Five Podcasts In

A couple weeks ago I talked about my experience in getting "back" into the podcasting game (The GoodPointJoe Podcast). Now that I've got a little more experience under my belt, I wanted to offer a look behind the curtain at what my experience has been like.

For starters, the process of getting things set up was an arduous one. I had to try multiple file hosts before finding Archive.org to be a viable option. I'm not certain that the file transfer speed will work if I ever get more than a half-dozen friends as listeners, but it will suffice for the time being.

Another piece of the puzzle is that iTunes requires each podcast to have "cover art." Initially I used an image from my heavy Terraria days, when I spent my downtime at work recreating various pieces of pixel art. It was a fine enough placeholder, but if I hoped to ever get more than passing interest in my podcast, I knew that I'd need some kind of legitimate cover art. So, I put out a message on Facebook to see if any friends might be willing to put together a little something for me. I got a few messages, and now I've got something that's homemade and customized for my podcast:

The resemblance isn't exactly uncanny, but it's goofy and personal, so I like it. I'm still waiting for the artist to provide me with some contact information so I can share it with you, but as soon as he does, I'll post that information on the sidebar.

So what have I learned over these five podcasts? Well, like last time, here are a few thoughts on how things have been, and how I expect things will go in the future.

1. While I've "done" five podcasts, I've only posted four to the feed. The fifth one was an attempt at a solo podcast. It went okay, but I played it back and found that it wasn't quite what I was looking for. I learned a ton from that experience, though, and I'm planning to re-record it in the near future, incorporating those lessons.
2. Guests definitely drive the podcast, in more ways than one. It's miles easier to have a conversation with someone else than it is to do a one-man show, where it's more like a presentation. Guests also open up a lot more avenues for comedy, which I feel is pretty important for an entertainment-based podcast.
3. The other side of it, though, is that it becomes more difficult to push the conversation along with a guest. My fantasy baseball podcast ran almost two hours, because my guest and I followed just about every line of thinking we came across. So one thing I want to do is become a bit better at directing the conversation, and pushing it when needed.
4. These first few podcasts, posted or not, have been a great opportunity to learn and grow. I'm getting more comfortable with the logistics of the process, and, to a lesser extent, getting a better feel for content creation. It's a process, and I'm a long way from where I'd like to be, but I'm on my way.

Podcasting is a different animal from what I've done in the past, even from when I did the Joe and Joe Sports radio show. But it's exciting and interesting, and I'm looking forward to continuing down this path.

I'm happy to hear any feedback you've got. Email me at GoodPointJoe@gmail.com, or throw me a tweet @GoodPointJoe.