PCB2 - Broken Toasters, William Shatner, and Podcaster Burnout - Neil Gorman

Podcasting Burnout - Podfade, flash in the pan, cancellation, etc. 

“Julien Smith is in the room and I more cool.” - Neil (LOL)

Covered in this presentation:

1.  How do broken toaster, burnout and William Shatner come together?

2.  What is the motivation to continue podcasting? 

3.  What makes a podcaster hungry? 

B.P.  Before Podcasting

- a bunch of idiots all about making money controlled the wires - to sell stuff 

- marketing to the big piece of the pie, ignoring those not interested

For instance - Studio 60 - GREAT SHOW - had the largest growth of viewers with 4 year degrees+ 100k+ salaries etc. so they have money right? to buy what is being advertised right?

Yes but they also can afford a TiVo and the show was cancelled. 

Podcasting is made! 

Slowly listeners grew, what were they saying? 

1.  Freedom - away from the idiots, away from the stupid content, to speak about what we enjoy, to innovate. 

  To create the show you always wanted to hear - “for me that was comics and for Julien that was HipHop”

2.  Explore - it’s a frontier, easy to try new things, to go where no one had gone before.

Shatner - is a symbol for star trek and the frontier, humans need a frontier to explore and keep themselves happy. 

Podcasters….they go out into this digital wilderness and talk.  i’m not trying to sell you something, i just have something to say, and people start listening.  You say it and people listen- then omg they talk back.  Forming *meaningful* relationships. 

Everything was GOOD - now the new became OLD “this is podcamp2″

Monetize your podcast?  Great for you, if that’s what you want. But despite great content it’s still getting old.  The frontier is becoming explored. 

A sense of quite desperation.  The frontier has been explored what to do next?  Getting despite to feel that excitement again.  So in turn you get PODCASTING BURNOUT - BOOOO!!

If you feel burnt out you need to explore - start a new podcast, change the flow of your current one, add a co-host, add video, whatever you want.  Remember burnout is nothing more then a state of mind, because you have FREEDOM. 

Shatner - is an example of a dude who is always trying new things.  Now he’s going into music (plays clip). 

“I can’t get behind that” which is Ben Folds + Henry Rollins + Shatner = This song (find it on iTunes)

Never stop exploring. 

Broken Toasters -

what do you do when your toaster breaks? throw it out!  why not try and repair it?  it’s been through a lot with you. 

Why?  toasters are cheap and it’s simple to replace with a new one. 

Julien - ”Your podcast is not a fucking toaster”.  You’ve invested time (over time), money, energy, and passion.  So it’s not a toaster. 

Except - sometimes it is a toaster, when you get burned out start a new show.  It’s cheap and easy not a lot of energy (at first). 

In conclusion.  Never forget you have FREEDOM.  Always EXPLORE, the frontier is a mindset. 

*lots of claps and woo’s*

*Audience*

If you get past 7 shows then pat yourself on the back - if you get past 25 you’re better then most. 

“If you get more then 15 downloads [pre episode] you’re doing very well” - Neil

If you change up your podcast do you risk alienating your listeners?

Depending on what you’re writing about eventually you may run out of content.  Say a calligraphy blog, there is only so much to talk about - rather then a technology blog, where new stuff comes out every day. 

Join national podcasting month - audience plug. 

It’s ok to take time off.  Absence makes the heart grow fonder.  So missing an episode or skipping a week is ok.  You leave the audience wanting more. 

Julien “with the assumption of podcasting coming from radio - the weekly routine feels needed - get outside of the box, do what you want and feel”.  

It’s better to take a break then loose listeners due to burnt out bad content.  Make sure you announce that you’re take a break. 

Do you get disturbing negative comments on your podcast as well?  “YES” But it’s conversation, feedback, and means people are listening.  Some people (who may be crazy or dangerous) are trying to create a reaction from you through negative angry feedback.  So rather then going silent or arguing with them by giving them a reaction, just go on and ignore them - don’t validate them. 

Reach out to your fellow podcasters if you need help or to discuss feedback and dangerous interactions.  Create little social contracts to help each other out. 

(Lunch Time)