more information. The tune Runway (Holding Short) is available as a free mp3 download (upon registration) at SoundClick.com/radioorphans My Pocket Player Mój odtwarzacz Podcast played our tune "Peaceful Coexistence". A podcaster based in Poland that plays a personal selection of tracks. Please visit: My Pocket Player The tune "Peaceful Coexistence" can be heard on our album No Strangers To Exploration available on iTunes. Internet Radio: DJ Misanthropy played Hey Jim (beautiful garden mix) in his Standing Wave Show heard Saturdays on SongPlanet.com Radio. DJ Misanthropy is based in England and he plays a wide range of music on his show. The tune Hey Jim (beautiful garden mix) is available as a free mp3 download at SongPlanet.com/radioorphans