Wonderosity

I love learning and meeting new people through interviews. One of the things that excited me most about podcasting when I first got into it is that I realized I now had an ‘excuse’ to call anybody or stop them on the street and ask them the questions that I always am full of. However, recently, I’ve been having the opposite problem –podcasting has become somewhat of an obstacle to my learning and meeting new people. I realized this, and the following reasons why, a few days ago:

1. I’m concerned that conversational qualities that are very important to me, honesty and authenticity, are effected when one knows they are being recorded and that that conversation will likely ‘go public’. Does ‘the spirit’ like to be nailed down?
2. I’m concerned that ’something’ might go wrong in the recording process and I will lose it all ( or have a sucky skype-quality), to the frustration of both myself and the interviewee.
3. My interviews tend to be long -1 to 2 hours -and the editing process takes a hella long time. Then there is the whole process of uploading, creating the podcast blog feed, promoting the show, etc. I think I have begun to dread the process somewhat, and so I postpone doing the interview.

Add the above three problems together and it helps me to understand (besides the recent change of heart and interest and decision to do a new show) why I haven’t done a podcast for over a month.

I can see some technical changes helping me to get over #2.
However, unless I can find someone to help with editing (#3), that problem and the concern of #1 still persist.

Any thoughts?

(Note: My copy says “free for personal use”, site recently seems to say otherwise -unclear?)

Have you ever found yourself sitting in front of a screen for hours, almost as if your eyes and brain are addicted to some kind of screen candy that they are being fed through its glow? Part of you knows you should take a break, wants to take a break, and even realizes you would be more productive and creative if you just turned away and took a break or got out the old pencil and pen. Yet you still don’t do it. You’re hungry, your thirsty, you even have to take a friggin leak –but you push it till its unbearable (I can’t recall soiling my pants, but I wouldn’t put it past me.) As crazy as it might sound to some of you, I’ve talked to a number of others who also struggle with this same ’screen addiction’ phenomena. (On a sidenote, there actually have been studies done that show that the ‘alpha state‘ your brain is in while in front of a screen is addictive.) I’ve always found it strange that I will remain glued to the screen trying to accomplish things that I KNOW I could do better if I just turned away and did some creative thinking on my own.

Last year I found this very helpful, simple and free app called “Break Reminder” that actually ‘forces’ a breaks upon you by blanking out the screen and locking up your keyboard for various pre-set periods of time. You can customize the frequency of “Micropauses” (usually about 10-30 seconds, to give your eyes and brain a rest) and actual longer “Breaks” (whatever you like, I have it set for 10 minutes every couple of hours.) Its nothing splab, and I’m sure there are ways it could be improved (please do), but its simplicity is part of its beauty. A friend of mine from Microsoft just wrote and said “Came across your recommendation for Break Reminder software today, and downloaded it right away. It’s great! Just what I needed. Thanks!” So, give yourself a break and download this free app ASAP. Tweak it until it fits your rhythm -I think you will find yourself a little less strained and a little more productive. If so, this blog was already worth starting! (:

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Though its old news by now (hey, I just started this blog!), I recently attended the Podcast and Portable Media Expo (PPME) in Ontario, CA. In short, I had a great time meeting some of my favorite podcast hosts, networking and partying with other podcasters, learning how to put together a better show, and, most importantly, getting re-energized about the whole heart (at least for us non-monetizing hobbyist types) of podcasting, which I had recently lost. (It was sitting below my mirror)

Some Highlights:

• The Free T-shirts from Audible.com’s booth that said “I’m Recording This“
• Dave Slusher (Evil Genius Chronicles) talking about returning to the heart/passion/fun of podcasting.
• Seeing so many friends from the Seattle Podcasting Network there.
• Meeting Steve Eli, host and producer of Escapepod, currently my favorite podcast.
• My pal Betty, the GPS that came with flight package’s Subaru Rental, who guided me to a long lost friend’s house in Pomona (”Turn right idiot”)
• Getting more drunk than I had in a long time at the Libsyn/Kiptronic/IODA party, and some blitzed/fun talks with Koz Farina, creator of BlugHUD, and co-owner of Podcast.com
• “When we try to be someone else, we kill our natural voice.” “Its all about losing artifice.” -David Lawrence
• “We speak 14,000 words a day on average. We hear 1.2 million words a day on average…Use your voice” -David Lawrence. (I have a hard time believing the 1.2 mil stat…could that be right? Did I ‘hear’ him right? And I must say that although I’ve quoted him twice, I really wasn’t crazy about the guy’s personality -he seemed pretty arrogant.)
• Evo & Eli’s tips on how to save time and be more efficient with producing a podcast:
  • podcast what you know
  • budget time needed for your show, including pre and post production
  • invest in time-saving tools (like this free offline blog editor I’m using now –Qumana)
  • ‘practically live’ approach to recording
  • spend money on a mic before anything else
  • engage and cultivate your audience
  • leverage forms to spread the word (
  • network with other podcasters -always mention your show
• Some great ‘how to start consulting as a podcaster’ tips from Kris at Palegroove, whose been doing it with the big boys for a while now.
• From other sessions: Learning about Limiters, Audacity’s envelope tool, plus some helpful some interviewing tips (set rules/expectations beforehand),
• Meeting the really nice crew from Gimp.Tv -I hope their new ventures go exceedingly well

Here are some pictures from the expo:

Enjoy!

Tags: PPME; Podcast & Portable Media Expo; Geeking Out Loud; Wonderosity, audible.com, Seattle Podcasting Network, Escapepod, Wingin it, Qumana, Palegroove, Audacity, Gimp.tv, Evil Genius Chronicles

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(From original “GeekingOutLoud.com” site)

“Next please.” “Hello, my name is Leif Hansen and I’m a geekaholic.” Have been for about 25 years. Throughout those years, technology, particularly computers and the net, has been something I’ve taken great pleasure in and yet deeply struggled with -more on that confession later. I’ve been involved in the tech industry off and on since 1993, primarily as a one-on-one “computer coach”, but also consulting with companies ranging from RealNetworks to various non-profits like my most recent social-media consulting with Interfaith Youth Corps. I’m involved in other geeky projects as well, like my most recent passion -podcasting. Portals to all of the projects in my Geekdom can be found at www.wonderosity.com (Ad Voice: “Where curiosity turns to wonder…”)It seems like a good idea to state straight up why I thought I’d start this blog:

1. I love to research, explore and test out new technology. Why not share what I’m learning with others? I primarily tend to test out information and communication software (usually free), but you never know what you might find here. There are many blogs with this emphasis, so I think the following two ‘blogoals’ will make Geeking Out Loud a little more unique. Category = Tech Reviews
2. By staying true to my struggle between technophelia and neo-luddism, friends and clients have helped me to realize that I’ve gained a fair amount of knowledge and *some* wisdom about using technology. I’d like to be able to freely share some of those helpful tech-tips with others (the most powerful tips are ones that I am actually living out, not just theorizing about.) The idea here is technological empowerment in both personal productivity and wise technological choices that can help us to be better stewards of our time, energy, relationships and planet. Category = Tech Tips.
3. Lastly, I’m a pretty honest and transparent person. I figured that if I journaled some of my thoughts and struggles publicly, others might be able to relate, feel a little less lonely, and perhaps even find some help. Unintentionally, this has already naturally happened quite a bit in the past, like when I shared about ’screen addiction’ on a Pocket PC forum, or when I talked about it during a podcast. So, I hope my public struggling comes to help some of you as well. If not, at least it will still be an opportunity for me to do some good thinking about technology and how to best use it. Category = SkepTech

A little more on the aforementioned confessions of struggling with technology: Its amazing, if and when you think about it, how much has changed in our culture in the past 10 years (such a *tiny* piece of human history!) Yet imagine daily life today without something like the net! We have become radically dependent both personally and societally on technology -from the simple morning alarm that wakes us to the ipod-synchronized podcast story that lulls us to sleep. The state of technology’s present primacy in human life is where most of my concerns have arisen: Can technology maintain such a dominant role without eroding core aspects of what it means to be human? I won’t explore that question more now, but if your curiosity or conscience is feeling a tug, then check out my paper “The Ring, The Stone & The Pool: Exploring nature of technology through the magic within Tolkien’s myth” and it’s bibliography, containing authors like Jacques Ellul, JRR Tolkien, Neil Postman, and Wendel Berry –each of whom has profoundly effected my thinking. However, I must add that I read Steve Johnson’s “Everything Bad is good for you:How Today’s Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter” this summer and it challenged and changed some of my beliefs enough to make we wonder how many of my other technological concerns are misfounded: perhaps we are simply in a technological adolescence. If so, I hope that my geeking out loud can play a small part in helping us to grow up, while, of course, having fun in the process.

In this last Bleeding Purple show, I share some changes happening in my personal life as well as with Bleeding Purple (soon to be transmogrified into “Wonderosity“.)

I’ll let this episode explain why I am transforming BP into a new show, but since this is the last ‘official’ Bleeding Purple show, I want to offer a BIG THANK YOU to each of you who have given your ear to my personal musings, interviews and audio experimentations. I’ve been honored by all of the emails of encouragement and praise, the stories of your connecting with content in the show, and the new friendships I’ve made with a quite a diverse group of purple people.

I’ve found that connecting with ‘my audience’ has been one of the biggest blessings and biggest curses of podcasting. The blessings are obvious, the curses for me have been: feeling anxious and guilty when shows are delayed; becoming too obsessed with ’stats’ and numbers; flirting with ‘monetizing’ the show; worrying too much if people will like the show, like me, etc. So my hope is that I can keep my new show in the spirit I started BP –the fun, the passion, the following my curiosity, and the sheer geekiness of it all. So if you ever sense I’m not having fun with it –please feel free to verbally kick my arse.

For those of you subscribed to the Bleeding Purple Podcast, after I research the pros/cons of it, I will either redirect this feed automatically to the new show, or just do a quick announcement on the BP feed –so stay subscribed for at least another few weeks and/or check back here again soon. The most current info about me should always be found at www.wonderosity.com

Thanks, and I look forward to hearing from you soon!
-Leif

Tags: wonderosity, bleeding purple podcast, leif hansen,