WEBVTT - Rerun: How Podcasting Works 0:00:04.480 --> 0:00:12.479 Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from iHeartRadio. Hey there, 0:00:12.520 --> 0:00:16.000 and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. 0:00:16.000 --> 0:00:18.840 I'm an executive producer with iHeart Podcasts and how the 0:00:18.880 --> 0:00:22.000 tech are you Well. I'm still working on some really 0:00:22.720 --> 0:00:27.560 big and complicated tech Stuff episodes, and as a result, 0:00:28.040 --> 0:00:30.600 I thought that it'd be fun to take a listen 0:00:30.680 --> 0:00:36.120 to a really, really really old episode of tech Stuff. 0:00:36.159 --> 0:00:39.159 This one came out way back on November two, two 0:00:39.240 --> 0:00:42.559 thousand and nine, and the title of the episode is 0:00:42.600 --> 0:00:47.240 called how Podcasting Works, But I honestly think that title 0:00:47.400 --> 0:00:49.760 is not really that accurate. I think it would be 0:00:49.800 --> 0:00:54.680 more like history of tech Stuff slash podcasting Tips. Now. 0:00:54.880 --> 0:00:59.040 At this time, this was when Chris Palette was co 0:00:59.120 --> 0:01:02.800 host of the show, and we talk a little bit 0:01:02.840 --> 0:01:06.080 about the fact that Chris was also the original co 0:01:06.160 --> 0:01:09.440 host with Josh of stuff. You should know, which is 0:01:09.480 --> 0:01:11.480 just kind of a fun little bit of trivia, is that, 0:01:11.640 --> 0:01:14.839 you know, Chris had been one of the first people 0:01:15.000 --> 0:01:19.319 on The House Stuff Work's staff to podcast. He recorded 0:01:19.319 --> 0:01:23.680 several episodes with Josh before Chuck ended up taking over 0:01:24.000 --> 0:01:27.240 that spot and then the rest, as they say, is history, 0:01:27.480 --> 0:01:30.959 and Chris got saddled with me. We recorded quite a 0:01:30.959 --> 0:01:35.720 few episodes together before Chris moved on. He decided he 0:01:35.800 --> 0:01:39.160 wanted a career change and he went to pursue a 0:01:39.200 --> 0:01:43.360 career in library science, which is pretty awesome. And meanwhile, 0:01:43.440 --> 0:01:49.080 I've been back here helming the Tech Stuff Ship ever since. 0:01:49.440 --> 0:01:54.280 So listen to this classic episode How Podcasting Works, published 0:01:54.280 --> 0:02:00.360 November second, two thousand and nine, and enjoy today going 0:02:00.400 --> 0:02:04.280 to talk about some podcasting tips. We actually get a 0:02:04.320 --> 0:02:09.360 lot of requests to do an episode about podcasting, and. 0:02:08.639 --> 0:02:10.440 We keep coming up with the reasons why we shouldn't 0:02:10.440 --> 0:02:13.400 do it today. Right today, we decided to do it today. 0:02:13.400 --> 0:02:14.840 We're like, you know what, We're going to get this 0:02:14.880 --> 0:02:15.280 out of the way. 0:02:15.320 --> 0:02:18.120 You know why, because if we weren't doing How Podcasting Works, 0:02:18.160 --> 0:02:21.200 you know what we would be doing cantennis or tech 0:02:21.240 --> 0:02:23.919 conspiracy theories. Oh yeah, two other ones that we keep 0:02:23.919 --> 0:02:24.480 putting off. 0:02:24.639 --> 0:02:28.240 Actually, just between you and us, we're not supposed to 0:02:28.280 --> 0:02:30.239 talk about the tech conspiracy. 0:02:29.720 --> 0:02:32.200 Oh that's right. They don't want you to know, So 0:02:32.320 --> 0:02:36.120 let's talk about podcasting instead. Now, we've had a lot 0:02:36.120 --> 0:02:39.040 of people ask us things, everything ranging from what kind 0:02:39.040 --> 0:02:41.040 of equipment do we use? What kind of software do 0:02:41.080 --> 0:02:45.560 we use, and just general tips on podcasting, So people 0:02:45.600 --> 0:02:48.359 who want to get into podcasting, what should they do, 0:02:48.400 --> 0:02:51.320 what should they avoid doing? And a lot of the 0:02:51.320 --> 0:02:54.040 stuff that we have learned over the course of our 0:02:54.400 --> 0:02:58.040 what year and a half of podcasting, mainly we've learned 0:02:58.080 --> 0:03:02.320 through trial and error. Wow half. Yeah, sorry, Yeah, and 0:03:02.320 --> 0:03:05.200 it's pretty much been a year and a half. And yeah, 0:03:05.200 --> 0:03:06.280 and he's he's right. 0:03:06.360 --> 0:03:10.480 Actually, we were one of the very first podcasts at 0:03:10.480 --> 0:03:11.279 how Stuff. 0:03:11.000 --> 0:03:14.520 Works Yeah com and we followed Stuff you Should Know 0:03:14.840 --> 0:03:17.240 and stuff you missed in history class. Yeah, so we 0:03:17.240 --> 0:03:20.920 were the third one. Yeah, Marshall Brains. Marshall Brain has 0:03:20.960 --> 0:03:22.320 been doing one for a while. 0:03:22.200 --> 0:03:24.079 Right, He was doing a podcast in a blog sort 0:03:24.080 --> 0:03:27.600 of independently from the group for a long time. And 0:03:27.600 --> 0:03:31.040 then and then we jumped on board. And actually when 0:03:31.160 --> 0:03:34.280 when I was the first Josh's first co host on 0:03:34.360 --> 0:03:35.000 Stuff you Should Know. 0:03:35.080 --> 0:03:36.840 Right, So you've been doing this longer than just about 0:03:36.840 --> 0:03:38.560 anyone else besides Josh. True. 0:03:38.680 --> 0:03:41.560 True, But it's funny because we tried a bunch of 0:03:41.560 --> 0:03:44.800 different stuff. We've actually had uh, we got we've gotten 0:03:44.840 --> 0:03:46.800 some comments over the course of the last year and 0:03:46.840 --> 0:03:47.920 a half, like you know. 0:03:48.080 --> 0:03:49.760 Who writes this stuff? Right? 0:03:50.200 --> 0:03:51.960 And the answer is nobody. 0:03:52.160 --> 0:03:52.360 Yeah. 0:03:52.400 --> 0:03:54.840 We actually, Josh and I tried a little bit writing 0:03:54.960 --> 0:03:57.640 some of the stuff out and that just totally we 0:03:57.680 --> 0:03:59.320 tried to test with that and that totally didn't work. 0:04:00.240 --> 0:04:03.760 Just tech stuffs. We we outlined the heck out of 0:04:03.800 --> 0:04:05.200 those early early shows. 0:04:05.440 --> 0:04:06.640 Yeah, all right, so. 0:04:06.680 --> 0:04:08.680 Let's let's talk Let's talk about the genesis of tech 0:04:08.720 --> 0:04:10.880 stuff in general, and then we'll talk about some of 0:04:10.880 --> 0:04:13.040 the equipment we use, and then we'll give some podcasting tips. 0:04:13.080 --> 0:04:13.600 How about that? 0:04:13.600 --> 0:04:14.200 That sounds great? 0:04:14.200 --> 0:04:15.880 See, you know, this is the sort of stuff that 0:04:15.920 --> 0:04:18.400 we used to talk about before the show, and we 0:04:18.440 --> 0:04:21.240 would outline it and we would go point by point. 0:04:21.400 --> 0:04:23.520 We don't do that anymore, which is why we kind 0:04:23.560 --> 0:04:25.320 of go through things in a haphazard way. 0:04:25.440 --> 0:04:28.000 Although I do feel compelled to point out that not 0:04:28.160 --> 0:04:31.040 all the podcasters here at how Stuffworks dot Com go 0:04:31.080 --> 0:04:33.880 buy that theory. Now, Yeah, in general, we do try 0:04:33.880 --> 0:04:35.239 to be conversational. 0:04:35.320 --> 0:04:35.920 I mean, that's there. 0:04:36.080 --> 0:04:38.919 Nobody's I don't know of anybody that scripts out what 0:04:39.000 --> 0:04:41.080 they're going to say when they come on to the podcast. 0:04:41.320 --> 0:04:45.719 But I think everybody pretty much, you know, just has 0:04:45.839 --> 0:04:48.279 a good rapport with his or her co host, and 0:04:48.520 --> 0:04:50.080 it's sort of a Okay, we're going to talk about 0:04:50.080 --> 0:04:52.159 these ten things. Make sure we cover this or that. 0:04:52.640 --> 0:04:55.640 Jonathan and I are just sort of looser about it, don't. 0:04:55.920 --> 0:04:58.880 We don't meet beforehand like some of the other podcasters do. 0:04:59.000 --> 0:05:01.240 So yeah, everyone as their own style. We'll get to 0:05:01.400 --> 0:05:03.400 we'll get to style in a little bit. So let's 0:05:03.720 --> 0:05:08.279 let's do the history of tech stuff Sour our editor 0:05:08.320 --> 0:05:10.719 in chief, came to us. Connell Byrn, He came to 0:05:10.800 --> 0:05:13.800 us and said, guys, we want you to do a 0:05:13.960 --> 0:05:16.680 podcast about technology. Think you would blow it out of 0:05:16.680 --> 0:05:20.560 the park. You'll be super rock stars, that kind of thing. 0:05:20.720 --> 0:05:22.920 And I had looked around and said, I'm sorry. 0:05:22.640 --> 0:05:23.560 What are you talking right? 0:05:23.640 --> 0:05:25.640 And I was like, let me go. 0:05:25.839 --> 0:05:28.280 I want to do it, Let's do it now. And 0:05:28.440 --> 0:05:31.680 uh so we were told at that time that we 0:05:31.680 --> 0:05:33.840 were trying you know, this, this was brand new for us. 0:05:33.880 --> 0:05:36.120 It was not something that house Stuffworks dot com had 0:05:36.160 --> 0:05:40.760 been doing before. Besides Marshall's podcast and the this is 0:05:40.800 --> 0:05:44.040 before even Stuff you Should Know had started to publish. 0:05:44.440 --> 0:05:48.000 This was just before it started to publish. So at 0:05:48.000 --> 0:05:50.360 that time, since we were all kind of new to this, 0:05:50.440 --> 0:05:54.160 we decided to put some limitations and some parameters up 0:05:54.520 --> 0:05:57.640 to kind of give us a framework so that we 0:05:57.640 --> 0:05:59.960 wouldn't just flail around the way we do. 0:06:00.200 --> 0:06:04.280 Now, let's speak for yourself. I flail pretty handily, thank you, Mitchell. 0:06:04.279 --> 0:06:07.760 Okay, So the very the very first rules were that 0:06:08.360 --> 0:06:11.559 the episodes had to be around five minutes in length, 0:06:11.640 --> 0:06:14.360 and they were supposed to relate back to a specific 0:06:14.480 --> 0:06:16.640 article on the site. 0:06:16.920 --> 0:06:18.640 Wow, that just makes me want to laugh. 0:06:18.880 --> 0:06:20.719 Yeah, we don't do that anymore. 0:06:20.920 --> 0:06:21.240 We don't. 0:06:21.560 --> 0:06:23.920 We don't do either of those things anymore. Now. Now 0:06:24.000 --> 0:06:28.240 other podcasts they do, they'll they'll still cover specific articles, 0:06:28.279 --> 0:06:31.960 which is fine. We just that we don't have to do. Yeah, 0:06:31.960 --> 0:06:34.320 we're no longer required to do that, but we can 0:06:34.480 --> 0:06:36.440 do that if we want to. And we've done a 0:06:36.480 --> 0:06:39.839 couple of episodes where we've talked about specific articles, but 0:06:40.000 --> 0:06:45.880 fortunately we're no longer restricted to just that. So back then, 0:06:46.160 --> 0:06:48.760 we discovered very quickly that it was hard to get 0:06:48.760 --> 0:06:51.920 into a topic and cover it in five minutes. Most 0:06:51.960 --> 0:06:55.200 of our episodes were pushing seven or eight minutes easily, 0:06:55.400 --> 0:06:58.440 because by the time we were telling me the introductions, 0:06:58.680 --> 0:07:00.440 we had about two and a half minutes left to 0:07:00.480 --> 0:07:03.320 explain whatever it was we were talking about. Yep. But 0:07:03.360 --> 0:07:06.159 we also got feedback from our listeners that and the 0:07:06.240 --> 0:07:08.320 most of the feedback said, you know, I like the podcast, 0:07:08.360 --> 0:07:10.280 but it needs to be longer because you're not really 0:07:10.320 --> 0:07:14.000 getting into the topic. So with that, we extended the 0:07:14.040 --> 0:07:17.280 time to about ten minutes, right, We went from five 0:07:17.320 --> 0:07:19.360 to ten. Yeah, And so if you look at those 0:07:19.400 --> 0:07:21.560 early Tech Stuff episodes, you'll see the first few or 0:07:21.560 --> 0:07:23.400 five minutes long, and then the next group is about 0:07:23.440 --> 0:07:26.360 ten minutes, and then after that kind of explodes because 0:07:26.400 --> 0:07:28.160 we were told one day we came in and that 0:07:28.240 --> 0:07:31.640 was when Jerry was producing our show, Yeah, and she 0:07:32.120 --> 0:07:34.240 told us one day like, oh, don't worry about the time, 0:07:34.440 --> 0:07:36.960 just don't go over you know, twenty five minutes. That's 0:07:37.000 --> 0:07:39.560 probably that's probably about the upper length of what we 0:07:39.600 --> 0:07:41.840 want to hit. But other than that, you know, go 0:07:41.920 --> 0:07:44.200 as long as you need to go to explain the topic. 0:07:44.560 --> 0:07:48.480 And that's when our episodes really started to change. At 0:07:48.480 --> 0:07:50.160 the same time that we had the five and ten 0:07:50.200 --> 0:07:55.200 minute rule, we were outlining our episodes pretty heavily. Yeah, yeah, 0:07:55.520 --> 0:07:58.080 because we had to make sure we hit that time limit, right. 0:07:58.280 --> 0:07:59.760 We couldn't go over it, so we wanted to make 0:07:59.760 --> 0:08:02.200 sure we knew what we needed to hit. We couldn't 0:08:02.320 --> 0:08:03.440 just talk our way through it. 0:08:03.920 --> 0:08:06.400 Yeah, And we also when we had that was very 0:08:06.400 --> 0:08:09.080 helpful when we had specific ideas that we wanted to 0:08:09.160 --> 0:08:13.600 hit in the podcast too, which we don't always get 0:08:13.600 --> 0:08:16.160 to In some cases. I've gone back and looked at 0:08:16.200 --> 0:08:18.520 my notes on a couple podcasts and gone, oh, man, 0:08:18.520 --> 0:08:19.560 I didn't talk about that. 0:08:19.760 --> 0:08:21.120 Yeah, that's happened to me too. 0:08:21.280 --> 0:08:24.240 So you know that it can be useful to have 0:08:24.280 --> 0:08:26.560 an outline, especially if you want to do that. But 0:08:26.640 --> 0:08:29.360 then again, most of the time when we do that, 0:08:29.400 --> 0:08:32.800 it's because we get so excited about whatever it is 0:08:32.840 --> 0:08:34.520 that we're talking about, and then we have so much we 0:08:34.520 --> 0:08:37.079 want to say about it that we just keep going. 0:08:37.440 --> 0:08:42.200 Yeah. So once those uh, once, once the format changed, 0:08:42.240 --> 0:08:46.600 we we started to change our own methods, and we 0:08:46.760 --> 0:08:50.160 began to realize that the more we try too short 0:08:50.280 --> 0:08:52.920 well not yeah sometimes so we went to the German 0:08:52.960 --> 0:08:56.880 opera range. But no, the we began to realize that 0:08:56.960 --> 0:09:00.200 the more we would prepare together for a show that 0:09:00.240 --> 0:09:03.520 we were about to do, the less conversational it was 0:09:03.640 --> 0:09:07.400 and the more like lectury it sounded. You know. Yeah, 0:09:07.480 --> 0:09:10.400 it didn't sound like we had two guys trying to 0:09:10.440 --> 0:09:14.199 explain and talk about a topic and give it context. 0:09:14.280 --> 0:09:18.240 It sounded like the pre recorded notes for some sort 0:09:18.240 --> 0:09:22.120 of you know, technology lecture. And so we started to 0:09:22.679 --> 0:09:25.200 do our own studying at that point, and then we 0:09:25.200 --> 0:09:27.720 would just meet for the podcast and we'd each have 0:09:27.760 --> 0:09:29.920 our own notes. We would sometimes share links if we 0:09:30.280 --> 0:09:33.000 saw something that was really useful, so that the other 0:09:33.040 --> 0:09:35.720 person would also have access to it and not just 0:09:35.840 --> 0:09:39.480 you know, come out of nowhere. But then we would 0:09:39.520 --> 0:09:42.959 just we sit down at the microphones and hit record, 0:09:43.080 --> 0:09:45.080 and then we would torture whoever it was that was 0:09:45.120 --> 0:09:47.559 producing our show at the time with horrible puns as 0:09:47.559 --> 0:09:49.400 we talked about whatever the topic was. 0:09:49.720 --> 0:09:52.160 Yes, that's a helpful tip that I would give you 0:09:52.200 --> 0:09:54.760 if you're considering doing your own podcast. Make sure to 0:09:54.840 --> 0:09:56.240 use plenty of puns. 0:09:56.040 --> 0:10:00.640 Right, yeah, because Lord knows everyone loves puns. Oh yeah, 0:10:00.720 --> 0:10:05.320 Josh and Chuck are incredibly fond of puns. Yes, they 0:10:05.400 --> 0:10:07.000 like puns the way I like pie. 0:10:08.840 --> 0:10:10.960 You must hate pie a lot more than I thought 0:10:11.000 --> 0:10:11.320 you did. 0:10:12.800 --> 0:10:15.679 Hey, it's Jonathan from twenty twenty four. So when we 0:10:15.760 --> 0:10:18.160 recorded this episode back in two thousand and nine. It 0:10:18.240 --> 0:10:21.640 was before we had monetized podcasting, so there were no 0:10:21.720 --> 0:10:24.880 ad breaks built into the episode. That's why I'm here 0:10:25.040 --> 0:10:26.960 to let you know. We're gonna listen to a couple 0:10:27.000 --> 0:10:38.400 of ads and we'll be right back. So let's talk 0:10:38.400 --> 0:10:41.640 a little bit about the equipment and software that we use. 0:10:41.840 --> 0:10:44.479 Okay, all right, So what do you want to start with? Microphones? 0:10:44.559 --> 0:10:47.920 Yeah, we'll talk about the mic So we were asking 0:10:48.200 --> 0:10:51.800 our producers about the microphones. Because you may find this 0:10:51.880 --> 0:10:54.240 hard to believe, but even though we are the tech 0:10:54.280 --> 0:10:57.120 writer and editor of howstuffarce dot com, we do not 0:10:57.360 --> 0:11:01.240 have a database filled with every single piece of equipment 0:11:01.280 --> 0:11:02.800 that is in our office. 0:11:03.320 --> 0:11:07.000 Yeah, that's that's true, and you know, sort of bridging 0:11:07.000 --> 0:11:10.960 the gap between this history of tech stuff and the equipment. 0:11:12.000 --> 0:11:12.400 There are. 0:11:13.120 --> 0:11:15.959 One of the nice things about us getting into podcasting 0:11:15.960 --> 0:11:18.199 in the first place was we already had a studio 0:11:18.280 --> 0:11:21.240 available to us because there were other projects that we 0:11:21.360 --> 0:11:23.280 used a lot of this equipment for. We already had, 0:11:24.080 --> 0:11:27.640 you know, high end video equipment and audio equipment and 0:11:27.720 --> 0:11:31.200 people who knew how to use it. So you know, 0:11:31.440 --> 0:11:34.720 you don't necessarily this is not necessarily the setup we 0:11:34.760 --> 0:11:35.760 already had some of the stuff. 0:11:35.840 --> 0:11:38.040 Yeah, we we repurposed a lot of stuff that we 0:11:38.080 --> 0:11:42.440 had for other projects, specifically for podcasting. We are not 0:11:42.559 --> 0:11:45.200 saying that you need to go out and purchase similar 0:11:45.960 --> 0:11:48.880 equipment because for one thing, it's probably out of a 0:11:48.880 --> 0:11:51.719 lot of people's price range, none of my price range. Yeah, 0:11:51.720 --> 0:11:52.960 it's definitely on a mind if I were to do 0:11:53.000 --> 0:11:55.480 this on my own. But this is people have asked 0:11:55.520 --> 0:11:57.560 us what we used, so I thought we would go 0:11:57.559 --> 0:12:00.880 ahead and explain. So for our microphones, we use akgs 0:12:01.280 --> 0:12:05.559 and they are C two thousand B microphones. We were 0:12:05.559 --> 0:12:08.760 told by mister Matt Frederick that they are not omnidirectional, 0:12:08.800 --> 0:12:11.560 despite the fact that they totally look like omnidirectional microphones. 0:12:12.320 --> 0:12:15.199 But they're not. They're directional. They just have a wide 0:12:15.440 --> 0:12:18.640 angle or wide cone that you can speak into, which 0:12:18.640 --> 0:12:22.000 is a good thing because occasionally we'll, you know, lounge 0:12:22.320 --> 0:12:25.239 in a weird way and just talk toward the microphone 0:12:25.240 --> 0:12:27.040 and it still seems to pick us up pretty well. 0:12:27.280 --> 0:12:29.680 Yeah, we also have a nice pop filter in front 0:12:29.679 --> 0:12:30.080 of itself. 0:12:30.160 --> 0:12:32.880 Yes, we do use pop filters because we don't want 0:12:32.920 --> 0:12:37.959 to pump our pes. Nice. Yeah, we also have as 0:12:38.000 --> 0:12:40.600 our pre amp. You don't necessarily have to have a 0:12:40.600 --> 0:12:42.920 preamp if you've got a microphone that plugs directly into 0:12:42.920 --> 0:12:45.920 say a USB port, but we aren't using that. We're 0:12:46.000 --> 0:12:49.360 using a pre amp, the Applied Research and Technology pre amp, 0:12:50.320 --> 0:12:52.600 and we have one of those per input. We have 0:12:52.640 --> 0:12:56.199 got three of the preamps because we do have three inputs, 0:12:56.200 --> 0:13:00.000 although we have not actually used the third one yet. Yeah, 0:13:00.600 --> 0:13:04.280 Stuff you should know has used it for their healthcare series. 0:13:04.320 --> 0:13:07.240 They had Molly in and she got to she set 0:13:07.280 --> 0:13:11.040 in and joined Josh and Chuckers as we like to 0:13:11.080 --> 0:13:15.120 call him, or sometimes listeners like to call me Chuckers 0:13:15.640 --> 0:13:18.120 when they forget that my name's Jonathan. 0:13:19.679 --> 0:13:21.480 Well you know Jonathan sounds like Chuck. 0:13:21.679 --> 0:13:24.040 Yeah. We haven't figured out, by the way, which one 0:13:24.080 --> 0:13:27.680 of us should be more offended, Chuck should be more offended, 0:13:27.720 --> 0:13:29.800 or if I should. Neither of us are really offended, 0:13:29.800 --> 0:13:32.280 because you know, Chuck's a cool guy and yeah, and 0:13:32.320 --> 0:13:36.640 I'm not on his radar. So now, as for as 0:13:36.679 --> 0:13:41.120 for the software we use, we're using uh Final Cut, right, Yeah, 0:13:41.200 --> 0:13:44.200 so that's the that's the audio software we're using. We 0:13:44.240 --> 0:13:47.720 record with soundtrack, which is part of that suite, and 0:13:47.760 --> 0:13:51.520 then for all of our sound effects whenever we do soundscaping. 0:13:51.720 --> 0:13:54.679 Liz pulls that from the suite as well. 0:13:55.280 --> 0:13:58.320 Yeah, we are using a Macintosh computer to do this, 0:13:58.480 --> 0:14:02.559 but you there are software programs for Windows and Linux 0:14:02.600 --> 0:14:05.240 both that can can do the same kinds of things, 0:14:05.559 --> 0:14:06.560 specially so and. 0:14:06.840 --> 0:14:09.320 Matt Frederick also wanted to me to point out that 0:14:09.520 --> 0:14:11.840 his favorite piece of equipment that we have. We're not 0:14:11.920 --> 0:14:14.000 using it right now, but his favorite piece of equipment 0:14:14.040 --> 0:14:17.400 is called the Blue Icicle and you can plug and 0:14:17.440 --> 0:14:20.680 excel our microphone into this. It converts it to USB 0:14:20.960 --> 0:14:23.600 and it actually has a volume control on the device itself, 0:14:23.640 --> 0:14:27.320 so you can help control that the levels before it 0:14:27.360 --> 0:14:29.320 ever reaches your computer. Yeah. 0:14:29.400 --> 0:14:32.320 Yeah, then the name of the company is Blue and 0:14:32.360 --> 0:14:33.560 it is in Icicle. 0:14:33.800 --> 0:14:38.120 Yes, so, but he wanted specifically for us to point 0:14:38.120 --> 0:14:41.080 that out. So that's that's our setup. But here's the thing. Now, 0:14:41.080 --> 0:14:43.440 we're going to get into some podcasting tips, and one 0:14:43.480 --> 0:14:47.240 of the tips I would give people is don't sweat 0:14:47.440 --> 0:14:53.840 the equipment and software that much. Yes, that's absolutely not 0:14:53.960 --> 0:14:56.880 necessarily the that that should not be your number one 0:14:56.920 --> 0:15:01.640 concern because if you're concerned with having the most technologically 0:15:01.680 --> 0:15:06.320 advanced equipment and the most the software with the most features. 0:15:07.200 --> 0:15:09.680 You might have a podcast that sounds really good, but 0:15:09.720 --> 0:15:12.800 that that's not enough for listeners to tune into you 0:15:12.880 --> 0:15:13.640 week after week. 0:15:14.320 --> 0:15:17.360 Yeah, I mean it's it's uh, as long as you 0:15:17.400 --> 0:15:22.440 have a quiet room, you know, something preferably without hard floors, 0:15:22.480 --> 0:15:23.720 and yeah, something. 0:15:23.560 --> 0:15:24.880 Where you're not echo. 0:15:25.320 --> 0:15:27.080 Yeah, I mean you might. 0:15:27.280 --> 0:15:30.680 You might even try out a couple of different settings, 0:15:31.840 --> 0:15:34.320 especially if you have a laptop computer and something that 0:15:34.360 --> 0:15:37.280 you know, something that simply plugs into your your machine 0:15:37.440 --> 0:15:39.440 should be fairly easy for you to test a couple 0:15:39.440 --> 0:15:41.960 different environments and see what sounds good to you. 0:15:42.280 --> 0:15:45.160 Yeah, you can. I would suggest testing up several different 0:15:45.280 --> 0:15:48.200 kinds of microphones maybe, Like there's some headsets that actually 0:15:48.320 --> 0:15:51.360 aren't that bad. They actually provide a very decent sound. 0:15:52.040 --> 0:15:55.440 At home, I use a snowball mic which works really 0:15:55.480 --> 0:15:57.600 well for me. It's no omnidirectional mic, and it actually 0:15:57.720 --> 0:15:59.640 I like it a lot. But I use that with 0:15:59.680 --> 0:16:02.120 my mat Yeah, and then a lot of you know, 0:16:02.920 --> 0:16:08.560 I would probably recommend against using a native microphone on 0:16:08.640 --> 0:16:11.480 a computer. I mean, some of them can pick up 0:16:11.520 --> 0:16:14.040 some pretty well, but most of them you're not going 0:16:14.120 --> 0:16:16.760 to get the best sound quality out of those. And 0:16:17.120 --> 0:16:19.720 that's one thing I would say is getting an independent 0:16:19.800 --> 0:16:22.880 microphone is probably a good purchase, a good investment. 0:16:23.480 --> 0:16:29.800 Yeah, I think that that's sort of a very basic necessity. Yeah, unfortunately. Yeah, 0:16:29.840 --> 0:16:32.600 but you don't have to fork over, you know, hundreds 0:16:32.600 --> 0:16:34.800 of dollars to do that. In fact, you can even 0:16:34.800 --> 0:16:39.120 get a good XLR for less than a hundred dollars 0:16:39.160 --> 0:16:41.240 really or maybe just over right. 0:16:41.440 --> 0:16:43.080 You would just need to have the equipment to plug 0:16:43.120 --> 0:16:47.920 it into exactly, so perhaps an icicle or a pre app. 0:16:48.400 --> 0:16:50.600 Or a a you know, an expensive board. 0:16:50.640 --> 0:16:52.200 It depends on how many inputs you're going to want 0:16:52.200 --> 0:16:54.800 to use, too, because if you are, if you're going 0:16:54.880 --> 0:16:58.080 to want to have, say, get your your friends together 0:16:58.160 --> 0:17:00.360 and do a podcast with a bunch of people, you're 0:17:00.360 --> 0:17:04.480 gonna need something to handle the different channels. Assuming you're 0:17:04.480 --> 0:17:06.639 not all going to speak into one mic. Uh, it 0:17:06.680 --> 0:17:08.240 could be a little cozy quarters there. 0:17:08.400 --> 0:17:10.840 Yeah. So let's talk a little bit about some other 0:17:11.080 --> 0:17:14.040 stuff like uh, post production. OK, I just said, oh 0:17:14.119 --> 0:17:17.280 right there, that was an uh, yes, I heard the uh. Now, 0:17:17.359 --> 0:17:22.160 some podcasters would want to go in and take out 0:17:22.200 --> 0:17:26.240 all the uzz ums, pauses, things like that, in order 0:17:26.280 --> 0:17:29.000 to make a podcast sound more smooth and professional. 0:17:29.119 --> 0:17:30.520 That would be really time consuming. 0:17:30.760 --> 0:17:34.520 It takes so much time that that can take. Okay, 0:17:35.160 --> 0:17:38.080 imagine a thirty minute long podcast and then you go 0:17:38.200 --> 0:17:41.080 with yes and now you're going to you're gonna take 0:17:41.119 --> 0:17:44.360 I keep doing. It will take you hours to get 0:17:44.400 --> 0:17:49.439 the sounds of Palette screaming out of your podcast because 0:17:49.440 --> 0:17:55.000 you're strangling him repeatedly throughout the Yeah. So, concerning yourself 0:17:55.000 --> 0:17:58.359 with this, I think taking out really really bad stuff, 0:17:58.400 --> 0:18:01.320 like stuff where it just it bringing the recording to 0:18:01.400 --> 0:18:06.000 us halt, that's fine. But I wouldn't worry about any 0:18:06.040 --> 0:18:08.720 of the small things because it gives you your podcast 0:18:08.760 --> 0:18:12.280 a little character. People really talk like that. It's not 0:18:12.520 --> 0:18:15.520 something to be ashamed of. Yeah, and unless you're like 0:18:15.560 --> 0:18:20.040 some sort of professional voiceover actor or radio personality, you 0:18:20.080 --> 0:18:23.840 probably haven't trained yourself to take that that stuff out 0:18:23.880 --> 0:18:26.800 of your speech. I haven't, and I'm doing this as 0:18:26.880 --> 0:18:29.760 part of my job. So that's all well and good. 0:18:29.880 --> 0:18:35.480 However, nice radio now, Yeah, I think one of the 0:18:35.520 --> 0:18:37.399 problems with that is, I mean, you sort of have 0:18:37.440 --> 0:18:38.800 to think about what you're going to do here. But 0:18:39.200 --> 0:18:40.840 I think that also makes it sound really flat. 0:18:41.000 --> 0:18:41.600 Yeah. 0:18:41.640 --> 0:18:43.760 I mean, if you were reading off a script, you 0:18:43.760 --> 0:18:46.520 don't have any ums or us it just it comes off. 0:18:46.359 --> 0:18:49.600 As really really flat. Yeah, it doesn't. It's not very 0:18:49.600 --> 0:18:52.800 inviting to the listener necessarily. Uh So, let's talk a 0:18:52.840 --> 0:18:55.240 little bit more about some other tips. One of the 0:18:55.240 --> 0:18:57.320 big tips I would I would give anyone who's getting 0:18:57.320 --> 0:19:01.919 into podcasts is really, what's the purpose of your podcast? 0:19:02.080 --> 0:19:04.920 To find that, figure out why you want you know, 0:19:05.440 --> 0:19:07.159 why do you want a podcast? What is it that 0:19:07.240 --> 0:19:10.760 you want to say? Is there a specific topic or 0:19:11.560 --> 0:19:15.240 a category of information that you really want to talk about. 0:19:15.280 --> 0:19:17.560 Is there a specific game that you want to do 0:19:17.560 --> 0:19:20.320 a podcast about, or a specific television show or genre. 0:19:21.280 --> 0:19:26.280 Don't you know? Doing a podcast about practically anything sounds 0:19:26.320 --> 0:19:29.320 like it's very liberating, but it actually ends up being 0:19:29.520 --> 0:19:33.280 really frustrating and difficult to pull off. Well. It also 0:19:33.480 --> 0:19:37.240 is hard to get an audience because someone may have 0:19:37.560 --> 0:19:40.000 a real interest in one topic, but your next topic 0:19:40.440 --> 0:19:43.360 doesn't interest them at all because it's not at all 0:19:43.400 --> 0:19:45.879 related to the first one. It's hard to build an 0:19:45.880 --> 0:19:46.640 audience that way. 0:19:47.400 --> 0:19:48.080 And one thing you. 0:19:48.040 --> 0:19:53.000 Can consider too is limiting yourself more at the beginning, 0:19:53.240 --> 0:19:55.680 because you can you can always change. You think back 0:19:55.720 --> 0:19:57.679 to the early days of tech stuff, we had to 0:19:58.480 --> 0:20:01.080 we had to talk about a specific article. So we 0:20:01.119 --> 0:20:02.960 would look on the site for something that we wanted 0:20:03.000 --> 0:20:05.919 to talk about and then okay, we got a topic, 0:20:06.200 --> 0:20:09.359 a specific topic, and we you know, would riff on 0:20:09.400 --> 0:20:13.199 that for five or ten minutes. Well, now, one of 0:20:13.200 --> 0:20:15.280 the things that Jonathan and I like and I like 0:20:15.320 --> 0:20:17.840