The Podcast Movement

On Saturday morning, I went to hear Pat Flynn, the convention’s first keynote speaker. I sat next to Clair Tanner, who co-hosts Film Back, a podcast for “striving and thriving filmmakers.” Peppy and energized by the “supportive community” at Podcast Movement, she couldn’t help but dance in her seat to the generic pre-show music. She was the perfect audience member. She laughed at every joke, cheered at every opportunity, and started a number of impromptu applause sessions. As the lights dimmed and Flynn was introduced, signaling the end of our conversation, she leaned close to me and whispered, “Thank you for writing about this conference” before throwing her undivided attention at Flynn.

Flynn, host of The Smart Passive Income, which provides free tips and tools for business owners, kicked off a presentation that was tailored toward enthusiastic podcasters like Tanner who were in search of a community to offset the solitude of speaking into a microphone to an unknown audience every week, every day, every other hour. His speech, “The Real Podcasting Struggle: You Versus You,” was full of dramatic moments, cheesy music, and the underlying message not to give up in the early stages of obscurity. He played the first podcast he ever recorded to show that the talent doesn’t come naturally to anyone. He spoke of the reach and power of podcasting, that they are “forever there, to bring people into your tribe.”

I caught up with Flynn the next day. He didn’t have much time. In 10 minutes he would enter the portable booth in the corner of the lobby to be interviewed by a podcaster in attendance who had won the opportunity to host him. “I feel like a celebrity here, and it’s so weird because I just speak into a microphone at home,” Flynn told me as a number of fans patiently stood near us, hoping to meet him.

Flynn’s motivational tactics and business prowess makes him an easy fit at all sorts of speaking engagements, but he had never been to a conference like this, because, well, nothing like this had ever existed before. “Podcasting being a fairly new thing, I had no idea it would be this well-received,” he said.

Flynn claimed it was the most engaging audience he had ever spoken to. It makes sense. These weren’t people looking to take his tips and apply them to their respective careers. These were people who wanted his career.

Following Flynn was 99% Invisible host and founder Mars, who stressed that the need for community was crucial for growth and that podcasters should not see one another as competition.

“Eighty percent of the world doesn’t know what the fuck we do,” he reminded the crowd. “We can kill each other later.”

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Jay Soderberg laughed when I suggested he was a podcasting pioneer, yet he is the man largely responsible for successfully integrating podcasting into ESPN’s regular programming. He created, produced, or was part visionary in many of the conglomerate’s most popular podcasts, including Matthew Berry’s Fantasy Focus. Now, Soderberg is the head of content for BlogTalkRadio, a “unifying podcasting platform,” he said.

“My vision has always been building on top of each other,” Soderberg told me. “Podcasters helping podcasters helping podcasters.”

It was a common theme at Podcast Movement: community, not only as a source of encouragement and enthusiasm but as the most viable model for the medium’s growth. Podcasts are intimate relationships for some listeners, and while the average listener may subscribe to only one or two shows, it’s when those podcasters recommend another show to their listeners that the branches start to expand. A listener trusts his favorite podcaster so wholeheartedly that in six months, two subscriptions can turn into 15 or 20.

“I knew eight years ago that radio was dead,” Soderberg said emphatically of the time when he was told to look into how to incorporate podcasts into ESPN’s programming. He researched podcasts and began to wonder why anyone was still listening to the radio. For Soderberg, the niche programming is what allows the medium to thrive. Football fans don’t want to sit through baseball and basketball segments to get to the content they are looking for.

In those eight years, Soderberg has become an avid fan of podcasting. He studied Adam Curry. Co-host of the No Agenda Show and affectionately nicknamed “The Podfather,” Curry was also inducted into the podcasters’ Hall of Fame Friday night. When Soderberg presented the next award, he noticed Curry had left his acceptance speech, scribbled on a hotel notepad, at the podium. Soderberg stuffed the notes into his pocket to have them framed, a little piece of memorabilia just for him.

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Carrie Olsen stood out because she was the only attendee hauling around a 1-year-old girl. When I stopped Olsen to ask if she had a podcast, her daughter, uninterested in my line of questioning, began striking Carrie on the chest and neck.

“Gentle, baby,” Carrie reminded Amelia. “Remember? Gentle.”

Amelia continued to hit her mother but less intensely and at a slower pace. Carrie and her husband, Derek Olsen, had co-written the book One Bed, One Bank Account and followed it up with a joint podcast called Better Conversations on Money and Marriage.

They were in the middle of a book tour when the road quite literally became home. “We sold everything and bought a travel trailer.”

Their 133-square-foot ride has taken them all over the country from their former home in Kansas City, Mo.

“It’s been great,” Carrie said, smiling. “She learned to walk in Seattle,” motioning toward Amelia, who reluctantly gave me a high five for the accomplishment. Carrie is a voice actor who can work from the road, and Derek is the primary planner for the tour and podcasts. They planned a book signing in Fort Worth specifically so they could make it to Podcast Movement. They’ve already published 63 episodes, but they came looking for expert quality and marketing tips. They sat in the back row of every talk, just in case Amelia decided she’d had enough of a presentation like “The Law and the Profits: Legal and Business Survival Tips for Podcasters.”

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