Happy May Day! I’m reporting in stationed from Long Beach, with today being the first day of the 2008 California State PTA Convention (which I blogged about a few days ago). I’m also right in the middle of AP exams review here too, so I’m quite busy right now. But of course, I’ve got time to take a look back on the very busy month of April.
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I’ve gained a lot of experience running and working with bulletin boards in my day, although most of my experience has been based on numerous mistakes. In 2004 and 2005, I established a number of communities, but most of them wound up being unsuccessful for a number of reasons, and that’s pretty much how I learned NOT to run a community.

Well, a few weeks ago, Patrick O’Keefe (of phpBBHacks.com fame, as well as a number of other communities and websites), released a brand new book called Managing Online Forums: Everything You Need to Know to Create and Run Successful Community Discussion Boards. Patrick was on phpBB Weekly #050 back in February, and in addition to talking about phpBBHacks.com on that episode, he gave us an early preview of his book. Since then, he sent copies to both myself and David Lewis for us to read and review. (Plus, we’ll be giving away an autographed copy on phpBB Weekly #061 on May 10th!) I recently finished the book, and am quite excited to have the opportunity to review it.
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Tags: administrators, book, communities, forums, guide, guidelines, management, Managing Online Forums, marketing, Patrick O'Keefe, phpBB, review, staff, tips

The announcement almost two weeks ago that PreviewCast was being discontinued was a surprise to some, and not so much of a surprise for others. My PreviewCasted Frustrations, which were posted here on Webmacster87.info just a week prior to the closing episode #052, kind of marked the inevitable. For the record, though, I had tried quite a bit during the rest of the week to organize another PreviewCast episode, in the hopes that it might continue, but those efforts failed to the point when I realized on March 30th that PreviewCast had essentially run completely out of steam and that it was time to mark the end of that program.

None of us really wanted it to end, because we’ve all loved PreviewCast, which is probably why it didn’t end many months ago. As I lamented in my PreviewCasted Frustrations post, once August 2007 came around, PreviewCast, which had been going full steam ahead, stopped short in its tracks. We tried a number of times to rejuvenate the show, and a couple of times managed to get an episode together, but for me (the main organizer of PreviewCast), it was as hard as trying to get two magnets to stick to each other the wrong way. We’ve all been busy, myself included, and many of the PreviewCasters pretty much lost interest. Larry, my co-host, has done the smart thing and started spending more time with his life and less time online, which unfortunately meant that he hasn’t been around much anymore to be on this show that he was the co-host for. Essentially, we could not continue to produce the show due to the inability to have more than one of us around to produce a show with.
I decided on that Sunday that I could no longer spend my energies trying to revive PreviewCast in vain.

Nevertheless, I am still hoping to be able to bring around some kind of successor to PreviewCast soon. Not right away, granted, because I’ve got a lot of stuff on my plate right now (and probably shouldn’t even be spending the time to write this blog post), but I still kind of have an itch to be able to reincarnate PreviewCast into somewhat of a new offering, that might be a bit more reliable and a bit more polished than PreviewCast, and perhaps some new talent behind it, but still maintain its roots as a technology/teen-oriented/rather random podcast. I’m still in discussions with some people about this, and so I don’t want to reveal anything before anyone (including myself) is fully committed to it, as things can still quickly change. However, I do want to say that for those of you who were PreviewCast fans, you’ll want to stay tuned, because I’m hoping to be able to announce a new successor to PreviewCast soon.

Until then, I’ll just have to keep blogging.

Tags: future, past, Podcasts, PreviewCast, production, reflection, successor, tech, teens

EDITOR’S NOTE (What editor?): The purpose of this post is purely to vent. Nothing written in this post should (at this point) be considered as indicative of any future changes or announcements, but is purely for the purpose of me to vent about some stuff that has been on my mind.

I’m sure that if you’re one of the meager few whom have followed PreviewCast, you have noticed that its path has gotten considerably bumpy thus far. And I’ve got to say, I have spent many, many hours over the past weeks and months debating about PreviewCast, its purpose, and its place in life and on the internet.

Now granted, I do have to say this for PreviewCast: when we restarted it in July 2006, we really were moving into uncharted territory and had no idea how it would continue. In short: it was summer, and we were bored, and we wanted to start doing it again. We knew that in 2005, the show had fallen apart after 5 episodes when school started and life started, and so we sort of dealt with somewhat of a tension in terms of whether we would still make it when school started, and whether we would make it past the five episode barrier.

It was to our delightful surprise that this “second generation” of PreviewCast actually started to become successful and built a personality for itself. We consistently produced about thirteen episodes (twelve regular plus one special edition) from mid-July to the end of October, during which we also had one guest (Micheal Cottingham from phpBB who was on episode #006 during the AboutUs.org debacle). Then, we ended up missing about three weeks in November, partially due to the busy part of a school semester, but we re-emerged during Thanksgiving to record two great episodes (and then to completely reinvigorate a broken-apart website by rebuilding it)–including interviews with Leah Culver, and later in December, Adam Christianson. We had a lot of moments to look back on during our 2006 Best-Of episode, #018. Shortly after this, I got started on my second podcast, phpBB Weekly.

We went right on through the end of January, although some tensions did emerge as we started to tackle the question of “randomness” versus “decency.” Nevertheless, looking back, the early part of 2007 reflects some of my favorite PreviewCast memories. We had another hiatus in February due to the couple of weeks that I was sick in bed, but then we sprung back together in March when we had an interview with TalkShoe CEO Dave Nelsen, a special episode seminar at my school, and then a much-beloved April Fools Day parody of Diggnation (complete with the Stewarts Orange & Cream!!!).

We had a few episodes in April, but didn’t get anything done in May (again, busy with school, end of semester, etc.). However, we got going again around Memorial Day weekend, and had a nice set of episodes in June, including episode #035, which featured my favorite back-and-forth argument with Larry: a 30+ minute argument over Safari for Windows. Then, we had two episodes from the day of the iPhone launch–a day which I’ll never forget–in which Robert and I talked about the launch outside our Apple Store on a park bench and I then interviewed the folks in line. Looking back, I was really proud of my interviewing the folks in line, which gave me practice for some episodes some time later. July continued with our one-or-two year celebration, a Matt Mullenweg interview, plus an excellent experience covering WordCamp and interviewing people there. And then, we reached the peak of this running streak with our forty-second episode on August 7th when we covered the iMac/iLife/iWork special event one-hour after the keynote ended.

And that’s when it plateaued. School started. People got busy. I spent many weekends online trying to record an episode, but with no one becoming available. Sometimes, I didn’t really have time to record. We did manage to pump out three episodes in late September–one of which was an amazing interview with Lorelle VanFossen and my most favorite interview ever, but after that, we went back down into the ditches. Our feed was entirely silent for two and a half months. Although he was the co-host, Larry had only been on PreviewCast twice since April. Not that I blamed him–I understand more than anyone that as teenagers, we have a lot happening in our lives, and have significant time constraints to deal with. Nevertheless, it was somewhat irritating to me, and Larry and I exchanged numerous IMs and e-mails over the possibility of ending PreviewCast. But, we never really had the will to do so.

Now, it’s interesting how this plays out–the feelings that I had and still have over ending PreviewCast somewhat reflects the feelings that I had in mid-2006 regarding my commitments with the phpBB MOD Team. I haven’t talked very much about the details on why I left the MOD Team in August 2006, partly because they were somewhat embarrassing circumstances. But it’s important to remember that at that time, I was in a very interesting situation. I had only become familiar with phpBB in June 2004, written my first very basic MOD in October 2004, doing a slightly more substantial MOD in February 2005, and then in November I grabbed an opportunity to apply to the MOD team, and I was accepted. However, I was only 14 years old, a freshman in high school, and with only a small amount of self-taught PHP experience, I was probably the least experienced person on the team and I was certainly the youngest person ever on the team. Plus, I had a very committed life–I look back on my freshman year as such a difficult year for me partially because I really overcommitted myself that year. By the time 2006 came around, I wasn’t being very productive towards the teams, I was having conflicts with other team members, and I was starting not to enjoy it very much. But at the same time, i was very reluctant to quit because there were some ways in which I liked being on the teams, and I certainly enjoyed having the status of being a MOD Team member. Nevertheless, things continued to deteriorate, up until the point where, two days before my sophomore year started in August 2006, I was asked to step down.

Quite frankly, I was only heartbroken about that for about a day. School started, I had recently gotten going with PreviewCast, and quite frankly, sophomore year was so crazy that I probably managed to survive because I wasn’t committed to the teams anymore. I ended up starting phpBB Weekly five months later, and I feel that I make a much better contribution to the phpBB community through that venture.

But I have a very similar feeling with PreviewCast too, and I think Larry does as well. We know that PreviewCast is not doing well. We’re all getting very busy, and as such, general interest and commitment in keeping PreviewCast going has been declining. Larry has not been able to make it to our usual 4:30 PM Eastern recording time on Sunday afternoon since last June (he was on once in late-December for a Boxing Day episode, when we recorded really early in the morning to adjust to his schedule). Even I have had to skip out a number of weeks because of things going on in my life, plus a number of our regular PreviewCasters have had life move on. Plus, we’re all growing older, and a number of things are coming over the horizon. Larry and Skoker are graduating in June (and congrats to them, by the way), and they’ll likely be moving on in life. I have ever-growing commitments in my life, plus my time to start college-searching has begun.

But yet, we really don’t want to let go of PreviewCast for whatever reason, and I really think that it’s because we have never done it for the subscribers, we have never done it for ad revenue, we have never done it for any self-serving reason whatsoever other than the fact that we have enjoyed doing it. PreviewCast has more or less been fun for us. In fact, sometimes when I tell friends or teachers about the things that I do, they often ask me what I do for fun–well, blogging and podcasting is what I do for fun. That is my hobby. And that’s why we have both been so hesitant to end PreviewCast or to disassociate with PreviewCast: we love doing it.

We have tried to restart the show back during Winter Break in December, and we’ve recorded a few shows, including a special Macworld 2008 set of interviews (#049), and an excellent fiftieth episode that we did in January. And then, once again, we have gone dormant. Part of that can be blamed on my recent Sojourn trip which has usurped a significant amount of free time, but then again, I have tried for these past few weeks to assemble PreviewCast episodes, and again have been met by a silent, already-committed internet.

I’m really trying to decide where to go and what to do. I really don’t feel like I can continue to work like this: trying to ask a bunch of people to try to come together for an episode, set aside my own time to prepare and be here to record an episode, and then see no results. At the same time, PreviewCast is a part of two networks that will only let the show stay around if we are somewhat reliable at actually producing content, which has not been happening. I really feel tempted to want to throw in the towel and say that PreviewCast is over due to a lack of commitment. But at the same time, I still want to be able to have some sort of a podcast where I can be able to offer my comments and opinions on tech stuff in a way that I can’t do it on a blog–but I want to be able to do it with someone and be able to do it regularly.

So, at this point I’m frustrated because of where PreviewCast has been going and yet continuing my continuous desire to have some sort of a teen-based tech podcast, regardless of whether or not it’s modeled after PreviewCast. I hope to be able to figure something out soon.

Tags: comments, discussion, episodes, friends, frustrations, guests, history, MOD Team, MODs, opinions, Personal, phpBB, phpBB Weekly, Podcasts, PreviewCast, rant, tech, venting

Yes, I’m starting up yet another podcast venture. This particular one is being done in coordination with the Teen Podcasters Network. (If you haven’t heard, I became their “Lead Developer”–a very intimidating title–a month ago.) Well, we have decided to start a podcast for the network, which is being unceremoniously titled the Teen Podcasters Network Podcast, or TPNP for short. While we’re still figuring out how we want to lay out the podcast, it will likely be a less frequent podcast than the others (we’ll probably aim for producing it approximately biweekly), and it will probably hover more towards a length of 30 minutes instead of 60 minutes. On the show, we’ll be talking about podcasting, particularly for teenagers, news from TPN, as well as bringing on hosts from the network every so often to tell us about themselves and their shows.

Our first pilot episode is already online, so go ahead and check it out now!

Tags: Billy Hime, new, pilot, Podcasts, projects, Teen Podcasters Network, teens, TPNP

You know that when you listen to PreviewCast, you hear me mention that the show is a part of the Tech Podcast Network and the Teen Podcasters Network. The former is a very vibrant, well-known network that features 91 excellent shows. The latter is a lesser-known network that has kind of been in a slump recently, such that a few months ago I posted a topic asking if there was anything I could do to help them get going, because the idea of having a network just for teen podcasters sounded like a great idea.

Well, the Teen Podcasters Network is making a comeback, and I’m going to be helping out. Beginning today, I have been given the position of “Lead Developer” on the board of Teen Media Productions, which heads the Teen Podcasters Network. That intimidating title means that I will essentially be working along with President/CEO Matt Pippen to work on the website, first of all, and then pursuing other ideas to achieve the goal of building up a good sized community of teen podcasters, with the ultimate goal of hopefully rivaling the other TPN that I’m associated with.

If you’re a teen podcaster and are interested in helping build up the community, be sure to check out the Teen Podcasters Network, and I’m looking forward to being able to do good work with them in the future!

Tags: community, development, job, PHP, Podcasts, staff, Teen Podcasters Network, teens, WordPress

Cross-posted from PreviewCast.com:

Hello everyone,

With Macworld coming up this week, I thought I would take an opportunity to share what we have planned for our super awesome exclusive special stand-on-your-head-while-eating-deep-fried-pickle-hearts-and-singing-a-Mozart-sonata-at-the-same-time practically-drop-dead PreviewCast coverage of Macworld 2008: Absolutely nothing!

That’s right, PreviewCast is doing absolutely nothing in terms of live coverage. We will have absolutely no audio, no video, no photos, no tweets, no holograms, no SuperPokes, absolutely nothing to give you an experience of what it’s like to be at Macworld San Francisco 2008. Why? Because the entire internet is already doing the SAME THING!!!

Just hop on Google or Upcoming and take a look! Numerous websites and podcasts are doing lots of stuff at Macworld, whether it be tours and interviews on the show floor, interviews after the keynote from celebrities whom have had a significant overdose of exposure to the patented reality distortion field, and so many podcasted special events that you could get lost just in the few blocks surrounding Moscone Center and enough to force me to give my entire life’s savings over to BART if I was to try to take care of all of them and try to produce something for PreviewCast.

So guess what? We are not doing anything special for Macworld 2008 until after the show is already over and the initial hype over whatever Steve plans to spit out of his mouth on Tuesday has calmed down. PreviewCast #049, to be recorded next weekend, will be when we give our take on the announcements.

I will indeed be spending at least a day sometime at the Macworld Exhibit Hall, but guess what I’m going to do there? You’ll never believe it, but I’m actually going to enjoy myself! I’m not taking a camera (one disappeared there last year, and I’m still taking the heat for that), I’m not taking a microphone (unless I get the urge to record myself singing folk tunes in front of the Apple booth), although I am taking my laptop just to enjoy some free wifi, which is hard to find nowadays. But yeah, by eliminating myself of the burden of responsibility of recording and capturing the Macworld experience, I will actually be able to enjoy the Macworld experience! And isn’t that just what the point of it all is?

If you are interested in some Macworld coverage for you to get the illusion of being there, might I recommend practically every other site on the internet.

Enjoy the keynote and the festivities. And don’t worry, I will still be doing a bit of Macworld coverage, albeit from a distance, on Webmacster87.info. Stay tuned next week for PreviewCast #049.
–Douglas Bell
Co-Host and Editor, PreviewCast
http://www.previewcast.com

Tags: 2008, announcements, coverage, internet, Macworld, Personal, plans, PreviewCast, products, San Francisco, Steve Jobs

Hello everyone, and Happy New Year! Unfortunately, I am contractually obligated (to myself, my standards, and nothing or no one else) to produce on this blog, on the first day of each month, a Best Of post featuring the best from the previous month. Unfortunately, Webmacster87.info was down for the majority of December, and so there were only eight posts on this blog during December, and two of them had to do with closing out the month of November! Anyway, this Best Of will be shorter than usual, probably, but here we go.
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Tags: archives, Articles, Best Of, blog, December, episodes, Podcasts, posts, Tech Podcast Network

Well, the year 2007 has definitely been an interesting one. There have been plenty of great things that happened this year, and lots of bad things that happened this year, so my overall outlook on this year is pretty much a neutral one. I also did much more blogging during the year 2007 than I have before, with almost 270 posts spanning January-December. But now, as it is New Year’s Eve, December 31st, it’s time for me to close out the year 2007 with my Year in Review.
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Tags: 2007, Awards, blog, events, Personal, Podcasts, review, year

Today is my 16th birthday, which basically means it’s the last day that I can say that I’m 15 years old. Not that I would though, because that would confuse people. However, in reality, I don’t actually turn 16 until 8:33 PM Pacific time tonight, so I’m theoretically still 15 for the next fourteen hours after I post this. WHATEVER. I’M 16 NOW, OKAY?

But just so you can get in on it, I thought I’d highlight some funny birthday eCards for you to enjoy. These come from the wonderful folks at AmericanGreetings.com, the creators of the singing turkey eCards that come out every Thanksgiving. I really liked Midieval Birthday Wish, Old Guy’s Pick-up Lines, and Do Birthdays Suck? Quiz.

There’s some exciting stuff happening this weekend. Not only will I have a long long long to-do list to tackle, but tomorrow, David Lewis and I will be interviewing Eric Faerber (wGEric) on phpBB Weekly, and then on Sunday, I’m hoping that we’ll be able to record a great episode of PreviewCast, featuring a number of reviews of new things! (Subject to change depending on if certain people show up.)

I’m certainly hoping/planning to have a better birthday this year than I did last year!

Tags: 16th, birthday, eCards, funny, interview, phpBB Weekly, Podcasts, PreviewCast