Don't End the Week with Nothing (2014)

I don't think I did a good job of articulating my point. By the time I wash out all the domain specific stuff, I believe I am left with a post that is even less valuable than a link to a Stack Overflow discussion about the same issue. Does that make sense? What value am I adding to the world if I spend an hour typing up my thoughts on this and I could have just linked to SO? Also, my blog traffic is effectively 0 people. I don't think it is wrong for others to do so, it just isn't the right thing for me.

EDIT - sorry, I missed the fact that we are talking about producing a blog as a proof that I understand and think about programming in a certain way (e.g. as useful to people evaluating me)... You are absolutely right, then, and I withdraw my objection.

I am not currently looking for work but if I were, I think a blog focused on dev would be more valuable than my collection of half-baked github repos. Food for thought.

edit - per the other discussion in the thread I've gone with renaming the podcast to "LGTM: Shipit!" which will hopefully make it a little more discoverable.

I don't expect as many people have the acronym for "Looks Good To Me" in their title, I removed the space in "Ship It" and hope that search engines trigger for both "shipit" and "ship it".

What's more is that without the space it's even more true to the inspiration for the title ... which is the :shipit: emoji on github.

https://anchor.fm/lgtm-shipit

I actually laughed a little at this one

> “you should not have made this”

... because that was 100% my initial reaction. I was like "oh shit, I just got internetted"

I bounced back pretty quickly... for a few reasons. I've been a consumer of podcasts for a couple years now. I know what I like and I know what is missing for the demographic like me.

Further - I went and looked up the "podcast listener" demographic.

Turns out I'm pretty much the prototype. Older professionals in high income families, commuters.

The size of the market is currently around $10b and expected to grow at a 27.5% CAGR until 2027. https://menafn.com/1101605880/81-Billion-Worldwide-Network-F...

I'm confident that both podcasting has a market, that there is a niche I can serve appropriately. Phase 1 is the part I will do for free because it seems like so much fun... but I'm also going to try to use it as an opportunity to prove that I can accumulate enough resources to support the development effort on phase 2 (as Elon Musk would say)

In phase 2, I have further ideas about how to improve the monetization model for the back catalog. I'm not 100% sure if I am going to say it out loud yet, but since I'm going to spend to night compiling the feedback I've received from various sources into a github repo, I may go ahead and in the spirit of openness just say it out loud.

If spotify steals the idea then maybe the ask to hire me so I can help. (Or maybe one of the other any other hosting platforms decides they want to eat spotify's lunch)

While those theories will need testing, I figure that IF I write the scripts to automate the process of increasing the CPM of the back catalog, I can probably move to the next logical step, which is providing them in a SaaS model to other podcasters who make their living from it as Phase 3.

IF 1,2,& 3 clear ... then phase 4 is creating a new sort of marketplace model where advertisers are directly connected with the aforementioned mid to top tier podcasters.

Phase 5 is to combine it all into a single platform, expand into video and, to crush both spotify and youtube before me , and hear the lamentations of their ad managers.

I might not make it to phase 5 - but - you know, it's nice to plan out a few steps ahead. It isn't like I'm going to try and beat Musk to driving the conversion of humanity into the role of a space-faring species, but each phase is roughly 10x on the previous.

As much as some dude on the internet "yucking my yum" was a little jarring as the first comment, the bull case on this party is ~$100B.

In another fun story... I came pretty close to closing my first $500 in sponsorships today. "I know I'll ask my boss and get back to you" is often a "no" ... the dude I was talking to sounded so enthusiastic about the idea it really lifted my spirits.

The best podcasts in my experience are:

1. Those that are tightly written and edited. That is, there is a script (which can then, of course, be posted).

2. Are discussions (lectures, interviews, conversations) about a text (book, article, concept, etc.) which itself can then be referenced for more detail.

3. Are narrations of short stories.

Examples of these would include:

- Numerous history podcasts: The History of Philosophy (Without Any Gaps) by Peter Adamson, History of Rome, History of Byzantium, History of China.

- The New Books Network, a series of author interviews on recently-published academic books. Here you're listening to the author and an (almost always academic) interviewer discussing the topic, effectively as an advertisement for the book. It's a great way to be introduced to deeper material.

- A few deeper / prepared podcasts. WNYC has numerous professionally-scripted podcasts, as do other NPR / public radio / government media affiliates in the US, Canada (Ideas), BBC (Tim Harford, various), and elsewhere. These blur the line between traditional podcast and commercial broadcast, but are quite intelligent and informative.

- Stories or nonfiction narrative. "Selected Shorts", "Soundprints", "This American Life", "Reveal", and others come to mind. Here the idea is to simply be entertained or caught up in the narrative.

- Various interview programmes. I'm fond of Terry Gross's "Fresh Air", the Santa Fe Institute's "Complexity" podcast, and others.

None of these is the proverbial dude/chick (and optionally friends) blabbing incoherently into a mic. All are scripted, most have either transcripts, extensive show notes and references, or both (the fiction / narratives being the exception). For the record, the unorganised / low-content flavour of podcast is one that drives me nuts as well. Sturgeon's Law applies. Seek the non-cruddy end of the spectrum.

For times when I'm read out, or otherwise engaged (kitchen, chores, driving), or want to zone out, these are worth listening to.

For conveying infotech content, I'd generally agree that podcasts aren't the best medium. I also generally stray away from anything that's strongly focussed on news, current events, or current topics, and the list of academic, historical, and philosophical programmes above have been quite the useful informative distraction from the moment for me, for the past several years.