Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Changes are afoot for this podcast

I recently expressed my frustration to the Unseen Podcast team about the internal processes of the podcast, and how it is too stressful for me to continue with it as is. Our audience continues to grow, but our engagement within the team has not grown with it. So, either we need to fix the process, find new team members who can really help out, or end the podcast. I would rather not do the latter, if we can find a way.

Over the next 2-3 weeks, we will be looking for that way. As always, listener thoughts and impressions are important to us. You can comment here on this blog, or go to our G+ Listener's Community, or our Listener's Subreddit. Everything posted there will be read by the team. If you want to keep your thoughts private, you can just e-mail to our Gmail account, unseenpodcast. here's the trade space as I see it:
  1. Keep things as they are essentially, but recruit several new people, who, once every two months or so, make a serious commitment to be on the panel and do what they can to make it a great episode. Some of these people would occasionally also host an episode (maybe 1-2 times a year)
  2. Change the tempo to bi weekly or monthly, but everyone puts the same effort in, concentrated on fewer shows.
  3. Other, as yet unidentified process changes that result in better preparation for episodes.
  4. Some combination of 1, 2, and 3 above.
  5. Find someone else to produce the podcast who has more time and is better at influencing people. I would reduce my participation to occasional panelist and financial supporter.
  6. End the podcast, plowing some of the saved time and effort into the Wow! Signal.
What do you think? 

3 comments:

  1. I think recording/producing the show every other week would be the fix, Paul. You would then have the breathing space you need to de-stress. The topic should be finalized and outlined the week before each show. You would do that by just cutting the topic off at the appointed time and everyone who had contributed to the topic would be apprised. IF a topic wasn't finalized by the drop-dead time you would set the topic and the panelist would prepare for what was designated. Essentially the same as now but with the extra breathing space of a bi-monthly production schedule.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I do get it it, that you have a lot on your plate. So I agree with the above comment. A 'Weekly' podcast is likely too much. Bi weekly or even monthly; or somewhere in between is probably more conducive to having a more coherent Podcast. It's important work that you are doing. That is "Educating the Public" an science and related things. I confess that I often 'Use You' ; (I talk about the podcast and you); in order to promote my agenda of "Educating people". Perhaps that is one reason you have an increase in downloads!? I hope so. That would mean I'm also doing an 'OK' job. ... Spread it out more, lighten your schedule a bit. That is our advice.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Actually, as I have stated many times, public education is not the primary aim.

      Delete