I was watching New York Times best-selling author, Julien Smith‘s presentation on Ustream live from PodCamp Montreal today. As he was presenting I was enjoying the back channel discussions in the chat room with some new and old friends.

I was talking with musecrossing quite a bit, I didn’t get her name (what’s your name?). She wasn’t familiar with Julien, so we were talking a bit about him. I was telling her about his old podcast In Over Your Head and about his excellent book Trust Agents.

Something struck me when musecrossing asked how Julien and his co-author Chris Brogan met. How did two bloggers meet to produce a New York Time’s bestseller?

I replied that they both met at the first PodCamp in Boston a few years ago. Just as I wrote this my friend Merlene Paynter replied: “I think Chris & Julien met at the first Podcamp Boston several years ago.” We both replied the same thing. A light bulb went off in my head about the value in these gatherings. I should mention that I’ve never questioned the value in attending, but it was interesting to think a little more about the topic.

Attending conferences and unconferences is key to building relationships. I’ve often talked about handshakes, high-fives and hugs that take your online relationships so much further when you actually meet in person.

Relationships often begin at events too. I first met Julien at Podcasters Across Borders in 2006, I don’t think we had ever met online before that. I first met the guys at Griffin when they sponsored the first BarCamp Nashville in 2007. Who knew then that I’d end up working for them?

The third BarCamp Nashville is coming to town October 17th, I encourage you to come join in on the incredible sessions and hallway conversations. Don’t be a wallflower either. Start your own and join in on discussions. Be a part of BarCamp, it’s free to attend. You’ve got nothing to lose!

By attending a conference or unconference you’ll be building new relationships, some of which will become friendships. Who knows, you may even end up with a New York Times best seller too. What’s stopping you?

<waving hi to my friends in Montreal>

What is driving me crazy is that old media still doesn’t get it. Newspapers, please make your content available to me, so I can consume it in the easiest way possible.

The Guardian seems to be the only newspaper that has their full articles available in their feed. Other papers I’m interested in subscribing to like the New York Times, Tennessean, Toronto Star and Globe and Mail only share snippets of stories. Those snippets then link to the full story back on the corresponding site. This opens another window on my phone and takes time for the page to load. It’s annoying.

Ads can be added to RSS feeds, so if it’s concern for lost ad revenue why not add the ads? In addition to advertising, social bookmarks can be included in feeds. It’s a perfect way to help spread the stories straight from their original sources. I share things in my Google Reader all of the time, have a look below to see some of my recent shared items.

So how about it newspapers? How about publishing your full stories in your RSS feeds? Pretty please.