Fans of Laporte’s show noted last month how the host lamented the quality of video online as a reason why TWiT stuck with the audio format for three years. Laporte said in May issues with audio and video quality were disappointing up to that time.

Since then, TWiT hooked up with Stickam to handle Laporte’s embracing of video. TWiT Live opted to go all-in with Stickam, as a month of videos drew a daily audience of 400,000 and some 3 million live views of the program.

Stickam launched as a social media site, enabling people to share video, audio, and image files. Plenty of widely-read bloggers in the niche picked up on Stickam and raved about the service.

Today, Stickam announced its high-definition availability, a factor they noted as a reason Laporte opted to keep TWiT Live available through the site. The show broadcasts five times a week.

Stickam may want to address any concerns Laporte still has about chat on Stickam. At the TWiT Live FAQ we found this entry:

Stickam chat sucks!

Yeah, we agree. The IRC channels are much more civilized. Leo has put in several feature requests to Stickam about their chat (particularly, turning off join/leave messages).

TWiT Live airs each day except Mondays and Fridays.

First and foremost, you want readers. But how do you get them there? I had a nice chat with two well-known bloggers who gave several helpful tips relating to blog comments.

Leo Laporte, host of TWiT.tv and blogger of Leoville.com, told me a few pointers for driving traffic to your blog:

1.    Have good content
2.    Update your blog regularly
3.    Present it well
4.    Have a clear point of view and clear speech
5.    Participate in other blogs, conferences, and forums
6.    Use social media tools

Another important point relating to blog comments is how to get readers to comment. Matt Mullenweg, the Founding Developer of WordPress and blogger of photomatt.net, echoes Laporte’s word that content should be solid and well written. He also suggests leaving your content open-ended. According to Mullenweg, readers are likely to respond if this criteria is met.

What happens if someone leaves a negative comment? Everyone’s first instinct is to delete anything negative, but is that always right?

Laporte and Mullenweg both believe some negative comments are good. Everyone is entitled to an opinion and if they choose to share it, they have that right even if you disagree with them.

The experts say it is appropriate to remove a comment if it is not intelligent and is slanderous to the blogger. However, if all the comments on the blog are positive and praise the blogger, it could turn readers away and result in low traffic and few or no comments.

Laporte points out that it is a good idea to have a set of commenting guidelines. Let the readers know if you do not allow racist, homophobic, or obscene comments. It is also good to specify what age group the audience is.

To find out more information on blogging and blog comments, tune into the WebProNews video, “A Few Comments on Commenting…”

Om Malik gets a pass – the poor fellow apparently threw his back out – but Michael Arrington simply forgot to come, leaving us with Leo Laporte and surprise guest Justine Ezarik.

WebProNews presents videos and stories from the BlogWorld & New Media Expo taking place in Las Vegas. View our interviews and coverage of the event.

Laporte and Ezarik deserve credit for sticking around – improvising in front of that many people couldn’t have been fun.  They also deserve credit for giving out some informative tips on blogging.

Laporte and Ezarik both seemed to start out by focusing on their passions – in Ezarik’s case, that involved photography. 

Her fan base grew into existence long before she worried about monetization, and this sequence of events probably occurred for a reason.  “The key in this new media is to be as genuine as you can,” stated Laporte.

He later continued, “If you just write a blog, you’re putting yourself out there,” and Ezarik agreed.  Both of them have encountered critical people, but they try not to censor comments; this effectively ends at least a small part of the blogging relationship.  Instead, killing critics with kindness is a preferred way of dealing with them.

“All this media is about engaging your audience,” Laporte and Ezarik stressed.  Or not abandoning them – once again, the pair deserve a pat on the back for speaking at BlogWorld.

WebProNews Video anchor Abby Prince contributed to this report.

BlogWorld: Future Of New Media Includes Audio

WebProNews presents videos and stories from the BlogWorld & New Media Expo taking place in Las Vegas. View our interviews and coverage of the event.

Laporte dabbles in many mediums, yet primarily uses audio.  “Any idiot can get a blog,” he pointed out in a keynote presentation about “The Future of New Media Publishing Tools.”  It’s stuff like audio that will set you apart, and Laporte later continued, “There’s value to all media and mixing them is valuable.”

Whatever you do, though, Laporte recommends putting a certain amount of passion into it.  “It’s about interacting and having a conversation with the audience,” he said.  “Most stimulating TV is about emotion,” and as such, sitting behind a desk and pointing at maps isn’t necessarily the most engaging approach.

On a related note: sticking all your audio content on iTunes isn’t necessarily the most accessible approach.  “I really want this to grow,” Laporte told listeners.  “Become a part of the community.”

There’s value in doing this, because, as Laporte continued, he said, “I think the future is bright.”

WebProNews Video anchor Abby Prince contributed to this report.