The Third Annual Podcast Awards kick off on July 1st with the first 15 days dedicated to having your users nominate your podcast at http://www.podcastawards.com

We have changed things up considerably this year.

• 1st your Audience member only need Nominate your Show one time multiple nominations will be rejected
• 2nd We will expand from 5 to 10 the number of shows that will be put on the slate in each category

In January 2007 I recruited 36 people with 3 people assigned to each category to review nominations. Podcasters that are nominated will have their websites inspected and graded by the reviewer. Some of the things on the grading sheet that the reviewer will be looking for. Site Branding, RSS Feed Prominence, RSS Feed Validation, Visible Link to Media in Show Notes, Show Notes Quality, Consistency of Production, Content Quality, Ease of finding Podcast on Websiye. Combining the graded worksheet information with the number of nominations each show gets will determine the break out of the 10 shows in each category.

After the nomination review process and posting of the slate of shows to be voted on a two week voting period will commence.

Top Winners will be announced at the Podcast and New Media Expo Awards Ceremony.

Last year we gave away over $8000.00 in cash and prizes, sponsors and podcasters nominated received over 8 million site impressions in 2006-2007.

This year we will be running the same promotion we were last year where you put a link code on your website and every time someone clicks on the banner your site will be in the running for free advertising on the website three 120×120 banner spots will be awarded. To get a graphic for your site visit http://tinyurl.com/2a4dev

Todd..

Help drive traffic to the PodcastAwards.com website and you could become the recipent of banner impressions of over 8 Million. All you have to do is put a little piece of code on your website. See the PodcastAwards.com website for Details. Win 8 Million Impressions

Honolulu, Hawaii May 24, 2007 — The Third Annual People’s Choice Podcast Awards Platinum Sponsor was announced today by Podcast Connect, Inc., the podcast marketing firm that manages the awards. Wizzard Media, the world’s largest podcast hosting network and part of Wizzard Software, has signed on as the Platinum Sponsor for this year’s event.

The Peoples Choice Podcast Awards Nominations open on July 1st at PodcastAwards.com, followed by the voting process, and will culminate with an awards ceremony on September 28th in Ontario, California during the Podcast and New Media Expo (newmediaexpo.com). The awards will be presented by Platinum Sponsor Wizzard Media.

“I am very excited about this year’s event,” said Todd Cochrane, CEO of Podcast Connect, and founder of the Podcast Awards. “Last year, through award sponsorships, we were able to award podcasters almost $8,000 in cash and prizes, with additional website exposure through 2006-2007 of eight million plus hits.”

Because Podcast listeners nominate their favorite shows directly at the Podcast Awards website, and with the entire community voting on the final slate of nominated shows, every podcaster and their respective shows have a chance of winning the “People’s Choice” Podcast Award.

“We’re honored to take part in these awards for the podcasting community,” said Chris Spencer, CEO of Wizzard Media. “Podcasters are some of the hardest working people out there and many of the great shows are still under the radar. These awards are a welcome reward for all their hard work, while at the same time providing the podcasting audience the opportunity to vote for who they love the most.”

Over 350,000 people voted on the nominated podcasts last year, and over 250 people attended the awards ceremony. In the last year, the number of Internet users who reported downloading podcasts increased 79% to 17 million, according to a report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Reflecting that growth, Awards will be given in over 20 categories. Additionally, the podcastawards.com website will feature new nomination procedures and additional sponsorship options.

About Podcast Connect, Inc.
Podcast Connect Inc. is an innovative marketing firm which has developed into a powerhouse marketing arm for the podcasting community. Its mission statement is simple: “Podcasters do the work; podcasters get paid.” Its model is based on trust and respect.

About Wizzard Media
Wizzard Media is the world’s leading podcasting distribution company. Podcasts are a means for independent and professional content creators to publish audio and video shows for the world to enjoy over the Internet or on mp3 players, such as the Apple iPod. Podcasting is a relatively new phenomenon, but Wizzard Media collectively serves millions of podcast downloads per month through media aggregators like Apple’s iTunes and other podcast directories. For more information, please visit www.wizzard.tv. Wizzard Media is a division of Wizzard Software, a leader in speech technology development.

Media contacts:
Todd Cochrane
Podcast Connect, Inc.
808-741-4923

For Wizzard Media

Amy Bonetti
Big Mouth Communications
415-384-0900

Susie Marino
415-613-9138

An official announcement will come next week but we are starting to close the gap on sponsors for the 2007 People’s Choice Podcast Awards. We have a couple of Gold Sponsorships available yet so if you want to get massive exposure during the event you will want to snap up a sponsorship now before they are gone.

www.podcastawards.com

We will announce in a few days who the 2007 Platinum Sponsor is for the People’s Choice Podcast Awards. We are now looking to fill the 4 Gold Sponsorship spots. Details at the PodcastAwards.com website. Or email me at podcastawards@gmail.com

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