This Geek Ryan!

  After a seemingly long while, I have finally created my own Podcast. . . Only thing is, it's VERY different from what you may think.

This show is mostly focusing on the behind the scenes, random audio and testing that goes into creating audio content and podcasts. This includes work that I may produce in class (my radio broadcasting program), test/beta episodes for future podcasts and even random audio clips!

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Last week, I had a presenter in one of my classes talk to us about the radio industry. Weird bit is, he was a student in forth semester (of the radio program) who apparently knew his stuff, which he did except for one thing. . .Podcasts. In a follow up essay discussing "what I learned from this presenter" I went on a mini rant about how the presenter (lets call him bobby) has no idea what he was talking about, in relation to podcasting. It's an interesting read where I discuss what podcasting really is!

"The one thing I totally disagreed with Bobby on was his opinion of podcasts. When he was talking about creating podcasts he mentioned not to make it longer than 2 minutes and that no one would listen otherwise. As someone who is a dedicated listener & creator of podcasts, for many years, I can tell you that is totally wrong. I’m confident in saying that about 90% of all podcasts are longer than five minutes. Podcasts are generally talk shows or radio shows that tell a story (like this american life, start - up or Reply-All), so they are expected to be this longer than a few minutes.

So apparently there is a rumor going around that YouTube will be purchasing Twitch.tv for one billion dollars. This deal has yet to be confirmed, but the hashtag “#RIPTwitch” is already going around Twitter. This annoyed me so much that I decided to write a very small rant post about why this potential deal could be helpful for both YouTube and Twitch. It changed from that very quickly.

As I began writing I discovered that I honestly didn't care if YouTube bought Twitch or not. I was more annoyed with people complaining about another possible tech acquisition.  Every single time there is a rumor about big company A buying smaller company B, there are always a bunch of people kicking and screaming about how this will ruin company B.

The last time this happened was when Facebook bought Oculus Rift. Everyone, including myself, complained about how Facebook was going to RUIN Oculus Rift and that rift was never going to become a commercialized product. Even Notch, creator of Minecraft, backed out of a deal with Oculus that would have possibly allowed Minecraft to be ported to the rift. THIS MADNESS MUST STOP! 

Let’s face it, we whine and complain about every little thing that changes in our lives. When our shifts at work get longer, we complain. When we can’t find our brand of cereal and have to eat something else, we complain. When Achievement Hunter doesn't release a video on time, we complain. Can’t we just all shut the fuck up? Complaining doesn't and won’t solve anything but we keep doing it. I realize that by writing this blog I am technically complaining, but I honestly don’t care.

I’ve been considering telling people this for months but I shuddered thinking about it each time. I felt so safe keeping it to myself, but I didn't realize that by doing so, I wasn't helping anyone else who happens to be going through this issue. People have speculated this for many years of my life but I’ve lied every time. I even went as far as faking it and making it seem like I was something that I wasn't. It’s hard for me to confess this but I, Ryan Clarke … suck at writing a blog.

My English teacher loved to utter the words, "You're an amazing writer," in my last semester of English class. Sure, I may be good at writing an essay or an opinion piece about how global warming is affecting our planet, but writing a blog is quite different. I enjoy writing but, for some reason, I’ve never been big into reading. Just earlier today I was remarking on Twitter about how I've never fully read a novel during my own time. I’m probably the worst person to create a blog, but for some reason I’m doing it.

  Blogging is definitely something out of my comfort zone and I still have no clue why I’m doing it. You might say I’m doing this to gain a presence on the internet, but I sorta already have one? I've been podcasting for almost three years and have created four different shows. My most recent success was a topicless podcast known as The Twonks. That podcast alone needs another blog post to discuss fully, but in short, that show has brought me more experiences than almost anything else in my life … what was I talking about again? Oh yes! Blogging!

  I've obviously never written or even considered the fact of writing a blog, so coming up with my first post seemed like an impossibly daunting task. I bought the domain name, created the site and even hired a professional to create my logo, but I’m still too chicken to even produce one piece of actual content. The biggest problem when writing was trying to create a post without sounding like a hybrid of an eHarmony profile and a cocky asshole.

  “Hi my name is Ryan! I live in Toronto, Canada and I’m tall, dark and handsome with a sexy radio voice. I find myself very interesting so I decided to write a blog to display how awesome I am. I know you will all like it because I am so sexy. If you wanna contact me my Twitter is @thisgeekryan. I talk to everyone ;)”

  Obviously that’s a slight exaggeration but it honestly isn't too far off from how it could have sounded. I think it’s a good idea to create an original first impression and I think something like that might have done just that … original, but not necessarily good.

  Anyways, I think it’s best to spend my last paragraph talking about what I will post. If there is one thing I’ve learned from life, it’s that randomness is absolutely best. After much thought, I've decided to blog about anything that’s on my mind, even if it’s inappropriate. My goal is to be as realistic with you guys as possible, and that’s not an option while still being appropriate.

Basically I’ve got nothing more to say to you all, except I’m giving this a shot and you may like what you read.