How Do You Become an On-Camera Host?

It used to be you would audition and audition to get an on-camera hosting job. Now the rules have change and Revision3's Tekzilla's Co-Host Veronica Belmont shared some insight with me. Hey, with over 30,000 followers on Twitter she just might know what she's talking about.

I'm back on the road this week and in San Francisco again at the Online Market World and the iHollywood Forum Web Video Marketing Summit where I happened to catch up with the intelligent, talented and tech savvy Veronica Belmont the co-host of Revision3's show Tekzilla and I asked this new media maven a few questions about what it takes to be an on-camera host.

Veronica Belmont started out as an intern at CNET Networks producing audio content and six months later was hired to produce CNET's "First Look from the Labs" series, and also began producing Buzz Out Loud.

According to Wikipedia Veronica was originally a sound engineer but soon her role on the podcast grew substantially. She began to inject her own commentary, and, was acknowledged as an official co-host in August 2006. She also was the producer and co-host of two more CNET podcasts called MP3 Insider and CRAVE Gadget Blog, which were both co-hosted by the late James Kim.

Veronica made her video debut on CNET on April 6, 2006, on an Insider Secrets segment titled "Give your PC a Mac-over". Since then, she has hosted videos from Maker Faire, CES, and South by Southwest. She was also the host of the Prizefight series. She appeared for the final time in CNET TV on July 25, 2007, in the"Apple iPhone vs Nokia N95 edition of Prizefight".

I apologize for too much background noise at the beginning of the interview but once I pointed my little Flip Digital Video Camera at the noise maker, Tim Shey from Next New Networks he quieted down. (Wait till you see the interview I did with Tim Shey. He's really quiet when you point the camera at him.) I'm just teasing you Tim. I could have told you to pipe down but this was way more fun. ;)

Developing an Engaged Community (a.k.a. Don't Feed the Trolls)

The New Media Expo is the world's most popular convention for podcasters, bloggers and online content creators. If you are serious about online video it's an event that you shouldn't miss.

This is part of a weekly blog series that highlights a session or event happening at New Media Expo - hopefully enticing you to come join us online video content creators in Las Vegas August 14-16, 2008.

Veronica Belmont of Tekzilla and Tom Merritt of CNET know what they are doing when it comes to building an engaging community and if you want to let how to get yourself some engaged fans I suggest you get your ticket to the NME.

Developing an Engaged Community (a.k.a. Don't Feed the Trolls)
Track 2: Attracting and Growing Your Audience
Instructor: Veronica Belmont of Tekzilla and Tom Merritt of CNET
Description: You want an engaged community. You want your audience to interact with your show and help spread the word. Then you get flamed. Then your feedback is filled with trolls. What do you do? Veronica Belmont and Tom Merritt have dealt with the best and worst of the online community and share their experiences and specific tips and tricks for dealing with a passionate audience. They'll tell you how to reward the good convert the bad and avoid the purely evil. You'll come away from this workshop armed with knowledge on how to make your community a better place for you and your listeners to grow your show.

Oh, you might also want to Book your hotel now and get your free Expo Hall Pass before the price increase.