This coming Saturday marks a fairly big day for the Men in Gorilla Suits podcast. On February 7, 2013, we loaded our first episode. Over a hundred episodes later, we’re still going strong.
What better way to celebrate this milestone by podcasting…about podcasting!
We begin with the first podcasts we remember listening to and then jump to how we describe podcasts to those not familiar with them.
Most people into podcasts are familiar with Serial. It’s one of the only podcasts we can think of that people at work talk about, but has it really gone mainstream (as many podcasters claim)?
Regardless of Serial’s standing, there’s no doubt that it has opened people’s eyes to podcasting and influenced people. Find out how we feel the success of Serial has influenced podcasts.
Find out if either of us did any podcasting before Men in Gorilla Suits — as well as what made us want to podcast.
Within podcasting, some argue that content is the most important thing while others say production matters so much that they will not listen to even a great show if it doesn’t sound like it was produced in a studio. Obviously, a mix of both things is ideal, but if we could choose only one thing, find out what matters more to us: content or production quality.
Beyond that, find out what we feel is the most important thing when doing a podcast — and also, find out how podcasting has changed our lives.
Clearly, we like podcasts. We talk about some of our favorite shows, including particular episodes that stand out as our all-time faves.
Finally, as we usually do, we look toward the future — this time speculating what the future holds for podcasting.
Whether you’ve been there since the start of Men in Gorilla Suits, or if this is the first episode you’ve listened to, we thank you so much for letting us into your ear holes! We’d love to hear what some of your favorite podcasts are in the comments below…
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My contribution to the topic of pods: http://youtu.be/GEStsLJZhzo
I listen to this podcast for the dog noises and background noise. 😉
I hope I’m half as cool as Donald Sutherland when I grow up!
It’s funny…I sometimes think about getting much better gear for the show, but…I live in a small space. Shawn and I travel back and forth. At most, I’ve considered upgrading my portable recorder to a couple generations later — a model that allows two mics directly into the unit and control over each mic’s levels.
I totally get some gear nuts. A guy I follow on Google Plus has a great setup: http://youtu.be/38o43UFDaf4
If I lived in a space with more room and had a decent sized office where I could have a few workspaces, I can see having a much better setup. But simply turning off the AC or heater goes a long way. Or…just not caring about the jungle of a dog’s collar in the background. For some shows, I like that…it seems real. If someone is recording a podcast of a novel, it’s distracting, but for things like the Nerdist…those little background noises add to it. (“They’re backstage at a They Might Be Giants show. Oh…J.J. Abrams had to answer a question his assistant had.” Stuff like that…)
I think about sometimes setting up video, or doing a Google Hangout now and then. We mentioned Double Toasted in this podcast, and I love what they are doing: http://youtu.be/HMMnHLZOzi4 But I’ve seen people just decorate a corner of a room and make a nice video for those so inclined to watch, and then just run the audio as a podcast as well. (Sometimes I watch Still Untitled: The Adam Savage Project — most times, I listen.)
It’s definitely a lot of fun, and I like that people can come in with next to no gear and make something, or set up a studio and have a blast.
I sometimes watch (?) Savage’s podcast with my husband. And the Toasteds seem like an addictive podcast. I think I’m blurring the line between video shows and podcasts here. Though I haven’t watched in a while, Jared Polin and DigitalRev TV are highly educational and entertaining for photographers.