As I alluded to in my brief post yesterday, 2010 (I’m calling it twenty-ten. Anyone who says “two-thousand and ten” has way too much time on their hands) is shaping up to be a pretty exciting year.

On a personal note, I’ve been working my current job for a year (EXACTLY one year to the day), and I finally feel like I’ve got a handle on my role, like I’m adding value to the company, and like I’m keeping my head above water… most days. It’s exposed me to a slew of great new contacts, interesting potential guests for the Unknown Studio, and five terrific and talented individuals with whom I get to work and argue day in and day out.

Twenty-ten marks the year I turn 30. I still don’t own a house, I bought my current vehicle off my parents for the princely sum of $5, and I spend more money on beer than most other things. But you know what? I’m happy. Happy and generally quite drunk.

Keeping it real

On a not-personal note, the beginning of twenty-ten marks an event Edmonton hasn’t seen since 2005: once more, the Gateway (the U of A’s official student newspaper) is hosting the Canadian University Press National Conference aka CUP 72 aka Natural Selection. I had the dubious honour of helping to organize the National Conference for CUP 67 — and I need to state clearly that I had a lot of help in co-coordinator Don Iveson (who’s gone on to bigger things. I won’t say better. Just bigger) and a slew of dedicated volunteers who wanted free room and board for the week. It was one of the best and most stressful tasks I’d ever undertaken.

And it was one of CUP’s most successful national conferences, at least in recent memory at the time.

This year, CUP’s big do is in Edmonton again, and it’s once again being organized by the Gateway, as I mentioned. Consequently, Scott and I will have Mike Kendrick (Gateway Editor-in-Chief) and Rob Fishbook (CUP President) on the show next week for you (important note: since Mike can barely look after himself much less plan a conference, he’s working with co-organizer and Gateway Business Manager Asia Szkudlarek to get the job done). We’ll be discussing what changing technology and media trends mean for the student press — are student newspapers at the forefront of media innovation, or do they just follow trends? Will there even BE student newspapers in five years, or will they be fully online? It should be an interesting show…

But wait, there’s… uh, additional information

Selfishly, Scott and I managed to weasel our way into the conference as session-givers. The Givers of Sessions. I should actually have T-shirts made.

Apparently, Scott and I have made enough of an impact that Mike is allowing us to give a session on podcasting. And by impact, I think what I mean to say is that we’re one of a very small group of podcasts in Edmonton that doesn’t rhyme with “Hedmonton Hoilers” or “Glerble Noose.”

In any event, here are the details on our session:

Local podcasters Adam Rozenhart and Scott C Bourgeois wax eloquent (or so they think) about the total fluke that resulted in their becoming the proprietors of a popular, hyperlocal podcast. In this session, they’ll discuss some of the highs and lows of the recording and publishing process, some of the technical steps (and missteps) common to new podcasts, and some strategies to turning your own podcast into something that people love — and will even pay you to advertise on!

See what I did there? So misleading, making people think we make money off this…

Scott and I got to provide nifty bios as well. Here’s Scott’s:

Professionally, Scott is a radio broadcast journalist with Corus Radio Edmonton. In his spare time, Scott is a writer, lover, comedian, pop-culture junkie, actor and the co-host of a popular Edmonton podcast along with Adam Rozenhart. In what little time remains after all that, Scott squeezes in games – like the delicious nougat centre of a hectic time-cake.

Mmmmm Time-Cake. It sounds like Time Cop, but with less Van Damme and way more icing. Here’s my bio, too:

Adam is a former journalist and current social media apologist. However, he won’t be apologizing for much longer since it turns out this stuff is actually pretty useful. Now he’s a paid social media strategist, a writer, a manager of online communities, and — perhaps most importantly — a popular Edmonton podcaster along with his co-host Scott C Bourgeois. The only thing he apologizes for now is occasionally, accidentally burping. Everything else he does is absolutely deliberate and calculated. *burp*

We’re both really looking forward to being a part of CUP’s annual event. I’m also looking forward to seeing a bunch of old friends who will be in town variously attending the conference and giving sessions of their own.

Registration for the conference in now closed, but if you’re looking for more information about the event, check their website here. Or contact Mike from the Gateway.

THIS YEAR IS AWESOME ALREADY!!!

canadian university press, cup 72, Mike Kendrick, natural selection, Rob Fishbook, the gateway, University of Alberta