Kris Smith

Current

• Senior Editor at TechStartups
• Exec Producer/Co-host at Croncast.com

Past

• VP, Product Development at BlogTalkRadio
• VP, New Media at Room 214
• Founder at Palegroove.com

• Associate Director, eLearning at Joint Commission Resources/Joint Commission
• Distance Learning Specialist at Waubonsee Community College

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Recommended

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Connections

461 connections

Industry

Internet

Kris Smith’s Summary

I am a technologist and strategist that works in the gap between the IT department and the executive team within an organization to foster the usage of innovative technologies and strategies through R&D, QA and implementation. I have successfully served in this capacity creating products for internet start-ups, healthcare corporations and in higher education.

I am an expert in UX, content syndication, RSS and the developer of Castlock, a robust new media CMS and RSS metrics platform that enables users to manage large libraries of content and maintain statistics privately.

I have a demonstrated history of success integrating new and emerging media technologies into existing platforms and campaigns for Fortune 500 companies.

This experience combined with a degree in digital design makes me a valuable asset to any organization seeking an individual to lead their new and emerging media development and strategies.

Kris Smith’s Specialties:

information architecture, user experience design, SEO, podcasting and media production, web design, web application development, individualized RSS, authenticated RSS, technology analysis, audio recording and post-production, podcast production, podcasting strategy

Kris Smith’s Experience

• Senior Editor

  TechStartups

  (Internet industry)

  October 2009 — Present (2 months)

• Exec Producer/Co-host

  Croncast.com

  (Entertainment industry)

  November 2004 — Present (5 years 1 month)

  I have been independently producing and co-hosting this podcast three times a week (M-W-F) since November of 2004 with my hilarious and talented best friend, Betsy Smith.
  
  - 500+ episodes
  - Average podcast length 30 minutes
  - Total run time of over 250 hours
  
  Recognized by a number of media outlets including: The New York Times, Detroit Free Press, FOX News, and NBC (Chicago)
  
  Description: Once cool, Kris and Betsy are now living in Manhattan and breeding. This is not your typical husband and wife podcast. Betsy should really be on the road making mad cash, but that would interfere with her being her own nanny.
  
  Site: http://www.croncast.com
  RSS feed: http://www.croncast.com/all.rss

• VP, Product Development

  BlogTalkRadio

  (Privately Held; Broadcast Media industry)

  February 2008 — March 2009 (1 year 2 months)

  Responsible for long-term new product development strategy based on technological assessments of the company. Led a team of designers and developers through a complete site redesign. Redesigned user-interface as well as integration of user-experience, syndication, SEO, widget design, contextual navigation using jQuery and user consumption metrics.
  
  Developed new product architecture from assessment of potential growth based on the four types of user-experiences offered: live, podcast archives, 24/7 streaming and mobile to increase user consumption. The most challenging segment of this product was the large volume of content generated daily, 500+ episodes at over 700 hours, and to make it all easily accessible by the end user. This was accomplished by implementing a new taxonomy and internal site search strategy that was RSS friendly.
  
  Launched sequential products beginning in March 2008 and new website in January of 2009 which resulted in a substantial increase in Unique RSS Subscribers as well as the following statistics from March 2008 - March 2009:
  
  257% increase in Unique visitors (248,000 to 887,000 per month)
  155% increase iTunes downloads (178,161 to 455,562 per month) July 2008 to March 2009
  1251% increase in Keywords from search (18,500 to 265,000 per month)
  1547% increase in Google indexed pages (85,000 to 1.4 million total)
  605% increase in Search Engine traffic (38,000 to 287,000 per month)
  675% increase Total Requested Unique RSS feeds (330,000 to 2.5 million per month)

• VP, New Media

  Room 214

  (Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Internet industry)

  January 2007 — November 2007 (11 months)

  Developed moderated media RSS feeds (mmRSS) for episodic content delivery via RSS
  
  Orchestrated integration of emerging technologies such as Twitter and other social media API’s into Castlock, a robust new media management and RSS metrics platform
  
  Created and delivered new products from the Castlock code base, RSSignite and Episodr
  
  Initiated research and development for RSS strategies and effective RSS search engine optimization
  
  Spearheaded integration of new media including podcasting and RSS into new client product offerings and marketing campaigns
  
  Invigorated existing client marketing campaigns with new media elements
  
  Directed digital media production from concepts to final deliverables
  
  Served as company spokesperson at industry and new media events around the country

• Founder

  Palegroove.com

  (Internet industry)

  February 2005 — June 2007 (2 years 5 months)

  Pioneered the start-up and development of the world's first podcast production company. Advised Fortune 500 clients on utilizing this medium to extend their brands. Developed podcasts from conception to deliverables which includes consulting with client on: show content, format, script writing, text-to-speech, transcripts and creation of royalty free musical intros,outros and sweepers. Developed and licensed Castlock, a robust new media management and RSS metrics platform. Produced over 700 podcasts since 2005.
  
  Podcasts Produced:
  MasterCard, The Home Depot, Abbot Laboratories (2007)
  
  Nascar Alltel Racing Podcast (2006 & 2007) produced podcasts in conjunction with XM Satellite Radio
  
  NFL Alltel My Circle Podcast (2006 season) produced with 4 NFL Pro Bowl Players and nationally recognized radio talent from official team media outlets
  
  Nascar Coors Light Racing Podcast for Coors Light (2006)
  
  Fab 5 Summer '05 Podcasts produced for MTV Networks Affiliate Marketing (2005)

• Associate Director, eLearning

  Joint Commission Resources/Joint Commission

  (Non-Profit; 51-200 employees; Hospital & Health Care industry)

  May 2005 — January 2007 (1 year 9 months)

  Led innovations in delivery of information required to comply with the accreditation standards of the Joint Commission on Accredited Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). JCAHO accreditation and certification is the standard of excellence in health care organizations. Promoted to direct eLearning digital product development for Joint Commission Resources.
  
  Major Contributions:
  Identified opportunities for new revenue streams utilizing innovative content delivery systems
  
  Evangelized blogging and podcast initiatives to integrate new media technologies within the enterprise
  
  Directed a division to develop digital products and manage legacy products focusing on increasing sales
  
  Engineered courseware implementation, software, coding and course development for field cadre and central office employees
  
  Disseminated educational training information to 400 global field staff via a custom RSS application

• Distance Learning Specialist

  Waubonsee Community College

  (Educational Institution; Higher Education industry)

  May 2000 — May 2005 (5 years 1 month)

  Recognized as innovator within organization promoted four times in five years
  
  Trained and supported university and college faculty throughout Illinois on the integration of technology in the classroom as part of ILLCO, a state funded initiative
  
  Designed and developed all graphics, wrote code, recorded, edited and encoded all audio for a Flash virtual tour of the college campus for use online, CD-ROM and hybrid DVD
  
  Developed and authored multiple DVDs and CD-ROMs as supplemental learning collateral for online and face to face courses

Additional Information

Kris Smith’s Interests:

rss, rss management, secure rss, podcasting, audio production, distance education, elearning, php, mysql, blogging

Kris Smith’s Honors:

2004 Paragon Awards Silver for Government/Community Relations Program (web design)

Speaking/Presentations

Podcast & New Media Expo (Sep. 2007) Ontario, CA.“Compression Killed the Video Star”

PodCamp NYC (Apr. 2007) New York, New York. Panel “Podcast Open Metrics Initiative.”

E-Learning 2007 (Mar. 2007) Chicago, IL. “Using RSS Feeds, Podcasts to Deliver Distance Education”

Podcast Academy 5 (Feb. 2007) Duke
University. “Understanding Authenticated and Personalized RSS Feeds”

PodCamp West (Nov. 2006) San Francisco, CA. Keynote panel “The Future of New Media”

Portable Media Expo (Sep. 2006) Ontario, CA.“Leveraging Your Knowledge as a Successful Podcasting Consultant”

Podcast Academy 4 (Sep. 2006) Ontario, CA. “Web Design for Corporate
Podcasting”

IOC (Apr. 2005) Online. “The Portable Prof: Creating Podcasts to Enhance Learning”

Kris Smith’s Contact Settings

Interested In:

• career opportunities
• consulting offers
• new ventures
• expertise requests
• business deals
• reference requests
• getting back in touch