I’m growing a little tired of Blogger everyday (not to mention that it completely deleted the podcast I uploaded last night from my feed). There is something inside of me that is ready to move away from the way I have constructed this site, but the work I have put into it combined with a complete overhaul is gathering in my head. There are so many elements to consider with what to do, more so with my picture gallery. So much of my site is custom built, and that’s no big deal to some people. I’m just a tad rusty with my web programming skills, but that itself is something that gives me this urge to get my hands dirty and go nuts. There are other pressing matters right now, so I have a few weeks to mull it over. Think of this as a summer project.
Last night we ventured to a little bar downtown to meet Vancouverites that are either interested in podcasting or are already doing such things. There was probably more people there that were interested than there were actually doing podcasts, but it was a pretty incredible night. I think for the most part, people who are comfortable and knowledgeable with blogging want to transpose those talents into the podcasting world. Everyone at the meet up last night were amazing people, and I’m really glad I had a chance to meet who I did. Lots of really great conversation and tons of enthusiasm for podcasting. What more could a person like myself ask for?
I am far from considering myself an expert about this, but I had a really great time talking to people about ideas, concerns, and questions, giving the best feedback that I could. The beauty of podcasting truly is that anyone can do this. From the most simple, archaic, and horribly sounding podcast to the slick and suave ones. Feeds, file formats, bit rates, and bandwidth are the most basic concerns that need to be addressed early. The one point that I cannot stress enough is that no one is a pro the moment they start producing something. Your idea grows, defines itself, and becomes a focus of an audience, no matter where that is or the size. Mistakes will happen, and you can only learn from them to make you better for the future.
In my endeavors with everything, three main types of people stick out to me. There are the folks who are really knowledgeable and enthusiastic about technology who really want to be apart of this new avenue of media, but are unsure how to go about doing it in terms of recording equipment and programming. Then the class of people that have this great idea, want to go forth with it, but that step of “going live” is a bit confusing because there are so many elements to consider; they need some more clarity before anything happens. Finally, the perfectionist. Either they want everything to be in place before they start doing a podcast, or they already think they know everything there is to know about podcasting. It’s that last type of enthusiast that can make the wide eyed newbie feel even more intimidated about starting up in the first place.
Whatever you do, no matter what it is, let it be something you are comfortable with doing on a consistent basis. Find your formula, stick to it, and your audience will follow. At the same time, think of your audience as a community. Use their feedback as a guide with where you want to go. Once you discover that people are actually listening to or watching what you are doing, everything starts to change. The constant that remains the same? Have fun.
Will I ever make a career with my podcast? Who knows? What I have learned and experimented with will help where I take my talents to next. That was my biggest piece of advice last night. The more you play, learn, and experiment, the better podcaster you are going to become.
We need to have more of these gatherings. I had a damn good time!