The Currency of Social Media
I heard something that kind of upset me the other day on the Canadian Podcast Buffet: Bob Goyetche was interviewing Andrea Ross, co-host of Just One More Book, about one of the main reasons that she and Mark Blevis pulled the plug on their podcast.
You can hear the complete interview here, and I strongly recommend that you do, especially if you’re a media creator or consumer. Their show was a project of passion, and she put in an amazing amount of effort. Both of them put in the blood, sweat, tears and toil (and cash!) because they loved what they were doing, as many creators do.
At the end of the day, all she asked was that she get some sort of return on her investment of passion and time.
Not necessarily money, she said, even recognition would have been nice. However, it sounds like the Big Marketing Machine in the Sky basically started abusing their show as just another Cog in the process of selling.
It especially hit home after the interview when Mark Blevis point outed that most of the podcasts that he and Bob Goyetche are involved with are there mainly to edify other people:
Canadian Podcast Buffet - Shining a light on the Canadian podcast community, and helping to grow it.
Just One More Book - Pointing out great authors of childrens literature.
Mostly Tunes - Playing indie artists you might otherwise not get to hear.
Electric Sky - Interviews with fascinating people.
Normal media that we consume has a price - we pay a cable bill to get television, we pay ticket prices for movies, we buy music either in CD or online formats (yes, I know, all of the above can be downloaded for free if you really want to) however podcasts, with the exception of a rare few, are ‘free’. Of the free ones a lot are geared strictly towards generating income for the producer(s) either directly or indirectly, but a remaining huge percentage are works of care, love, and passion for a subject. For producing these, their creators get…..squat. They spend their own time, money and resources creating something they love, for others to consume for free. To me, this is one of the most magical things in the universe: that you can download someones creativity and effort for free, listen to it, enjoy the heck out of it, and delete it when you’re done, without having to give anything in return.
Having said all that, the first thing that hit me while I was listening to the interview with Andrea was guilt. I consume podcasts like Tom Cruise consumes crazy, and really when you get right down to it, I don’t give much back.
I’ll let you in on a little non-secret: media creators (blogs, podcasters) love comments. We drink them up like those sparkly doofuses (doofi?) from the Twilight movies drink blood - they energize us, make us feel good, and really give us the urge to create more. And those are just the negative ones. The positive ones can make us feel, I dunno, orgasmic really really good.
Bob said that “comments and emails and things are the currency that feeds podcasting” and, mixed metaphors aside, truer words were never spoken.
All of that made me feel horrible because I am just as guilty as anybody of listening to dozens of episodes of someones show, and have in quite a few cases never bothered to even drop them a note saying simply “hey, love the show, keep up the great work”.
The fascinating thing is that there have even been cases where some people tried to put projects together where the sole intention was to have people start interacting more with the podcasts they enjoy. Sean McGaughey started a project he called “K7 days” where he encouraged people to call in to the message services or even email the shows they love on days of the month that end in 7 (the 7th, 17th, 27th). That’s only three communications a month. I mean, how much time would it take to send 3-4 emails or make a couple phone calls in a month? Probably not that much. Here’s an idea: while you’re downloading a show, send a comment to the creator about the last one you listened to. Or, if you’re listening at your computer, send an email before you delete the show. If you listen to a show regularly, especially if you simply download it from iTunes, do yourself a favour: visit their blog. Not only do they often have content there that’s not on the show, but it’s also a perfect opportunity to leave a comment or send a quick email. Bear in mind, it wasn’t so long ago that people used to SIT DOWN, WRITE (BY HAND!) and MAIL letters to television and radio shows they liked. Sending a comment or an email isn’t that hard, honestly. I know that I sure as heck need to start doing it more.
We all need to start giving feedback to the creators of the media you enjoy, or they’re all going to stop producing it eventually, and we’ll be left with cable TV and Commercial Radio. That thought gives me the shudders.
I think that one of the reasons all this really hit home with me is because I’m getting ready to launch not one, but two podcasts in the new year, both of them focused on showcasing singer-songwriters. It got me thinking about how much effort is going to be required from myself and others to pull these off, and other then the fact that I’m so passionate about good original music that I have actually lost sleep over it, and I tend to jump at anything involving great original songs, why the hell am I going to go through all this effort? Because I love it, that’s why. I’m not expecting to make money, but it would be nice for me and the producers to get some encouragement along the way, so it doesn’t feel like it’s all for nothing.
But it makes me wonder - if an amazing, well-produced show with a huge audience like Just One More Book can’t generate enough feedback to keep Andrea and Mark going, what chance do shows like mine stand ?
After the interview with Andrea Mark said “I wonder how that story is going to effect the community, and make people think.”
I think I’m guilty as charged, but I’m ready to start my rehabilitation. Now, where did I put those email addresses….
Stevie Z
