Some Thoughts on Podcasting

Podcasting is the new broadcasting.  That's probably the biggest understatement of the 21st Century, but it's true.  What radio was in the last century with it's immediacy, portability, and its ability to make the world smaller has now been usurped by a medium where the listener plays a bigger role than ever before.

I first heard about podcasting when I worked in radio.  We didn't think much of it then.  Podcasting thought of as an extension of the radio station where listeners could hear interviews on the internet after they were broadcast.  It was fine, but it seemed like is didn't attract listeners to the station's website. Another problem was that the average podcast was under five minutes due to the capacity of the website.

A few years ago I got my first iPod and used it primarily for music.  It wasn't until I spent a lot of time at work on a computer that I discovered this new medium. For me, there's nothing like it.  You can listen to what you want when you want.  There's hardly any commercials, and if there are any you don't have to sit through a five or six minute commercial break to get back into the show.  You can even pause it if you need to use the phone or take care of other business.  

The main reason that I like it has to do with the freedom behind it.  Podcasters aren't regulated by the FCC.  If a host wants to drop an f-bomb he or she won't be subject to paying a huge fine or risk the loss of a license.  Plus, there is a podcast for virtually every subject in the world.

Gone are the days where only a handful of hosts got a show on a radio station.  Anyone can do it, and from almost anywhere.  If you have a computer, a headset, and a microphone you're in business.  Plus, it travels farther than radio waves.

These are just my thoughts.  In some upcoming posts, I'll be sharing some of my favorite podcasts. 

A Little Bit About Myself

Let's get to know each other.  For this posting, however, I'm afraid that it's going to be a little one sided.  

I really don't like to talk about myself.  Some of the hardest things that I've ever had to write are cover letters and resumes.  That brings me to this entry.  I have a job, albeit a temporary one, but I would like to have something permanent.  

My background is primarily communications and customer service.  I spent nearly 20 years in broadcasting doing everything except for management and sales.  Radio was always something that I wanted to do.  My first inkling as thinking that it could be a way to make a living came to me in the 4th grade.  A popular TV show "back in the day" was "WKRP in Cincinnati."  I marveled at Dr. Johnny Fever, and thought that he had the coolest job on the world.  This guy played records and talked into a microphone!  I was hooked.  

I began reading anything that I could get my hands on about broadcasting.  It also helped that the college in my hometown had an excellent school of communication, and I began to hitch my star to the goal of being on the radio.  

Broadcasting is a fickle business.  I came in at the time when the the trend started to become that people didn't matter and where automation and profits became more important.  It was a fun ride, but corporate radio got the best of me.  After leaving that area (not by choice) I began to study for the tests to become a financial advisor.  It didn't work out because I didn't want to cost my friends and family a lot of money if an investment when bad.

Then I went into sales.  It was fun, but cut throat.  By the time I left that job, I had regular visions of "Glengarry Glen Ross," and it wasn't pretty.

That brings me to the present.  I have a job.  It's fine, but as I said, temporary.  If a permanent position opens up where I work now, I would consider it.  However, I would love to get back to doing something creative.  Something that fulfills me.  Something that I can be happy doing.

I like to write and create.  Audio production is one of the areas that I felt that I excelled with in radio, and I still do it as a hobby.  Here is a sample of some of my recent work.

So, if you are looking for someone or know someone who is creative, dynamic, hard working, humorous, and dedicated, please free free to contact me.  Click here, if you would like and in-depth look at my skills and abilities.

Thanks for reading this, and for any help that you could provide.

An Introduction

I've always wanted to do a blog.  The problem is that I don't know what I wanted to write about.  There are a lot of things I think about, but a rule that I learned from my 3rd grade teacher is to "share things with people that they think will be worthwhile."   It's a rule I have always followed through the years.

I used to play on the radio, and always talked about interesting things or brought up something humorous between songs.  I'd like to think of this as an extension to those halcyon days where I can share some neat things with you.

This blog won't be a platform for me to espouse my political views, or other things that can be hot topics for debates that go nowhere.  What I want to write about and share are things that I like and that I feel are worthwhile.  Hopefully they may bring a smile to your face.

So, you may ask, what will you be writing about?  Good question. I thought up of some things I'd like to share.  They include:

• Pop Culture
• Music
• Radio
• Late Night TV
• Broadcasting
• Podcasting
• Hot Dogs
• Food
• Trucks
• Travels
• Books
• Humor
• History
• Pittsburgh
• Neat Web Sites
• And anything else that may pop up.

Thanks for visiting this rest stop on the Information Superhighway. Hopefully we can share in the fun.

(Note:  I'm nowhere near the writer that Stephen J. Cannell was.  I've always liked this logo.)