Reflecting on my interview with Matthew Bliss
This was a massive episode, wasn't it? It was my longest one yet, clocking in at almost two hours. I think that's a great sign.
Matthew Bliss is the host of the Dead Drop Pod, a podcast that delivers gaming news from across the industry in under 10 minutes. He is also the creator of blissery.fm a podcast editing and mastering service.
We recorded this episode way back in November and my overall feeling afterwards was “Matt’s a pretty great guy.”
The interview begins as usual. I ask about the podcast and Matt tells me the story of how he experimented with different formats and schedules before finding the one that works for him. I recognize a lot of similarities to my own experience; I, too, have tried vlogging, TikTok, and Instagram, among other creative endeavors, before settling on podcasting as the one for me.
Over the next couple of months, you'll notice some changes. The most prominent is the rebrand. I've switched to a black, white, and red theme that I feel is more representative of me, rather than a template from Canva where I just changed the text (the template is still there, though!).
Why did I pick that greeny/bluely colour?
Media Literacy
We then discussed media literacy, a topic we both care deeply about. We both dislike clickbait, and I had been searching for the right words to describe the phenomenon we both observe, in which old information and news is repackaged to deceive readers into believing something new has occurred.
I believe news media in any field or area requires analysis to serve as a system of checks and balances for reporting. Unfortunately, I fear most attempts would be futile, as the late Terry Pratchett once said.
“A lie can run round the world before the truth has got its boots on.”
Maybe this is something that does happen, with publications (particularly print media) having a left or right wing bias and often calling each other out. As we discussed, the truth of the story is usually somewhere in the middle. Matt and I both have media experience and are used to the dance these publications play. However, this is something that I think is lacking in the national curriculum. Many people get their information from just one publication, which leaves them open to the whims and bias of that publication.
The Art of Podcasting
Reflecting a few months later, I think I understand why Matthew described podcasting as an art. His explanation of the technology, software, design, structure, music, and plugins likely sparked the changes I made to my podcast and the experiments I started.
I believe this major part of the episode gave me the go-ahead to make changes to my format and try something new. Some of these changes are already taking place. The theme has been changed, I've acquired some new branding, and I plan to include video in the upcoming episodes.
I'll come back to this episode later. There's a lot more to unpack here, so I'm going to do a whole post just on the tips, tricks, and equipment we discussed.
I also wonder if this reflection format is working for me?