No, no, I'm not going to disappear over the summer (although I podcast so infrequently these days that you might not notice anyway -- more on which in a moment), but I'm one of those folks for whom everything finds a connection to a song lyric, so when Canadian Podcasting Guru Mark Blevis asked me to share my summer podcasting goals, the first thing that popped into my brain? "See You in September".
Will I see you in September, or lose you to a summer podcast love?
Okay, okay, I'm avoiding the subject at hand. Mark set out three goals for himself. Here are mine:
Number 1: I actually want to podcast *more* this summer. I complained long and hard over the last ten months that Rob was unemployed that I couldn't podcast because I don't work well with someone else around the house, and I couldn't use the computer as much because he needed it more than I did. Now I have no excuses. He's back working, and I have the house to myself all day.
But by "more", I don't necessarily mean putting out a whole bunch of episodes of Purl Diving, though that's part of it. I have this idea that I'd like to reach fifty episodes of Purl Diving by the end of the year, so, obviously, that means getting down to brass tacks, because I'm not even at twenty yet.
So yes, more Purl Diving.
And that brings me to Number 2:
I was inspired by Neil Gorman's most excellent presentation at Podcasters Across Borders to take a good, hard look at my original podcast, Cinéfolle. What, you didn't know I had another podcast? It's actually the one I started last year at this time, the one that allowed me to work out all the kinks and come up with the idea for Purl Diving. But folks still ask me about Cinéfolle, still hope I'll revive it, and I think I'm going to work on that this summer.
Neil's presentation made me realize that I'm acting as if Cinéfolle is a toaster -- not only that, it's a toaster turning out lovely, healthy 12-grain toast. Solid? Yes. Good for you? Yes (well, okay, that's relative, but you see what I mean, right?). But every once in a while, don't you get a hankering for brioche with jam? I know I do, and that's what I'm going to try to do with Cinéfolle -- turn it back into something solid, that I can play with and have fun with. When it comes it it, that's what I want to do with Purl Diving, too. Neil made me realize that I should be having a lot more fun doing this, which was the whole point of starting it in the first place, right?
So, that leads to Number 3: I've had a few ideas that I've set aside as requiring too much technical fiddling, or that would need to have contributors, or that would be more challenging to produce, and I'm going to try to figure out how I can make them happen, rather than just rejecting them out of hand. And I'm going to try to break out of my introvert's shell to ask people to help, to read for me, or to record something. I know it will make my work more interesting for my listeners if I do, and I know that there are a lot of generous folks out there in the podcasting world who will do it, if only I ask.
The excuse I've had for *not* doing this in the past is that I just don't like to bother people -- people are busy, they have family lives apart from their podcasting committments, and it's important to respect that. However, I also know from experience that I feel flattered, not bothered, if someone asks *me* to contribute something or read something, and I'm sure others feel the same way, too. They can let me know if they really can't spare the time, and I'll understand. But if I don't ask them, how will I know?
And since I just can't stop at three (you did ask, Mark...)
Number 4: I want to work towards the new podcast I have in mind. I've had an idea burbling around in my brain for several months now, and it requires some equipment I can't afford yet, and a little more time than I have just at the moment. But I want to start some of the planning and writing, and then see if I can't get some of the pieces to fall into place by the time the fall rolls around.
And finally, Number 5: I want to take more responsibility for the technical stuff. Don't get me wrong -- I have a great Tech Guy, who takes my audio and turns it into something infinitely more listenable. He's also good in that he listens to what I want the final product to be, and makes that happen -- he doesn't impose himself on my work. I don't want him to stop working on my audio, but now that he's working, he's got less time available, and if I take the time myself to take a first run at things, it will streamline his task considerably. I'm perfectly capable of doing it, but let's be honest -- I'm a lazy perfectionist, and I'm perfectly happy having someone else do the work for me. But it's also, I think, a way of taking greater ownership of what I produce, and I don't think that's a bad thing at all.
So thanks, Mark, for allowing me the opportunity to mull this over and set down some concrete plans for the next few months. It was probably more involved than you might have expected, but it's an exercise that's help me focus my thinking, always a good thing.
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