Wired Parish Blog

Top 10 Podcasting Mistakes (Part 1)

News Flash: As president of a podcasting company, I listen to a BUNCH of podcasts. Many days this is a glorious thing. I've been on a Leonard Sweet kick as of late, and I listened to his 'Happy Feet' podcast today. Ahhhh . . . I love it.

But it's not all smiles and chuckles. I run across a number of colossal mistakes that podcasters consistently make. So in the grand traditions of a) making fun of people and b) encouraging progress, I give you the 1st of the Top 10 Podcasting Mistakes.

1. Refusing to Get to the Point

Want to inspire your listeners to tune out before your intro music fades? Try spending the first several minutes of your podcast rambling on about where you went to dinner last weekend, what your upcoming vacation plans are, and how much you can't wait for the new Keanu Reeves film.

Most podcasts--not all, but most--are built first around content, and then around personalities. If someone is tuning into a podcast about wine, she expects to hear primarily about, well, wine. If it's a cast on marketing, he's gearing up to hear about fresh ways to leverage email or how to improve website conversion ratios.

Personality is important, and it's not that you should be so content-driven that your long-term listeners know nothing about you or that you never take detours in the conversation, but these kinds of jaunts should be done in the context of the subject matter. Snippets about yourself here and there or off-topic rants can create rapport with your audience, but filling up airtime with off the map commentary is quick road to breaking trust with listeners.

The key? Go into each cast with no more than 2 or 3 major points, make those points, and get the heck out of Dodge. Your listeners will appreciate your respect for their time, will have greater trust in you the next time they press 'play,' and will be more likely to tell their friends how much you rock.

Also See:
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

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The Lordship of Christ and a Great Offer

Some of you will remember that The Fo escaped from the Wired Parish compound a few months ago. He's been on location ever since. He called in today to report on a sign he spotted outside a motel in Woodward, OK.

It read:

Jesus Is Lord
Monthly Rates Available

That's quality, ladies and gentlemen.

Genarlow Wilson and an Outrageous Injustice

I read an article on titled "Outrageous Injustice" on ESPN.com today about the case of Genarlow Wilson.

Extremely long story short is that Genarlow is serving 10 years in the Georgia State Penitentiary for engaging in oral sex with a 15 year old high school sophomore when he was a 17 year old high school senior. If the two had had sexual intercourse, Genarlow could have been charged with a misdemeanor, but Georgia law stated that oral sex was a felony that carried a mandatory 10 year sentence with no possibility of parole.

Genarlow has been in prison for just under 2 years, and unless something changes, he will be there another 8 years and will have to register as a sex offender when he is released.

Their encounter was consensual, and she freely admits that she actually initiated the act. But that didn't matter. Genarlow is still in prison over the incident. EVERYONE involved in this situation, from the Genarlow and the girl, to the court system, to the prison system, to the legislature all agree that this is a colossal injustice, and yet he still waits in prison for the handful of people who can do something to change this actually DO SOMETHING TO CHANGE THIS.

I was so incensed after reading the article that I immediately called his lawyer, B.J. Bernstein, to request an interview. We recorded the interview this morning, and you can hear it here. (If you're subscribed to 'Between the Lines' on Wired Parish, it airs today.)

After hearing the interview or reading the article, I strongly encourage you to visit WilsonAppeal.com to sign your name to their petition to have Genarlow freed.

Terrell Owens and Jay Kelly Team Up

I cried I laughed so hard when I made this little connection:

The publisher of my first book was BenBella Books, a small independent publisher in Dallas. They actually do some really, really good work--my book notwithstanding.

Turns out this is the exact same group that published Terrell Owens' children's book, Little T Learns to Share. I knew T.O. had a children's book, but I had no idea BenBella published it. I assumed it was a major publishing house, but nope, it was my dear friends just down I-35 from the Wired Parish compound.

That has the makings of a great trivia question for my grandchildren.

Leonard Sweet . . . Again

Seriously, people, if you haven't listened to Len's cast on 3 Problems with Praise and Worship Music, your life is incomplete. Seriously.

I loves me some Leonard Sweet.

Tim Conder on 'Out of Ur'

Make sure you check out Tim Conder's article excerpt on the 'Out of Ur' blog. He's writing on 'Missional Buzz' and whether or not 'missional' is just another fad in the Christian ministry world. The full article appears in the Winter 2007 Leadership Journal. Very insightful stuff.

If you're not listening to Tim on Wired Parish, you're missing out in a BIG way.

While we're on the subject of 'Out of Ur,' Shane Claiborne has a couple of posts up right now. If you're a fan of Shane's tune in to 'Between the Lines' on Wired Parish in a few weeks. I'm interviewing Shane on Monday, and the interview will air within a few weeks.

Confession of a Saints Fan

I rarely, if ever, talk about my love for the New Orleans Saints. I've learned 2 things about discussing such a thing. 1) People laugh--a lot. 2) It is a bittersweet enterprise--heavy on the bitter.

Unlike the Red Sox or the Cubs, the Saints don't just fail each year. They fail miserably. They're in the cellar . . . every year. They don't tease you with what-might-be. You know what will be from the first day of training camp--losing on a near-epic scale.

And yet I still love them. Nay, I still hope. Can you believe that? I hope. Despite 40 years of losing. Despite only a handful of playoff appearances and (before Saturday) ONE playoff win EVER.

When I say I love them, I mean 'I love them.' Not in a 'I've been following them since they signed Aaron Brooks' kind of way. Not in a 'I dig on Deuce McAllister and Joe Horn' kind of way. CERTAINLY not in a 'I love Reggie Bush so I love the Saints' kind of way.

No. No. No. No. No.

We're talking The Dome Patrol (Ricky Jackson, Pat Swilling, Sam Mills, and Vaughn Johnson). Bobby Hebert. Bum Phillips. Dalton Hilliard. Ironhead Heyward. Eric Martin. Hobie Brenner. Reuben Mayes. AND HOKIE FREAKING GAJAN.

Now the Saints stand 60 minutes away from a Super Bowl. Despite Reggie Bush fumbling when he had a chance to ice the game. (I can assure you EVERY Saints fan in the world thought, 'Here we go again,' when Bush dropped the pitch.) Despite doubling their franchise playoff wins on Saturday. Despite a New Orleans that is a looooong way from being rebuilt. Despite the fact that my prayer before the game was, 'God, please don't let us be embarrassed.'

Are we going to beat the Bears this weekend? I have no idea. But here's to hope.

UPDATE: I SWEAR I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP. A mere 10 minutes after finishing this post, my 20 month old son THREW UP all over my Saints hat he had been playing with this morning. Despite the fact that he had not been the least bit sick, he wretched ALL OVER IT. He puked, looked over at me, and said, 'Uh oh.'

I have no idea what to say about that.

Leonard "The Legend" Sweet

Check out this list from The Church Report. Our very own Leonard Sweet is named the 8th Most Influential Christian in America. He was also named the most mobile Wired Parish host. We never know where he's recording from. I think he's hit at least 14 time zones in the first 10 times he's recorded.

If you're not listening to Len, you're SERIOUSLY missing out.

I Want to Be Sedated

'I Want to Be Sedated' by the Ramones came on the radio today. Great song, but as I listened, I had the sneaking suspicion that the Higglytown Heroes ripped off the song for their theme music. But I could be wrong . . .

Beta Testers Wanted

In the next few weeks, we're launching a small group resource to accompany our podcasts. Churches and small groups will be able to access discussion questions, thought experiments, and active learning experiences that build on podcast content.

We're looking for pastors/small group leaders/ministry leaders who want to test drive the resource and help us with feedback.

Email me if you would like to participate!

Keep it lively,

Jay