For my first attempt at a Skype video interview, I was fortunate to be joined by Moodlerooms CEO Lou Pugliese. Unfortunately, the network gods were not with us; the picture is extremely fuzzy. But the audio is quite good and well worth your time. Lou is an interesting guy. He started out as a journalist, got into online learning early, was Blackboard’s first CEO, worked with VCs for a while, and now is leading one of the fastest growing open source LMS support vendors around.
On a related note, I’m in the process of doing some more research on the Moodlerooms/Cambridge University Press relationship. I was mistaken when I assumed that it was similar to the Blackboard/McGraw Hill deal. There are some interesting wrinkles to it, which I’ll report as soon as I have the details nailed down.
By the way, I’m looking for input on these interviews. Is an hour too long? Are you listening to the whole thing? Are there ways that I could make it more likely that you would? Making a podcasting feed available on iTunes, for example?
Thanks for your site.
Podcast feed? Yes, please.
Interviews too long? Much too long. This is work, so I listen at work. If it was about a hobby of mine, say photography, then it’s not too long because I’m listening on my own time.
Thanks, Bill. Would you prefer an audio-only podcast, or do you like the video?
For me, I like audio. Even if it’s video, I’m only going to listen to the audio other than looking at 30 seconds of the video.
My experience as a podcast producer and consumer is that people are always doing multiple things while listening to them. Even the ones I listen to for pleasure, at the same time I’m doing chores around the house.
I think going audio only would also save you a lot of production time. There aren’t many real popular video podcasts; there’s a reason for that.
Thanks again for your work.
Hi, Michael –
The information is excellent, but I agree that an hour is too long, at least for one sitting. I’d suggest breaking the videos into bite-size topics, 4-7 minutes each so we could listen to the topics of greatest interest — and you’d be able to track that interest.
Great work, glad you’re doing it.
Best regards,
Dan