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Michael Sorg

Michael Sorg

Helping people tell their story.Podcasting guru that's hard at work building a little empire in my corner of the 'net with Sorgatron Media. Videographer that loves shooting for regional professional wrestling outfits, high school football, web series and documentaries.Video editor that's worked on safety training, promotional materials, and web content for over a decade.Social Media worker that's helping local companies get their message and vibe out there.

 

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The Musings of Michael Sorg

Double Ender Podcasting That Isn’t Scary.  

Double Ender Podcasting That Isn’t Scary.  

From the Sorgatron Media Creators Newsletter List for September 22, 2016.  You can Subscribe to it here or read the archive

A few months ago, we were looking for a light weight solution for remote recording some team members for a certain collegiate competition Podcast. One of the members brought up a program called Zencastr.

For those newer, let’s look at what a “double ender” Podcast is.  A lot of Podcasters have a need to use Skype or Google Hangout to connect with cohosts or guests across the country (world?). This is a great solution, but those that have heard some of these shows, or used the voice over internet services know there are some quality issues sometimes.  In the double ender, you actual record on both sides of the call locally.  You end up with separate tracks with each of the hosts recorded.  You then sync that track and have a much cleaner show than if you just recorded on one side.  (Disclaimer: I absolutely don’t do this in many of my main shows for configuration reasons)

What Zencastr does is make this simpler. Instead of a higher learning curve and making sure people on both sides of the internet know what they’re doing, and some of the audio drift issues you see from using different kinds of computers, recording software, etc, it is an online site that handles it.  As you record, you are able to chat with a simple interface and when finished, each person’s track is uploaded to the service for you to grab and edit later.

This has served not only my clients, but helped save Does This Hold Up as their hosts were suddenly split several state away from each other.

The service IS in beta, and you can get a few hiccups here and there (files don’t show up right away, disappear if you drop calls, etc) but everything has it’s faults and this seems to be a nice place to start your Podcast with as good of quality as each of its hosts can muster.

September 22, 20160 commentsRead More
Visualize Your Media

Visualize Your Media

From the Sorgatron Media Creators Newsletter List for September 15, 2016.  You can Subscribe to it here or read the archive

This week, I had the chance to sit down with Nick Miller and Buzzy Torek of Epicast to talk about their entrepreneurism.  We started talking about their great visual representation with their podcasts.  (Seriously, take a look at Epicast.tv and their Social Media.  Their Podcasting looks cool).   

“Let’s not try to annoy people by posting over and over” ~ Nick Miller 

Buzzy and Nick talking about photography

You typically need to post a LOT to make a dent in Social Media  We’ve discussed in the past the idea of “Rinse and Reuse” your content in different formats to catch people in different formats. Epicast has been successful in visualizing a typically audio medium in their promotion with a variety of posts on the same show or topic.

How can you do the same with your project?

September 15, 20160 commentsRead More
Get Started (with your Podcast or Project) Where You Are

Get Started (with your Podcast or Project) Where You Are

From the Sorgatron Media Creators Newsletter List for September 8, 2016.  You can Subscribe to it here or read the archive

Recently on an recording of Fishing Without Bait podcast (Episode 56, still upcoming as of this writing) we talked about how many people get in their head that they need to join a gym to improve themselves.  They buy the shoes, and the outfit, maybe even some equipment or a yoga ball at home.  But the neglect to put in the work and get started.  

Sometimes when people start their Podcast, or video content, they go through all of the guides, watch the webinars, buy the equipment.  But don’t put in the work and get started.  

We’re all good at coming up with ideas. I’ve had a few. But if you don’t execute, it’s just a nice fleeting thought.  Sometimes you get started, but let things get in the way.  Maybe you do all the setup, and realize you really don’t like running on a treadmill, or trying to figure out a weight machine in public.  Or talking to the “public” on a microphone.

You don’t learn if you don’t reach out.  Projects have started as a thought and were done the wrong way until we cleaned things up.  Clients have known they want some content, but not sure what to do with it until part way int the project.  When we started Podcasting, there were no rules to a “good Podcast”.  When we delved into 360 video, the rules are still being written and tested as it gains popularity.

But if you don’t get started, you don’t even have a chance to become the inevitable expert.

September 8, 20160 commentsRead More
Don’t Victimize Your Audience

Don’t Victimize Your Audience

From the Sorgatron Media Creators Newsletter List for August 25, 2016.  You can Subscribe to it here or read the archive

twitter-292994_1920This week, I had a couple chances to air my concern of WWE cracking down on Gifs.

Just because you own a copyright, doesn’t mean you should evoke them.  Gifs are a language in which fans express themselves on Twitter and other Social Media mediums.  It’s usually a creative expression by your fans.  If I have my DMCA understanding, it also falls under commentary, which keeps the offenders i the clear from the law, but not a DMCA takedown practice.

I find it sad this apparent move by the legal department conflicts with a group that has been so hot on Social Media with their brand.  Will they recover?  Probably.  Their brand and audience are too strong. But it’s a good cautionary tail for the rest of us.

August 25, 20160 commentsRead More
You Get What You Pay For, Podcasters

You Get What You Pay For, Podcasters

From the Sorgatron Media Creators Newsletter List for August 18, 2016.  You can Subscribe to it here or read the archive

This week, I had a moment as I mini-ranted on AwesomeCast about Google+ Hangouts OnAir giving us 4 weeks before we pull the plug.  So I’ve had some time to calm down and start looking at some other options to help our shows such as the Mid Week War, who has used Hangouts OnAir to connect and record shows about pro wrestling shows to the point where they received the attention of Executive Producers of one of the hottest new shows.

Man.  It’s hard to find.

The immediate option, Blab.im, which I talked about extensively on this platform and Podcasts, just died DAYS ago.  There are PLENTY of video conferencing options out there, but not many of them record or allow a live broadcast.

In the end, as I got into in my tear on AwesomeCast, we have to be careful with the tool we choose to build our creative house of cards on.  Some are creating a Jenga tower for their show and Google Hangouts could be that lone brick that could bring it tumbling down.

We’ve cautioned for years not to just put your stuff on Facebook, Youtube, or some other platform you don’t have ownership over.  Bring people to your own whateverpodcast.com in the end.  Use those tools, but be ready for them to not be there tomorrow.  Can your community sustain it?

Over the years, I’ve seen our communities move from a CGI based self hosted message board to Myspace, to Plurk for a minute to Facebook Groups.  And they’ll move on for something after that too.

I have also had plenty of experience with these free promised land services like Google. I’ve seen a Podcast host get wiped out after 6 months of our fledgeling Wrestling Mayhem Show, find concern in our long time (and Pittsburgh local) Talkshoe not making moves and expecting my hobby shows to disappear any day before being bought out.  There’s a reason I pay for a Libsyn and SquareSpace host for my clients.  It’s also an insurance policy.

 

August 18, 20160 commentsRead More
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