OK, so I’m technically doing a “mini-keynote” to help kick off the Niche Digital Conference this Fall in Chicago, but it’s still a keynote! I’m thrilled to be working once again with the Niche Media team. If you’ve never been to a Niche Media event, I highly recommend them. Excellent, practical content, good people, and an entrepreneurial environment for niche consumer, business-to-business and regional media companies. This is the 2nd annual Niche Digital Conference and is entirely focused on building out digital revenue streams. The most surprising statistic...

What’s one of the most important keys to a good blogger? Well, the fact that they actually write a blog post now and then certainly would help. The reality is that I have been so busy both professionally and personally that my blog has fallen to the bottom of my priority list. I still want a life after all and given a choice between spending time with my wife and family or spending time writing my blog … well, the wife and family will always win out. The problem I have with keeping my blog updated is that I’m just not one to throw a lot of fluff out there. If you’re going to...

Yes, it’s true … I am taking a position as Exec VP of eMedia for Aspire Media. In the six months since I left Penton, I have thoroughly enjoyed consuting with many great media companies–both B2B and consumer–and hopefully I’ve been instrumental in helping build their online media businesses. However, I have missed the operating side and being part of a great team. Aspire was one of the companies that I consulted with and while working with them I was very impressed by the vision of CEO Clay Hall, the quality of the investment team, the quality of the brands, and the...

I am a Vonage subscriber and despite their financial difficulties, I really like their service. Free unlimited long distance anywhere in North America and several other countries … what’s not to love? One of my favorite features I subscribe to is called visual voicemail. For a few cents per email, Vonage will transcribe my voicemails and send them along to me as a text email. Since I hate listening to voicemail, but always have my BlackBerry with me, this is a wonderful service. (I wish my T-Mobile BlackBerry phone had the same service.) I’m not sure whether Vonage uses a...

Wow, what a wild ride the past few weeks have been. I’ve been incredibly busy working with various B2B and consumer enthusiast publishers. It’s been exhilarating and I see so much opportunity in the companies I’ve been working with. It’s exciting to see them really embracing online media and making significant impact on their businesses. However, I realize that I’ve been delinquent in keeping my blog up-to-date. I feel kind of like your favorite auto mechanic who is so busy working on other people’s cars that his own car is neglected. So it’s time to get...