Dear Podcasters, Listeners, and Podcasting Advertisers.

What's up ladies and gents. I'm going to rant a little bit and if that's not your cup o tea than please, check another thread. Or go bake cookies, whatever. You won't hurt my feelings. Also, I'm ranting as Will Ross right now and not LoopIT, so if I Irk anyone, aim your angry missives at me. I'll try not to. When I started casting back in 2006 there were more casters than listeners, and I'm seeing things trend in the other direction. Fewer casts, more corporate casts, more quote unquote pod cast celebrities. We've got #&$#holes like Ron Bloom at Mevio saying “We have never believed in user-generated content as a business, or even as a sustainable entertainment offering,”


I was away for about a year exclusively working on Traveling Avatar and I really lost touch with the community during this transition, but I'm vexed by it. I got an email recently, and I'll leave his or her name out of it since I don't want to embarass them, where a person asked if they could do a recap even though their show only had x number of listeners.

Combining that with another incident I had with a podcasting quote unquote celebrity and on the all, I'm a little concerned.

First of all, to every single one of you listening out there, if you're not already I WANT you to be my competition. If you've got something to say, pick up a microphone and say it god damnit. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn't but don't let ANYONE out there tell you that you don't have the stuff to give it the old college try.

There's a show inside every single one of you and all you have to do is give it a shot. Maybe I won't listen to them all, but god damnit I'll help you. Send me an email and I'll do what I can to give you the information you need to get you started. Smartbombradio At Gmail Dot to the mother#($*in com.

Secondly, all the stat counting needs to die a long horrible death. Milestones are great, and if you want to say "Tim's awesome cast has just reached the Century mark" or whatever, that's great. But don't let your stats define you as a caster, and never let them mean the difference between quitting and staying in the game. I saw an email signature with about fifteen lines of information the other day. Stop patting yourself on the back and work the mic.

Remember that there ARE no celebrities in podcasting, there are just casters with a few more listeners than you. Even the greatest podcaster's out there don't have half the numbers of the Kansas City drive time weatherman on 107.9 The Beagle, playing all the hits of the 70s 80s, 90s, today and tomorrow. When you say "I've got 30 listeners, I can't wait to get to 100" all you're really saying is "These 30 arn't enough." I love all six of you listeners, and I'll have a beer with any one of ya if you can get to Las Vegas for PME... and of course if "I" can get to Las Vegas for PME. If there happens to be quite a few of you well then I guess I'm gonna be drinking a lot of beer. Fuck it, my liver can handle it. I'm a pro.

Finally for all the veteran casters out there, never forget where you came from. And this is a message I need to take especially to heart having spent a bit of time "going hollywood" this myself this summer.

100, 500, 10000 listeners, every single one of us started out not knowing the rules of this game. Every one of us pushed that upload button for the first time and thought "What if nobody listens. What if I try and I fail." And every single one of us had an established caster say "Hey kid, that ain't half bad. Try doing such and such and It'll be better."

We all had mentors. We all had that first comment from a caster we'd seen on a message board and went "OH MY GOD I KNOW WHO THAT IS AND HE LIKES MY STUFF." Karen from Zee and Zed, Laurence Simon, King Bonk, Barely, and Wesley Clifford are just a few of the reasons I didn't give up even when my shows were terrible. Corby from Twisted Pickle, Steve Ely during Pickle Tales, I could go on and on thanking people who kept me from just droping the mic and taking up model railroading. And god knows we dont need another #*$hole with a tiny trainset in this world (no offense to the model railroading enthusiasts out there.)

When I look at some of the responses to requests for help on the old standby boards now... well, I know if I'd had my questions answered with that much implied eye rolling I never would have made it through year one.

I guess my closing to this little Podcaster Manifesto is, Keep podcasting punk rock. It's not about big names, it's about us, ALL of us, from the people with 10 listeners to the people with 100,000. There's a place at this table for all of us because frankly, it's a big goddamned table. And keep that table round.

Every single one of us has something to contribute.

We are not our audiences.

We are not our advertising deals.

We're not even #($&ing artists... well, I'm not anyway.

We're all just kids with a computer and a microphone and a dream to yell into the ether and every now and then have someone yell back.

Keep trying...

Keep humble...

And keep kicking ass out there.

If you ever need help finding a boot to do it, throw me an email.

I'll I've got a boot to spare if kicking needs to be done.

Will Ross
Just a caster.

As a very tiny podcaster, I want to say thank you for this, Will. Hearing from someone who I look up to in the podcast world or am impressed by the content they spit out, it's great to hear that the little people matter. I am definitely a little person who is always in awe by the big guys. I don't even interact with the BIG, BIG guys most of the time because I don't feel worthy and when I do clear my throat and speak up, it's such a relief to see those who I admire open their arms to me and invite me in (Yes, Laurence has a special place in my heart. ). I take little steps here and there to incorperate myself into other's projects but I still stay very much on the sidelines. When I started podcasting, I feverishly checked the stats every minute and would celebrate 15 listeners! Here it is over a year later and my numbers are still low, but I don't care anymore. I have friends in the podcast world who like me and listen to me for whatever crazy reason and that's what I concentrate on. To any of them who are listening, thank you so much. You are what matters. In my opinion, podcasters should do this for the enjoyment it gives themselves and those friends we've had and make through this media.

Great post. Podshow/Mevio's remark is indeed disturbing, but it's good that they're finally showing their true colors. It's too bad beginning podcasters have been led to believe that they don't matter or that it's too late to get in the game.

What remark?

The only think I would disagree with is "there are no celebrities in podcasting." To me, you're ALL celebrities. I'll never even come close to knowing who 1/1000th of you are, but you're still all rock stars!

*5* Will.

It's disgusting, watching the smaller podcasters jockey for kissing-space on Curry's ass like pigs rooting around for space to suckle.

Then, when they get big, crapping on the folks they used and tossed aside to climb over to get into the spotlight.

PodShow/Mevio's no different.

When the topic of a PodShow sponsorship came up in a conversation, I didn't say Yes. Instead, I pointed that person at other podcasts that deserved sponsorship. I'd rather be the last on board the rising boat than the first, eh. More folks to help me climb out of the water.

In the end, none of 'em got on board. Maybe they never got asked or followed up on. Whatever. Nothing's sweeter than an empty snakeoil bottle that gathers dust on the supermarket shelf, eh.

Me, I challenged myself to write a story a day until the day I die.

At some point, when 100 Words Or Les Nessman took a break, I figured might as well invite others to jog along with ol Forrest Gump here.

Some have joined along, some have stopped, some have come back...

Good folks. Fun folks.

Some have gone off to go jog with others for a bit, doing voices for each other podcasts, bouncing ideas off of each other, connecting and networking, and spinning a crazy web of creativity.

Cool. Damn cool. And I don't care if I'm at the center or if I'm at the fringes. It's damn cool for what it is, constantly changing and building, and swaying in the breeze.

Sometimes I offer up the fridge magnets as trinkets, I posted a cash prize for the 100th WC, blah blah blah.

But in the end, it's about the love of writing, making silly voices, telling a story, having a little fun, and maybe doing a little good along the way.

Man, when I saw what P-Dub did to Guy David last year in these here forums when he was having some money issues, that soured me on the A-Listers and Podshow elite big time. AND I did something about it.

Podshow/Mevio's showing their true colors have only cemented that feeling.

Maybe I'll never make a dime from this and maybe I will.

Whatever. My hosting is free, I enjoy writing, others enjoy writing, maybe traffic goes up and down, folks are invited to participate when they want to participate, if someone's new and they want a few suggestions or tips I give 'em if I have the time, and there's no hard feelings when they don't stick on or do a hit-and-run.

Hey, it happens. Life goes on.

I'm happy with my podcast, and as long as I keep having crazy story ideas pummel my mind.

I'm sure that can be monetized, but it's not a priority for me. I'd rather be writing crazy-assed stuff and recording it.

If it's a priority for someone else, fine. Write me. Just try to buy my soul. Come up with a figure big enough that'll still make me vomit, but it buys enough paper towels to mop it all up. But I'm not going to crawl and beg and plead and whine for your dirty money because I've seen what utter assholes it has twisted other podcasters into.

And heck, the figure you name will end up being what I stake the WC prizes with.

If I'm an idiot for it, well, at least I'm a happy idiot.

Thank you for listening, and, as always, keep it brief.

Can't really add anything to the discussion, but I didn't want this thread to pass without voicing my agreement.

Well said, sir!

Well put sir.

And Laianna, I've always dug your work, you may not have "popped" quite yet, but you got the skills, chica.

And of course Lairs always been down for a bit of the ol' revolutionary ultraviolence. When I was getting X large number of downloads on QDnow (which is, by the way, the least evil of any of the podcasting networks. Mignon has always just been Mignon, and very humble even though she's kicking Mevio's ass with GRAMMAR) and a lot of people were fawning over me, Laurence was the only person to put on a combat boot and apply it with surprising force to my backside.

Anyhow, I've slapped my 95 Theses on the "professional" podcaster temple, and I'll step back from being a mouthy little brat and go back to working my craft.

I guess the only thing I'd like all of these "professional" networks to remember is most of their "non indie" podcasters USED to be indie.

The big podio books wern't published authors who said "Gee I'd like to give my already sold bestselling novels away for free."

The music casters weren't the syndicated DJ's from New York stepping down from making 100k a year doing drive time to talk into peoples ipods.

The ranters and ravers didn't give up their job writing opinion pages at the New Yorker to start writing podcasts.

They were indie, and they "popped." They busted their asses, worked hard, and only then did the networks give a good goddamn about them.

And somewhere out there there's a kid picking up a mike, we'll call him Kid X. Right now anyone at Mevio would laugh in Kid X's face for even suggesting he could compete with the big boys. But Kid X is going to pop.

When he does, they'll come bearing contracts, gifts, and an offer to run with the big boys. They'll hope he's forgotten what they thought of him. They'll hope he forgets all the unanswered emails and curt "#*$( off kid" replies to his questions.

I hope he doesn't.

I hope he looks at those thirty pieces of silver and says "you know, I don't need you. You need me. And I'm not for sale. You can't touch my listeners."

Anyway, sorry for teh phat rantz. Some days ya just gotta open your mouth and see what comes out.

Will, I just did a Google route from Cleveland to Omaha, and it says it's only 12 hours away.

I don't know when, but eventually I'm driving there and buying you a beer.

This one: “We have never believed in user-generated content as a business, or even as a sustainable entertainment offering”

Right on Will. I remember you talking about this at our podcast meet up and I have to say after dinner, I think everyone went their separate ways thinking that everyone at the table was a pretty cool person. It felt good to be around other podcasters and the camaraderie is inspiring.

There was a point where I was doing stuff for a Podshow cast, and I was really wanting to get sponsored. I have a friend who is part of Podshow and he says that syndication is not what it is cracked up to be. After a while I did what I always do and forgot about that and turned my pointer to just doing the best podcasts that I can. As a musician, I do tend to like the attention, but I feel like having a community of podcasters as friends and acquaintances is more important that patting the backs of the "big guys" who aren't any better than us. They have more cash and resources, but whatever. Just focusing on doing the best show you can is what really matters.

Also, as far as stats go, I do monitor them for my own personal goals. Stats show me if any of my marketing is working, and I do want to grow my listenership. But I don't base my whole podexistance on it nor do I use it as a ranking structure when talking to other podcasters. I'm just happy anyone listens.

Cheers to you and all the podcasters out there being creative and keeping podcasting an ever growing format. The radio industry sucks, and we are doing something that is way better.

Rock on.

Wayne

I don't have much to add to this. Everything has already be said here. All I have to say is that podcasting gives us a sense community that could never be matched by the big media, and that's what makes podcasting so special. I now have so many friends I'm probably never going to meet in real life, and I got to know most of them through podcasting.

Now - onwards to continue moving my podcasts off of Podshow/Mevio.

Wow... just wow. Thanks for all the replies and the ridiculous number of views. Just hearing that you're not alone in how ya feel makes screaming into the void that much more satisfying.

First round in vegas is on me.



Sweet, we can record your part in studio

Now that bit's not true Will.

According to dictionary.com an artist can be either a person who produces works in any of the arts that are primarily subject to aesthetic criteria or a person who works in one of the performing arts, as an actor, musician, or singer; a public performer

Both describe what you do - and do brilliantly.

As for the rest of your rant/rave...something tells me podshow/mevio/whatever they call the train wreck next month won't be around much longer. I doubt VCs are lining up at their doors any more and this whole re-branding looks to me like a last-ditch effort to save a dying thing. And when people are cornered, like Bloom is with all those people who fronted all that money gunning for him, they say mean, hurtful things. It's human nature.

I've been listening to some of you since way back in late '04 so your quirky, informative, thought-provoking, laughter-making, nightmare-inducing user generated content is already a sustainable entertainment offering.

Screw Bloom.

How about we do a deal - you keep doing your thing and I'll keep listening (In Will's case with all the lights on and the doors locked but I'll be listening all the same).