The Podcasting Project

Yesterday we released our 4th podcast episode.  It has been an interesting experience and I have really enjoyed the learning that I have done for it. 

I started listening to knitting podcasts about two years ago (mostly audio, a few video).  I had been feeling a strong need for a creative community (around the same time I looked for knitting groups in the area and found the Monarch Knitting Knit Night on the first Tuesday of each month.) Listening to other knitters talk about their ongoing projects filled something of that need.  I also needed a distraction from work frustrations and the podcasts also filled that bill.  I guess you could call it my version of vegging in front of the TV. 

After awhile, I started noticing that I was becoming a little more discriminating.  Some I liked and continued listening to, some I didn't.  What was it that made the good ones good?  I couldn't really pinpoint it.  After about a year, I started thinking that it might be fun to podcast--I was more drawn to audiocasts than video.  However, I think it is very interesting how comfortable the millennials seems to be about appearing on video.  It would be great if that meant these young women had better self-images than past generations, but I wonder...  (A dissertation for someone???)  So, I started thinking about podcasting and wondering if I had something useful to say that would add to what was out there.  My first thought was, no.  There were already so many.  But week after week, new podcasters would appear and I was still on the sidelines. 

My first step was to start listening to podcasts about how to podcast. (Honestly, there are podcasts about everything!) That gave me some idea what it was that I liked about the ones that I thought were good.  Little things like sound quality and music "bumpers" between segments and bigger things like a voice that didn't sound as though the person were sinking into their couch and speaking from the back of their throat rather than the diaphragm.  Meanwhile, I was still just looking on.  Would I be like my young girl self, watching the fun and gathering the courage to join in just as the game was breaking up?  I felt a little sense of urgency.  But I also wondered if I could sustain the time it would take.  How much time would it take? I wasn't sure, but I thought I could handle a twice per month episode.

Finally, I convinced Marsha to join me, I found a  recording app for the phone, we recorded some segments and I learned how to use Garageband at a minimal level.  Then I had to learn about a hosting service and uploading the file.  Luckily the hosting service does most of that work.  I also had to learn how to submit the podcast for approval to the iTunes store.  Meanwhile, we have been planning and executing marketing strategies for gaining listeners.  All of the learning has been really fun!  On Friday the podcast finally appeared in the iTunes store and is searchable through the podcast app!  It's been just over a month since we started, we have four episodes out there, the episodes have been listened to over 300 times, and now they are available for download from iTunes.  It's been a really fun new project!