If I had the resources (both financial and time) to make this podcast whenever I saw fit I feel like I could have a new show out every day. I love this stuff that much. But that’s not realistic on a number of levels.

I want to have these people back on my show but I feel steadfast in my decision to keep a new guest each week for the proper show – hence the PSAs. I have released a few “Public Service Announcements” as a way to bring on repeat guests but not as an “official” podcast. When there is something worth discussing, worth promoting, worth listening to, that’s where these shorts are supposed to fit in. It’s a loophole in my own system, as convoluted as that sounds.

My idea is to officially make these PSAs a recurring contribution of my podcast. I’m thinking once a month I bring back a guest from the “archives” to revisit old topics and branch off into new ones. Some of these conversations may only last 25-30 minutes. Others may last well over an hour. I want to maintain the consistency of the proper podcast episodes while allowing for flexibility for the one-off conversations that the PSAs will represent.

I think the once-a-month nature of the PSA will keep things fresh, but not too demanding that I risk burning out on the whole podcasting medium. I think this is a happy medium to the options of Do Nothing or Do Too Much.

My question to you, dear reader (and hopefully dear podcasting listener) is: Is this something that you would be interested in listening to? I know that my primary audiences are mutually exclusive – gamers and people with diabetes – and there’s nothing I can do about that. But generally speaking, is a little more Just Talking something you would be interested in?

Me.

Dayle has been kind enough to “host” Episode 100 and I will get to tell my tales of gaming, diabetes, podcasting and whatever else comes up. And to that “whatever else”, I am putting this PSA out here to get some input from all of you. If you have any questions you would like answered or topics discussed from my point of view, here is your golden opportunity. If you have a question you want to ask or a topic you’d love my input or opinion on send them in to askchris@justtalkingpodcast.com and they will find their way into the podcast. As always, your contiued support of this adventure is most appreciated.

Run Time – 2:59

Send your questions to askchris@justtalkingpodcast.com.

Download the MP3 — Subscribe on iTunes

Subscribe on Zune Marketplace — Subscribe to the RSS Feed

I feel like I’ve hit a real stride in my podcasting over the past few months of Just Talking. Converstations have flowed quite well, almost too well. I’ve had a lot of trouble finding interlude points in each episode. My guests are carrying more and more notoriety with regards to the fields that they work in. I know that some of these conversations leave behind my core audience but I hope that you find some part of each podcast episode informative or entertaining. Trying to make a podcast with two distinct audiences is not an easy task. Life would certainly be much easier if Just Talking was exclusively dedicated to Video Games or Diabetes but my life is not that simple and I don’t think my podcast – an extension of me – should be that simple either.

So here it is.

I’m about to publish Episode 82 of Just Talking. 82 consecutive weeks of (hopefully) insightful and entertaining conversations with (most of the time) total strangers up until the beginning of our Skype call. I am quite proud of the results so far and where my podcasting has taken me. The future continues to look bright but I need a little help.

At the end of every episode I mention that Just Talking is available on iTunes and the Zune Marketplace. I also remind listeners that they can subscribe there and, if you’ve got the time, leave a review of the podcast. While I don’t know exactly how all this works, I know that reviews (especially the positive ones) do good things for promotional purposes. More reviews (hopefully positive) mean more notice in iTunes. Because there are more reviews, people will trust what I have to offer, particularly if the reviews continue to flow in instead of in a sudden surge over a particular time period.

I need your help to spread the word. I want my podcast to reach a larger audience. I know that 99% of this growth effort has to come from me and I’m working on that, but I’m hoping that you, my eager-readers and eager-listeners can fill the void of that final 1%. So…

If you are a fan of my podcast but haven’t subscribed on iTunes, on the Zune Marketplace or to the regular RSS feed, I’m providing links below for you. If you haven’t left a review for my show on iTunes or within the Zune Marketplace, Please consider taking a few minutes to leave a review of my show. Every comment helps.

Subscribe to the RSS Feed – Subscribe on iTunes – Subscribe on Zune Marketplace

Finally, if you ever have anything to say to me about the show – for example, “Chris, please stop asking for handouts” – you can send your feedback to feedback@justtalkingpodcast.com.

I truly appreciate each and every one of you for reading this and listening to my show. I know asking for an hour of your time is a lot. We all lead very hectic lives and I don’t take any of this for granted. No one has to listen to my podcast. Quite frankly, I would still be doing this stuff even if everyone stopped.

I’m having way too much fun with all of this.

Also, Sunday is Mother’s Day. I’ll consider something else to mark the occasion, but for now I’m reposting the link to Episode 45 of my podcast featuring my parents. It was a good one.

Download the MP3 [ Run Time - 1:02:38 ]

First some perspective on where I started. (From a post on October 10, 2009)

The key word here is more, but not for the sake of greed or gluttony but because there is more out there. There is more to me than Diabetes or Video Games. There is more to you than what you publicly promote. Most of my readers have or deal with Diabetes but I know that there is far more to them than this disease. I’ve read their blogs, I know that there is more to all of them. I’m on a podcast with a bunch of gamers, but I know that Video Games are not our only interests and it’s that other that intrigues me.

My hope with this podcast is that I get to explore that other, that more, with whomever decides to join me on the recording. Sure the conversation might start with the common bond of Hokie Pride, Diabetes, Video Games or whatever. But it’s the tangent that excites me. It’s the distraction that I hope will make for an interesting conversation. It’s the quick aside that I hope will bring you and your friends back for each new podcast I publish.

This might be the start of something special.

Fifty episodes later, I think I have been very successful in finding that fabled “other”. It hasn’t been easy week in and week out trying to stay motivated. Admittedly I didn’t think I was going to be able to keep up with the weekly deadline I had placed on myself. Part of this fear was the reception my podcast would or wouldn’t receive. Part of this fear was wondering if people I’ve never met, or only know me as “SugarFree” or “@iam_spartacus” would want to spend an hour talking to me about themselves. My podcast is not an interrogation, but it’s not exactly an interview either. The goal is to have a casual conversation that tends to focus on my guest and just happens to be recorded over Skype. I think I’m keeping up my end of the deal.

I’d like to think that I had a master plan from the beginning but in all honesty the development of this podcast has been the most dynamic and fluid creative experience of my life. I come into each podcast with no more than 5 bullet points of potential conversation points and I accept where ever the conversation goes from there. As soon as a podcast was published I immediately started brainstorming who my next guest would be. Often I wouldn’t have someone confirmed until an hour before recording. But I’ve delivered each week since the beginning and I see no signs of stopping. This is so much fun, I can’t stop at 50, can I?

Technically 100 isn’t out of reach, but I can’t get distracted by that milestone just yet. I have to worry about Episode 51. One game at a time and all that jazz.

So 50 (or 51) episodes on my own, plus my contributions to the Post Game Report and the occasional appearance on other podcasts later I figure I’ve earned the right for my own Top 5 list of things I’ve learned since I started this podcast (almost) a year ago.

1. Be Consistent. If you say your show is going to be out every Tuesday night, it better be out every Tuesday night. If you want to build a relationship with your listeners, you have to establish trust. They need to trust that you will deliver on your word.

2. Have Fun. If you are podcasting for anyone other than yourself, STOP. I do this each week because first and foremost, I enjoy podcasting. Thankfully this hasn’t started to feel like a job, but if it did I know I need to take a serious look at my approach and figure out where I went wrong.

3. Levelator. Most people I know don’t have a sound-proof studio and professional equipment to make their podcast. For those of us living in the real world, audio isn’t perfect in its raw form. Levelator does all of the work for you and will ensure, if nothing else, everyone on the podcast can be heard. Making the conversation worth hearing is a separate issue.

4. Don’t look at the stats. Yes, being heard is part of the point, but if you are too focused on the numbers instead of the personalities you will lose sight of the fun. I don’t have the same audience as Ricky Gervais or Bill Simmons and that’s fine with me. As long as the people that do listen, no matter how few, enjoy what I have to offer then I consider that mission accomplished.

5. Don’t be afraid of change. If you aren’t evolving or at least thinking about how you can improve your content, you will be left behind. I’m not saying that a radical shift in your approach each month is necessary, but be willing to accept feedback and constructive criticism and apply it as soon as possible.

Fun Fact. I didn’t include the “Run Time” of my podcast in the shownotes until I received an email suggesting it a few episodes in. It seems natural now, but at the time it never crossed my mind. Sometimes it’s little things like that you have to be prepared for, or maybe there is a big shift in your horizon. Don’t be afraid to embrace it.

I’m not an authority on podcasting. I’ve made it where I am (wherever that is) thanks to the support from the people I lean on for advice and the guests that were brave enough to spend some time talking with me. To those of you that were part of the first fifty, thank you. To those of you that have been faithful listeners since The Pilot, thank you. To the kind messages on Twitter, Facebook, Xbox Live, to the emailers….to everyone:

Thank you.

Figure 1. Levelator

The first thing I do is get my audio ready for editing (Figure 1 – Above). Recording with Pamela over Skype generates a .wav file. I use Levelator to balance out the audio before I begin to edit the podcast. When I record, my audio comes in louder on the raw file compared to everyone else on the podcast. Levelator does all of the heavy lifting and produces a file with audio levels that are consistent throughout the podcast. There will always be an occasional spot that might require some manual tweaking, but I always put my audio files through Levelator before doing any additional work.

For Just Talking, I know the podcast will consist of 3 specific files: the intro, the interlude/outro, and the main podcast. To start, I add each file to a new project in Audacity. A simple click and drag will do the trick. In the beginning, this is what the project will look like (Figure 2 – Below).

Figure 2. Files Added

The rest of this post will walk you through my particular style of editing. I have a vision of what my podcast should sound like in its final form and this post will show you how I get from (A) to .mp3.

Figure 3. Intro

The first order of business is the intro (Figure 3 – Above). I let the music run for 30 seconds before I begin to fade it out. My voice doesn’t come in for another 2-3 seconds after the fade starts. The other point of interest is the silence before the podcast begins. To ensure a smooth transition immediately to audio, there needs to be a kind of “warm up” period before things get going. without that silence the first couple of seconds of audio will be lost. It took me a month of editing Post Game Report before I realized what was going on. Typically that’s where the host will wait for a few seconds of silence before things get going. If needed I will generate a quick 2 seconds of silence before I get going.

Once the intro is synced up to my liking I move forward with the rest of the podcast. Unnecessary silences are removed, bleeps are added where necessary and I try to find a good spot for a quick break and add a brief interlude to the podcast. While the actual recording of Just Talking is a continuous conversation, I made the decision early on to break up the podcast into pieces based on my perception of the conversation. If there was a major topic change anywhere from 13 to 18 minutes after the intro or most recent interlude then I will find a spot and put in a quick break. The process for adding an interlude, or any other kind of audio break, is not particularly complicated (Figure 4 – Below).

Figure 4. Interlude

1. Find the exact spot in the audio you want to break.
2. Generate silence for the preferred length. For my interludes i use 12 seconds of silence
3. Isolate the audio for the interlude that will surround the silence. The audio needs to be longer than the silence, obviously. For my podcast I use 20 second of audio
4. Manually fade in and out of each side of the audio. immediately jumping to music while someone is finishing or starting a sentence does not sound very good.

If you need to bleep some audio, the process is similar to adding silence for an interlude (Figure 5 – Below).

Figure 5. Bleep

1. First find the audio that you want to censor. Depending on how you want the final product to sound you can bleep out the whole word, or if you have good timing just part of it. It’s your call. Personally I will bleep out anything you wouldn’t hear on The Daily Show. They are a bit liberal with what Jon Stewart can say, but there is a pretty solid consensus on what still cannot be said on television.
2. Once you have the bleep-able portion selected, you want to generate a tone. I use a sine wave with an amplitude of 0.5. We don’t want to injure the ears of the listeners.
3. Audacity will then generate the tone for the selected length. Magic.

The outro is similar to the process for the intro. I find the exact point that the podcast will end (before any post show banter) and will fade the audio in up until that point. Overall the levels are lower on the outro music so any post show talk is still clearly heard (Figure 6 – Below).

Figure 6. Outro

When everything is finished, your final podcast project timeline might look something like this (Figure 7 – Below):

Figure 7. Final Timeline

The next step is generating the final .mp3 file. If you are using audacity, you will need the LAME MP3 Encoder on your computer. Follow these instructions if you do not know what I’m talking about. Before configuring the .mp3, you should format the ID3 tags for your podcast. ID3 tags help with the consistency of your audio files. I have a template saved so with each new file I only have to update the show’s title and episode number. The rest is already taken care of. Along with metadata, I have a specific naming convention for each file, but that isn’t a necessity for you. The final format of the file, however, is key. I will let you determine the what quality is right for you, simply put: the higher the quality, the better the sound, but the larger the file. If your podcast hosting service has monthly restrictions on data uploads, you will have to figure out what works for you and your budget. Regardless of the bit rate, ‘Constant Bit Rate Mode’ and ‘Joint Stereo Channel Mode’ are non-negotiable. (Figure 8 – Below)

Figure 8. Export

The final piece to editing my podcasts is often overlooked by some: the album art. The album art is key to making a first and lasting impression. Plus, if someone is going to spend an hour listening to my podcast, I want to give them a little eye candy. So far I have only found one way to include album art with a podcast. If anyone knows an easier method, please let me know (Figure 9 – Below).

Figure 9. Cover Art

1. Add the final podcast (.mp3) to iTunes
2. Edit the info of the newly added podcast
3. Under the artwork tab, add the desired image. 300×300 is the ideal size for album art, if you are making an image from scratch, keep those dimensions in mind.

From there, upload the file and promote as necessary.

This is how I work. Each person has their own methods for producing a podcast. Hopefully this will put you on the path to finding your own technique.

No Pressure. We're Just Talking.

First, if you haven’t listened to those episodes, you should: (in order of appearance)

Crystal – http://media.libsyn.com/media/iamspartacus/Just_Talking-03-It_Is_What_It_Is.mp3

Kerri – http://media.libsyn.com/media/iamspartacus/Just_Talking-04-SUMthing_Like_Voltron.mp3

Tabatha – http://media.libsyn.com/media/iamspartacus/Just_Talking-05-Extreme_Makeover.mp3

Lee Ann – http://media.libsyn.com/media/iamspartacus/Just_Talking-06-Welcome_to_Jurassic_Park.mp3

If you like what you hear, of course there are other episodes published including some great talks with some gamers I’ve met through my experiences on Talking About Games and the Post Game Report. You can subscribe to the Direct RSS link or via iTunes. I’m all over the place.

One of the people I talk to a lot about podcasting is Talking About Games Godfather Parris, he was on The Pilot episode. He’s one of those guys that has been around for a relatively long time and is always willing to give advice when you ask for it. We’ve talked before about how different people react to hearing that notice that the call is being recorded, how some people have an innate comfort speaking to a computer monitor, about establishing a baseline of quality in the content you put out. I’m constantly learning about how all of this works, both in theory and in practice. Each week is a new adventure but I think that freshness keeps me motivated.

Another Wise Sage is the mighty JVB (he’s the guy behind the Post Game Report). One of the things he has said many times is that a podcast can be properly executed using the most basic questions – Who, What, When, Where, Why, How. Something so elementary can fuel a conversation when initially there might not be one. What might seem like forcing a conversation can lead to some insightful dialog between strangers. And that doesn’t specifically apply to Just Talking. There have been moments where I have had a feeling of apathy or aloofness but being brought back into a conversation with something so basic as being asked “why” will start a solid back-and-forth.

These are the things that I try to consider when I’m bringing on someone who has never been on a podcast before. Sure, they could probably benefit from a 5 minute warm-up, but I think that the initial awkwardness only makes the final product more genuine, and THAT is what I am after.

These people, be it gamers or people with Diabetes are more than the labels that we/they/I assign. That’s what I have been after with these first couple of months with my podcast. I think I have been pretty successful in achieving what I set out to do but I don’t plan on resting on whatever initial success I might have found in this.

After landing at Dallas/Fort Worth Nate, Jake and I talked about my podcast and what all of this has done to me, the person – to Chris. Jake asked me if doing all of this podcasting has done anything for my self-confidence. Now some of you that know me in person might laugh, but I think it has. At the very least, it’s put me on a path to becoming more confident. I am still hiding behind a computer monitor, but having a conversation with a complete stranger for an hour is something that I would’ve thought impossible 6 months ago. For what it’s worth – Look at me now.

Yes, I still hide at the first instance of eye contact. Yes, I still second guess nearly everything I say. Yes, I am still consumed by what-ifs. But considering the social butterfly I used to be, I am going to believe that I have made progress. Minute, miniscule, almost insignificant progress, but I will still call it progress.

So to the Diazons that came on my podcast last month, Thank You. I’m sure coming on my podcast took a leap of faith and I appreciate it. To any other members of the Diabetes Online Community interested on coming on an shooting the breeze, hit me up. I’m trying to mix up the people I bring on each week and I would love to have you on sometime soon.

As far as getting in contact with me – Pick your poison:
Twitter – @iam_spartacus
email – chris@tobesugarfree.com (or feedback@justtalkingpodcast.com)
Or leave a comment here and we’ll be in touch.

As you might have noticed if you are on twitter, November is American Diabetes Month. I’ll likely go in to what that means, specifically to me at my personal blog, so stay tuned. What that means for the podcast, however, is that for the entire month I’m bringing on People with Diabetes. I still have plenty of gamers to get to, and I will. But with the heightened publicity of the month, it feels like the right thing to do.

I’m still working on solidifying the schedule with my hopeful guests so I wont publicly say who I have coming on, but based on Internet Star-power, you all are in for a treat.

You understand, right?

Aside from the color scheme and the widgets on the sidebar, the most important appearance change you can make is the Custom Header. Select a generic image and cropping as necessary or build an image from scratch to fit the size restrictions for the blog. For this theme, the header is 920 x 180 pixels. Plenty of room to get the point across, but not enough room to go crazy with designs. As you know, first impressions are everything. If the header clashes with the color scheme you select (or simply sucks), you run the risk of immediately turning off any newcomers. Not cool.

For this blog, it is my hope that I can keep things simple. Get to the podcast, get to the text, check out a few other relevant links and get on with your day. Clearly this is a fluid process, nothing is set in stone. As things progress you can be sure that I will be tweaking the layout to make sure I am taking up as little space as possible with the peripherals so the main content keeps the focus. With that in mind, let me walk you through some of the design choices I made.

The colors were inspired by Planters. I seem to always have a jar of lightly salted peanuts at my desk at work. It’s one of the few foods I can snack on “for free” so it has become a rather tasty habit to keep up with. Primary colors work for them and I’m hoping it will work for me.

The header itself went through multiple revisions. I always had the idea of dialog bubbles, one for each word. I knew that I couldn’t afford to have a crazy design when the goal is simplicity. So I went to work with Photoshop to see how I could put together the selected colors and the dialog bubble idea in to a final product.

A few things to notice as you scroll through the revisions. I changed the perspective of the bubbles to make them seem slightly more dynamic. Slightly less boring. Putting it at an angle accomplished that. Another change you will notice is the shadow. Initially the header was finalized at version C but it didn’t do enough on a plain white background. The shadow is another subtle touch that doesn’t go overboard, but adds a (very) little something to enjoy.

Version.A - Gotta start somewhere.

Version.B - Increased text size of 'Talking' to match 'Just'.

Version.C - Spaced out Bubbles.

Version.D - More tweaking of spacing. 'Talking' took up more space than anticipated.

Version.E - Added drop shadows.

Version.F - Reduced size of bubbles to fit shadow in header without cutting image.

Final Version (v1) - Used a lighter shade of black/gray for shadow.

I’m no Picasso, but it works for me. Overall the process took a little over an hour. Shoutout to Crystal for helping me throw some ideas on the wall until something stuck.

Why?

I have been a part of The Post Game Report, hosted on Talking About Games for about 4 months (since the publishing of this post). It has been an eye opening experience. For the longest time I was on the other side of the headphones. Waiting from week to week to hear what my favorite podcasters had to say about topics I cared about. Listening to these personalities provide in depth analysis just as quickly as a funny aside. Listening to opinions I value from people I’ve never met face-to-face. For the longest time I was not one of them.

How quickly times have changed. In just 4 short months I am a more prominent member of the Talking About Games community. In just 4 short months, people now suddenly care about what I have to say. My online identity has developed a form of celebrity even if only within the gaming community I frequent. It didn’t happen overnight, but it happened. It is happening. For lack of a better word, I’m a podcaster now.

While the podcasting adventure has only been going on since June, my daily adventures blogging (or writing depending on your word count preference) has been part of my routine since the start of the year. If you are reading this, then you are likely familiar with my blog, A Consequence of Hypoglycemia. It started as a way to vent my frustrations with Diabetes. It grew into a way to reach and connect with other persons with Diabetes. It then further grew into a chronicling of my daily misadventures, because writing specifically about Diabetes day in and day out was losing its personal impact. Because there is more to me than just Diabetes, my choice of topics suddenly grew from my incurable misfortune to anything that is on my mind. Using my blog as an outlet for whatever I am dealing with has had a significant impact on my life. Despite the cliche, my blog has saved my life. I am a better Diabetic because of my blog. Better person? TBD.

And now with my contributing daily to my personal blog, my gaming posts featured on Talking About Games, my co-hosting of the Post Game Report, my guesting on other podcasts within our tiny community: I want more.

I need more.

The key word here is more, but not for the sake of greed or gluttony but because there is more out there. There is more to me than Diabetes or Video Games. There is more to you than what you publicly promote. Most of my readers have or deal with Diabetes but I know that there is far more to them than this disease. I’ve read their blogs, I know that there is more to all of them. I’m on a podcast with a bunch of gamers, but I know that Video Games are not our only interests and it’s that other that intrigues me.

My hope with this podcast is that I get to explore that other, that more, with whomever decides to join me on the recording. Sure the conversation might start with the common bond of Hokie Pride, Diabetes, Video Games or whatever. But it’s the tangent that excites me. It’s the distraction that I hope will make for an interesting conversation. It’s the quick aside that I hope will bring you and your friends back for each new podcast I publish.

This might be the start of something special.

…

I like leaving this post in there to commemorate the beginning of the adventure. Assuming I continue to explore new blogging opportunities, expect to see this temporary post at the beginning.