Why I Make My Own Shows
I grew up in the 70s and 80s. Back then, you had about five or six TV channels, a few viable radio options, and maybe magazines or newspapers. That was how ideas came into the house outside of library books.
On TV, we had crappy cartoons. People making shows in the 70s especially just figured if it was colorful and whimsical and cheap to make, kids would watch it. Junk.
And there was no variety. And they never talked about what I thought was interesting.
Oh, and now? We have infinite options. But that’s because of people like me.
I make my own shows because I want to share what’s interesting to me with those of you who find it interesting and helpful.
Everything Is Easier
Your smartphone is enough to get you started in blogging, podcasting, or videoblogging. There are tons of solutions for hosting your content. The TECH is the least interesting part of the story because it’s just so ubiquitous and so easy.
It’s the content. It’s what you decide to talk about. That’s the tricky part. But that’s the best thing about this. You get to focus on what gets you excited!
Everything Is a Show
My daughter is into DIY craft stuff so she watches Threadbanger. She likes fingernail art so she watches Simply Nailogical.
My son is into retro videogames so he watches The Lonely Goomba and probably 100+ other shows.
I watch a bunch of things. Video game shows. An interview show where the host and guest both eat progressively hotter chicken wings. I love Casey Neistat and all kinds of videobloggers. (And pretty much anything Steve Garfield shoots.)
OH! And I love the Out The Door Weather Report by Ron Hood and team.
I listen to a weird variety of podcasts, mostly about non-business topics. There are tons of great shows out there now. Tens of thousands.
The subject matter can be whatever, as long as you make it interesting and entertaining (and informative).
We Need YOUR Show
In this case, “we” means the world. I might not be the right guy for your show. You might love to knit socks for cats. Not my show. But someone out there loves knitting, loves cats, and wants your cat-sock-knitting show.
And we need more B2B shows. I’d watch plumbers do cool HVAC jobs any day of the week. To me, the “our hands are in this mess” podcasts from the B2B world are sorely missing. We’re letting the marketing departments make this stuff and that’s not right. Sun Microsystems did this right back in the old days. They had the best blogs and podcasts based on really obscure things and the content was incredibly useful.
Get Over Yourself
The big reason you haven’t made a cool show is that you’re worried that you’re too fat, skinny, ugly, old or something else. Your dumb self-image is keeping you from making us an incredible and useful show. Stop it.
You probably ARE too old/young/ugly/fat/skinny/weird looking something. Who cares? Some of the most interesting people are all of those things. I’m more than half of those things and I make a show.
Just Make Them With Heart
Don’t just poop another show into the world. Make something you care about. Otherwise, no one else will care about it. I promise. If it’s just a chore for you, it’s a chore for us to consume. And we won’t.
Make something that you want to show someone you love. Make something that will draw the others who are into what you’re into together. Make something that helps us all thrive a bit more in some way.
That’s what we need. That’s why we need YOUR show. Okay?
Go!
