In baseball the curveball is a difficult pitch to it. Why? Well, right when a curveball crosses the plate, the spinning of the seams tricks a hitter’s brain into thinking the ball is diving at a steeper angle than it really is. So, how do you hit the damn thing? One of the first things a baseball player is told is to recognize the different curve balls, evaluate, then practice. The same could be said about hitting the ‘learning curve’ like, let’s say with podcasting. In this week’s Bailey’s Big Blog we’ll talk about the ‘learning curve’ from your traditional entertainment and just how easy it is to adjust, adapt, evolve.
Now that I’m in the podcasting world full time I’m obviously it’s biggest advocate. But, I was once where many of you are with the learning curve. There are many sub categories with that learning curve and why you might not want to evolve and I totally understand…to a point.
“I MISS YOU ON THE RADIO SHOW!” I’ve heard that more times than I count in the past few months. I really appreciate that but I haven’t really gone anywhere other than to a different medium. So, where are those people that “miss me?” From experience I really think they’re trying to hit the ‘learning curve’.
There’s a Mexican restaurant that my wife and I go to often. It seems that just about every time I go I run into someone that has appreciated my brand of entertainment. The same thing is always said, “I MISS YOU ON THE RADIO SHOW!” I then go into the podcast and how to listen. They then respond with something like, “Yeah, OK I’d really like to do that but I have no idea how to do that podcast thing.” I then go into how easy and beneficial it is and then break it down step by step. But, I still sometimes don’t think it’s registering. Why is that? I do have one theory. Let’s call it the “I can do anything Generation Xccept that.”
I’m a proud Gen Xer. Right smack dab in the middle. I can tell you growing up I was always told, “don’t touch that” or “you’ll break it” and then the closer was always “you won’t get another one.” That has been ingrained in our Gen X brains and it sucks. So, I think that subconsciously has something to do with at least the Gen Xers having issues with podcasting. We just don’t want to break it. As for The Boomers…it’s most likely the same case but worse.
Then the ‘defensive’ takes place. We all have ‘this’ in us. When we can’t figure something out and others can, we put up that wall and go on the defense. Usually saying something like, “Forget it! I’ll just stick to what I’m used to!”
Now that we’ve seen and heard different reasons why we can’t use podcasting, let’s debunk the whole damn thing and talk about the ease of hitting the ‘learning curve’…YEAH!
I asked some of our 2Pers (what we call our listeners for those now in the know..2%ers actually) to explain how they hit the learning curve of listening to podcasts…specifically The Bailey Show. Here are some of the responses.
-Garrett Pelt
I use the Apple Podcast app. When I signed up for the subscription, an email was sent with instructions on how to access via Spotify or by using an RSS URL if you want to use a different podcast app besides Spotify. In the confirmation email, they include the RSS URL and all you have to do is copy and paste it into your app. On Apple Podcast, you would go to the library tab, tap on the three dots in the upper righthand corner, select add show by URL and press the link. It now shows up in your library. I like Apple because it automatically downloads the latest podcasts so you don’t have to stream it.
-Jason Schoeneberg
I use an app called Pocket Cast on android phone. Been using that for YEARS, like before Google and Spotify had their own podcast app with a good catalog. At the time it was hard to add a podcast to Google or Spotify if you just had the RSS feed. You had to wait for them to add whatever podcast you were looking for to their curated list if you wanted to listen to it with their app. With Pocket Cast, you just pasted the RSS address into the search bar and you could subscribe to whatever you wanted. Of course they have their own catalog of all the podcasts out there so you can search by name, creator, or genre. I have The BS Podcasts set to automatically download and add to my playlist queue whenever a new episode drops. I listen on headphones while working or in my car via bluetooth to my car audio system.
-Stephanie Martinez Peres
Castbox (it’s a free app). I listen everyday! A long as you have an app you just search for the show. When I run out of episodes while I’m driving I switch to Smartless and Conan O’brien Needs a Friend
As you can see everyone has different methods of hitting the ‘learning curve’. Guess that goes back to the beginning of this blog and what baseball players do to hit the curve. They recognize the different curve balls, evaluate, then practice. Very similar, huh?
But why should you even give podcasting a chance if what’s working is…ok? That’s a tough sell to someone that really subscribes to the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” theory. But as we evolve maybe we can change that theory to “It might not be broken and might not need fixing but damn I can have this too?!?”
There are 4 things that podcasting offers to its audience that no other medium can.
1) You can fast forward, rewind and pause not only content but commercials as well.
2) The content is delivered right to your devices.
3) You can pick and choose what content you want to hear and when. It’s all on demand
4) The podcast pauses when you get a phone call or when your Nav gives you directions so no more missing what your buddy heard and you didn’t.
The bottom line is podcasting is a form of entertainment that is tailored to you because you create what you want to hear. Let’s call it ‘Freedom of Entertainment.” So, once you learn to hit the ‘learning curve’ then you’ll be the most feared listener that ever podcasts! Just don’t be afraid to “break it” because I promise you won’t. Play Ball!