Imperfect Roundup #1 - The downfall of podcasting, the science of storytelling, & useless tips for going viral
A content & resources round-up of all the good stuff in February.
Hello there! I'm trying out something new with this post. I tend to collect a variety of resources over the month, so I thought why not put everything into a short round-up of my favourites, as well as all the stuff I’ve made that month. It feels like a nice way to share content outside of “The Algorithms”.
Expect a mix of topics - podcasts, books, & useful resources (mostly focused on content creation), from the popular to the obscure. I’d also love if you hit reply and share your favourite content with me! Let me know what you think and if I should continue this.
First, in the Imperfect world…
I launched my podcast, Imperfect Creatives, and it’s already one month old! Thanks to all of those who reached out with kind words and feedback. I'm absolutely loving working on this project and getting to meet cool people. I released two episodes this month:
I spoke with Vinamrata Singal on her sabbatical - we covered the practicalities of taking a sabbatical, as well as the identity challenges that come with it. Plus — how to get comfortable with professional uncertainty, and building an audience in a way that feels authentic to your values.
In the first episode, I had a chat with Phil Bennett on his new book Punk Leadership, how we can change tech companies for the better, and how we should be choosing our jobs more deliberately using his three pillars (people, cash, planet).
Also, I turned on payments here on Substack! Everything will remain free, I’m not offering any additional incentives (yet), and I’m not even sure if Substack is the right place for me if I do decide to offer additional paid content, but I figured, why not? Making a podcast costs time & money, so if you want to support me to cover those costs, you can now do that here:
If you’re a Substacker who has built an audience here and you’ve turned on paid subscriptions, I’d love to hear your what your experience has been like.
The downfall of podcasting?
It's funny that the same month I release my podcast, I start seeing a lot of content about podcasts being broken. I’m sure this is mostly just The Algorithms in action, but it still made me think!
I’ve always loved podcasts, especially in what I would consider their “original” form - chill, unfiltered, long form conversations about interesting topics with interesting people. But there is very much a “cringe” side to many popular podcasts these days that I’m not a big fan of — what Michael Spicer calls the homogenous blob of mindset bro's whose mission is to sell you bright green nutritional powder.
So is the format dying, or can we still save it? Does it even need saving?
Listen to James Smith give his take on the downfall of podcasting, the struggles creators face with the modern podcasting model, and how we ended up here.
An update this February by Apple totally screwed small podcasts (and it was the right thing to do) — Hank Green explains the impact of Apple turning off automatic podcast downloads (spoiler; the advertisers win). Note to self: don’t sell ads based on third-party metrics which can change!
On the flip side, why “wherever you got your podcasts” is a radical statement, and a celebration of the free format that podcasting is.
I also enjoyed this short post about Emergent vs. Transactional Conversations and how this often separates good podcasts from bad ones, plus how the same thing goes for practically all conversations we have. Whilst I do a lot of prep for my own podcast interviews, this was a good reminder about the importance of leaving room for spontaneity and going with the flow.
Storytelling is everything
This month I've been reading the Science of Storytelling by Will Storr. I'm about 30% in and I'm really loving it. It’s making me realise that storytelling is at the core of everything we do in life and all of our relationships, both with ourselves and others. Highly recommended!
I recently discovered the podcast No Backup Plan by Nathaniel Drew. I particularly love this episode with French YouTuber Alex, aka FrenchGuyCooking. Nathanial’s podcast made me realise how impactful it can be to start telling a story right from the intro itself. I love how each episode begins with a casual but personal note from Nathaniel. When introducing his guests, he doesn’t focus on the who but the why. I’m now inspired to be more like this for future episodes of Imperfect Creatives.
One of my absolute favourite photographers is James Popsys. I recently came across this article from November where James talks about the importance of storytelling in his work, and why one core reason for him to start a YouTube channel was getting people to care about what he was creating. I think this applies to any creative work, so it’s a worthwhile read even if you’re not into photography.
Self promotion, having an audience as a creator, & competing with AI content
I’ve had a lot of stuff pop-up this month on self-promotion and building an audience as an online creator. A couple of highlights:
Here on Substack, I loved this piece by Tara McMullin: Sorry (Not Sorry), Self-Promotion Doesn't Work, as well as Mike Sowden’s honest take: 10 Mostly Useless Tips For Going Viral On Social Media
I enjoyed this Vox piece on why everyone is a sellout now: “The internet has made it so that no matter who you are or what you do — from 9-to-5 middle managers to astronauts to housecleaners — you cannot escape the tyranny of the personal brand.”
People don’t know what you do, what you offer, or what you want from them - a straight forward reminder by Kristi Keller that if you are actually offering something, you need to make it super clear. Reading this is what made me actually put a note in this post telling you that you can now support me as a paid subscriber if you want to.
One last Substack highlight is Erik Hoel’s post - Here lies the internet, murdered by generative AI. A fascinating and somewhat horrifying look at the current state of the internet and death-by-AI (and most disturbing, how YouTube for kids has already been overwhelmed by low quality AI content).
That’s it for the first round-up! At the time this post goes out to the world, I’ll be on my way to record another episode for the podcast (in person!) which I’m super excited about. Looking forward to share that soon.
— Mike.