Thursday, January 22, 2015

What does it take?

   So I totally failed. No date has been confirmed. I'll be trying to get a hold of them today to set a date though so all is not over as of yet!
   I've become a bit lost in the organization of whatever we are to be. It's easy to see we need the founders/co-owners, editing and we can all be producers on some level... But what else? Do we need to decide who's going to handle the online marketing? Should there be more than one of us? Probably, seeing how small we are. I think a lot of these questions can be answered once we sit down.
   The plan so far is to get everyone in one room, get the mic settings right, and record us as we discuss these exact issues. Every time we get together to discuss it I'll record the sessions and save them. I'll use these meetings to create the Let's Make A Podcast? podcast. It will be similar to Start Up (a podcast by Gimlet about Alex Grunberg(sp?) about him starting up a media company) but instead of a project by an all ready known creator, it would follow our group. Who has almost NO clout. Seems legit right? Even if we fail, it should do well because it's the internet. People love watching others fail.
   So what does it take to create content? It's a hard thing to find tips for. Crafting a program for entertainment/education seems like a delicate art (unless you go to YouTube) and just jumping into the world of online media seems like a naive thing to do. But who cares!? It's the internet.

"Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm." Winston Churchill

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Homework?

   So I didn't even give myself homework. My last line in the last post was about giving myself homework. Gah, these are the kinds of habits I have to try and break. If anyone actually read my shit there'd be a lot to answer for.
   As far as progress goes there isn't much to say. Still in the same spot. However, I did find a podcast where Alex Blumberg (This American Life, Planet Money, etc) documents his journey of creating a podcast network. Almost the exact idea I had. Only, he's actually starting a big business where he needs 1.5 million dollars and a good amount of employees and such. I just want to sit down with friends to have chats and invite professionals from the local area to talk about starting a business here. Different from my vision, but very helpful. It put the business side of things into a bit more focus.
   So, my homework right? Get the guys to agree on a date. Sometime this weekend or next where we can sit down and chat about possible show ideas and set a schedule to get some stuff done!

   I'll let you know how that goes on Monday...

Monday, January 12, 2015

Let's Make A Podcast?

   So I've decided to just use this bloggy type place to keep the internet up to date on how my podcasting journey is going. Because, you know, the internet wants to know. Plus it will help me feel like there is progress being made. Either way, fuck it, I'll write what I want.
   There are two other people I have in this project. There is Isaac, the character/personality I feel will work best with his own show, and Brian, the realistic one who will be a dick when needed to bring things back to topic. Sorry if you're reading this B, just saying it how it is. We need you to call people on their bullshit.
   And where does that leave me? It took me a few weeks for all of this to really take shape in my mind. I looked up organizational structure in business and read countless guides on making a podcast and the YouTube videos... Oh the YouTube videos... At this point I've finally got a couple solid ideas to strive for that, even if they don't work, will teach us about what our next step should be.
   Basically I'll be the "organization" guy between the three of us. I have to be the one to create the show notes, get them together and give them homework until we get to our first real recording.
   Isaac and I have had our idea for a show for a while (a bug podcast! [he knows a lot about bugs...]) but haven't hammered out how it will work. He has a great love for words as well so we'll see what comes of that.
   Brian on the other hand has shown little to no interest in this venture thus far. When I ask him straightforward if he wants to be a part of this process he says yes but that's about a far as it goes. During the test recordings to see how the mic functioned he was definitely a part of the conversation so that's a good sign. Last night I came up with the idea of doing a YouTube show weekly where we take recordings of LoL matches we play and have him be my "teacher" by telling me how noob I am. It could be a great show! Gives him a chance to be a dick and have fun with it while also hitting a demographic of people trying to get better a LoL. We'd just need the match recordings then to use the mic to narrate. Also, it's never bad to have a reason to game!
   I had another couple ideas as far as "finding our voice" goes. My first idea was to use my facebook group TheReal as a jumping point. A few years ago I randomly created this group from a few friends and let them add whoever and it became an image board for our "extended crew". It's pretty dead these days but people are still there, so I thought about doing "The Real Foundation Podcast" as a tester.
   The idea comes from The Foundation series where before a predicted fall of the galactic empire a scientist creates the idea of The Foundation; A group of scientists dedicated to preserving the science of humanity so it wouldn't be lost during the spreading out and breakdown of the galactic civilization. The idea would be the same for The Real Foundation Podcast where I get one or two people from The Real to talk about themselves, who they are, how they got onto The Real and what they've liked and disliked about it. It wouldn't be for mass release but just something that others on The Real could listen to if they wanted and a way to start getting into the mindset of a podcaster.
   And the other idea I had for a "warm up" to our actual podcasts would be the Let's Make A Podcast? Podcast, which is something I'm already moving forward with. It will be a recording of our meetings. It can be something we listen to for notes later as well as a way to hear ourselves and test mic settings.

So that's the plan so far!

   I guess at the end of these I can put some homework up for myself so I have to answer to someone if I fail for the week.

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Crafting a Podcast

   Four years ago I started to really jump into the world of podcasts. A crazy world where every day people can chat with others and turn it into a form of media instantly shared with millions. We're in a world where you can listen to a podcast by Joe Rogan, then by a local group of gamers who just wanted to start chatting with other local gamers, then hop onto YouTube and watch Snoop Dogg chat with Seth Rogen about his career.

   It's incredible. We're living in a time where there no longer is a divide between the people we respect and want to hear more from and us. Yes, there's a physical divide and yes, there are still millions of people fighting for the same attention as you but if you're smart and persistent, there's no reason you can't reach your idols. It's an incredible change of pace and now that technology is trickling down in prices you can pretty much do the same thing.

   We're now at the point in history where any schmo off the street can use the internet to become a celebrity. YouTube artists are now making their way into the mainstream with television ads and official products using their face as their image. I've even heard of a YouTube sensation recently getting a green light for a TV show.

   Between technology advancements, podcasters encouraging their listeners and the gap between the individual and the world stage, I decided to start a podcast. I know right? A nobody like me, putting out content for the world and expecting the world to listen? Crazy. Absolutely crazy. People like Joe Rogan and Snoop Dogg already have a fan base so it's easy for them to jump in and infinitely harder for a schmo right? Wrong.

   Look around. You know people. You have a community full of people. You have friends that are your friends because of mutual interests that I'm sure you discuss at lengths! We all have the same set up as the all ready famous podcasters. The only difference is they are starting with an audience they had all ready and fame comes with a certain ease at contacting others with fame.

   So no, a podcast I start with a group of buddies isn't going to bring in any super celebrity from California. And yeah, I'm pretty sure I wont become a local celebrity. But I do have a smart group of friends who I always have amazing conversations with. Why can't I? Go ahead, tell me why!