As this was our first attempt at capturing a dinner event in episodic format, I’m sure we missed a few details. That’s ok, the company was great and the food was spot on. Ryanne and Jay brought some fresh mixed greens from their backyard garden, along with a mystery squash that they had grown from seed. Eddie brought along an organic chardonnay that suited his Gary Vaynerchuk alter-ego just fine. Ryanne and Jay’s squash was destined to become a spiced squash soup, featuring the surprising combination of cinnamon and dill. And even I was surprised by the liveliness of their fresh greens. I’m still always struck by the difference between produce served minutes or hours after picking, rather than days or weeks.

The evening was filled with roving topics, like any good dinner party should be, though eventually we settled on cross-promotion and surviving in a new medium. Making a go of it in the world of online content is still a tremendous challenge; the industry at this point is still a sea of turbulent waters. Add to this the issues of unaffordable health care and fading social security, and the outlook could appear grim for long-term survival in the video blogging world. Young professionals in today’s work force, especially the increasing ranks of freelance professionals, are in for a potentially bumpy road. There are some real advantages to the transient work life that has evolved in modern America, such as greater flexibility to pursue interests and less likelihood of chronic boredom. However these perks in many lie on top of a shakey foundation. Dismal health coverage was unanimous among us, and at the current rate social security will be a thing of the past well before we’re likely to need it. Talk about a domestic threat – the office of homeland security needs to sic itself on reinstituting usury laws, reducing insurance premiums, and fighting labor loss and infrastructure deterioration in order for us to have a truly safe and stable country. There was a palpable patriotism to much of the evening’s discussion; despite the likelihood of choppy waters ahead, everyone present seemed interested and determined to make a positive change in their corner of the world.

In the end, we’re blessed enough to be doing what we have a passion for, making content, entertaining, trying to affect change. None of us are likely to switch jobs any time soon.

On the subject of passion, this Friday night the Freshtopia.net team, along with Ryanne and Jay, and Doctor Popular will be presenting at Eddie Codel’s Video Salon Redux . If you’re in San Francisco Friday night, consider stopping by and saying hello.

Happy Dinning,

Tags: Ryanne Hodson, Jay Dedman, Momentshowing, Eddie Codel, Eddie Codel’s Video Salon Redux, dinner party, Geek Entertainment TV, momentshowing, ryanishungry

Next episode, what we ate on the road…

Tags: Freshtopia, Pixelodeon, Irina Slutsky, Ryanne Hodson, Jay Dedman, Zadi Diaz, Steve Woolf

Congratulations to all 600+ nominees, and thanks to everyone who helped to craft the first annual Vloggies. Special thanks again to our sponsors, all of whom contributed to making The Vloggies happen: Yahoo! Video, Intel, blip.tv, Dabble, GUBA, Intel, Revver, Pandora, and WebEx. We look forward to working with the community to continue supporting videobloggers and showcasing their work. And we can’t wait to see what next year will bring…

Thanks to Scott Beale / Laughing Squid for the photo.

Here’s the full list of People’s Choice winners:
Best Vlog - Ask a Ninja
Male Vlogger - Josh Wolf
Female Vlogger - Nontourage
Group - Alive in Baghdad
Corporate / Organisation - NetSquared
Comedy - Ask a Ninja
Community - Minnesota Stories
Instructional / Educational - Wine Library TV
Entertainment (Fiction) - Galacticast
Entertainment (Non-Fiction) - Beach Walks with Rox
Experimental - 90 Seconds with Dave
Inspirational, Religious, Spiritual - Beach Walks with Rox
Kids & Teens - Phil Hamilton Hits the Big Time
Cooking - Wine Library TV
Green - Freshtopia
News - Goodnight Burbank
Personal Diary - Josh Leo’s Vlog
Political - Ze Frank
Tech - Diggnation
Travel - Amanda Across America
Viral - Invisible Engine and The Singing Woodchuck
Funniest - Ask a Ninja
Collaboration - Node 666 Project
Documentary - Freetime
Experimental Video - 90 Seconds with Dave
Interview - Geek Entertainment TV
Most Controversial - Alive in Baghdad
Original Music - Nontourage
Special Effects - Galacticast
Vlog Editing - Freshtopia
Vlogging Books - Secrets of Vlogging
Video Hosting Provider - blip.tv
Online Video Production Tool - videos Playing in Places
Vlog Directory - MeFeedia
Vlog Website Design - Galacticast

Vloggies Favorite Award Winners
Best Vlog - Alive in Baghdad
Male Vlogger - Ze Frank
Female Vlogger - Ryanne Hodson
Group - Alive in Baghdad
Corporate / Organisation - NetSquared
Comedy - Ask a Ninja
Community - Minnesota Stories
Instructional / Educational - Freevlog
Entertainment (Fiction) - Chasing Windmills
Entertainment (Non-Fiction) - LoFi St Louis
Experimental - pouringdown TV
Inspirational, Religious, Spiritual - Beach Walks with Rox
Kids & Teens - Jet Set Show
Cooking - Freshtopia
Green - Treehugger TV
News - Rocketboom
Personal Diary - Josh Leo
Political - Alive in Baghdad
Tech - Bleeding Edge TV
Travel - Travelvlog
Viral - Singing WoodChuck
Funniest - Ask a Ninja: Pirates of the Carribean
Collaboration - Bottom Union
Documentary - American King
Experimental Video - pouringdown TV
Interview - Alive in Baghdad
Most Controversial - Josh Wolf
Original Music - Valdezatron
Special Effects - Galacticast
Vlog Editing - StutterFrames by Jay Dedman
Vlogging Books - Secrets of Vlogging
Video Hosting Provider - blip.tv
Online Video Production Tool - videos Playing in Places
Vlog Directory - MeFeedia
Vlog Website Design - It’s JerryTime

The Vloggervangelist Award
The Vloggervangelist award is a special award given from the PodTech Vloggies planning committee to a vlogosphere activist who has done an extraordinary job promoting the vlogging medium. This award was not selected by judges or viewers, rather the vlogosphere people who have worked closely with PodTech and would like to recognize one person at each annual Vloggies event for their tireless work in helping people build and establish their vlogs! The First Annual Vloggervangelist Award Winner is Michael Verdi and for all of his work on NODE101.

Tags: Vloggies, Vlog, Iraq, Brian Conley, Intel, Core 2 Duo, Vloggervangelist, vlogosphere, Michael Verdi