Madalyn Sklar: Online Community Builder and Social Media Influencer
By Cheval John
Starting today, I will be posting about each of the podcast episodes from What’s The Word? here on the blog.
You will be seeing snippets of videos from the Vallano Media TV’s YouTube channel in addition to the full episode which airs on BlogTalkRadio.
The videos are edited from Blue Jeans Network, which I use to record the majority of the podcast on Facebook Live.
The original blog posts will continue as always.
Today’s podcast episode features Madalyn Sklar, host of the #TwitterSmarter podcast and Twitter Chat.
Madalyn is a social media influencer who has built online communities in the age of the internet and now social media.
She started #TwitterSmarter podcast in early 2015 as a way to find out from experts their number one twitter tips people can use to grow their audience.
The podcast became so popular she decided to create a Twitter chat with the same name and it grew even more popular.
Madalyn was also among the first people in Houston to use Twitter in 2007.
In this episode, you will hear:
The history lesson of the formation of social media
What led her to start Go Girls Music Online Community
How she was among the first to live tweet an event at South By Southwest in 2008
How running Go Girls Music Twitter Chat prepared Madalyn to have “immediate” succuss with the current #twittersmarter twitter chat.
Video Snippet from Vallano Media TV
Full Podcast Episode on BlogTalkRadio
Here is the upcoming recording on Facebook Live on the business page:
Deirdre Breakenridge, CEO of Pure Performance Communication- 4 p.m. eastern, 3 p.m. central
If you have a guest you want featured on the show, please leave a comment below.
How I Record My Podcast Using Blue Jeans Network
by Cheval John
A couple of months ago, I had written a post about how I convert my live stream shows to a podcast.
Though it showed the step by step process of turning a live stream to a podcast, you were probably wondering how I did a two-person live stream on Facebook Live in the first place.
The video below will show how I simulcast my podcast recording, What’s The Word? using Blue Jeans Network.
I want to let you know there are other video platforms like Zoom Webinar, Wirecast, and even Crowdcast.io that allows you to simulcast to Facebook Live and YouTube.
I chose Blue Jeans Network because their platform is very simple to use and it fits me.
Without further ado, here is the video
In closing, I want to let you know that later this week will be the 300th episode of What’s The Word?
The guest of honor is Heather Havenwood, author, speaker and entrepreneur.
The episode was recorded on Blue Jeans Network and you will hear the entire interview on BlogTalkRadio
Here is a snippet of the interview with Ms. Havenwood
The Art of Converting Live Stream Shows To A Podcast
By Cheval John
You might be thinking about how you can convert your live stream shows to a podcast format.
Before I get into the step-by-step guide, here are some observations as to converting a show to a podcast.
Remember when I mentioned about blab in my last post?
Blab had the technology to save your live streams in both audio and video format if the show was recorded.
They made it easy for anyone to become a podcaster.
Granted, you might have to edit some of the shows due to their instability because most of the time, some type of technological glitch happened that would interrupt your show.
Once Blab officially went away, platforms like BeLive.tv, Crowdcast and Blue Jeans Network filled the vacuum that was left.
It seemed like there was not a way to convert your live stream shows from the above platforms to a podcast.
And you might be wondering why should I convert my show into a podcast if live video is the wave of the future?
Because podcasts are still important due to the “lack of competition.”
Though YouTube is the second largest website in the world according to Alexa, it is very difficult to stand out from the competition due to the fact that they is a channel for every single topic from how to build an online business to how to find the correct customers for your business.
Podcasts have a much smaller niche because not many people are hosting a podcast.
According to Edison Research, 57 million Americans listens to a podcast each month.
And the competition is much easier due to the fact that the majority of podcasts are not well done.
If you are still not convinced about converting your live stream shows to a podcast, here are some examples of major media outlets who are converting their television programming into a podcast:
First Take is a morning sports debate show that airs weekday mornings on ESPN.
Once they are finished with their live show, the person in charge of the engineering for the network converts it into a podcast for the people who could not watch the show on television.
Mike and Mike is a weekly morning show that is aired on ESPN 2 and ESPN Radio.
The engineers then convert segments of the show to a podcast format so that the fans can listen at their own time.
Update: The show ended their 18 year run in November
Around The Horn airs weekday afternoons on ESPN. They too have their show as a podcast.
Now that you have seen some examples of major media converting their shows to a podcast, you might be thinking that they have the money and the people to convert their shows to a podcast.
The good news is that you don’t need a large budget to repurpose your live stream shows to a podcast.
So you might be wondering, “How can I convert my live stream shows to a podcast if the live streaming platforms only have the technology to save your shows as a video format?”
I will show you how people like Vicky Lashenko, who host her Mompreneur Show on Facebook Live every Monday at 1 p.m. eastern, convert their shows into a podcast.
I use the YouTube To MP3 Converter to turn this episode of What’s The Word? featuring Jessica Rhodes of Interview Connections, which was recorded on Blue Jeans Network and simulcast on Facebook Live, to a podcast
Update: That platform is no longer in service and I discovered the mp3converter.net for converting youtube videos to podcast format
First, I download the recording from Blue Jeans Network to my folder
Then, I upload the video to my YouTube channel
Once the video is done processing, I hit publish to make the video public and then copy it to the youtube to mp3 converter
You want to make sure that you don’t have the video set to private because the conversion to mp3 will not happen.
Once the conversion is complete, you can then upload your mp3 version of the show to your podcast feed, which for me is blogtalkradio.
After that, your podcast is ready to air at the scheduled time.
On a side note, you can change the settings back to private to make edits to turn your video to a snippet that will lead your audience to listen to the entire episode of your show and at the same time, build your YouTube Channel.
Podcast Version of What’s The Word?
In conclusion, you have seen how to convert your live stream show to a podcast.
If you still believe that your content is only suited for one platform like live video, then you are missing an opportunity to diversify your knowledge on different media platforms while building your business.
You can leave your comments below if you agree or disagree with the article above.
Pros and Cons of BeLive.TV and Blue Jeans Network
By Cheval John
It is safe to say that live video is the way most businesses and sports organizations will use to interact with future customers.
According to a report by Cision, 80% of all internet activity will have a video component to it by 2020.
That means that if you are not using video for your business, you will be left in the dust by your competition.
And live streaming is leading the way with live video.
Platforms like Meerkat and Periscope (both owned by Twitter) and Blab has brought the live streaming revolution to our daily lives.
When Facebook, the world largest social media platform with over 1 billion users, entered the live streaming game last year with Facebook Live, it created challenges for these platforms.
As an indirect result, Twitter shut down Meerkat and is in the process of integrating Periscope to their social media platform.
The owners of Blab shut down their platform abruptly in the summer time though they had a substantial user base.
It is apparent that Facebook Live is dominating live stream and is looking to continue it innovation to keep their user base on their platform.
As a result, live streaming platforms are being very creative in complimenting Facebook Live.
The platforms which are integrating their software with Facebook Live are Huzza.io, BeLive.TV and Blue Jeans Network
Huzza.io was founded in April 2015 as a way for musicians to get their music out to a niche audience.
Overtime, they expanded their services for live streamers and podcasters.
They were able to integrate their platform to Facebook Live which was a great option for people who wanted to use Facebook Live from their computers.
In February of this year, they sold their company to KickStarter.com and the platform will be shut down on March 1st.
I will add a note that the people from Huzza.io was much more professional in letting their users know that they will not be around anymore because it will give their users time to upload all of their live video recordings to YouTube.
The team from Huzza.io also allowed us to look for alternative live streaming platforms to continue creating our live video broadcasts.
Now, I will focus more on the pros and cons of BeLive.TV and Blue Jeans Network as I have tried both of the live streaming platforms.
Pros of BeLive.TV
The platform is free to use
Your live stream shows goes straight to your facebook page
You can record your show at a certain time
You can do a one on one interview with a guest if you have an interview type of show
The comments from Facebook will appear on their platform
Cons of BeLive.TV:
The platform does not have a way to download a stand alone video
Your live stream will only be for facebook live
If you want to put your video on other platforms like YouTube, it will be impossible due to the fact that Facebook and YouTube are competitors
They are currently in beta
Update: BeLive.Tv is now giving a 14-day free trial of their platform. Afterwards, you will have to pay a yearly subscription of:
$144 for Lite
$240 for Standard
Pros of Blue Jeans Network:
You can post your live show on different social media platforms in addition to Facebook Live
You can record at a certain time
Once the recording is over, you can still continue your Facebook Live stream if you want to continue the conversation with your audience
You can upload the stand alone video of your live stream to YouTube
You can also convert your livestream shows into a podcast
Cons of Blue Jeans Network:
The platform is not free to use
Depending on the price selections, you will be allowed to have from 25 to about 500 people in one room for your shows
The comments from Facebook will not appear on their platform
Update: The leadership team from Blue Jeans Network recently dropped the starting price to $12.49 a month which includes allow anyone to simulcast to Facebook Live. Now the meeting room can hold up to 50 people for the standard “me” option.
Live streaming is here for a very long time and Facebook will continue to be dominant in that space.
If you are only focusing on growing your Facebook Page and don’t have the budget to invest in a live streaming platform, BeLive.TV is the choice for you.
However, if you are looking to diversify your social media presence with live video, then Blue Jeans Network will fit your business.
For me, Blue Jeans Network is the platform of choice because of the features that it has to simulcast on Facebook Live and turn them into podcasts.
In a future post, I will share with you on how you can convert your live streaming shows to a podcast format.
Did I miss any live streaming platforms that integrates with Facebook Live? What are your thoughts about live streaming?
You can leave your comments below.
Returning To Business As Usual
By Cheval John
I started my podcast What’s The Word? on BlogTalkRadio in 2013 and knew this was going to be a fun journey in interviewing successful people.
Four years later, I achieved a milestone with the 300th episode of the show with the guest of honor Heather Havenwood last Saturday.
I went back to business as usual with yesterday’s airing of the show with guest D.J. Ramirez, social media coordinator of BMC Software.
One of the important traits of an entrepreneur is learning how to pivot your business model that serves a customers need.
I saw the importance of live streaming for podcasters in mid-2015
I would not have ever considered live streaming as an option for recording my podcast because at the time, a person could only use a smartphone.
Then I received a message about this new platform called blab.beta.
They wanted to have a group discussion about our thoughts on attending Podcast Movement which was held in Fort Worth.
At first, I did not understand the platform when it was not working on my side of the computer.
I would have given up on blab had it not been for the trio of Rachel Miller, Brian Fanzo and Christin Kardos, who had switched their #bizhour twitter chat to blab.
I was convinced about blab being a great platform to record a podcast after finding out they saved the live stream in both audio and video format.
Blab.beta changed my mind as their live streaming platform was only for computers.
So I started using blab for live streaming my podcast and it was a blessing and a curse.
The blessing part of using blab was meeting awesome live streamers like Victoria Taylor, Jennifer Hoverstad, Ross Brand, Vicki Fitch, Chris Strub and Jennifer Quinn.
And “meeting” people on video like Rebekah Radice, Kami Huyse and Kelly Hungerford from the years of chatting on social media.
The curse part of using blab was their platform was unstable and I had to worry about whether their technology would stay up during the live streams.
The executives of blab decided that developing their platform was not worth it anymore.
So they shut it down abruptly in August of 2016.
Before that, many live streamers decided to pursue other platforms because they saw the writing on the wall that blab was disappearing.
Plus, Facebook launched live video on their platform in early 2016.
As many of us were getting used to facebook live, were were wondering how we can do a two-person or more show there.
Two prominent live streamers, Mitch Jackson and Mrs. Hoverstad, mentioned about how huzza.io was a great platform.
So I decided to use huzza.io for my podcast recording because they had the capabilities to simulcast to facebook live.
A couple of months later, Blue Jeans Network launched their software “on social” feature which allows you to simulcast to facebook live with multiple people on the same platform.
As I decided to try out blue jeans network’s trial run, I continued to use huzza.io, believing they would still be around.
Then, the founders announced they sold huzza.io to kickstarter in February of this year.
I knew that blue jeans network was THE platform for me to continue recording my podcast via live streaming to facebook live.
Blue Jeans Network is so simple to use because you have the option to simulcast your “meetings” to facebook live or record the same meeting for people who could not attend.
This platform is a lot like blab with the biggest difference being they are very stable.
Mr. Jackson and Mrs. Hoverstad now uses blue jeans network to simulcast theshow.live to facebook.
In a lot of ways, blue jeans network is a perfect fit for live streaming what’s the word? to facebook live.
Plus, many people within my community on my business page on facebook, got the opportunity to see the live recording of the 300th episode of my podcast.
I was very happy that Ms. Havenwood was the guest because I found out through Winnie Sun, she uses blue jeans network as well for her podcast recordings.
As I close out this post, here are the most important lessons entrepreneurs must apply to their business:
1. They must know when to pivot their business.
The above can happen with the help of a business coach and also feedback from your customers.
2. They are many ways to skin a cat
The above saying means there are multiple options in getting your message out to your desired customer base.
Live streaming, blogging, webinars, podcasting, etc. are the mechanisms to build your potential customer base.
3. You must follow the trends that is happening in your business industry.
This is reserve for the podcasters within any sector of the market.
Just because your podcast is serving your purpose does not mean you should be closed minded to other ways to get your message out.
You can live stream your podcast recording to your followers on facebook to build a deeper bond with your loyal listeners because you will gain some new fans as well because they were apart of the recording process of your podcast.
As for me, I will continue to produce more quality shows using blue jeans network in order to take my business to the next level.
Plus, I will continue to use blogtalkradio to air those same recordings.
Both of those platforms are the parts I need to continue to build my business blog as well via podcasting.
How are you moving your business forward?
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