The Spoon

Summary: Some have called Dan Benjamin's 5by5 "NPR for geeks". Given the fast-growing podcast network's mix of shows that go deep and long into tech and geek culture - and do it very well - it's a pretty apt description. In this conversation, Dan and I talk about a number of topics, including: the state of the podcast market, 5by5's early days, how Dan manages being so involved with all aspects of 5by5, how he determines what type of role he should take as podcast host for each show, and we wrap up by Dan sharing some insights into the advertising and monetization of podcasts. This conversation is one of the many I am making available over the next week or two from the Podcast Project. If you'd like to learn more about this project, go to nextmarket.co/pages/the-podcast-project for more details. And if you'd like to subscribe to future podcasts in this series and other areas we talk about here at the NextMarket podcast, subscribe using the following channels below: Website: http://nextmarket.co iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/nextmarket/id579455690 RSS: feeds.feedburner.com/soundcloud/JEcj Stitcher Radio: app.stitcher.com/browse/feed/32010/episodes

In this conversation I talk to Stephen Dubner about why he started Freakonomics Radio, the growth of his podcast and how it allows him to stay in touch with his audience, the growth drivers for podcasting, as well as the "hidden side" of podcasting. This conversation is one of the many I am making available over the next week or two from the Podcast Project. If you'd like to learn more about this project, go to http://nextmarket.co/pages/the-podcast-project for more details. And if you'd like to subscribe to future podcasts in this series and other areas we talk about here at the NextMarket podcast, subscribe using the following channels below: Website: http://nextmarket.co iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/nextmarket/id579455690 RSS: http://feeds.feedburner.com/soundcloud/JEcj Stitcher Radio: http://app.stitcher.com/browse/feed/32010/episodes

Summary: hear Michael Wolf talk to Adam Carolla, Ira Glass, Stephen Dubner, Leo Laporte, Dan Benjamin and others about the state of the podcast market in this 'podumentary: a podcast about the podcast'. The conversations here were used for a feature post I did for Forbes, which was published on April 4, 2013: http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelwolf/2013/04/04/funnymen-and-iphones-why-the-podcast-is-finally-coming-into-its-own/ Guests on this podcast (and ones you can expect podcast tracks from in the near future) include: - Adam Carolla, Carolla Digital and Host of Adam Carolla Podcast -Ira Glass, Host of This American Life -Stephen Dubner, Host of Freakonomics Radio -Leo Laporte, Host and CEO of TWiT.tv -Dan Benjamin, Host and CEO of 5by5.tv -Rob Greenlee, Manager, Podcast Marketplace, Xbox -Rob Walch, VP of Podcaster Relations, Libsyn -Ben Hammersley, Author & inventor of the term "podcast"* -Marc Maron, Host of WTF* -Jim Bankoff, CEO of Vox Media* *I interviewed Hammersley, Maron and Bankoff previous to the start of this project, but included excerpts from those conversations. Those podcasts can be found in the NextMarket podcast archive. Other podcasts in this series can be found at Soundcloud, or Website: http://nextmarket.co iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/nextmarket/id579455690 NextMarket's website: http://nextmarket.co/pages/the-podcast-project Stitcher: http://app.stitcher.com/browse/feed/32010/episodes or RSS: http://feeds.feedburner.com/soundcloud/JEcj

This week, CEO of popular 3D modeling software company Tinkercad, Kai Backman, sent out an email to users of the product to notify them they were going to shut the popular browser based 3D modeling program/service down. Now, it's not often you see a company shut down a successful, popular, best-in-class product, so I thought I'd catch up with Kai to ask why. Of course, it should be noted that the letter also talked about a new funding round and plans for a new product which, according to Backman, has a much bigger upside potential than that of Tinkercad. So fans of Tinkercad, 3D modeling or those just curious about what the company has planned for the future, enjoy this short conversation podcast.

It's not often we see an entirely new approach to bringing TV entertainment to consumers, but Aereo has done just that. In early 2012, the startup launched a service that brought residents of New York City local broadcast channels over the Internet. The service, based on a technology that utilizes thousands of tiny receiver antennas in one centralized location, is available for an annual, monthly or even day-pass subscription. I caught up with the company's CEO, Chet Kanojia, a few weeks ago, where we discussed the history of the company, the "Cablevision decision" which set the legal precedent for the company's service, Barry Diller's investment in the company and much more. Enjoy. Also, subscribe in iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/nextmarket/id579455690 RSS: feeds.feedburner.com/soundcloud/JEcj or Stitcher: app.stitcher.com/browse/feed/32010/episodes or follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/Nextmarket

In this podcast, I talk to Nancy Liang, the CEO of MixeeMe. I recently encounted MixeeMe as part of my look at Shapeways, since the company was one of the first to use the Shapeways API to develop an application to tap into Shapeways 3D printing infrastructure. I talk to Nancy about where she came up with the idea for MixeeMe (hint, it started when she was a kid), what makes MixeeMe a good way for people to first encounter 3D printing, as well as what the weirdest MixeeMe she's seen looked like. And oh yeah, I also do a man (kinda) on the street interview about the MixeeMe app. Enjoy. Also, subscribe in iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/nextmarket/id579455690 RSS: feeds.feedburner.com/soundcloud/JEcj or Stitcher: app.stitcher.com/browse/feed/32010/episodes or follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/Nextmarket

This one is part of NextMarket's continuing Maker leader series. For over a decade, Chris Anderson helped lead Wired as the magazine's editor-in-chief, and also authored best-sellers such as The Long Tail and Makers: The New Industrial Revolution. But late last year, Anderson announced he would leave his post at Wired and make his hobby and passion, drones and robotics, his full time gig, becoming CEO of 3D Robotics, a drone manufacturing company. I caught up recently with Anderson to talk about his company and the drone market, as well as many other issues such as 3D printing, intellectual property issues as the digital-to-physical movement takes shape, the 3D printing of guns. the potential for drone legislation efforts to move beyond the government/defense realm into the consumer space, as well as the use of drones in a managed service model. Thanks for listening. Also, subscribe in iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/nextmarket/id579455690 RSS: feeds.feedburner.com/soundcloud/JEcj or Stitcher: app.stitcher.com/browse/feed/32010/episodes or follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/Nextmarket

A few days ago, Vox Media was named publisher of the year by Digiday, crediting the company's CEO, Jim Bankoff, with the company's successful diversification from a sports blog network in SB Nation to one with three thriving verticals with the addition of The Verge (tech) and Polygon (video games). I caught up with Bankoff last week to discuss the evolution from sports blog network to a media company, using technology as a differentiator, choosing technology and video games over other verticals, potential new areas of focus in the future, how they use video as part of their overall strategy and much more. Thanks for listening. Also, subscribe in iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/nextmarket/id579455690 RSS: feeds.feedburner.com/soundcloud/JEcj or Stitcher: app.stitcher.com/browse/feed/32010/episodes or follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/Nextmarket

This one's for the 3D printing/Maker crowd. While the cost of 3D printers continue to come down, the cost of filament and other 3D printing materials remains fairly high. Enter Mcor Technologies, which believes it has the solution for the high cost of 3D printing materials with its patented technology for printing 3D color models using letter sized printer paper. My interest in Mcor started when they announced a partnership with Staples, which will bring 3D paper printing to office centers in Europe and (eventually) North America. In this podcast, I talk to Dr. MacCormack, the CEO of Mcor, about using paper as a 3D printing material and how it compares to other 3D printing materials, the evolution of the company's technology, how the Staples deal came together, how Staples and Mcor plan to make 3D printing services work at retail, the future of 3D paper printing and more. If you like this podcast, please subscribe using one of the following channels: iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/nextmarket/id579455690 RSS: feeds.feedburner.com/soundcloud/JEcj or Stitcher: app.stitcher.com/browse/feed/32010/episodes Or follow us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Nextmarket

After blogging for thirteen years, the last six of which were for big media, in January Andrew Sullivan and a few close associates decided to launch an independent media company. The decision to go independent wasn’t all that shocking since, after all, Sullivan had started his blog, The Daily Dish, as a personal endeavor while maintaining a day job at The New Republic. What was surprising was that they would ask readers to pay for content. Utilizing what Sullivan called a “leaky meter” model, where frequent visitors to the new Dish would be asked to pay $20 a year or more if they hit a certain amount of reads per month, Sullivan was gambling that his most loyal readers liked what he and his partners were writing enough to put some actual skin in the game, paying not only for the next twelve months of articles, but hopefully for the next year and the year after that as they attempted to build a sustainable media business. Two months and two thirds of the way towards his $900 thousand revenue goal, Sullivan was cautiously optimistic this week when I caught up with him. We talked about some of the lessons he’s learned, the decision process behind launching the company (and it’s business model), others which helped shape his thinking about new media business models, and what his biggest surprise has been so far. If you like this podcast, please subscribe using one of the following channels: iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/nextmarket/id579455690 RSS: feeds.feedburner.com/soundcloud/JEcj or Stitcher: app.stitcher.com/browse/feed/32010/episodes

While much of the press about 3D printing has focused on low-cost 3D printers that are just now creeping into consumer price bands, mass market adoption of 3D printers is still a few years off. The 3D printing services market is likely to take off sooner, in part because enables a new class of online entrepreneurs and artists who use 3D printing services to create new artwork, products and designs, which they can then sell to consumers through marketplaces enabled by companies like Shapeways. I sat down recently with the CEO of Shapeways, Peter Weijmarshausen, to talk about the origins of the company, the company's printing network and facilities, how they are fostering a artisan and creator entrepreneurial wave through their marketplaces, and he expects the first "Shapeways millionaire" in the coming year or so. If you are interested at all in 3D printing and want to better understand the fast-growing services market, I suggest you take a listen! Also, if you like this podcast, please subscribe using one of the following channels: iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/nextmarket/id579455690 RSS: feeds.feedburner.com/soundcloud/JEcj or Stitcher: app.stitcher.com/browse/feed/32010/episodes

I'm a big fan of Linkedin, mostly because I think there's huge utility to the business social net's features. For someone who's long been both a functional practitioner and manager with strong editorial interests in a number of areas, the site's mix of business networking, groups and recruiting features has given me plenty of reason to visit on a near daily basis over the past decade. And so when the company started to beef up its original content program with the hire of Dan Roth, the former managing editor of Fortune.com, I had a sneaking suspicion the site was about to become an even more important part of my daily routine. Dan came on board as Linkedin's executive editor just after the company had launched Linkedin Today, its curated vertical news effort heavy on algorithmic targeting. Before long Linkedin Today had become an important source of news for myself and millions like me. Fast forward to last year and Roth and his team launched the Linkedin Influencer program, a handpicked, invite only group of super-influencers like Richard Branson, Barack Obama, Arianna Huffington and Herb Greenberg. Pretty much the top voices in almost every major business vertical. I decided to spend some time with Dan to ask him how the effort has gone so far, about four months in. I talk to him about the idea behind the initiative, how the effort is going from a recruiting and posting perspective, what the overall editorial strategy is for the effort, and where he sees it going. We also talk about what business media initiatives and startups he sees outside of Linkedin that excites him. So I invite you to have a listen! Also, if you like this podcast, please subscribe using one of the following channels: iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/nextmarket/id579455690 RSS: feeds.feedburner.com/soundcloud/JEcj or Stitcher: app.stitcher.com/browse/feed/32010/episodes

Stephan Pastis is having a decent February. The artist behind Pearls Before Swine was just nominated this past week for the Reuben (the comic strip equivalent of the Oscar) and next week he will publish his first children's book, Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made. I decided to catch up with Pastis during his white-hot month of success and we had a great conversation. We talked about how his iPad app (released a year ago) performed, becoming a children's book author, the secrets to success bestowed upon him by Wimpy Kid mega-author Jeff Kinney, the selection process he used to decide on one of the 10 publishers who bid on his book, the future of Pearls and much, much more. If you are a comics fan or simply want to hear the story behind the book series that could become the next-big-thing children's book franchise, have a listen! Those of you who would like to hear my first conversation with Stephan from January 2012, it can be found here: https://soundcloud.com/nextmarket/conversation-with-cartoonist If you like this podcast, please subscribe using one of the following channels: iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/nextmarket/id579455690 RSS: feeds.feedburner.com/soundcloud/JEcj or Stitcher: app.stitcher.com/browse/feed/32010/episodes

I first started reading Rafat Ali's work in 2003, at a time when no one was really covering the business of digital media and content economics in the way that Rafat did with PaidContent. Just a few years later, Rafat sold his company to The Guardian and recently started a new company in Skift. I decided to catch up with Rafat and talk to him about the history of PaidContent and how the broader tech media landscape has evolved since those early days of blogging, as well as talk about what he's up to now with his new company, Skift. This one is great for anyone interested in hearing about the early days of tech and media blogging, how it differs from today's landscape, as well as anyone looking for some sound media startup advice from a guy who's done it twice. Enjoy! If you like this podcast, please subscribe using one of the following channels: iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/nextmarket/id579455690 RSS: feeds.feedburner.com/soundcloud/JEcj or Stitcher: app.stitcher.com/browse/feed/32010/episodes

I had an opportunity to talk with Eben Upton, Founder of the Raspberry Pi Foundation. For those of you not familiar with Raspberry Pi, it was conceived by Upton in 2006 as a low-cost basic computer that would sell for the price of a text book ($25) and enable kids from nearly any socioeconomic background to have a computer. The impetus for the project was the precipitous dropoff in the quality of computer knowledge among incoming computer science applicants that Upton and his colleagues saw at the University of Cambridge's computer laboratory. Fast-forward six or so years, and the Raspberry Pi has shipped 1 million units and is selling at a volume of a couple hundred thousand a month. I decided to talk to Eben about what's next for the foundation and what he believes it's legacy will be. Enjoy! If you like this podcast, please subscribe using one of the following channels: iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/nextmarket/id579455690 RSS: feeds.feedburner.com/soundcloud/JEcj or Stitcher: app.stitcher.com/browse/feed/32010/episodes