Any schmuck can make a podcast. In an Agile way. Let me prove it.
First, you need ‘the why’.
My LinkedIn profile doesn’t hide how I’ve had five full-time Agile Coach / Scrum Master gigs in as many years, so while that’s been rocky, it’s also exposed me to five different environments in a short time, resulting in five separate circles of friends & fans. Now, I’d like to stay in touch with them. Logically, this means starting a podcast so I can have them on to record our deep and/or silly discussions. Logically.
Have I ever been on a podcast? Nope. (Wait… actually yes.) Will this be self-marketing? As a by product, but not primarily. Will this be an audio platform for the music I want to make that I keep kicking myself for not doing? How convenient. Will this be fun? You betcha.
Alright, I’m motivated. I have ‘the why’ because this tears me out of bed in the morning.
Next, you need ‘the how’.
I have a WordPress blog. You’re reading it. It needed a podcasting plug-in. I found the ‘Seriously Simple Podcasting‘ plug-in. It’s not seriously simple, but short of a wizard to step a n00b like me through the creation of a podcast feed, this was simple. I had to take an impromptu selfie because I don’t have a 1400×1400 pixel pic of myself lying around, thus my robed mug is out there on the interwebs. This is enough for now.
I have a Vtin headset, which I got for work. It’s got over-the-ear headphones, and a mic that comes out in front of my face. I look like an older school telemarketer. It’s incredibly effective, so I don’t care. This thing picks up my voice wonderfully. I ain’t got no pop filter, but I don’t need that to start. This is enough for now.
I have an iPhone 8, which I bought at the end of 2019. I don’t need three cameras, and this model was the smallest one that didn’t cost an arm and a spleen. I can record into its ‘Voice Memos’ app. I can stitch audio pieces together and export a file from its ‘GarageBand’ app. I can upload that file to my blog via the ‘Safari’ web browser. This is enough for now.
I have the ‘Podcasts’ app on this iPhone. I’m switching over to the ‘Overcast’ app based on a recommendation and consistent shortcomings I run across on Apple’s app. There’s also Google Play, and Stitcher, and now Spotify – all places where I could ensure my podcast appears. I pick the one I know as a start. This is enough for now.
Then I submit to Apple. And wait. And hope I had enough. For now.
Alright, I have the process. I have ‘the how’ because, to make this podcast, I have determined I have enough for now.
Now, you need ‘the what’.
…
Oh.
…
So… uh… what do I talk about? I have an idea of the bullet points of a script for a first episode, and I have a rough format for interviewing my friends, but now… do I have to find a friend? Schedule something, record, then edit? Ugh – I want something faster so I can do the Minimum Viable Product thing and see if the above-outlined theoretical delivery pipeline actually works.
Oh. Towards that end, I don’t need a full-on interview. I need ‘lorem ipsum’ -like material. Maybe I can use the introductory test audio. Yes. This is enough for now.
Alright, I even have the potentially creatively difficult bit. I have ‘the what’ because I was goofing around with the tech, and those sound snippets are enough for now.
Finally, you need to JFDI.
There was some troubleshooting with the WordPress plug-in regarding the podcast feed creation, as well as when validating the feed during Apple’s submission process. Otherwise, I did ‘the how’ with ‘the what’ and then waited.
A tad after two weeks since having the idea, my Minimum Viable Podcast episode was listed on Podcasts.
From here, ‘the why’ drives the next iteration of ‘the what’, tweaking ‘the how’ as appropriate. WARNING: ‘the why’ wants so much. After all, it’s that vision that is inspiring. To get to that vision, though, you need to take a step, which means embracing the phrase, “This is enough for now.“
Any schmuck can make a podcast. In an Agile way. QEFD.