Hi everyone! I'm writing this from the luxury of my own personal hotel room in Ontario, California. I'm down here for the Podcast and New Media Expo, a conference full of podcasters and bloggers. Thanks to my wonderful husband, I was able to drive down here yesterday and spend two whole days soaking in all of the information.
When I arrived at the conference, I was struck by a case of the nerves – I didn't know a soul here, but had been conversing online with some of my fellow Catholic podcasters who would be in attendance. I made my way straight to the SQPN booth and meet up with those guys. Wow, what a great group! I immediately met Fr. Roderick, Greg and Jennifer from the Rosary Army, and Jeff Nielsen who runs our Catholic Mom logo store. I also met Paul Camarata of the Saint Cast and Fr. Jay Finelli, the iPadre and Fr. Bill Holtzinger, aka "Fr. Geek". Of course, this crowd is surrounded by adoring, podcast listening fans, so there's a great group of Catholic podcasters and fans here at the expo. I've enjoyed spending time with these great folks at meals and wandering around the expo. Yesterday, Friday, was a day spent mostly soaking in lots the atmosphere and meeting new people. Today, I'm hoping to learn some new information about podcasting and equipment. I'm having such a great time!
Having two days away to totally focus on this new aspect of CatholicMom.com, our Catholic Moments Podcast, has been a rare treat. I'm really missing my men at home though and am looking forward to seeing them tonight when I get home. Next week, I will be sharing my thoughts on attending this event in a new podcast episode.
If you haven't checked out the whole Podcasting thing yet, I'd recommend you take the plunge. It's a great way to learn, enjoy and be entertained by a variety of sources. Most podcasts are free and cover a variety of topics. You don't need an mp3 player to listen (although you'll soon by hooked and want one) – you can listen from your computer with an internet connection. Catholic Exchange features a great daily podcast by Mark Shea, which can be accessed on the right hand column of the home page.
