Having listened to podcasts at work for years now, I have come to appreciate the power of podcasting. With over forty podcasts that I listen to every week, ranging from gaming to marketing, I consider myself a connoisseur of the recorded radio programs. Although most of them are gaming related, these inspired me to become a regular part of my own podcast, not because I love to listen to myself, but because sharing of ideas and opinions is something that I enjoy.

Determining where my obsession started is a big difficult to determine. I can’t even remember which podcast was my first, but it has grown to be a normal part of my day. For me, a podcast is a way to learn, about games news, but more about how people think. Listening to some of the more, less frequent podcasts, like “A Life Well Wasted,” “Irrational Behavior,” and “The Bungie Studios Podcast” (and many, many more) have taught me more about games and how they are designed than any other piece of content. If you are a volunteer writer like myself and want to learn more about the industry, both editorial and design, then you have to listen to as many podcasts as possible. Finding those contacts, getting ideas for articles and interviews, along with differing opinions will make you a better writer.

Only recently have I joined up with a community podcast called “The B-Team.” I won’t try to get more downloads with this article, but I want to share how it has made me better. With a weekly show, you force yourself to expand your game playing. If you want to grow as a podcast, you need to be find new content every week, this has expanded my game playing beyond where it would normally be. The inherent problem with this is that this larger amount of content costs money. I have found in the past few months that I am trying to become more thrifty with my purchases and actually use my Gamefly queue more effectively. It also is convenient that I have more time play games, but I won’t divulge my reasons for that, but it is a bit personal, sorry. As I have become more acclimated with my new gig, I have found myself asking better questions and giving more accurate content because I have to do so. I hope that this growth continues and helps my interviewing skills in the future.

I know that the biggest question is for those people looking to get into podcasting is: how? Well, all you have to do is have a microphone, a way to record and some good ideas. Trust me, I have had some good shows and some bad ones, but sharing my ideas with our audience is something that can never be taken away. Even if I can’t listen to them further down the road, I will always want to share how I feel about the industry that I love. The best thing I can compare it too is that your writing is your resume/cover letter and podcasting is more of your interview. Both are important, you can much better at one, and keeping them both up to date will only get you noticed. This is why I will never stop podcasting and hopefully it will help me out in the future.