Geoffrey H Wood

I've been a consumer of podcasts for several years. It started as far back as 2002 when I would download the Bob & Tom Show directly from their website(1) for something fun to listen to at work. I took a bit of hiatus from it for awhile and then picked it up in earnest about 24 months ago.

I now listen to a multitude of podcasts - from comedy, to educational, to sports - because it helps me feel like I'm not wasting any part of my day. I listen in coffee shops, I listen while washing dishes and I listen while in the car.

Last week, I made the jump from simply consuming this audio content to creating it. I teamed up with experienced podcaster Andy Brudtkuhl in Des Moines to create PrairieCast, a weekly discussion of and with entrepreneurs and innovators in Des Moines and on the Silicon Prairie.

We've recorded one episode and are set to record our second one this week. You can find PrairieCast at the link above or subscribe to it through iTunes. Additionally, Andy has a long standing podcast called "Managing the Edge" and he had me on as his guest last Friday. Check out that episode here.

(1)I don't think it was even called podcasting, yet.

My wife and I randomly decided to stop in to Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery on Saturday night for some food and drinks. We’d enjoyed lunch there earlier in the week and so it was top of mind in the typical “where do we want to go” debate.

As an avid Foursquare player, I checked in earlier in the week and when I went to check in this time I noticed a “Special Offer” tag that I didn’t remember from checking in before. It turns out that the good folks at Rock Bottom had decided to offer happy hour pricing all day long to whoever holds the title of Mayor at their location within the Foursquare platform. Upon checking in, this image popped up on my phone:

Sweet! Not my first Mayorship but my first one that actually provided a tangible reward. We stayed for a few drinks and an appetizer and walked out with a bill of less than $15!

I know that a lot of non-user folks don’t see the point of Foursquare but I’ve always found it fun. Now that it’s paying off, I’m all in.

Also, I was quoted in the Des Moines Register about Des Moines businesses using Foursquare. Check it out here.

I don't know the specifics but I'm guessing that I'm not in the target demographic for O, The Oprah Magazine. However, I caught a tweet today that announced that Oprah (or more likely one of her staffers) had decided Iowa (the state) was in fact 1 of the 100 "people, places, ideas, and stuff [the magazine is] loving more than ever."

Iowa clocks in at #32 and is one of three geographic places on the list (we rank behind formerly looted, ransacked and hurricane-devastated Oak Street in New Orleans and ahead of the hydrogen-bombed Bikini Atoll).

32. Iowa 
Legalizing gay marriage in 2009 + producing artisanal charcuterie (try La Quercia's organic prosciutto) + University of Iowa football landing among the top 25 college teams for the fifth time this decade + ranking second on MainStreet.com 's Happiness Index = one seriously happening Hawkeye State. 

Don't get me wrong, it's great for our state to get publicity. I agree that Iowa has improved and I'm in a somewhat unique position to see that since we moved back here last summer after five years living out-of-state. However, I do question their formula they provide above. The legalization of gay marriage is certainly worthy of such a determination (and, in my opinion, should be celebrated) but I question the other three.

Item 2 - Apparrently, we now produce "artisanal charcuterie". I admit, I had no idea what "charcuterie" is but according to the interwebs it's the "branch of cooking devoted to prepared meat products". I've never tried La Quercia's prosciutto (nor do I have any idea where in Iowa "La Quercia" is located) but I bet it doesn't hold a candle to Mr. Porkchop on RAGBRAI.

Item 3 - Hawkeye Football. Really? I get it, Hawkeye football is good. I'm not a fan but that's neither here nor there. Quoting their ranking doesn't make a lot of sense since it's the judgement of external sports media (and coaches secretaries). Collegiate sports are divisive in this state; the Hawkeyes are no more the Iowa's team than are the Cyclones and it doesn't make sense to use either.

Item 4 - Mainstreet.com's Happiness Index. I s'pose it's a good thing that this website's subjective combination of "Non-mortgage debt as a % of Annual Income", "unemployment rate" and "foreclosure rate" for our state is more favorable than it is for 48 other states, it doesn't mean anything to me as Iowan.

As I said, cheers to Oprah for recognizing Iowa (although being on the same plain as a hurricane ravaged neighborhood and an American bomb testing location makes me worry about what she formerly thought of us) but next time dig a bit deeper and showcase our true accomplishments.

Local leaderboardWe’re now into our second week of having access to Foursquare in Des Moines(1) and I’ve seen enough to form some opinions on the service:

For more thoughts on how Foursquare is being implemented in Des Moines, see Nathan T Wright's post on the LavaRow blog: How and why I’m using Foursquare

And, for general Foursquare etiquette check out A guide to Foursquare etiquette on OldMediaNewTricks.com.

1. And everywhere else.

Last Friday, I had the opportunity to join some other Des Moines entrepreneurs as guests on a local talk radio show. I wasn't sure what to expect since it was mid-morning on a holiday (New Year's Day) and I wasn't even able to be in studio, we were at my in-laws for a late family Christmas celebration so I had to call in from a rural part of Iowa on an AT&T cell phone.

However, it was a great experience. I think it was the Jan Mickelson show, but Mr. Mickelson was on vacation and the show had a guest host sitting in. The topic was entrepreneurship in Des Moines in 2010 and I was invited by Alexander Grgurich of Foundry Coworking, along with Ben Milne of Dwolla, Joey Hinke of JA Hinke & Co, and a few others.

It was a fun experience and it's already lead to an opportunity, as I was already contacted be a local church men's group interested in bringing in someone to talk about the same topic. Several friends and acquaintances have reached out to tell me that they heard me on the radio proving that it's still an effective medium for telling your story.

Personally, in the age of TiVo, I prefer to listen to podcasts where I can stop and start the programming as I move about my day and don't miss anything. I also like to listen to them on my schedule, rather than the traditional model of tuning in at a certain time.

Continuing on the theme of mainstream media, I've had a ton of folks tell me they saw the profile in Juice last week. Interestingly, many of these folks are barely in the upper bounds of Juice's demographic (25-34) or already beyond it. Many of them pointed out that "they rarely look at Juice" which makes me think that either 1) the cover story on the Top 100 area restaurants was a great attention grabber or 2) my friends have a compulsion for looking at party pictures that they're afraid to admit. Either way, it was a great opportunity and I'm very glad that Brianne and her colleagues wanted to do it.

photo by Eric Rowley for Juice

Several years ago, I saw Sarah Robbins give a presentation about social media and, as an aside, she mentioned that everyone should setup a Google Alert of their own name so that they could see what others are saying about them on the internet. 

It was good advice and I followed it that very day but this is one of the first times that it paid off. Usually, Google is very good at notifying me about things like the activities of British soccer players, Canadian pathobiologists and, lately, the stories I produce for Silicon Prairie News. 

However today, the following popped up - Get to know: Geoff Wood, 31

It's just a quick profile piece for the "Juice" the Des Moines Register's weekly magazine targeted at folks in Central Iowa around my age. It's neat to be included and, narcissism aside, whenever an opportunity like this pops up I always feel honored that I was asked to participate.

Anyway, I obviously answered the questions and was there (covering up my face with a business card) for the photo so the feature itself wasn't a surprise; more so I was surprised by the timing (I was thinking it was supposed to run two weeks from now). However, thanks to that tip from Intellagirl, I'm right on top of it and I don't have to pretend to know what people are talking about the inevitable "hey, saw your photo in Juice" comments crop up later this week. 

I stopped out to Mars Cafe this morning for coffee at the invitation of LavaRow, who graciously offered to buy their clients, friends and fans a drink as a "thank you" for a great year in 2009.

I don't think I contributed to their great year but nonetheless, I don't turn down good coffee (especially when it's free).

It just so happens that the Flip cameras were out and I made it into LavaRow's document of the event:

and, finally, onto the illustrious John Pemble's 12seconds.tv video: http://12seconds.tv/v/GM0VE (which is a personal best, since I've been cut twice before).

Update on Tuesday, December 29, 2009 at 2:40PM by Geoff Wood

Here's the embedded 12Seconds video (not sure how I missed that before):

Free Coffee at MARS Cafe this morning courtesy of Lava Row. Saw Phil James, Brian Sauer, Geooff Wood, Brianne Sanchez & others. on 12seconds.tv