Thoughts on the Podcasting Journey Thus Far

On my way up to work this morning, I listened to JIMM 14 - Let's Rock! once again. I think that show is probably one of the best produced ones I've done thus far. Don't get me wrong - I like the others, but I like how this one was done.

Some observations for myself:

• Keeping it down to less than 30 minutes lets me included another podcast on my media player (limited to 60 MB). It's not that I don't mind hearing my own voice so much - maybe it is - as much as it is that I want to hear other podcasts, too.
• I need to use the envelope control in Audacity to "turn down" the background music while I'm talking. It sounded like I was trying to compete with the opening music. There were certain times when it felt distracting to me as a listener. I think the envelope control is the one that lets you set control points to adjust the amplitude over a certain time frame.
• Show preparation is key. I sounded so much together because I'd already laid out what I was going to say. Having said that, I would like to get to a point where it does sound more impromptu rather than just read from a screen. The more comfortable I am with the material, the more easily it will flow throughout the show.
• I really like using "sweepers"; i.e., shout-outs, show identifiers, PSAs, and so forth.
• I love being able to feature my family on the shows.
• I like that this show, and the one prior to that one - "Jazzmania" - were centered around a particular genre of music. I may like to continue that trend with other genres, or I may like to mix it up a bit.
• When using Audacity, save early and save often!
• It's going to take longer to put together a show than I initially thought. Getting the songs together is the easy part. Recording is relatively easy, as long as I know what I'm going to say. Mixing, editing, writing show notes, and publishing is what takes the most time.
• I'm probably going to have to set up a schedule to only do one show a week until I've been able to achieve better balance between podcasting and the other aspects of my life. My tendency has been to be hyperfocused on that which interests me the most, neglecting everything else, which isn't right.
• I love getting feedback, but that cannot be the reason why I do this show.
• Now that I'm using this blog for the podcast, do I still want to blog as usual with the same gut-level openness and honesty I've done in the past? I'm a bit hesitant because I don't want to necessarily drive listeners away. It probably shouldn't matter.