Seen And Heard In Edmonton

Our March podcasting meetup offered a local spin on #trypod, a campaign that started in the U.S. to encourage more people to listen to podcasts. I am, of course, strongly in favour of more people listening to podcasts of all kinds, but I am particularly interested in carving out some mindshare for locally produced shows. That's why I invited Chris Chang-Yen Phillips, creator of Let's Find Out, and Katrina Ingram, interim CEO of CKUA, to give their perspectives on how to do that. Chris's podcast was part of his successful application to be Edmonton's historian laureate, and his aim was to extend interest in the city's history beyond the usual heritage community. So far he has succeeded, with 400 to 500 downloads per episode and a ripple effect beyond that can be felt in mainstream media coverage of his stories and new questions from people curious about our past. He is also news director at CJSR. Katrina, a marketer by trade, is currently at the helm of Canada's first public broadcaster, which has seen a treme

Our February meetup was kind of a sequel to an earlier meetup on how to get started. Among the aspiring podcasters in that audience were journalists Trisha Estabrooks and Alex Zabjek. At that point, they knew they wanted to do a podcast, but they had so many questions. They got some answers at that meetup, and found a lot more on their own on their way to launching The Broadcast, a show about women and politics in Alberta. So I decided to have them back to share what it took to pull the trigger. "You guys inspired us to dig a little deeper and figure it out," Trisha told the assembled podcasters. That was nice to hear! You'll also hear them talk about the weird obstacle of getting iTunes cover art; overcoming other technical and psychological barriers; understanding everything takes longer than you think; an interesting way to possibly get paid; the logistics of where to record when the Edmonton Public Library's Makerspace isn't available; and the difference between broadcasting and podcasting. This episode i

Meet Lauren Dary, an Edmonton photographer and one-half of the team behind That’s So Maven, a podcast by, for and about female entrepreneurs. Lauren and her co-host, Andrea Beça, discovered in a series of texts that they had both been thinking about starting a podcast. Then they discovered they were both interested in focusing on women in business. Kismet. Off they went. At first they thought it would be bi-weekly, but when they started building their list of potential guests, it was quickly more than a year long. So now they have a weekly interview show, talking to a female entrepreneur about how she got into business, what she has learned, and what it's really — and I mean really — like to be the boss. In this episode, you'll hear why Lauren chose to podcast instead of blog; why she and Andrea decided to start tying the podcast more closely to their businesses; how the show has helped her find customers and collaborators; how she has refined her own online presence; and how the podcast has become a crash co

Our January meetup was billed as a debate between Taylor Chadwick of What It Is against Andrea Beça of That's So Maven on how long a podcast should be. "Debate" turned out to be a bit of a strong term. As Taylor says at one point, "it sounds like we're just going to agree the whole time." I accept responsibility. Everyone's just so nice. They do come from different points of view on what works for the length of their own shows. The sweet spot for What It Is — an arts interview show that Taylor does with Chris Cook and Brian Bergum — is 70 minutes. That's So Maven — a show for, by and about female entrepreneurs that Andrea does with Lauren Dary — is about half an hour. Both have sound reasons for that, which you'll hear in the podcast, along with the following points: How your content and format dictate length; How the growth of podcasting has made shorter shows more common; Audience feedback on length and what to do with it; Batch recording vs time-sensitive recording; Preparation vs editing for controlling

Meet Tyler Butler, the always-learning digital marketing strategist and musician who explores social media on the new podcast Don’t Call Me A Guru. Don't Call Me A Guru is a monthly conversation about social media strategy between Tyler, who works at MacEwan University, and Linda Hoang, who used to work at NAIT and now works at Calder Bateman. They met kibbitzing with each other online, and now we get to listen in on their "conversations we would have had anyway," and learn a lot about social media in the process. Tyler also produces Clock Radio, a podcast that tells stories about staff and students at MacEwan. It started because there seemed to be a lot of good stuff left over from stories done for the MacEwan website, and it has turned into quite an interesting show, whether you have anything to do with MacEwan or not. Music is responsible for getting Tyler into social media in the first place. Facebook events turned out to be a powerful tool to get people to shows, and he also experimented with some crazy

Meet Nick McQuik, the always hustling comic who co-hosts The Quik and Slow Comedy Show, a long-running podcast featuring "comedians interviewing comedians about comedy in a basement." Nick started podcasting in part to learn more about his craft, a good trick I may have adopted myself a time or two. He also jumped in with both feet by buying a lot of equipment, so he kind of had to make it happen after that. I suspect I am too old and square for some of the comedy on Nick's show, which he co-hosts with Aaron Maslow and a cast of other artists, but I admire the work that goes into producing a weekly podcast while forging a full-time career in comedy. That requires a tremendous amount of discipline and entrepreneurial spirit, which we talk about a fair bit in this episode. You'll also hear about the connections between Nick's stage show and the podcast; his philosophy of giving to get; Quik and Slow's most downloaded episode; the thriving nature of Edmonton's comedy scene; and some interesting ways to use socia

We kick off 2017 with the audio from our November meetup with Haley Radke of Adoptees On and Wang Yip of The Dip on how to find your niche. In a way, these two podcasts couldn't be more different, in format, audience and tone. Haley's podcast is an interview show that gives a voice to people who were adopted, and Wang's is a conversation with co-host Shawn Kanungo riffing on interesting things they've heard other podcasts about business, entrepreneurship, creativity and the like.  But they have a lot in common in that they serve a particular niche, and they aim to be relevant and useful no matter when you happen to discover them. In this episode, you will hear: Why they started; Why podcasting was the best medium for them; How and why The Dip changed formats between Season 1 and Season 2; Haley's plans for Season 2 of Adoptees On; How to get people to listen (including a very hands-on tip!); What iTunes reviews accomplish; Why being very targeted can help you reach more people than you imagined.   This epis

This week’s podcast features the audio from our October meetup with Kelly Froese of the Edmonton Nerd List and Jeff Williams of Guerrilla Radio. Kelly and Jeff have each devised ways to shine a spotlight on local creators and ventures. As you know, that is pretty much my favourite thing, so I brought them together and called it "how to reach your audience," because one of the ways to do that is to get noticed by one of these cross-promotion sites. You can also derive some lessons for how they have built their own audiences. In our conversation, you'll hear: The wildly different origin stories of the Edmonton Nerd List and Guerrilla Radio (one was an accident, one was on purpose); How and why they have grown; How each brings in revenue and what they've learned about monetizing; What impresses them about the local podcast scene; How to spread your podcast via guests; How to get listed on the Nerd List or join Guerrilla Radio; Future plans for each. They mentioned a few local producers, including the Shessels

Meet Dave Rae, the comic, sketch comedian and improviser who takes any side of any debate and always wins on The Devil's Advocate. I first learned of Dave and his podcast through the Northern Content Network, a collection of primarily (but not exclusively) comedian-produced podcasts gathered by Dan Clarke and Dan Taylor. The Devil's Advocate quickly caught my attention as a smart, funny exercise that was unlike anything else I had heard. Dave has made me laugh out loud so many times. He did it a lot during this episode, too. He started in standup when he moved to Edmonton because that was easiest as a guy who didn't know anybody yet and wanted to get into comedy. But he has since found a way to do sketch comedy, too, through The Debutantes, which puts on a sketch show called Odd Wednesday every other week at the Sewing Machine Factory. In this episode, you'll hear about Edmonton's comedy scene, how it interacts with podcasting, the parallels between Dave's approach and pro wrestling, the formidable Stan Ostro

Meet Robyn Wilson, the fearless and empathetic interviewer behind The One, a podcast featuring everyday people and the love stories that make them unique. The One was "spurred out of jealousy," Robyn says. She had been helping her husband, Phil Wilson, with his podcast (more about that below), and decided that she wanted something of her own. Hearing other people's love stories made her happy, so she decided to go with that. In this conversation, you'll learn more about how Robyn approaches her interviews, what it was like to have the microphone turned on her and Phil, what it was like to make Vue Weekly's Best of Edmonton list, and how the podcast gives her an opportunity to bring joy. Have a listen. This episode is also available in iTunes, on Google Play, on SoundCloud or on Stitcher. Robyn made the following recommendations: That's So Maven, Andrea Beça and Lauren Dary's interview show by, for and about female entrepreneurs; The Expats, Adam Rozenhart's smooth-voiced show about the experience of living a

This week's podcast features the audio from our meetup on how to start a podcast, which we recorded way back in September. This was a departure from our usual format. We had veteran podcasters on one side of the room and aspiring podcasters on the other, and we invited the rookies to pepper the vets with questions. You'll hear questions such as these: Which sound editing program should I use? What would you do differently if you started again, especially for business? How frequently should podcasts come out? What social media channels should you use? What analytics should you track? How do you make crowdfunding work? How do you record guests remotely on your podcast when they may not be technically savvy? Where's the best place for your podcast live, for hosting and distribution? And you'll hear answers from these podcasters: Ben Yendall of Tales from the Hydian Way; Erika Ensign of Verity!, The Audio Guide to Babylon 5, Lazy Doctor Who and Uncanny Magazine; Chris Sikkenga of Montreal Sauce; Dan and Trina

Meet Tema Frank, an author, an Internet pioneer, and the creator of Frank Reactions, where she explores customer experience and customer service in the digital era. Tema has long been a woman ahead of her time, putting up her first website in 1995 to promote her first book, Canada's Best Employers for Women. Most people around her didn't even know what a website was, but the experience taught her things she would use later on, which is a theme, as you'll hear. Credit perhaps is due to the University of Alberta, where she was part of the first business class that had to take a computer course. She now serves on Senate. Tema has one of the coolest podcast origin stories I've heard yet. She was living in France and wanted to get into Le Web, which cost a lot. So she decided to pitch a story to the CBC show Spark so she could get press credentials. It worked, and she not only got into the conference, but learned that she had a good voice for radio (you'll hear that) and a love for interviewing interesting folks.

Meet Jeremy Bibaud, the gaming aficionado who co-hosts The Clickbait Podcast, and the enterprising writer behind a story-mapping project called YEG Storyhood. Jeremy is a guy who sees an opportunity and grabs it. He'd been writing for the online magazine PlayStation LifeStyle. When its previous podcast stopped, Jeremy and co-hosts Jeffrey Gordon and Brandon Hoover stepped in to make a podcast that, in part, addresses the community's reactions to stories. "Most people say, 'Don't read the comments,' but we read the comments," Jeremy says. "That's our job." And it is a paying gig, which is pretty cool. He's not getting rich, but podcasting doesn't cost him money, and he gets paid a bit for his time, too. You'll hear some sound advice in this episode on how to get into media about gaming. Jeremy is also a storyteller. You may have seen a story of his on your coffee sleeve as part of Jason Lee Norman's #yegwords project, and he has been published in various magazines. From that creative mind sprang the idea for Y

Meet David Rauch, the strategic planner, open-data enthusiast and onetime journalist who makes connections through Beta City YEG, Edmonton's civic technology meetup. David is the kind of guy who radiates enthusiasm. It's that energy that has animated and incited all kinds of interesting projects, such as the Open Piano project that brought music to city streets; ArtTourYEG, a guide to Edmonton's public art; the LinkYEG app to connect Edmontonians in need with services; and a map of historical Edmonton photos, among many other projects. Beta City YEG convenes citizens, public employees and members of Edmonton's tech community on the fourth Wednesday of the month at Startup Edmonton. They work to apply the power of data and technology to address challenges in our city and region. And, as David notes, baked goods are often involved. The next one, on Sept. 28 at 6:30 p.m., features presentations on the CommonGood web app and the Edmonton Shift Lab. Like many of my recent guests, David came to see me at the Makers

Meet Jim Bilodeau, a NAIT instructor with a passion to help artists make money online, and the man behind The Museum Project, an interesting idea to help make that happen. Jim was one of the people who came in for an interview on 100 in 1 Day back in June, when I took over a studio at the Edmonton Public Library's Makerspace to talk to Edmontonians about what they are making. Unlike most of my interviewees, Jim doesn't write a blog or make a podcast or have a YouTube channel. But he wants to help those who do. "I want every individual artist to be in charge of their own career," he says. "If you have talent, you can make money at your art now." He has an idea that he hopes will kill two birds with one stone: Incubate online artistic ventures by providing a production facility, and save the old Royal Alberta Museum building in Glenora in the process. The new downtown museum opens in 2017, but it will take until 2019 to empty. After that, anything could happen to the building, including tearing it down. Jim doe

Meet Ben Yendall, the storytelling, community-building co-host of Tales from the Hydian Way, a podcast about a role-playing game set in the Star Wars universe. As Ben says, Tales from the Hydian Way is about as niche as you can get, but podcasting is a great medium for serving your particular pack of people. He followed the advice we've often heard here and elsewhere: Make the podcast you want to listen to. I don't play the game and I stopped watching Star Wars at Return of the Jedi, and yet I tune into Tales from the Hydian Way from time to time just to hear them talk. Ben and his co-hosts David and Joshua improvise fan fiction online with people all over the world in the game, and then analyze how to do it better on the podcast. Isn't that amazing? It might be tempting with that level of expertise to exclude newcomers. But Ben has no time for gatekeeping or noob-shaming. "It doesn't do us any good to make the community smaller," he says. That's pretty great, too. This episode is also available in iTunes, on

Meet German Villegas,  a youth worker who conducts interviews about healthy masculinity on The Modern Manhood Podcast and jaws about hockey with his buddies on Your Team Sucks. German has been interested in podcasting for awhile, and had a music one that didn't go anywhere. Hockey turned out to be more fruitful terrain for a lively debate, hence Your Team Sucks, where fans of three different teams chirp each other and discuss various hockey-related happenings. That's where I first became aware of German. Your Team Sucks is fun, but it's clear that German's deeper passion lies in The Modern Manhood Podcast, which he started this year to initiate conversations between men about being men. In the course of his work, German has observed that men often have trouble talking about their vulnerabilities, and he wanted to create a safe and empathetic space to do so. The podcast is affiliated with Men Edmonton,  a movement to empower men to speak out against violence and to take on positive roles. It is most certainly

This week's podcast features the audio from our meetup on how to get good sound, featuring multimedia photojournalist Ryan Jackson of Full Circle Visuals and podcaster and video editor Chris Sikkenga. We gathered at Variant Edition Comics and Culture in June to learn more about why sound is so important, how to control the room to improve the conditions for recording, how to work the microphone to avoid common errors, how to monitor your sound along the way, and what, if anything, you can do after the fact to fix it up if you mess up. The irony is not lost on me that the sound for this is not pristine, as it was recorded on a snowball mic on a table in a room with a lot of hard surfaces. And it occurred to me after re-listening to the recording that I still haven't mastered their advice for good microphone technique. It's not terrible, but there's room for improvement. Do as they say, not as I do.  This episode is also available in iTunes, on Google Play, on SoundCloud or on Stitcher. Be sure to follow Full C

Meet Jessica Cooreman and Katie Woodfine, the hardcore footy fans behind For Kicks, a podcast that follows the Canadian national women's team on the road to Rio, as well as women's soccer in general. I hope some day to love something as much as Katie and Jessica love soccer. Their passion for the game is infectious and so fun to listen to. And I was thrilled to hear in our conversation that even though the podcast was born to follow the team's progress towards the Olympics this August, they plan to keep their podcast going afterwards. The podcast comes out once a month, which means there's a lot to pack into every episode. They also have a very active For Kicks Tumblr, which provides quite a window into a community of fans and players that doesn't get much mainstream media attention. We talk about how Edmonton is a place that gets excited about women's soccer, thanks to the U-19 tournament where Christine Sinclair made her mark, the success of the Women's World Cup games that were played here, and homegrown t

Meet Marcia J. Hamm, the wine lover who explores her passion and makes educated but accessible recommendations on her blog, Joy of Wine. Marcia wasn't always into wine, but an encounter with a pinot gris made her want to learn more about it. As she started studying, her husband told her she should really start writing down what she was experiencing, and that's where her blog began. She has pursued a lot of wine education over the years, including earning her WSET (Wine and Spirit Education Trust) certification and status as an Italian Wine Ambassador. But she strives to take the snobbery out of wine-tasting. She strongly feels that people shouldn't be made to feel stupid about wine, as you'll hear. Here are Marcia's recommendations: YEG Women in Wine, a non-profit organization focusing on female entrepreneurs in the beverages industry What the Truck?!, Edmonton's food truck extravaganza I Heart Edmonton, Emil Tiedemann's celebration of the city Marcia will be a judge at the 2016 Alberta Beverage Awards in C