For those of you looking to get an inside look into my thought process and some more details on me and my personality, check out this fairly long interview on Blueverse.

If you enjoy the interview, please give it a Sphinn.

I really enjoy doing interviews, and so if you have some interesting questions you would like to ask me for your blog, please let me know.

Originally posted on August 18, 2008 @ 11:23 am

A good friend of mine has been working on building up his own personal brand online, and he is focusing more on the audio medium than I ever did. While he does blog, his passion seems to come through much more when he is working on the VineCast, a podcast dedicated to Newsvine.

Could you please introduce yourself, what you do, and where people can find you online?

Sure. My name is Brad Leclerc. I’ve been blogging on and off pretty much since the advent of blogging, but didn’t try to make any money at it until pretty recently when I starting writing on TVGawker, and to a smaller degree, SolarHype. I’m also very active in the Newsvine.com community (you can find my account at brad-leclerc.newsvine.com) which is probably what started me thinking that there may be a way to get my online hobbies working for me to pay my bills, thanks to their revenue sharing system. I’m hoping that within another year or so (or less!) I’ll have enough fairly stable income from online sources to completely avoid a “traditional” job altogether and focus on my online projects, such as the VineCast, my newest project…and first podcast.

And that is the main reason I am interviewing you today, you have been working hard on bringing back the long dead podcast series the VineCast. Can you tell me a bit about the VineCast and your involvement with it?

The Vinecast was started originally about 2 years ago by a Newsvine user (or Viner, as I would usually say) who goes by the name “Dom Pody”, and others, and was setup like as a round-table discussion about Newsvine.com, be it news or articles posted to the site, or “meta” topics about Newsvine itself by an assortment of always changing panel members (a bit like Leo Laporte’s “This Week in Tech”, with less production value hehe). They came out with a new episode every few weeks, including one in which I was a panel member), and then it sorta dissolved away due to the people involved “having a life”, so to speak.

I tried reviving interest in it a couple times, and there were a fair amount of people who wanted more episodes, but no one really ready to take the reins, and at the time I was still working full time and didn’t have the time to do it myself either. That’s changed recently as I shift more and more of my focus on online endeavors, and so I basically said “Screw it, I’m bringing this baby back, and better than ever!”. Being friends with Dom, he gladly transferred the original domain to me (http://www.thevinecast.com), and I began to work out just how I was going to make it happen. Got myself a co-host(Viki Gonia), and started sending out invites to be on the panel to all the Viners I can stand to talk to. As of now I’m doing all the recording/editing and everything else beyond the actual podcast, which I happily share with Viki, and whoever else is around on recording day.

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Originally posted on July 28, 2008 @ 4:59 pm

David Peralty: So, as with any and all interviews on and off the web, the most pressing introductory question is, who are you, what do you do, and where can people find you online?

Steven Finch: Hi.. well I’m Steven Finch and I’m currently the CEO of a new media company here in the UK named Insomnia. Additionally, you can find me at my personal weblog, Crenk.com.

David Peralty: So, new media means a wide variety of things. Can you tell me more about Insomnia and what they deal with?

Steven Finch: Well Insomnia is a media company. We currently have our majority of assets in the music industry, and we are just about to launch our first web assets, which is also based in the music market.

The first web asset is called Routenote, and is a music licensing and distribution company.

David Peralty: Crenk.com talks a fair bit about what is going on in the online world. It seems like you are joining two very competitive niches. What made you think that you could build a successful company, and blog in the current marketplace?

Steven Finch: Both companies are definitely in two very competitive markets, but two markets that I think are changing very rapidly.

Personally, I have been pretty much living on the Internet since a young age, and I have always taken notice of the Internet and where it was progressing. This, mixed with my knowledge in how business really works, seem to really help in the growth and progression of the company in both sectors.

David Peralty: So, as a CEO of a company, you must have an interesting view on the blogosphere. Do you think it will continue to expand endlessly or have people already reached their saturation point when it comes to blogs and online media?

Steven Finch: Well at this stage, it is definitely growing, but I always believe in information overload. Blogs are about having your say, but sometimes it is very difficult to find voices or publications that are actually worth reading. This will always be an issue when the blogosphere is continuing to grow.

David Peralty: Why did you end up choosing WordPress for Crenk.com? Did you try any other options?

Steven Finch: I tried blogger for a while, but it didn’t seem to have the customizations and plugins that I was after; hence, WordPress. It seems to be the most adaptable, and seemed to get my vote from the moment I started using it.

David Peralty: If other CEO’s are looking to join the blogosphere, what would advice would you give them? Warnings, tips, tricks are all good.

Steven Finch: A warning I would hand out is don’t ever personally attack someone, be it a blogger or even just a user of your site because at the end of the day, the users are always what makes or breaks an internet company, and loyal ones are very hard to come by.

Additionally, make sure you disclose all of your conflicts of interest, with regards to other companies, advertisers, stocks, and etc.

David Peralty: Do you have any blogs that are great inspiration for a new blogger? Be they technology, PR, corporate, or other?

Steven Finch: Well Xfep of course, but I am also a fan of Dosh Dosh for blogging, Read/Write Web for technology and also Centernetwork.com. Additionally, I have learnt a fair bit from Foundread.com.

David Peralty: And lastly, when can we expect Routnote.com?

Steven Finch: We are currently in private testing at the moment and should be opening to the public in approximately two months.

David Peralty: Thank you again for taking this time to talk with me. I would love to see more CEO’s get into the blogging world, be they new media or not. I am looking forward to the increasing build up of Crenk.com as well as the launch of Routenote.com.

Steven Finch: Thank you very much.

Originally posted on February 29, 2008 @ 2:23 pm