Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to pop in and say hi and see what's happening in the b.com world and answer any questions you may have about Printcasting.  We've got some great printcasts coming out soon from some really cool organizations.  One of my favorite bits about Printcasting is that you can browse other magazines that have been created and subscribe to them online.  All without having to talk to Judy the Time-Life operator.

We've got some great local content on there and some people are creating their own custom magazines just for themselves based on the feeds already available.

While I'm pounding the pavement here, Dan Pacheco is going on a world tour starting in May to talk about Printcasting on 3 continents.  One of the best parts of Printcasting is that while the end product is hyperlocal, the system itself is already being tested and used around the world.  And all of this coming from a corner of a basement right here in Downtown Bakersfield.  :)

Anyway, for those of you already Printcasting or those on the edge of the pool, drop a comment below and let me know what you're doing, if you're having any problems and what you see as the future of Printcasting.

-Tom Webster

www.printcasting.com

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to share a few new things that have just rolled out or on their way to roll out on Printcasting.   The big one that everyone has been clamoring for is the custom masthead. For those of you who played with the ad tool, now you can do the same on the Printcast.  Even better, those custom graphics even show up in the Printcasting widget, so you've got a consistent look for your magazine no matter how you put it out there.

We also have a ton of new content available on Printcasting now, from Julie Jordon Scott to the Kern County Library and a number of our b.com bloggers (who of course have the best content).  As always, much of the Californian content is available as well so if you want to browse, jump right in.

In the coming weeks and months, we're going to be rolling out our commerce package which means our Printcasting contributors and publishers can start getting paid.  Right now, the revenue sharing is going to be 60/30/10 with 60 percent going to the publishers, 30 percent divvied up among the writers whose articles appeared in a Printcast and 10 percent to feed the hamsters whose tireless work on the wheel keeps the generators going and the lights and servers on.

In the meantime, Printcasting will continue to be a "free for all" and I'd like to thank everyone who has jumped in and made Printcasting one of their new homes on the web.

Just as a quick note, there's a line through the blog about halfway down.  That's where the actual helpful stuff starts if you don't want to take the meandering path at the top.

Hi Folks,

Wanted to give a quick update on Printcasting and also add an FAQ on RSS feeds.  Printcasting itself is rolling right along and we've got a few neat tools that are coming online in the next couple of days.  We also have a ton of new contributors from the blog right here, from a few other notable bloggers and even the first of a number of feeds coming from the Kern County Library.  We're doing outreach to churches and schools right now and I'll be be back at this time next week with a few stories on how that goes.

In the meantime, one of the big challenges I'm seeing over and over is from people who have a blog somewhere other than Bakersfield.com.  Why they do that, I'm not really sure. All I know is that sometimes I have to leave b.com and go out and deal with the rabble so here's a bit of help for those folks who are using Blogger.com to host their blogs.

Many people who use blogger set their RSS feeds to "summary" which means that when someones RSS reader picks it up, they only get the first paragraph or so without clicking to the originating site.  Some people believe that this increases traffic to their site, though people disagree (and because it's the internet, they disagree quite vehemently and colorfully).  I won't try to solve that argument right now because we want to get to the helpful part.  For those people who set their feed to summary based on the lug-headed notion that it drives traffic to their site, here's how to fix the problem and get your Blogger blog ready for Printcasting:

________________________________________

How do I change my Blogger RSS feed from summary to full?

First: go to http://www.blogger.com/home and log in.

Once there you'll be looking at the "dashboard".  Under the title of your blog is a link for "settings".  Click that and then you'll be in the "Settings" tab and the "Basic" category.  Five to the right of "Basic" is "Site Feed".  Click there and your first option is "Allow Blog Feeds" with a little drop down menu.  Click that and pull down to "Full".  Remember to scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page and click the big, orange "SAVE SETTINGS" button and you should be done.

If you have any questions or comments, let me know below or email me at tom@printcasting.com

--Tom Webster

Printcasting Team