So, I want to do a podcast…
… and who doesn’t, at this point. I wanted to do this a few years ago and even bought a bit of equipment that could double for photography and video use. But, I didn’t have the time or energy for anything new then. It also seemed like everyone and their auntie was doing a knitting podcast and my sensibilities got a little saturated. However, something has changed with my interest and the idea sounds appealing to me again. Like when a joke is said so often that it gets old and is no longer funny but you keep hearing it and, maddening though it is, it eventually becomes funny again- maybe because it is so maddening. That’s not a very good illustration, but you get the point. I mean, you do have your own podcast too, right?
So that spur-of-the-moment decision had me hovering over my computer for like four days straight. Totally required a chiropractic visit. The Mac was simply too old for my iMovie to work with Youtube and too old to support newer programs that would. The good news is we were getting a new computer for Christmas. The bad- that Vlogmas would be over when that got sorted out. This left me with the choice to try vlogging via my phone, in short 15 bursts, or just give up on Vlogmas. (Yes, the term Vlogmas alternately compels me and cheeses me out.) The result is what you see here, a slightly blurry, but enjoyable experiment for my Christmas 2017. Days 1-4:
I can see why so many people are making knitting podcasts. My one hesitation is what does this offer me (or anyone) that the mediums I already use aren’t covering. I get that video allows for better show and tell, but I have a camera and the idea of not having to straighten up the living room for a short video sounds really easy.
I have struggled to find time for blogging over the last few years too, so why would I think I could do this any easier? I mean, I realize this isn’t a business venture. It’s not like it matters if I don’t continue with it. Knitters across the globe won’t be spreading ashes across their faces and wailing. But I don’t want to set myself up for frustration. I really missed taking photographs and blogging over the last couple of years. It couldn’t be helped, but this is the time when I can start back at it. (I literally mean this week. I am not a caregiver anymore. My rush of obligations to my son’s soccer fundraising and the initial training for a new volunteer position is over.) I am thinking that a podcast might enhance the blog.
Then there’s the “Everyone has a Podcast” Factor. So? I don’t mind being lost in the sea of knitters on Youtube. If only a few people see it and interact, then that’s a few more people than I know in my everyday life that craft. If no one watches, I still might like doing it once in a while for the same reasons I have blogged all these years. I like a visual record of things I have learned, created, or experienced.
It actually feels a little safer to be one of a billion knitting podcasters. There is also a tiny fear of being on camera for all the world to see. I’m just being honest, here. But, in the end, that’s not a deal breaker because I don’t have a facade that could be shattered. Sure, I still don’t want the cluttered corners of my home on camera, but I am not pretending they aren’t there.
Communication is my goal. People are reading blogs less, I know I am, because we are so pressed for time; listening, while doing something else, is a simple solution. I so want that routine to include keeping in touch with blogs, chatting about things that open my mind, and spurring more creative experiments. If I completely change my mind after one more frustrating day sitting in front of my computer, then so be it. It’s mine to do whatever I want with and a month-long record is better than no record of my life at the age of 43.
