Here's an Update...
“I felt like a tree falling in the forest of falling trees and no one was around to hear it.”
Its been some time since my last interaction here. I’ve been attempting to find myself, find the identity of the project, and most importantly figure out why I am doing this. To say this is a casual passion project would be inaccurate. At a base level I strive for success with any thing I do, even if it’s as minor as accomplishing small tasks one by one. Why do something without reason to? This has been the forefront of my creative brain the past year. What do I view as success within this project? Is it just to create? Or to create AND share? What happens when I am unable to share with people?
For this project I’ve been having a difficult time defining success, in the short or long term. The first year my goal was to create, to produce a new episode monthly. I quickly felt overwhelmed by this arbitrary time frame I set upon myself to accomplish 30-40 hours of work on top of my other responsibilities within a handful of weeks. Beyond the tangible production, what was the point of pouring in the effort when it wasn’t reaching anyone? I was dedicating all my time to creating but had no time to market. I felt like a tree falling in the forest of falling trees and no one was around to hear it. In fact, I still feel this way.
In year two, I adapted, allotting a couple months per episode and prioritizing marketing in attempts for discovery. I devised a marketing calendar, set forth a budget, and over the course of the second year I attacked social media to broaden the scope of opportunity for discovery. I fell short only gaining single digits in any metric I invested time or money into. Furthermore those metrics felt superficial. I had fallen into a few “podcaster echo chambers” only interacting with individuals self promoting, not much authentic dialog. Ironically my “most popular tweet” was one discussing these concerns. Already feeling vulnerable I buckled from burden of perceived failure and took a hiatus.
That is where I am today. Looking forward with the hopeful lens of a new year, I'm constructing my action plan. Moving forward I need to believe I am capable. Moving forward my metric for success is to “just do”. Record episodes, post tweets, talk genuinely with people (not even about the project) because that was always the purpose. Having something done is better than nothing being done. I would appreciate if you came along for the ride and joined the conversation. I am absolutely interested in what you have to say, so let me know your thoughts. You can find me directly @wisims or @discologymc on Twitter and Instagram.