Having spent almost 3 years on twitter as well as in podcasting, you get to see a lot of behavioral patterns ( as well as participate in some of your own, ha!) One of my pet peeves would have to be when I see talented and great people who could very well write their own blog, record their own show or produce their own stream nit pick the work of others. They could bust out some great stuff if they were to spend more time on creating something of their own. I do not say this in a rude or snarky way, I mean this in a very honest way. I see their talent. I see their opinions on subjects they feel passionate about. I see them get frustrated with how things are not done their way or said how they would have said it. That shows me that they have passion in the topic but they may lack the confidence to create it. They reach out to their favorite hosts, bloggers, podcasters, streamers, and youtubers showing support or to correct them. I see the desire is there because they tweet about disliking "so and so's" show or saying that an article totally missed the mark, or the stream was incredibly boring. After critiquing others, they never make anything to call their own. That is why my desire for them to create is double sided.
On one side I want them to be humbled by the experience. It has always been annoying to me when someone criticizes something or someone but has zero experience doing what they are judging. It also makes me scratch my head when people assume that content creators care whether or not you partake of their product. Most of us do it as a hobby. We do not get paid for downloads, subscribers, or reviews. If people listen or they don't, it really isn't any skin off of our back. The amount of time it takes to edit, pick out music, trim and cut tracks, make show notes, make headers and avatars, keep up on news, find guests, etc. can add up.I can not speak for other avenues of creation, but I am sure it takes a lot of preparation and time dedicated to final touches, especially where youtubers come in to play. It is all part of the process of taking our free time to mold and create something about something that we love (and some hate) and if any criticism is to be made, do everyone a favor and make it constructive.
On the one side, I want them to see that they could be incredible at it. ANYONE can do it you know... It is not a secret club of people. You do not have to wait to receive an invitation. Give yourself a voice! TAKE THE PLUNGE! All of us started somewhere. For me, I normally try to make a show that I would listen too and that fits into my life style. I record during nap times and when my husband works over as I do not want to wake anyone up. This restricts me from having guests or being a guest. When you are thinking of starting a project of your own, make sure that it is something you really love. Make sure that you have the time to do it. Make sure that you can keep up with the demands. Give yourself some wiggle room! You don't want to be so strict with the topic of your creation to the point that if your tastes change you reformat under the same show. I also recommend that you be kind to yourself during the process if you choose to start something of your own. The worst thing you can do to yourself is compare your work to that of other content creators. Everyone has their own talents, tastes, budget, and personality. Over time you will find your Niche and your audience. Spend your energy improving your product instead of being green with envy and poisoned by jealousy. I have seen this destroy confidence, friendships, and fun. Avoid trying to mimic others , be true to yourself and get your ass out of your comfort zone!
It might feel weird at first. You will feel uncomfortable, but you will start to feel stronger each time you do. This is your life, what are you really waiting for? No really! If you spent half of the amount of time you spent lifting up others, trying to get noticed by your idols, or criticizing others, you'd see you have a lot to share and you have been going about it all wrong.
Give yourself a chance would ya? Yeah, sure, you will no doubt cross paths with people just like you who will feel the need to give you their two cents, and that is OK! Inspire them to leave their comfy little shell of fear a judgment too! You do not have to thrust yourself out in the limelight. You do not have to advertise yourself if you don't want too. Just throw your content out into the ocean like the rest of us do. It really is just like that. We create something, toss it in a "bottle" of sorts, then toss it out into the nether. Sometimes we get a message back and sometimes we don't, but either way we keep creating because it brngs us joy.
I do realize that not everyone who is critical has a desire to produce anything, but they deliver their message differently. They are respectful and discreet. They do not treat the content as though they had purchased a defective product that needs immediate attention. In most cases the content is 100% FREE and your are not being forced to consume it. In most cases consumers understand that their ride to work would be incredibly boring without the voices of their favorite podcast in their ear. Their business meeting would drag on without their favorite blogger to help them pass the time.
If you are more of a "support beam" type of personality, that is amazing too. Anyone who makes anything for others to consume needs to be surrounded by supportive people! You are greatly needed in all avenues of creation whether it be food, art, clothes, crafts, audio, visual, or even something text based. Supportive people are very beneficial and appreciated by anyone that wishes to have a great foundation on various platforms in life. The difference between being a critical jack-hole and a supportive person is that one genuinely loves to help out behind the scenes and the other type of person is too chicken to make something of their own. That's my opinion of course ;) No matter what side of the coin you reside on, I know you have something itching to be created. Please, just stick your toes in, at least just do it long enough to get a taste if you think it is for you!
You don't to have the best equipment or an inside track. You don't have to worry about losing when there are no winners! You do not have to be perfect. You do not have to be a wizard in the field. You do not have to be well known or an Internet celebrity, you just have to be you! So, get off your butt and make something more fulfilling than what you have been cooking lately, which probably is nothing! ;D
There are a lot of resources available to you on the Internet regarding what you can use to get started on which avenue you desire. Since I podcast I will only speak on that aspect.
I use audacity to record and edit my show. When I had guests on I would use Skype to interview and Call Graph to record the conversation. I currently use Podbean because of its ease of use as I am entirely incompetent when it comes to messing around with coding etc. There are a lot of different options you can check out too, like Sound Cloud or Libsyn to name a couple.
Blogger and Wordpress are the two main blogging sites that I have used, but there are so so many options when it comes to blogging that you can feel out what set up would work best for you.
In closing, realize that there is a difference between having an opinion that you keep to yourself and publicly shaming a content creator because you lack the talent or motivation to create something to call your own. What are you really waiting for? Take the first step and brainstorm then dive in! If you are waiting for an invite, this is it!
Esme out!
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