Grasshopper New Media Op. Chief speaks

Ben Yoskovitz, the Director of Operations (i.e. making stuff happen) at Grasshopper New Media and fellow podcaster at the Great Big Small Business Show took a few minutes to share what Grasshopper and he are up to:

Ted: How would you describe Grasshopper New Media if you only had 20 seconds?

Ben: First I'd shorten the name to GNM (so I can buy myself a few seconds) ... although in that explanation I've lost a few seconds! Anyway, here's what I'd say -- Grasshopper New Media is a content community with blogs, podcasts and video, targeting niche, underserved markets. Our goal is to have meaningful, deep conversations with likeminded people, taking new media where it's never been before.

Ted: Can you briefly describe the business model?

Ben: Grow the audience. 'Nuff said.

It really does start with the audience, and not just a big one, but a passionate, devoted one. I think bloggers, podcasters and video bloggers are just scratching the surface when it comes to business models, but there are some obvious ones like sponsorship which GNM will go after. Still, we're going to do it differently than most. Imagine sponsoring our Health Hacks Podcast (http://www.healthackspodcast.com) and actually doing a segment on the show. Not an ad, but an actual segment, providing our audience with valuable information. The sponsor becomes so much more a part of the community that way.

Over time, other avenues of revenue will be explored such as re-purposing content into information products and selling ancillary products/services.

No one's even come close to solving the "business model" game when it comes to new media. But we've got some ideas.

Ted:  I'm not going to ask "So exactly what are you doing for Grasshopper New Media" - I'm going to cut and paste your previous comment!

Ben cut-n-pasted:

I’ll be doing a lot of things at GNM. The key is helping Chris turn his grand vision into a reality. That will mean different things at different times (and everything at once!):

• Dealing with Infrastructure. Every business has a million little details that need to be handled. Infrastructure-details — hosting, managing the websites, tracking stats, etc. Some will say this is boring, but it’s the foundation of any business. (More on that another day.) Suffice it to say, I’m a believer in handling the details…
• Supporting the Executive Producers and Contributors. We’ve got some amazing talent working with us at GNM, and everyone is uber-passionate and raring to go. My role is to help them do what they do best: produce great content. A big part of that will be to help them all work more closely together; getting some communication tools rolling (like wikis, blogs, etc.) for everyone to use. Coordinating between all the content people so we don’t re-invent the wheel several times. Everyone produces their own shows, but GNM is more than just the sum of its parts.
• Partnering. There’s so much talent out there and so many great ideas just ready to get rolling. I’ll be working to meet with and talk to everyone and anyone in the world of podcasting, blogging and video blogging. My hope is to work together with others; mash up our ideas, content and vision into amazing products. If you want to talk, get in touch. And there are partnering opportunities beyond those of us “in the field” — businesses, sponsorship opportunities, cross-promotional ideas, etc.
• Mind Reading. Yup, I have to read Chris’s mind. Actually it’s really about brainstorming ideas, and figuring out where GNM is going to go.
• Launching New Content. I may not be directly involved with producing a lot of the content, but I’ll be involved in helping everyone at GNM and our partners in bringing ideas to reality.
• Developing the GNM Brand. This involves a number of things - the image overall, the strategy for how individual shows are inter-connected, how the GNM brand exists amongst all the content, etc.
• Marketing and Promotion. We have to build the audience to be successful. So I’ll be helping the Executive Producers to reach out and touch you like crazy. Touch, touch, touch…

Ted:
How would you answer, "Do you have a day job?"

Ben: Yes I do. I've been the co-owner of a software development company for over 10 years. We started in the web development/services business. That's the day job, although it's not exactly 9-5.

Ted: What are you most excited by - errr, talking about Grasshopper here.

Ben: Can I give you 3 things?

1. Connecting with people. It's insane how many amazing people you can meet through blogging, podcasting, video blogging -- it's easy to do, and people are eager to connect. GNM is still small, but each and every person is incredible to work with, and we're growing.

2. Creating. That's pretty broad, but one thing I believe all entrepreneurs love is creating stuff. It could be anything as long as they're creating "something." I look at what we're doing each and every week with the creation of new content, and soon with more podcasts, blogs and video and it's an entrepreneur's dream.

3. Opportunity. I went through the bubble in 2001 so I know exactly how it feels to ride a wave and watch it crash into disaster. I survived, but I remember it quite clearly (and I think plenty of people have forgotten.) Still, this time it's different. And I see opportunity all around me. Opportunity to create new businesses (there's that word "create" again), opportunity to get in on the ground floor of an exciting, innovative movement.

Ted: What else are you dying to tell us

Ben: I'll keep it brief:

1. Grasshopper New Media is growing quickly. We're developing channels of content, what Chris Brogan might call "fat pipelines of content" that are going to be great. It starts small, like a tiny seed, but it's growing...

2. Grasshopper New Media is looking for podcasters, bloggers and video bloggers interested in joining forces. We've got 3 channels on the go -- Business, Parenting and Health. If you've already got something that fits into one of those niches OR you want to get something going in one of those niches, please get in touch.

Ted: Thanks Ben!