Sunday, September 28, 2014

Quick Update

I mentioned in one of my previous blogs that I was looking for a back up computer that I could use to stream past shows on the site when I'm not actively broadcasting.

Because I wasn't planning on using such a machine for anything else I was looking to do this on the super cheap (meaning free).

I've posted more than a couple of ads on Freecycle and haven't gotten any responses so I don't think I'll have any luck there. While at the Salvation Army store this week I noticed that they had a pile of computers but there was no real way to check them out unless I plugged in a monitor, keyboard and mouse right there and I didn't notice all 3 at the same time when I was there. I'm ok with laying out a little cash to make 24/7 streaming happen but at the same time I'm not inclined to throw money away on it.

Still working on making this happen though, stay tuned!

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Show update;

Taking this week off, mostly because I have an early morning meeting, and at least an hour drive to get to it. I thought that I said goodbye to this kind of thing when I stepped down from my last promotion (see one of my June blog posts). However we will resume our normal broadcast schedule next Sunday and I hope you'll join us!


Saturday, September 27, 2014

No Show This Week (9/28/14)

Due to the fact that I have an early morning meeting (and an hour drive to get to it) there will be no broadcast this week.

Indie Spotlight will return at it's normal time next Sunday.

Have a great weekend!

~ Jack

Friday, September 19, 2014

September 2014 Update

Since our total flop on iVlog I've come to accept that doing the show on our own site is the better bet although it's going to have it's ups and downs.

What I mean by that is that some week's we're going to have a packed chat, while other week's it's just going to be me and Deb from Unsigned Musicians in the chat.

As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I'm ok with that. I really think that I've accomplished quite a bit with Indie Spotlight during it's run and while I will keep the show going I'm starting to look at other internet broadcasting projects that I might do.

At this time, I'm not planning on retiring as host of Indie Spotlight, this show will continue however I don't find it fulfilling as I once did which to me is a sign that my internet hosting a live broadcast needs to go in another direction.

While I have a ton of ideas in my head as to what I might do next, I haven't decided where I want to go as of yet so stay tuned.

Saturday, September 13, 2014

Wandering Minds = Dangerous

Sitting here working on tomorrow's playlist and my mind started to wander. I gotta be careful with that because sometimes it doesn't come back.

I'm trying to think of ways that I could make the show better and right now I'm drawing a blank.

Some of the things that made the show back in the day just aren't available to me in our current format. For example, back when we did musician interviews on blogtalkradio people could call in with questions and talk live with their favorite musician.

Can't do that right now, lost that when we left BTR back in 2009. While we made the interview format work on blogtv with the chat, it just wasn't the same because we either needed a phone number or a skype name and while most people trusted us with either, not everyone did.

Live music, yeah, that would be a total crapshoot. See, because I have to use the Adobe Flash Encoder to broadcast the show on our current site, there is no co-host capability. iVlog doesn't offer it as of yet either. The only way we could bring live music back would be to try it via Skype. Tried it back when we were on Blogtv, it didn't go well due to bandwith issues on the musicians end.

In other words I think I've done all I can really do in this medium.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not hanging up my headset, no matter how many or how few people come to the broadcast I enjoy doing it. No matter what else I decide to take up, Indie Spotlight will stay on it's current format, date and time.

I'm just starting to think about some other projects that I might like to do.

For examples, while not doing a political show, I wouldn't mind doing something in a talk format. Back during my NewsTalk days I had an idea for a show that I was going to call "What If Moments in History" where I would take a historic event, and wonder what would be different if it had not have happened. Of course you would need interaction with other people to really make that play out. I still think it's a neat idea although it would take a TON of work to put together but I still think it would be fun so that is an idea. The downside is that this would have to broadcast on a site that you could interact with people verbally, similar to blogtalkradio.

I've actually done a few American Football related shows way back in the day on BTR, I called it Tuesday Night Quarterback. To be quite honest about it I was just playing around with it and it ended up being a total flop but with the right promotion I think it could work. Just have to find a place to broadcast it. iVlog is an option on this one. Would have to find another name for the show, ideas?

I could do a cooking show but with my luck I would end up being a prime example as to why people shouldn't cook live on the internet.

..................and

                               my mind
                           
                                               has wandered
         
                                                                            away