Kirk's 7 Rules-A Good Thing™. . . Mostly
I first heard about Kirk McElhearn's 7 Rules of Effective Podcasting in a podcast called Podcast 411, hosted by Rob W. . . whose last name I cannot find on his website.
Rob made it very clear that he not only doesn't think much of Kirk's rules, he doesn't think much of rules of any kind for podcasting. His website lists, if I recall, about 40 podcasts, which, in podcasting years, is like being in middle school (or what I grew up calling junior high). That said, and judging from the extensive advice on creating podcasts hosted on his website -- good stuff, by the way -- I'd say Rob is in deep denial of the need for rules to be creative.
That's appropriate, really, because most middle schoolers think they have the world by the tail and don't much like rules of any kind and can't or won't admit that they're wrong.
Kirk's rules are really not much more than good commonsense guidelines for creating a quality product. If you object to the word "product," you probably don't like rules, either -- much like Rob of Podcast411. But the truth is, podcasts are a product -- a work product, an intellectual product, a product to be hawked in the marketplace of ideas and entertainment.
To say that there are no rules in podcasting is not only shortsighted, it's indicative of an intellect that simply does not grasp that structure is created by parameters, by guidelines, and by rules. And creativity is nothing if not structure. Yes, there ARE rules for podcasting, just like there ARE rules for radio. Rules, not Commandments. Don't like Kirk's Rules? That's fine. Make your own. In fact, I daresay that it's impossible to do a podcast of any kind without following, or creating on-the-fly, some set of rules.
Anarchy is an interesting concept for about 5 minutes. However, rules are the outside influence that Newton referred to in his 2nd Law of Thermodynamics: Without an outside influence, everything turns to crap. (I'm not sure if that's an exact quotation; I'm paraphrasing.)
Want to play, be creative? Define a space for it. Without rules, we might have playgrounds built in the middle of freeways.
Using Kirk's Seven Rules of Effective Podcasting are a good start at defining your podcast playground. Are they the best rules? Or the only rules? Can't say that they are. I would probably replace #7 with one of my own because I think Kirk's #7 smacks too much of being a "rule" instead of a "guideline."
My Rule #7? Be consistent. People tune in and return to a podcast (or, in my experience, a radio program) because it's dependably consistent. Does that mean you can't ever change? No. But once you establish the theme or format of your podcast, you should make changes only incrementally and judiciously in order to maintain your audience.
Now, go make YOUR rules, and make good podcasts, too.
Rob made it very clear that he not only doesn't think much of Kirk's rules, he doesn't think much of rules of any kind for podcasting. His website lists, if I recall, about 40 podcasts, which, in podcasting years, is like being in middle school (or what I grew up calling junior high). That said, and judging from the extensive advice on creating podcasts hosted on his website -- good stuff, by the way -- I'd say Rob is in deep denial of the need for rules to be creative.
That's appropriate, really, because most middle schoolers think they have the world by the tail and don't much like rules of any kind and can't or won't admit that they're wrong.
Kirk's rules are really not much more than good commonsense guidelines for creating a quality product. If you object to the word "product," you probably don't like rules, either -- much like Rob of Podcast411. But the truth is, podcasts are a product -- a work product, an intellectual product, a product to be hawked in the marketplace of ideas and entertainment.
To say that there are no rules in podcasting is not only shortsighted, it's indicative of an intellect that simply does not grasp that structure is created by parameters, by guidelines, and by rules. And creativity is nothing if not structure. Yes, there ARE rules for podcasting, just like there ARE rules for radio. Rules, not Commandments. Don't like Kirk's Rules? That's fine. Make your own. In fact, I daresay that it's impossible to do a podcast of any kind without following, or creating on-the-fly, some set of rules.
Anarchy is an interesting concept for about 5 minutes. However, rules are the outside influence that Newton referred to in his 2nd Law of Thermodynamics: Without an outside influence, everything turns to crap. (I'm not sure if that's an exact quotation; I'm paraphrasing.)
Want to play, be creative? Define a space for it. Without rules, we might have playgrounds built in the middle of freeways.
Using Kirk's Seven Rules of Effective Podcasting are a good start at defining your podcast playground. Are they the best rules? Or the only rules? Can't say that they are. I would probably replace #7 with one of my own because I think Kirk's #7 smacks too much of being a "rule" instead of a "guideline."
My Rule #7? Be consistent. People tune in and return to a podcast (or, in my experience, a radio program) because it's dependably consistent. Does that mean you can't ever change? No. But once you establish the theme or format of your podcast, you should make changes only incrementally and judiciously in order to maintain your audience.
Now, go make YOUR rules, and make good podcasts, too.
posted by Tanguero at 3:59 AM
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