The Podcast Pedant

Oh, what a frabjuous day. Not only is it my last day at my day job, but this popped up on my morning Technorati search:

Podcasts Part 2: Science Fiction or Satanic Fiction?

Tristan, a guest blogger for Shelley the Republican, is on a crusade against podcasting as the next Hot New Immoral Thing. His first article on the subject is all about the iPod and why it’s a ticking heathen time bomb:

Apple neglected to mention that every iPod ever sold included a hidden feature called “Podcasting” which they unveiled in mid 2005.

This feature allows liberal media direct access to young Americans without any of the safeguards that make TV channels like Fox News fair and balanced. A quick scan though some of America’s most popular podcasts is proof enough that a dangerous liberal minority have seized control over this influential channel.

Wow. Just wow.

But the second piece is the beautiful one to me, because he reviews my very own Escape Pod to reveal that we’re leading children down the path of perversity and occultism. He cites a few stories as examples. I don’t know what the hell the “industry standard CAPAlert scoring system” is, but EP apparently scores an 8.2 on it, which means we’re evil incarnate or something.

The blog post wraps up with a petition to the FCC to regulate podcasting, and tips for what to do if your child has become “addicted to science fiction.”

This is my favorite review ever. Now I know, for certain, that we’ve Made It.

So you’re all enjoying seeing real, podcast-related content on the Pedant? Great. The subscriber numbers started taking off about the same time, and I’ve chosen to believe it’s not a coincidence.

There probably won’t be any updates for a couple of days, though, as I’ll be in Houston meeting with these guys. You gotta love a company that flies you in for business, but picks this weekend because somebody’s doing a crawfish boil.

I gave my notice at my day job this week. That caused a stir. I gave three weeks’ notice because I wanted to give them plenty of transition time, and because I didn’t want them to think I had a problem with the company. I don’t. It’s a very good company, probably the most ethical and admirable of the Fortune 50, and I highly respect most of the people I’ve worked with. It’s just a choice between a job that pays the bills and a job that lets me follow my passion.

I realized a couple of months ago that I couldn’t keep staying up until 3 AM every night to get Escape Pod done. It was eating me up. Eventually — not right away, but soon, I knew — I’d have to make a choice between the job and the podcast. So I started formulating a strategy to ditch the job. That strategy’s paying off now.

Tell me you wouldn’t choose the same. Come on. Just try to tell me.

…Yeah. So people are starting to ask me why I haven’t blogged about Podshow yet, or the episode of Keith and the Girl where they take apart an anonymous Podshow contract. It’s well known that I have opinions on the subject,¹ and I’ve gone on at some length before on the Yahoo! Podcasters list and on Podcast Alley.

That’s probably why I haven’t brought it up yet. I’ve talked about it so much elsewhere that I’m getting more easily tired. That, and I’m afraid if I get started I’ll keep going ad nauseum. I don’t want this to become the Anti-Podshow Blog. There’s a lot of other stuff to talk about. Like, you know, making podcasts.

But I seem to be expected to say something, so I’ll say this in brief: Long-term exclusivity sucks. I’m not suggesting that it sucks for me, and it might not suck for you. It sucks for everyone.

A man whose last name is synonymous with a popular Indian food dish² has contacted me directly to tell me that I don’t know what I’m talking about, and that everything I seem to think about Podshow is wrong. He has been unable to tell me what specifically I’m wrong about, which is a shame because I can’t correct my statements. Being right is a whole lot more fun than being wrong. So to cover my hindquarters: if I’m wrong that Podshow puts its podcasters into long-term exclusive distribution deals with no termination option on the podcaster’s side, then obviously all my complaining is groundless and nobody should worry about what I say.

But if they do, they suck. And you should avoid making such a deal for content that you create and own. With anyone. Ever.

Questions?

1. Many would call that an understatement ↩
2. No, not Eric Rice. The other guy. ↩

No, I’m not dead, and I never intended this blog to go dead for this long either. I’m sorry about that.

If you insist on an explanation, I think this is a pretty good one: I managed, almost accidentally, to pick up some contract programming work that is quickly blossoming into even more work. This is a good thing for two reasons:

1. The company’s product is related to podcasting. No, I can’t tell you about it yet. When I can, I will. But I think what they’re doing is rather cool.
2. The work might, in the next few weeks, become solid and stable enough to replace my day job with this, at least in the near- to mid-term.

This is a wonderful thing, because even if I’m doing the same amount of work I’ll be doing it from home, and I’ll have kicked the commute and have the flexibility to get more done with Escape Pod. (My immediate project manager and the company owner are Escape Pod fans, so they are quite willing to accommodate my needs there.) >8->

Anyway. That’s all bright and happy for the future, but in the meantime it effectively means I’m working three jobs: my day job, Escape Pod, and the contract gig. So, no time or energy for Pedant posting. It’s a shame, because there’s been a fair bit going on.

I’ll be trying to get some catchup done in the next couple days or weeks. Yes, I do want to talk about the latest Podshow kerfuffle, although I don’t have the time to get into it tonight. And I’ve been idly working on a couple of more technical pieces, too. Genuine how-to stuff.

I’m also amused to see that there are more people subscribed by Feedburner today than there were the last time I posted. So thank you, you few, you happy few, and I’ll try to make it worth your while from now on.

Huzzah! It looks like at least one of my goals with this site is already in motion — we’re initiating dialogue and getting responses and ideas back from the people making news in podcasting.

In this case, Gretchen from Mommycast read and commented on my post on their deal with Dixie. First off, thanks very much for coming by and taking the time. My wife and I have both listened to your show before. You’ve got an engaging style, and the topics you hit on are real ones. I can see why your show is popular.

Now. You said:

This is actually going to be a partnership. MommyCast is going to be included in their print and television advertising throughout all of the campaigns this year. Hmmm…millions of dollars of advertising with MommyCast included….millions of potential listeners being introduced to MommyCast….I’ll let you do that math!

Congratulations! That sounds like a terrific opportunity, and I wish you the best with it. However, I think this only reinforces my point that your compensation is undervalued. Millions of dollars invested in messages connected to your show… Exposure to a potential audience of millions… And you guys only get $40,000 at the bottom end of that deal?

What you’re saying is that Dixie recognizes that your show matters. You’re worth a lot to them. And you’re clearly worth a lot to Podshow. You should be worth more to yourselves, too. You deserve a lot more than you’re getting from this. A flat-rate year-long deal means that even if you get those millions of listeners, the payoff to you doesn’t change. It’s too low now, and if you’re superstars in eleven months then it’s really too low.

Perhaps it will pay off for you in secondary advertising, or in new deals after the year is over, and I sincerely hope it does. But as “a standard for others to follow,” I think this dilutes the perceived value of podcast content. Dixie and Podshow are getting far more from your hard work than you are. And as another hardworking podcaster, that bothers me quite a bit, even if it doesn’t bother you.

Finally:

Now, as for the comment that we don’t have day jobs…KaPOW! On behalf of all of the moms around the world…shame on you!

I think you misunderstood me here. My wife and I have an eleven-month-old son. I’d never insult moms — I prefer to keep breathing, thanks. That wasn’t a dig at you, that was a dig at Curry and Podshow’s “Quit Your Day Job” campaign. And the irony in the footnote was meant to be sympathetic irony.

Moms? Big fan. Podshow? Not so much. My mom did get exclusivity from me for a very long time, it’s true — but she never asked me for 60%.

John Federico, Senior Director of Business Development for podcasting at Audible, has consented to an interview with the Pedant. I can say already from my e-mail exchange with him that he’s a great guy, very open to ideas and to honest debate, and he strikes me as genuinely passionate about the value he intends Audible to bring to the podcast community. I have a lot of respect for that. I also think there’s a lot of confusion floating around about exactly what Audible is offering and how it works both technically and as a business model, and a clearer public picture of their service can only be good for everyone.

One thing I want to say right now, and say loudly: Audible is real podcasting. Real RSS feed, real enclosures, standalone files. I was greatly mistaken on that point earlier, and I spoke out of turn. Thanks to both Federico and Russell Holliman for setting me straight.

The interview’s going to be conducted by e-mail, and should be up within a week or two. So if you have questions you’d like me to ask Mr. Federico, leave them in the comments thread. I did promise him fair questions — so cheese like “Why does Audible hate indie podcasters?” or “Has Audible stopped beating its wife?” will be met with scorn.

Because I’m tired, that’s why. Because I had a bitch of a day at work, and it’s finally occurring to me that 50 hours at a stultifying day job hacking at finance databases and 30 hours working on a very elaborate podcast and a wife and infant son are reducing me to a pool of very thin gruel. I’m up until 2 or 3 AM every frigging day. Hell, just look at the time I’m posting this.

The wife and child are non-negotiable. I will spend time with them no matter what. That leaves my podcast and my job. Something’s gotta give. Ten years from now, which will I be more proud of having worked on?

Right. So I need an exit plan. I need a way to make a living, or at least most of a living, doing podcast-related things. That’s the goal.

Why a blog, then? To vent. To get my name out. To have a single place to put all the smartassed stuff I’m always hurling at the walls in other communities. And because it might get help. Isn’t writing shit and giving it away for free the way people get rich these days? That’s what Wired says. It must be true.

And if not, it should be. So we’ll make it so. Who’s with me?