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Lessons from podcasting have taught me about community, passion, and having a hard work ethic. Allow me to share them with you.
Personal Fact:
The first podcast episode I ever wrote and recorded on my own was and episode of Popspotting in March of 2012.
Fun Fact:
The Transmission podcast about the TV show LOST started a year before there was an “Official LOST Podcast.”
Lessons from Podcasting:
In 2005 when I first listened to The Transmission and Weekly Lost Podcasts, I never dreamed would be co-hosting a podcast. I listened to Ryan & Jen Ozawa and Cliff & Stephanie Ravenscraft grow in their skills of podcasting and engage people. I became a part of their communities. Their work inspired others and a great deal of the podcasts I listen to today owe a lot to these folks.
I was content for many years to listen, call in feedback and help on forums. But I was learning lessons. I was growing and by last Summer I had a desire to be more involved in podcasting.
I feel honored that Darrell asked me to become a part of the Golden Spiral Media family. He has taught me many lessons through my first year of being a podcast co-host. Some of the lessons have been though his words. But so many have been learned by observation. I want to pass along a few of these lessons. Who knows you, you might step up someday and podcast or use them in other ways.
One of the biggest lessons I have learned is about community. We are designed to live in community. Podcasts will not succeed without community. Some people think that podcasts are all about one person or a couple talking and people listening. Podcasting is about the hosts working to gather people with similar passions into a community.
I’ve learned that every community is different and they ways Karen & I reach out to people about Gotham Undercover are different that reaching out to the SILY community.
I’ve learned to create fun images to post on Twitter during Gotham. I’ve worked to talks with folks during the episodes and foster relationships. I’m still learning a lot and have a long way to go growing the Gotham Undercover community.
Darrell, Derek, Mandy, and Mark worked hard to build the SILY community. This season’s co-hosts have learned lessons thanks to their work. We have sought to communicate using the Facebook group and started to talk with you all one on one. We are all still learning lessons, but we know the value of community, because Darrell took us from community participants to hosts.
One of the other lessons, I’ve learned is about passion. Yes, it takes passion to be a podcaster. That passion looks different for each person, but you can truly tell when a person has passion about what they are speaking about.
I’ve learned quickly that not every episode of a TV show will inspire great passion. Some episodes are harder to talk about. That is why I put the lessons of community first. It is the community that keeps me passionate about talking about the TV show. It is the SILY community that keeps me passionate about sharing what I’ve learned.
Wanting to be a quality podcaster for the community has made me passionate in editing and growing in my skills. But most of all it has made me passionate about people.
I’ve also learned lessons in hard work ethics. You have heard me share in other SILY episodes that being on the other side of the microphone is a lot harder that I expected. I thought I had a good idea of what podcasting involved. But I didn’t.
I’ve learned that hard work and a good work ethic looks different for different people. I can look at Darrell’s hard work ethic and see how it works for him. I can look at Emilee’s hard work ethic and it is different but works for her. Karen’s hard work ethic is different as well. You cannot copy someone else’s hard work ethic. I learned quickly I could take lessons from those around me and apply them to myself. My hard work ethic involves pre-show work on graphics, taking notes using them as an outline, and much more. But a big part is that you can’t copy someone else’s hard work ethic directly. You have to develop one that works for you.
Part of having a good hard work ethic is learning to adapt. The fact is schedules change, life gets busy, and people work differently. Working with others on a podcast requires a good work ethic. I, as an individual, had to put in hard work and then come to the table and work with my co-hosts. Their hard work ethic is different and we adapt to each other. Having a good ethic is great because every co-host is different and the way we work together is different.
When I co-host with Karen, we have a rhythm and a flow. We both have different hard work ethics but we merge them to do the podcast. When I’ve co-hosted with Emilee or Steve that rhythm and flow has been totally different. But the hard work ethic helped us to adapt and produce a good product.
What I Learned:
So what have I learned? The lessons I’ve learned from podcasting have helped me grow as a person and as an employee. Community is a two way street. It is better to be a part of a community, which is thriving, than have an audience. A community helps the members to grow and supports each other in hard times. I’ve learned that passion fuels personal growth. Passion helps to grow a community and makes work easier. Lastly I’ve learned that having a good hard work ethic will help when passions falter and life gets hard.
You ALL have blessed me in my first season of being a podcaster. Thank you all! Please don’t be afraid to be a more active part of the community, share what you are learning and passionate about, and share your hard work ethic. Because I need to learn more and you can help!
I’m Geoff Gentry and this has been Stuff I Learned Yesterday!
GSM is doing a podcast marathon over Labor Day weekend at the Geekinomicon OKC. Geeking Out MS will have hosts podcasting all weekend about the shows and movies we love and so much more. But the focus is to raise money for research on Multiple Sclerosis. Two of our co-hosts here at GSM live with the disease and we are joining the fight to support them. Find all all the details on how you can watch and give right here.
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