Death. It is the end of all things. The ultimate equalizer. The instant reality pill.
For those that live on, it is an instant “perspective” moment that initiates review, alterations to checks and balances (or lack thereof) and often is a seed point for thought-provoking articles – just like this one.
Death, or even the threat of it, impacts us all differently. In the news this morning, was mention of Podcast Movement’s Keynote Speaker Kevin Smith’s brush with a “Widow-Maker” heart attack while performing the first of 2 comedy shows last evening. Needless to say, as an also 47-year-old and chubby podcaster, it definitely hits home. Death has also hit home with meteor-like punch this last year for me in that my Mom died suddenly in May 2017, and shortly after the first of the year, my Pop also died suddenly. Their deaths and Kevin’s near-miss create a completely different atmosphere literally in that you breathe differently after the knowledge of these events impact you.
“What does all this have to with Podcasting, Mike?”, I hear all of you asking. Well, it’s really straight-forward for me.
We can all Google “Podcast” and probably spit out the almost-paragraph mantra that refers to a “digitally stored electronic file”, sure. But for me podcasting is way more than something so cold and bland.
Podcasting is Captured Perspective.
In the vein of my parents, My family and I benefit in that my Mom has a variety of songs that she recorded over her life that I have still to this day, as well as some fun video that continues on and will, for generations long after she, I and others in our family are gone. They live on inside a digital library that I’ve created and made customized access to for my daughter, her friends and whomever else we choose to share them with. In my Pop’s case, we had the pleasure of interacting to create a series of foundational lessons for me and anyone else who listens – as a series of podcasts inside his OWN program, Fast Freddie’s Castle of Common Sense. Each of these focuses on a different subject and provide me, and anyone who listens with the morals, centering-thoughts and perspective that made him the man that he was, that were direct pieces of making me the man that I’ve become. His sense of humor. His want for people to understand his viewpoint. Even some (reasonably terrible) singing and limericks are all part of a forever-effort that are all encapsulated inside a series of electronic, on-demand files that you can listen to anytime you want – day or night – forever.
In my own case, over the years I’ve brought on the people that make television and feature film offerings, and the real-life professionals that can talk intelligently about what you see on each of those offerings. You’ll learn what’s real, the stuff that “kinda’ works” and what’s a completely Hollywood-generated fantasy effort. Sprinkle in an always-strong educational element of ensuring that quality is delivered in return when you convey your time, money and effort to television and movies and well – I too have delivered opinions, information and education of all kinds that will long outlast me.
That’s Podcasting.
The collection of their memories, our viewpoints on our listening to them, and the ability to share those perspectives with others?
That’s LEGACY.
Which brings me back to the main focus of why we’re here today.
What are YOU creating inside your podcasting efforts? Do you go back to listen to your previous programs? Are they educational? What do they share about you? Did you like what you’d shared? Will people learn something valuable about you or your efforts when they’ve completed their listening session? Did you share the perspectives of others, perhaps professionals around you during your programs? What, when YOU ARE GONE, will be left online digitally to become YOUR legacy?
I’ve enjoyed many of the in-depth, deep-dive dissections that Kevin Smith has provided in the past. The breakdown of his all-too-short-and-rare visits with Prince are beyond epic. Many of his detailings of today’s modern filmmaking efforts with Fatman on Batman co-host, Mark Bernardin, offer insight that I just know that I will not capture from another outlet. They include outstanding “what if they…” storylines, possible character arcs and industry stories that really do fall squarely into the “LOVE” category. That being said, I have a terrible dislike for his propensity to swear incessantly (sure “we all do it” and “it’s what his audience wants”, alright, alright), refer to oral sex and stroking the high hard one (and then offering a regular mime-session of “bathing in the heavenly love juices”) that serve as a multi-faceted minefield in prelude to listening to eventually find the golden points of discussion mentioned above.
When it’s all said and done, the question remains:
What are You Building?
Collectively, we can all plop down in front of the mic, smash a palm into the record button, collect the general jackassery and publish all you want or – you can choose to create something that takes your future availability to LEGACY status.
Which one will you set a course for? Disagree with me about my viewpoints on Kevin’s offerings?
Let’s talk about it inside the comments section now!
Greetings from the friendly confines of St. Louis! My name is Mike Wilkerson and I’ve been podcasting since 2005, and have grown my initial interest in sharing details about the hit Fox show “24”, into a Podcast Network now spanning 54 different programs, an army of hosts and a lifetime of memories and experience that continue to build to this day. Let me start my introductory article here by asking everyone a question?
I am a former Certified Sign Language Interpreter for the Deaf and for more than a decade, I’ve already had every conversation that everyone here is reading has had – they just weren’t my conversations. From baby birthing, to job interviews, to divorce proceedings, to criminal arrests, to funeral arrangements – I’ve had a taste of them all as an Interpreter. That being able to “jump into someone’s life, interact, learn and jump back out” was incredibly alluring and still is. Podcasting for now an even longer time has allowed me to continue to feed that thirst for knowledge, information and perspective, across a wide variety of people, industries and skill sets. The value that perspective provides all of us is even more distinctive and valuable than your fingerprint. While your fingerprint can identify you outright, your perspectives (indeed, a collection of them, say, online in blog, vlog or podcast form) will continue to educate, entertain, inform and extend your ability to share you and your knowledge long after you’re gone.
(Columbus, Ohio, Nov. 6) — 
It’s never too late as a podcaster to take control of your brand. It’s important though to consider the ramifications of not doing so.
The Tech Podcast Network who has long covered the CES Show in January is changing tactics for 2018. For the first time the members of the Tech Podcast Network made up of 84 separate podcasts are going to focus on a segment of the exhibitors that in the early years where there bread and butter of content.