Daily Host News had an opportunity to talk with Owner-Operator of Rockhost.com. We present to our visitors Mr. Seth Cole- the brain behind the idea of rock and roll hosting. Here he talks about various aspects of his interesting job and how it began.
1. Tell us something about yourself and your position in Rockhost.
Well, I’m basically the one man show. I take care of every activity in each of the departments in Rockhost.com. From sales to support, blogs (rockhost.tumblr.com), social media etc., I make sure that everything is up and running.
2. What is the story behind the beginning of Rockhost? Why have you named it as rock and roll hosting?
The idea of Rockhost was born on the road. In my twenties I toured across the country in a rock n’ roll band playing shows in over forty states. At the time the need for online music was crucial in booking shows versus mailing out press kits. This saved all kinds of time and resources. As a result, a lot other musicians started approaching me for help and hopped on the bandwagon. Soon after, I found myself managing my first server, a Cobalt RAQ.
3. Apart from the very musical names, what additional factors distinguish Rockhost from others?
In my opinion, aside from a handful of streaming media services, the casual blue collar attitude really catches people’s attention. More often than not, our customers are peers, bands, or other gen-x businesses who can relate.
4. What is the concept behind Shoutcast and Icecast? How different is radio stream hosting from web hosting?
Personally, I prefer stream hosting over web hosting as there are far less cases of abuse. Then again the bandwidth, price tag, can and does, get out of control on a regular basis. Shoutcast and Icecast are both open source platforms to broadcast live or on demand content to users across the Internet. Essentially, our servers act as a hub for the world to connect and listen to audio.
5. Which is the most exciting part of your business?
Ha ha, that’s an easy question and my answer is probably typical of any business owner. Nothing beats that order confirmation dropping into my inbox. Gotta love that! Seriously though, I believe our client base is more valuable than any other host. I have gotten to know tons of cool folks who all remain very loyal, cool in a crisis, and have a love for music.
6. What changes have you observed in the hosting industry in past years?
Social media, online networking, and IRL conferences all seem to have blown up. I’m a big fan of Twitter myself; you can follow me @rockhost. I have yet to travel to HostingCon but certainly plan to in the next few years.
7. Anything new that Rockhost is coming up with, to attract potential customers?
Always, fine tuning SEO, testing new types of media, software, etc., keeping up with cutting edge technology is a job that never stops.
We are looking to interview more people from hosting industry. If interested, drop an email to sam@dailyhostnews.com
