jason 
Friday, 3rd of August 2007 at 09:06:30 PMLast year before PodCamp, I kept getting the question at work, “What’s a podcast?” That most certainly is not the question on everyone’s mind this year. Now I am getting, “Why in the hell do you do this for free?” While for me and thousands of podcasters and bloggers out there the answer is simple. That answer is not simple unless you are in the trenches and loving it.
The true answer is that I am doing this for less than free. If the podcast was a business, which it is no longer, and it was a public company it would have a negative market capitalization (if that is even possible). If I want quick money I’d be selling sex or drugs. Better yet, sell sex and drugs at the local bath house. 
This podcast cost me about $90 per month, just in hosting fees. Of course I could use a cheaper hosting provider, but I want to give all listeners the best possible service. When I was broadcasting 3-4 times per week, I needed the bandwidth that this package gives me, but have just kept on with it. I like having my own Linux server to run the web site on which keeps my CompTia Linux+ Certified skills up-to-date.
It takes a lot of time, effort, and money to keep a podcast running. Unfortunately, I ran into a long stretch of depression which made me cut the amount of time put into the show. I’ve only broadcast eight times this year, but the download numbers are extraordinary. Do you see people going back to watch an episode of Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN) from June 23, 2005? No. Here, I see several dozen people listening to this podcast’s very first episode every month.
I have been in the Internet business since the summer of 1996 and have seen tens of businesses, if not hundreds fail. Some grow faster than they are able to expand. Others just cannot afford the cost of doing business. Others still spend millions getting a web site off the ground just to see that their commissioned Gartner reports lie to them. Podcasting is not as much a business realm as it is a grassroots world. Anyone can start a podcast, fewer can keep one going for a few months, let alone a few years. Even fewer make any sort of decent money at it. It is not the easiest work.
One reason podcasting is so important is that it gets alternative views shared. The mainstream media is biased towards asininity. Would anyone listen to Larry King’s podcast if he wasn’t Larry King? I don’t care that he probably gets tens if not hundreds of thousands of downloads per show. He’s mainstream and is biased towards such a world. Jason Cable, on the other hand, averages around 1,000 listeners per show. That is just fine with me. First off, who is Jason Cable? He’s just some gay guy that has a web site, right? Could he have a show about gay and lesbian issues on CNN? Nope. My niche audience likes what I do. I don’t doubt that many people download me just to fall asleep, but if I didn’t have this podcast, how could I get my message a thousand people? Colleges that bring in guest speakers or performers that are less known are lucky to get 100 attendees. Podcasting opens up that world and more.
Yes! I do this for free. I like it. It’s cheaper than most hobbies out there. To me, my podcast is one of my crowning achievements. And yes, I’m doing this for free and sponsoring a dinner Saturday night at podcamp. Why? Because it’s fun and exciting. I love to meet these wonderful people that I have something in common with. Try going into a gay bar and see how many people speak to you. Now, try going to a PodCamp. Big difference? I’m not in this for fame and glory, just an outlet for my thoughts and commentary… and maybe to help a few lost souls out there.
Let’s not forget why we create podcasts, blogs, video blogs, YouTube videos, and tweets all day. It’s to make friends, meet new people, and hopefully learn something that betters our lives. Out here in the wild, wild west, it is not about who is the most popular, but about the heart-felt entertainment that is given freely, not bought. Yours, Jason
YTD Statistics Follow:
2007 YTD Stats for JasonCable.com’s GLBT Podcast as of 08/01/2007
Numbers are total number of downloads of all podcasts.
Jan: 3,733; Feb: 2,061; Mar: 2,733; Apr: 3,375; May: 3,038; Jun: 3,556; Jul: 4,853.
Grand Total (June 26, 2005 to date): 158,310 downloads; 128 episodes.
Most downloaded show to date: #101 (Gays Are Not Pedophiles), 4,104 downloads.
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Agreed, doing it for free is what makes it a movement / evolution / revolution, etc. Sure, we all want to NOT lose money, and eventually we’d like to MAKE money, but that’s beside the point.
Creating social media is an act of revolution. You’re sharing your viewpoint solely for the sake of generating a conversation. Eventually, this — as all things — will become monetized. In the meantime, we should be celebrating the passion required for someone to expend time and energy in sharing his / her voice with the world — not deriding them because of their “shortsightedness” or “infantile priorities”…
Thanks, Justin! You do have a good point about podcasting, etc. becoming monetized eventually. Look, it took MSNBC just over a decade to finally turn a profit. They were the first to come out against the establishment, which was, at the time, CNN, NBC, ABC, and CBS.
You made a good comment the other day on the conference call for PCPgh2 about getting sponsors that I keep forgetting to thank you for… People look at my podcast and see ONLY 1,000 listeners per show or at PodCamp and see ONLY 200 attendees. Well, how dedicated do you think those people are? Honestly, I haven’t watched one (1) television commercial since buying my TiVO. No, TiVO didn’t kill the commercialism of TV, the advertisers did. Why NOT go after small groups of dedicated listeners/viewers on podcasts/blogs/vblogs/etc.? Sure, we’re small, but that’s what makes us special. Stop bitching about losing money on TV advertising and look at us.
Jason, your build-it-and-they-will-come, with a healthy dose of social networking, makes the most sense in this “industry”. I’m sorry I missed your sessions at podcamp – John Carman and DJ G suggested them. I guess I was having too much fun presenting, too, and filming my forthcoming interviews & the “happy birthday norm” montage.
..alex.