002 - Purpose, Planning and Potential

Average shows (called Podcast episodes) tend to range from 20-40 minutes. They are mostly dominated by voice - you, the host, talking about your message. So, for anything that is dominated by your voice, you need some planning. We all know how easy it is to get off subject in a 10 minute speech. Now magnify that to a 40 minute speech. Yeah, those are a lot of rabbit trails, and a lot of opportunities for your listeners to get really bored or lost. As you design your podcast, decide on a focused overall message (a purpose), and stick to it. If you plan to ramble and go down rabbit trails, then choose a very very broad message, and then you can easily stick to your "focus" of broadness. Beautiful, isn't it?

After you have chosen your purpose, plan your episode. No, you don't need to plan every word, but you need a basic outline of what you will discuss throughout your show. If your podcast is to focus on your family, plan how you will talk about those 5 cute sons or daughters of yours, and of course your spouse. If your Podcast is a focus on your ministry, you should have in mind, before you sit down to record, the specific parts you will discuss. Believe me, I have a few really bad episodes out there that have no focus, no direction, and are super boring. I'm embarrassed.

And that's another thing. Podcasts carry different risks than blogs. While you have the benefits of a radio show without the complications of having to do it live, there are still plenty of things you can say that will make you wish after-the-fact that you hadn't put your foot in your mouth. Blogs can be deleted, or edited after you have published. Once you publish a podcast, your listeners download the show, and it's on their computer, out of your reach. Now you're freaking out, because they can listen to it over and over and over. All you can do is send an apology and try to retract your statement like a politician. But they still know... ...They will always know. Take my advice - record the show, edit out what you need to edit out, sit on the show for a day, listen again, edit again, then publish after thinking twice about whether or not you should publish. Anything less is just uncivilized.

So, sure there are risks, but the thrill of this medium is the command you have over your message. Unlike blogging, where you write the words and everyone misses out on the important intonation in your phrasing, in podcasting you get to speak your message, and they get to hear it as you really intended! It's really a blast, once you get past the fear (or begin to have a fear) of the medium. I'd say, if you're scared, don't be. If you're not scared, get scared (I'm talking fear as in respect, we're not wanting the fear that God's true love has already driven out - don't get that back. Leave it in the gutter).

So, pick your overall podcast purpose, and plan the individual episodes carefully. These are your first assignments. (You've already done this for the International Ministries Division, maybe now you could adapt it to the Podcast!)

Love you guys,

Matt

001 - New Methods in Supporter Interconnection - Podcasting

So, you want to try Podcasting.

“How do I start? Why would I do it? Would anyone even listen?”

Or maybe your questions are more basic; “What is it? Does it have something to do with fishing? Or “casting” away my iPod? Sure, I may be addicted to it, but throwing it away hardly seems the answer. (casting it, get it, GET IT?)"

An Introduction

Podcasting (also called “narrowcasting” for those less excited about the iPod relationship) is a fun way to communicate any message you want to anyone in the world with a computer and the Internet. It is a simple radio show that you design, record and produce on your own. All you need is a message, a computer, a microphone, recording software, and a place on the Internet to store your show file.

And before you start, realize it could be a disaster, if done with the wrong spontaneity, candid-ness, or just the right mixture of uncaring and laziness. Podcasting is a delicate animal that, if let out of the cage, could wreak havoc on the entire world around you. OK, maybe it isn't that extreme. But, necessarily, as Christian workers we have a certain standard to bear - one that calls for creativity, hard work, and honesty. If any medium can get you in trouble, it's podcasting. On the other hand, if any medium can deliver the honest message you intended, with few interpretive issues (and of course, plenty of fun had by the producer) it is podcasting.

Let me introduce myself. My name is Matt. I've been addicted to listening to podcasts for about 4 years (has it really been that long?) and I finally took the leap and started my own podcast with my wife last November. I'm am far from a pro, in fact still in the beginner phase, but I do still have a few pointers I'd love to give you. As you read, please forgive my rambling nature and natural tendency towards off-hand comments that may make little sense. 

Of course, feel free to download and listen to some of our shows, available on iTunes here, or on our podcast website here. But don't think they are the standard. In my opinion, This American Life is the standard. In my opinion, it is the greatest radio show of all time, and (shameless plug coming) it can be downloaded as a podcast here. I am not responsible for the content. But seriously, there are thousands of podcasts available out there on the Web, just go for a look.

Ready? Let's go. More to come soon.

Later guys,

Matt

Pronoun Problems

Pronouns replace another pronoun or noun called antecedents. For clarity in your writing, make the antecedents obvious. Place pronouns as close to their antecedents as possible.

Avoid sentences that offer two possible antecedents for a pronoun.

AMBIGUOUS: Jack told Carl that he acted ungratefully. (Does he refer to Jack or Carl?)

CLEAR: Jack said to Carl, “You acted ungratefully.”

CLEAR: Jack said to Carl, “I acted ungratefully.”

CLEAR: Jack confessed to Carl that He acted ungratefully.

Avoid references to remote antecedents.

REMOTE: The birds sang in the forest amid the thick undergrowth where a brook wound slowly in the valley. They possessed many colors.

CLEAR: The birds sang in the forest amid the thick undergrowth where a brook wound slowly in the valley. The birds possessed many colors. (Repeating the noun avoids the confusion.)

CLEAR: The birds, possessing many colors, sang in the forest… (This revision eliminates the remote reference by changing the second sentence of the example into a subordinate clause.)

Avoid the vague use of this, that, or which to refer to the general idea of a preceding clause or sentence.

Formal usage requires a pronoun to refer to a particular word in a sentence rather than to a complete phrase, clause, or sentence. Informal usage permits such general antecedents.

INFORMAL: He pounded my back. That annoyed me, and I objected strenuously. (That refers to the entire preceding sentence.)

FORMAL: He pounded my back. That action annoyed me, and I objected strenuously. (That refers specifically to the action – pounding.)

Eliminate a vague pronoun reference by:

1. recasting the sentence to eliminate the pronoun, or
2. supplying a specific antecedent for the pronoun.

Use pronouns that can logically substitute for an antecedent.

WEAK: Because we put the wire fence around the chicken yard, they cannot escape. (They cannot logically refer to chicken, which here functions as an adjective, not a noun.)

CLEAR: Because we put the wire fence around the chicken yard, the chickens cannot escape.

WEAK: Tom’s brother is an engineer, and this is the profession Tom wants to study. (This cannot logically refer to engineer.)

CLEAR: Tom’s brother is an engineer, and Tom wants to study engineering.

A Few Caveats

1. Stories don’t have thesis statements. They present the reader with life circumstances and let the reader draw the lesson on his/her own.
2. You have to write to where you live.
3. Issues of syntax and flow of ideas remain central to any communication we do.
4. Be a storyteller or be a philosopher.
5. Don’t know why it works, but qualifying one life touches more lives universally.
6. You get 3 exclamation points for your entire life. An exclamation point won’t do anything bad nouns and verbs won’t.
7. Find ways to deal with the excessive use of personal pronouns. 1^st person plural pronouns aren’t as offensive as 1^st person singular, for whatever reason.
8. Always ask, “What are you accumulating literarily throughout a project?”
9. Foreign words are always italicized.
10. Good poetry is condensed language.
11. Don’t let your language overcomplicate your communication. Above all, you want people to understand you.
12. Periods and commas go inside quotations and colons and semicolons go outside (unless you’re British and then it’s backwards).
13. Selection, arrangement and emphasis of details produce artistic unity.
14. Eliminate to be verbs for more powerful communication. (am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been) Use an active voice. Across the board, passive voice excuses responsibility. Use it when appropriate.
15. Edit for clarity and validity.

What's in a name?

Picking a title is important for your blog…

It gives your audience an idea of what you intend to write about and for many will decide whether or not they want to take the time to read your blog...

Before landing on a name there are a few things to consider:

1. Will people be able to find you on the internet? And do you want people to find you?

Having your name or ministry in the title can help out anyone who is trying to Google you… having the name of your country in your title is also helpful if you want random people to stumble on your blog if they are visiting the area and doing a random search of your country or particular ministry…

If you are in a sensitive area I would consider excluding your name, ministry and country… “onlyheretodobusiness” … “didntcometopreach” … “amnotamissionary”… although many of these countries already have filters to block the contents of blogs and other modes of free expression…

2. Can people spell it correctly?

It didn’t take long for me… and others… to figure out that “stonsinuganda” could easily be mistaken for a hippie safari… “Stoned In Uganda”… I stuck with the title anyway… partly because “Atherstone” is commonly misspelled… Aurtherstone… Atherston… Atherrock…

Often people get too cute with their spelling… “2lejit2qwit”… would probably only be recognized by people who still sleep in hammer pants…

3. Does it reflect your writing?

I had a friend name his blog… “primitive thinking”… but a better name would have been “no time for thinking”… within a month he had run out of time and ideas…

Another friend calls her blog “ramblings of no consequence”… for a missionary I would suggest that there can be great consequences to your writing… offending donors, nationals and just about anyone you chose to write about by name…

4. Does it sound like something it shouldn’t?

Write out the title and use your jr. high imagination for awhile… it’s amazing what you’ll find…

The best advise I can give for picking a title would be:

1. Keep it simple
2. Be true to who you are and your writing style
3. Consider the audience you desire to attract

All Things Preliminary

Example questions to ask in getting started:

1. What mode of communication will speak most powerfully to my intended audience?
2. Do I need to change my style or vocabulary to connect well with my audience?
3. Should I add or eliminate details?
4. Would adding a picture enhance or distract? Do I have an appropriate picture or do I need to take one?
5. What is my motive? Am I only doing this for myself so that I feel good? (If yes, perhaps you should turn to your journal. It is important to process your feelings and experiences. Don’t stop writing; choose the more appropriate context.)
6. Do I have another person with the knowledge and openness to help me evaluate effectiveness?
7. Do I need to educate myself in a specific area?

Practical steps to publishing written communication:

1. Define a purpose or verbalize a goal.
2. Create a draft.
3. Let it sit for at least 24 hours.
4. You edit it for content and grammar, asking questions about the piece related to your purpose statement.
5. Have at least one other person edit for content and grammar and ask them if it fulfills your purpose.
6. Walk away from the piece again.
7. Re-read for power and ease of communication.
8. Publish if satisfied.

Toward Better Communication

As team BloggerHope, we desire to help you become an effective communicator. The communication process involves much more than an aesthetically pleasing web blog which attracts large numbers of readers. It begins with purpose. You must choose intentionality. A blog should not exist for you to throw up hasty, unplanned verbiage for the world to see. A blog, just like a video, podcast, phone call, email, letter, brochure or television show, can only carry communication.

You must choose the best vehicle for your communication depending on the purpose you seek to fulfill. (This might mean creating a different photoblog only for the grandparents rather than uploading unrelated pictures of your children along with your post about the economic state of your country.) By using the best form of communication to fit your purpose, you will greatly increase your effectiveness.

Then you should evaluate all the resources at your disposal. Remember to include people. In humility, recognize your need for help and then ask for it. Dig out those old English composition notes. Invest in a style manual. Listen to a lecture on different types of communication. Perhaps this seems too involved and overwhelming. You might think, “I don’t have time to do all of that.” If you truly do not have time to put toward developing your knowledge, then you do not have time to blog or podcast. But maybe the issue stems more from the fact that I have broken your expectations of an instantly gratifying support raising strategy.

I do not want to dissuade you from blogging. Blogs are extremely effective communication venues. I want to dissuade you from using the effect tool in a very ineffective way. You can learn how to get the most out of different communication pieces. We can help by teaching you what we know.