There is a private Facebook group that has been created for old time podcasters, those of us from the earliest days of the medium. We have been reliving the old days and sharing artifacts from the time. Photos, audio clips and web links.
I was one of the first podcasters, among the first hundred to ever have a show. I actually started six months after the very first shows and I was pissed I was that late. How could I have missed this new trend? You see, I had been trying to produce a radio show on the Internet for years but it wasn’t technically possible. Not until podcasting.
The early days of podcasting is something I am deeply attached to and have a fondness for I cannot explain. It was a special time. From the very beginning we all sensed we were part of something that was going to become very important. We developed podcasting as we did it. Every week there was another idea from someone on how to hook up equipment or a new show idea. It was wildly experimental and exciting. It was very collaborative and everyone was accepted.
The pinnacle of the experience was our first convention in Ontario, CA. For the very first time we gathered as a community and many podcasters met each other in person for the very first time. These were people who had ongoing relationships online for a year. It’s impossible to describe the excitement and emotion at that first podcast expo but it was palpable. It was one of the great weekends of my life.
So this Facebook group was started and old friends started dropping in and sharing memories and reconnecting. After five minutes reading the posts I became very emotional. I cried as all the memories and emotions of the past came flooding back. Such a great time and its sad because you remember it so well and yet know you can never go back there. It will never happen again, not like that.
And so I say to my cohorts, I love you. In every sense of the word I love you. What a time we had. What magic we made.
Keeme says
September 29, 2012 at 4:27 pmBravo amigo, bravo.
davedelaney says
September 29, 2012 at 5:22 pmI am so happy to be a part of this history (and the group). Thanks for sharing this David.
maurye says
September 29, 2012 at 6:42 pmI went to Ontario that year largely as a listener gathering courage. It did not come. I was a coward and did not meet a podcaster nor did I start one. I gained a pass only to walk the booths and sit in on the keynote. I do remember the many months of listening to podcasters go on about the art of podcasting.I used Lemon which changed to Juice then Apple came in and changed the landscape. The apparent cream rose and signed with Curry. Look how far that lasted. Others mocked the creation of podcasting networks.Podcasters shared 2-3 episodes a week. As a listener, I tasted many shows and would listen to great content forgiving the crappiest audio production. The only ‘proto’ podcaster I still listen to is Dan Klass of The Bitterest Pill.You are right David, late 2004 through late 2005 was magical even for the listener. It was the year that I gave up on listening to AM/FM radio. I currently use Downcast on the iPhone as an aggregator.I hate to admit that Laporte is growing old on me as he refuses to let the guests speak. As a result, his guests do their very best to talk as fast that they can before Leo cuts them off with his 2 cents. I am a fast going fan of Dan Benjamin and the 5by5.tv network.
learntopodcast says
October 3, 2012 at 5:43 amI loved that first convention as everyone new everyone before we even showed up. Accident Hash, Brother Love, Michael Butler, Real Reviews, Dawn and Drew, etc. I still listen to Dan Klass and Michael Butler (who is very close to being the longest running podcast with his Rock and Roll Geek Show). Ontario was like the worlds best Summer camp. I went the Blogworld NY this year. It was great and I made some good contacts, but we’ll never have that same intimacy.