Podtech hosted the first annual Vloggies Award last Saturday where they recognized worthy video bloggers who have done extraordinary work in promoting video blogging. Ask a Ninja won multiple awards including Best Vlog award, Best Comedy award and Funniest Award. Other notable mentions include Josh Wolf as People’s Choice Male Vlogger and Nontourage as Female Vlogger. A complete list of the winners can be found on the PodTech site.

When we started PodZinger, we knew podcasting and vlogging will be huge in the digital space and we definitely hit it on the nail as we see the medium growing stronger and more prominent everyday. The first annual Vloggies Award started with more than 600 nominations and we are sure that by the end of this time next year, there will be twice the amount of vloggers around.

Our CEO Alex Laats recently connected with new media evangelist, CC Chapman for the Managing the Gray podcast. In their discussion, they highlighted the importance of content to consumers and we are delighted that a new media advocate like Chapman would refer to us as the “Google for audio and video” content. Chapman also points out many nifty features and tips he likes about PodZinger. This guy really gets it!!! You can listen/download the podcast here at podzinger:

The St. Louis Cardinals clinched the National League last night to go head to head with the Detroit Tigers for the World Series title. And it was a pretty interesting game too, considering it was tied in the ninth and determined by a two-run homer by Yadier Molina, who had a .216 ERA and only six home runs in pre-series games!

The series starts tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. ET in Detroit, and since Boston’s beloved Red Sox are out of the picture, it’s going to be a tough decision which I’ll be routing for. I usually go for the underdogs, but between the Cards winning the NL with a homer by a no-name player, and the Tigers going from being the worst team in the league during the past three years to the Series’ favorite, it’s going to be a hard decision.

Either way, I’m just glad the Yankees lost in the first round!

For all of you baseball fans out there, I’ve included a few links to some of my favorite baseball podcasts below. For more suggestions, visit PodZinger.

Baseball Geeks PodCast - Gregg Keer and Rob Reed present a MLB (with a Fantasy spin) podcast from links and information submitted to the BaseballGeeks.com and PlayerTrack.com sites.

Pro Baseball Central - A weekly radio show that discusses the happenings in Major League Baseball.

Baseball Prospectus Radio Podcast – Provides up-to-date news on happenings in the baseball world.

In a goal to raise $30 million nationally for Breast Cancer, 30,000 walkers in Boston participated in the 14th Annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer fundraiser. As October is the National Breast Cancer Awareness month, we thought it would be appropriate to point out some of the various video and audio podcasts that provide useful health tips and information including Katie Couric’s broadcast on Breast Cancer Awareness.

NPR: Health & Science gives in-depth reports on medicine and health, providing the latest information on issues such as heart disease, depression and stroke.

Family Health Radio, provides understandable information on common health problems and the latest health care developments from the College of Osteopathic Medicine and The Center For Public Media at Ohio University.

The Health and Happiness Podcast provides tips and hints for a longer and happier life through nutritional guidance and vitamin help.

With the introduction of he PodZinger Advertising Platform, we are encouraging all podcasters to sign up to participate…. and it’s Free. this is a great way to get your podcast found and make money.

If you have already registered your content with PodZinger, expect an email in the next week or two letting you know the email under which you’re registered. You’ll need this to sign in. If you haven’t registered your content yet, just register here. In both cases, check the “opt-in” box for the advertising program, it’s that easy.

Online content is revolutionizing the consumers consumption of media and advertising has begun to adapt to this new environment. Get in the ground floor with us. We’re looking forward to it!

Podcasting News finds three very interesting job postings on Craig’s List seeking “talents” for podcasting. Bikini Model, Drag Queen Model and Pregnant Model. The most interesting being the Pregnant Model for the PregTastic Podcast. Accordingly to the site,

PregTASTIC is a weekly podcast (online radio) for pregnant women, by pregnant women. Many of our podcasters are having their babies and we are looking for pregnant women to fill their seats.”

We checked out the site and were impressed by the kind of support they received in the community. This is definitely the long-tail of podcasting… there is something out there for everyone.

In recent BlogZinger postings, I’ve been hinting that PodZinger would soon be announcing an advertising platform that was unlike any other out there and provided more benefits to the consumers, content creators and advertisers. Well…today, we officially launched our first-of-its-kind online video advertising platform, enabling advertisers to serve relevant ads in audio and video content!With the new ad platform, podcasters are able to monetize their content and receive half of all generated revenue. Using content classification technology and algorithms for analyzing consumer intent and aggregate consumer usage, PodZinger solves the problem of connecting consumers with relevant advertising in online audio and video content. The new service goes far beyond traditional text and click-through advertising services that advertisers are dependant on today, providing enhanced online experiences for content creators, advertisers and consumers.

We’ve already gotten some great feedback from the media, and I’ve included some of the highlights below from Red Herring, The Boston Herald, Adotas, ClickZ and more. Feel free to let us know what you think of our new platform, or if you’d like to become involved in the program yourself!

Red Herring, PodZinger Targets Ads, October 5, 2006

Boston Herald, Video podcast ads on tap, October 5, 2006

Adotas, PodZinger Opens Podcast Advertising Search Network, October 5, 2006

ClickZ, PodZinger to Offer Targeted Video Ads, October 5, 2006

MediaPost, Podzinger Rolls Out Ad Network, October 5, 2006

CNET, PodZinger to share ad revenue with podcasters, October 5, 2006

TechCrunch, Podzinger to listen for ad opportunities, October 5, 2006

Although I’m still a little bleary-eyed from returning on the red-eye from Podcast and Portable Media Expo, I want to put my thoughts down while they are still fresh. This event attracted a wonderful and extremely energetic cross section of podcasters, podcast suppliers, and traditional media companies and outlets as well as a lot of newbies. It also underscored that we are on the precipice of an online media revolution.

A year ago, we knew that podcasting and what it meant to the industry was going to be BIG, however to some untrained eyes they saw the attendees as a group of hobbyists. This year we saw the same early adopter group back but with a new confidence that only success can bring. They have increased their user base, they are mentoring the newcomers, they are adding video, they are partnering and they are planning for the future.

The seeds of this revolution have been planted with traditional media. We ran into people that hailed from companies and organizations with well recognized names. Some are still trying to get a foothold, yet we found the majority have embraced this new paradigm for online media.

These are exciting times we live in. And, it promises to be an even more eventful year.
Find out what others are saying about the Podcast and Portable Media Expo on PodZinger.

The New York Times technology section today featured an article, “Some Hot Recorders for Those Cool Podcasts.” Reporter Larry Magid discusses how podcasting has created a need to expand the market for high-end portable audio gear. Today, top of the line recorders now use the same flash memory used in digital cameras and can hold up to 130 hours of compressed monaural audio. The catch? The high-end devices can cost up to $500.

We think it’s great these devices are being promoted, however for those not wishing to spend hundreds of dollars Magid did mention a couple of less expensive digital flash recorders such as the iRiver T30 for $40. There is always the option of simply using a computer microphone and audio-editing software!

We look forward to seeing future developments in portable audio gear, but ultimately what is important for a podcast is not how it is made, but who listens to it. What is the point of spending $500 to produce an immaculately sounding podcast, if no one hears it? As always, we encourage all podcasters to make sure their podcasts are registered with us and to do so if they aren’t. That way even if someone doesn’t know they are looking for your unique insight on Aardvark social dynamics, they will find it for the important research they are doing on termite eaters.

Podcamp Boston was a huge success and Henry had a lot of fun presenting and meeting some really amazing people.

If you have missed the show, check out what others have said. We found a total of 57 podcasts within our PodZinger search.

Update: Podcamp NYC , Philly and San Francisco are already in the works and we just want to give a shout out to the un-organizers for making the event such a success.