07 - Greetings, Fleshbags
Greetings, fleshbags, and welcome back to the newsletter you forgot about (WHICH IS ALL I’M GONNA SAY ABOUT IT (probably)). Seriously, though; ya boy’s in-between jobs at the moment, so I actually have the time and brain power to subject you to my brain leavings.
If you’re not familiar with it, picture a dead simple podcast creation engine that works online or via a mobile app. You can literally call a phone number to create content, and it even includes a set of bumper music. On top of that, you can record up to 7 people, edit in browser/app, and the hosting and disbursement to podcatchers is automatic and FUCKING FREE. Yes, FREE as in $0, no matter how many episodes you have.
The one bit I can’t seem to figure out is how exactly they’re making money. Reading through the T&C and Privacy Policies, there’s mention of advertising, but in my poking around, I have yet to stumble on any advertising, other than a trailing bumper for the service itself, that you can totally turn off with a highly visible checkbox. I’m not even seeing any super creepy cookies being dropped (fully acknowledging I may have missed something). At present, the only explanation that makes sense is, because storage is so damn cheap, they’re burning capital to gain mind and marketshare, and then planning to pull a slack later on and provide additional $$ services down the line.
I gotta say, as someone who tried to make a podcast network happen a few years ago, i’m always skeptical of these things, but damn if I’m not impressed. Not to get all dramatic, but this feels as big as Garageband and other little-to-no cost audio recording software was like 10-15 years ago, before that kinda thing was readily available to us all. The democratization of creative tools means the barrier to entry is effectively gone. Sure, there were ways to record yourself and distribute in the past, but have a *free* one-stop shop that can be used to create and disburse short form audio feels huge in a way I haven’t felt/seen in a while. Here’s hoping it’s (at least mostly) used as a force for good.
It follows a “here’s a quick few things that happened, and then 3 long-form stories” format, all in 30-ish minutes. With varied stories that aren’t always “THIS SHIT HAPPENED TODAY BE SCARED OF IT”, and mostly chill reporters, It’s got a solid, anti-what-everyone-else-is-doing-in-news vibe I can’t help but dig. And on a tech note, there’s an abundance of drone usage in the thing, which makes sense from a budgetary perspective, and results in some stellar footage that would otherwise be too costly.
HOWEVER, you need to take breaks. You need to walk away from twitter for a few hours, turn off the news, and do something that renews your soul and gives you life. Get out of your head for a few minutes about how we’re all gonna die and just live. Read that (non-political) book collecting dust on your shelf. Go for a walk. Volunteer at at an animal shelter and spend some time with some furry pals that are ecstatic to see you. Call a friend and talk about completely useless things. Find a TV show that makes you smile. DO SOMETHING OTHER THAN DWELL ON THIS SHIT ALL DAY, ERRY DAY. It’ll all be there when you get back, trust me.
Whatever works for you, give yourself permission to take a break. Most importantly, reach out to friends, family, or medical professionals if you can’t handle things on your own. You’d ask for help if you broke your leg, so don’t be scared to do the same for treacherous brainmeats. And lest you think otherwise, this is both me speaking from experiences, and a remind to do the things I mentioned above.
It’s super easy to get overwhelmed by the current state of…..everything, so you need to be proactive in protecting your beautiful brain and it’s fleshmech.
## Housekeeping
Welp, that’s all I’ve got for today. Special shout outs to Steen, Ahmet, Damien, Ian, and Jay, among so many others, for the metaphorical kick in the ass and support. I’m not making any promises as to frequency, but I’ve been in my head for a few months about writing again (in whatever form), so hopefully you’ll hear from me a few times a month.
Until then, peace out
Of What Could Have Been
I first heard of anchor.fm back in April of 2018, but didn’t really get a chance to mess with it till teaching a couple of podcasting workshops at [Girls Rock Austin’s] summer camps this year. Y’all, it makes me angry in the best possible way. Like, this is a thing a friend and I desperately tried to figure out a few years back, and here they’ve just done it, and and make it easy to use, dope as hell.If you’re not familiar with it, picture a dead simple podcast creation engine that works online or via a mobile app. You can literally call a phone number to create content, and it even includes a set of bumper music. On top of that, you can record up to 7 people, edit in browser/app, and the hosting and disbursement to podcatchers is automatic and FUCKING FREE. Yes, FREE as in $0, no matter how many episodes you have.
The one bit I can’t seem to figure out is how exactly they’re making money. Reading through the T&C and Privacy Policies, there’s mention of advertising, but in my poking around, I have yet to stumble on any advertising, other than a trailing bumper for the service itself, that you can totally turn off with a highly visible checkbox. I’m not even seeing any super creepy cookies being dropped (fully acknowledging I may have missed something). At present, the only explanation that makes sense is, because storage is so damn cheap, they’re burning capital to gain mind and marketshare, and then planning to pull a slack later on and provide additional $$ services down the line.
I gotta say, as someone who tried to make a podcast network happen a few years ago, i’m always skeptical of these things, but damn if I’m not impressed. Not to get all dramatic, but this feels as big as Garageband and other little-to-no cost audio recording software was like 10-15 years ago, before that kinda thing was readily available to us all. The democratization of creative tools means the barrier to entry is effectively gone. Sure, there were ways to record yourself and distribute in the past, but have a *free* one-stop shop that can be used to create and disburse short form audio feels huge in a way I haven’t felt/seen in a while. Here’s hoping it’s (at least mostly) used as a force for good.
I Like Something Vice is Doing….FUCK
For a variety of reasons, I’ve been avoiding all things Vice for a while now, but as I was scrolling through the HBO app the other day, I noticed they’re doing daily news show (Vice News Tonight). While hesitant, I figured I’d give it a shot, and damn if I’m not impressed.It follows a “here’s a quick few things that happened, and then 3 long-form stories” format, all in 30-ish minutes. With varied stories that aren’t always “THIS SHIT HAPPENED TODAY BE SCARED OF IT”, and mostly chill reporters, It’s got a solid, anti-what-everyone-else-is-doing-in-news vibe I can’t help but dig. And on a tech note, there’s an abundance of drone usage in the thing, which makes sense from a budgetary perspective, and results in some stellar footage that would otherwise be too costly.
Be Kind to Yourself
*dusts off soapbox* Look, I get that everything is kinda the worst right now. The world is going to hell, everything feels infinitely fractured, and 105 new, terrifying news stories drop every time you look away from your phone long enough to take a sip of (probably contaminated) water. It’s bad.HOWEVER, you need to take breaks. You need to walk away from twitter for a few hours, turn off the news, and do something that renews your soul and gives you life. Get out of your head for a few minutes about how we’re all gonna die and just live. Read that (non-political) book collecting dust on your shelf. Go for a walk. Volunteer at at an animal shelter and spend some time with some furry pals that are ecstatic to see you. Call a friend and talk about completely useless things. Find a TV show that makes you smile. DO SOMETHING OTHER THAN DWELL ON THIS SHIT ALL DAY, ERRY DAY. It’ll all be there when you get back, trust me.
Whatever works for you, give yourself permission to take a break. Most importantly, reach out to friends, family, or medical professionals if you can’t handle things on your own. You’d ask for help if you broke your leg, so don’t be scared to do the same for treacherous brainmeats. And lest you think otherwise, this is both me speaking from experiences, and a remind to do the things I mentioned above.
It’s super easy to get overwhelmed by the current state of…..everything, so you need to be proactive in protecting your beautiful brain and it’s fleshmech.
## Housekeeping
Welp, that’s all I’ve got for today. Special shout outs to Steen, Ahmet, Damien, Ian, and Jay, among so many others, for the metaphorical kick in the ass and support. I’m not making any promises as to frequency, but I’ve been in my head for a few months about writing again (in whatever form), so hopefully you’ll hear from me a few times a month.
Until then, peace out
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