Writers Block

            I know this is a common thing when it comes to writing especially me as a blogger my posts can feel stale at times but I am trying my best to deliver good quality content every day, Monday - Fridays with the occasional Saturday from time to time. Especially having a podcast that I do podcasts it is hard to split the two apart from each other from time to time. I have struggled when it come to coming with ideas and sometimes the best thing is to just sit back and just think about ideas you haven't done. 

            Now it doesn't come naturally sometimes you need to have a notepad and pencil to scratch down some ideas and you don't have to necessarily use it and trust me I've been there where I've not used an idea. In fact I scrapped tons of ideas in the past cause I felt it wasn't the right time to do it or it didn't fit at the time so you guys aren't alone if you scrap an idea cause I've done it numerous of times. Do not give up, it is hard to write sometimes and you have to just leave it as it is and come back to it in in an hour or two. Sometimes you walk away from your pad of paper and while late you're like that's a great idea and that is when you write it down right away so you do not forget it. That is my post on writers block, hope you guys enjoyed this and as usual, I'll talk to you all tomorrow!

Chris

Took Time To Evaluate Things!

                 I know you guys are tired of me talking about the changes but over the weekend, I looked at the board with no content schedule whatsoever. Blog section of my board was clear till Saturday morning when I filled it with the topics and it tells a little bit of a story, its like a storyboard that will string to the 3rd and final part which will be tomorrow then I move on with things.  Least you can say it's content! Anyways this weekend I took time to evaluate the schedule for ChrisBOnTheWeb and the content and sometimes that is something you need to do is wipe out the entire schedule out and just start over and that is what I did. I cleared the board on the two ends of the board, Content Schedule and Blog schedule. I switched and have one section for the schedule of content as it is a ton easier for me to handle the entire schedule for me.

              They also say change is a good thing and in this case it's definite change that was needed as now I feel more at peace with myself. Now I know that ChrisBOnTheWeb is a solo project or endeavor which I will get more into tomorrow on the blog. Even redoing the entire board Saturday morning was worth it. It was worth changing around and actually having more space then I did with it split into 3 sections. I got more room then ever to write ideas down and jot down notes or reminders that I need to do this or do that so it helps a lot to have that extra space without getting a second or even a bigger board to have more space on. So taking time to re-evaluate things helps and I wish I did this sooner and things could of been different but cannot change the past and just move on and move forward with things. That is my post for today, hope you guys have a great rest of your Tuesday and I will talk to you all tomorrow!

Chris

Advice To Getting Your Computer To Run Faster

               Mind you, I am no computer expert, but as you know I have had my share of computer problems recently but I since removing a ton of things off my PC meaning programs that I never used anymore and boy it took me a while to take things. I can say for crying out loud I still had Discord and XSplit programs on my computer which is nuts. It was quite a surprise to be quite honest programs that I wasn't aware of whatsoever I still had from the past but in the end I found it that my computer has officially gotten a bit speedier and yes it still slows down and remember it is an older or oldish computer now more like 8 years and it has done a lot so I have a lot to be thankful for with this PC, it has worked countless hours, running almost 24 hours a day with the occasional nights off. 

                So the best advice I can give is clean out your PC get an external hard drive or USB drive and store some of your pictures or videos or audio on there. More you store away the better it is when it comes to the speed of your computer. I can also recommend to run your programs on your computer for anti virus and Disk defrag which is a huge thing but it is very important to run the programs once a week to ensure that you keep the computer speedy and fast. Again I know I am not a computer expert but that is the advice that I know of that can help you guys and it is important to make sure  you run all your programs to keep your computer and healthy. I regret to say I do not but starting to take care of it more as much as possible. That is my post for today and I will talk to you guys tomorrow as always! 

Chris

Changing Up My Strategy With Things....

                     Like the game of Big Brother, expect the unexpected. This week has been full of twists and turns with the content. Now you know exactly what I am doing this week with recently knowing that I am back in production with Larry this week which I wasn't expecting this whatsoever as Larry threw in his own twist on things and I was expecting 2 weeks Thursday as I originally had planned out with Larry as he didn't know but hey sooner the better honestly this way we can have a break and with that as I said on social media today is that I will hold onto the podcast and when I am ready to edit then I can edit it and it shouldn't be a very long podcast not as long as a regular episode so. Also Entertainment Man Podcast I changed the schedule for the interview was I was afraid I wasn't going to get Amy's website done in time but remember the podcast comes out once a week and I have days to finish up the website as she doesn't want it too complicated which is fine with me but I am doing a basic website and as you know sites take a while to build and put together. Between that editing the podcast which I worked late last night on it then on the collab but I have changed the strategy up.

                     What I am trying to say is sometimes you gotta change up your startegy when it comes to whatever you are working on whether it is a project or content of any sort, sometimes you gotta change up your strategy and that is OK. Whatever helps right? I can say it is very interesting how many moving elements is going on right now. Here I was settling down on my schedule and moving onto Samurai which was thrown on the shelf temporarily while I work on other things but this is where the sticky notes comes into play and I can make a list of of what has to be done and I highly recommend using sticky notes whether it is on the computer with the app or just sticky notes in general it does help. Anyways that is my post for today, thanks for reading I will talk to you all tomorrow!

Chris

Never Second Guess Yourself!

            I know recently I've been second guessing myself. To getting the collab done in time but yesterday, I hit all new strides with the podcast. Yesterday I landed on episode # 10 of the season. I even implemented a new system so I am not overwhelmed, stop working on it and completely stalling myself in the process. Every 10th episode I put in a bunch so I take it 10 episodes at a time. So there will be 3 bunches in total. This way I do not overwhelm myself and ended up stopping it for days on end. We're so close to the finish line for this year, anything is possible at this point. Keeping the eye on the prize even though there is no prize. The real prize is us getting all the collabs done and no more of a backlog then we have had recently. The best advice I can give you is to keep focused and remember the end goal in the very end to what you wanna get accomplished. 

             Last night I started second guessing the Facebook community and the fact I wanted out of the community leaving my Site Admin and Larry to run things but I kept on reminding myself, I created this community and I am nowhere near the end of this adventure. This is just the beginning and excited for what I have planned. So never second guess yourself, try it out and if it doesn't work out then do what works for you in the end. That is what matters. Never second guess yourself whatsoever, if there is a way there is a will. Well that is today's post for today and I will talk to you all tomorrow. 

Chris

Bullying Is Not OK!

            This was inspired by a friend of mine and I cannot go into full detail what made me talk about this. Obviously I am not cool with bullying and it is not definitely not OK to do especially with people with a disability or on the Autistic Spectrum and I can say I have been bullied in the past and it is definitely not OK. Yes words do hurt and we got feelings and it isn't right. Yes you have an opinion but you do not have to be hurtful or malicious in a way and yes there is a reason behind this entire post. Bullying makes people feel bad and puts some of us into a depression. How do you think I felt being called names last year when I was ignoring the person which I had every right to in the end and it is your choice. Yes ignoring works but if you are being bullied constantly then it is definitely hard to ignore. However this day in age with social media there is that thing called a report button and block button but easy to get around with making a new account. Obviously I am a big advocate for people with Autism and as you know I have Autism but also an advocate against bullying and it is unacceptable honestly! It really upsets me to see anyone with Autism and a normal everyday person get bullied and the reason I wanted to spread my message. 


              I am open to talking about it and I just want to get my message across that I am NOT cool with people especially any of my friends that is when they cross the line and yea I do stick up for my friends, family and even the Staff here at Chris B On The Web, Everything About Reality TV & Power Rangers Collab Podcast, Honestly I will not tolerate it with anyone as I have said in this post it is not OK  to do. I sure as heck will stick up for anyone and I am now probably a very big advocate of people getting bullied.  In the end it is not OK and you are not alone and if you have to talk to someone then talk to someone you trust like a trusted friend, family member or someone with authority. They are there to listen and help you and I have done this in the past and truly recommend it. Remember ignoring or blocking the person is probably one of the best way but in the end also talking to someone talks. That is what is on my mind right and thank you for reading what I have to say and I will see you in the next post tomorrow.




Chris

Knowing When To Say That's Enough....

               With all the change that is going on in my life currently I thought this was the best idea for a post and that is to say and know that is enough. I admit in the past I have not been able to let go and say OK, Chris that is enough with YouTube or a web series or in this example Everything About Reality TV which is ending in now less then a week from now and change will be huge for me especially. If you just feel fed up or tired of doing something that you have been doing for little over 4 years like me then that is usually the cue to say OK that's enough it is time to move on. I know change is extremely hard at times but change can also be a good thing for you honestly.  I have been getting so much better at change and you can too! It just takes a bit of time to adjust to the change and that is how it is going to be over the next few weeks after my podcast ends I will have to readjust. and it takes a bit of adjustment but you will get adjust in time. However there is a thin line when you have to say that is enough, time to move on and that's what I am doing. 


                I wouldn't say that my podcast was a fail it was very much successful and boy we have a ton of plans in the future. With me saying that's enough for Everything About Reality TV there is some major plans in the works for me and now that I am down to 1 podcast, the collaboration Podcast as of a week Sunday when the final episode of Everything About Reality TV goes up. When you say that is enough there is always open doors and yesterday it was opportunity banging the door down on me. As you finish one thing there is always new opportunities awaiting for you and that is what has happened in the last 12 - 13 hours for me and I am just so eager and excited to tell you guys what the big secret that I am hiding but that will not announced till Jan 1st, 2020 when the entire plan for CBOTW is released to you guys publicly. One last thing on this post today is You will know when it is time to say that's enough, you have to listen to what is inside your heart and it will guide you through. Sometimes you second guess yourself but in the end you will be guided the right direction. Hope this helps and I will talk to you guys in the next post tomorrow at 12 pm EST.





Chris

Podcast Intros & Recording The Podcast

                Today's post, we are back to the topic of podcasting as I took almost a week off from it to cover other topics within the last week. But alas we are back, or I am back talking about podcasting. I want to focus today basically on Intros and recording the actual podcast. Now the intro I use a royalty free intro that has my voice over. You can find some on Google and if you really want to pay for one then that is fine. Trust me a proper intro really does help you out and gains some listeners. Plus it tells your listeners what you are listening to actually so that is always a plus when it comes to the intros to your podcast or podcasts depending if you have two on the go and I have noticed some host two different podcasts weekly. However an proper intro is helpful to have especially if you guys like a sponsor that you need to promote as a thank-you to them for sponsoring you or even if you are promoting a product that a company that paid you to promote and yes that is still in the realm of sponsorship but it is a great way to get it out there to your fan base to check out and buy. Now if you do not have a sponsorship and you own a website like me, you can promote your website on the intro like you guys all know and hear each and every week or in this case twice a week as of right now as my schedule depends on how many episodes I cover per week! 


                  The next part of today's post I would like to talk about is the recording process of a podcast and I know this is a very detailed blog post and that is the point behind this post really. So recording wise this is the part of the preparation for the podcast is making sure the sound is perfect next the intro track and the voice track is set up as you will need to have two tracks or record then add the intro track on the post production but we will get into that Sunday's blog post. Sound quality is the upmost important if you are doing audio only and if you are on video as well then of course video quality is important. No you do not need a fancy green screen like I have behind me which hardly has been used since I got it but that is not the point. The point is the quality is the most important thing of all whether it is audio only and video quality is good. The final point I would like to make is have your notes ready to go as that is a huge part of the production side of things so you know what you are going to talk about in each and every episode of your podcast. Content is very important and to make sure it is entertaining content so this way listeners will come back each every episode that you produce and post up. Also being consistent with a recording schedule is also upmost important. I will cover the editing and uploading part which will be the second last thing in this series before we wrap all of this up and move on with new posts down the road as well.



Chris

Different Platforms You Can Put The Podcast On

              This is one of my favorite posts to make within this series. So today's post we are going to talk about different platforms that your podcast can be on. Let's start with the basic platform where the source of your podcast come from. Mixcloud, Anchor, Libsync and the one my podcast "Everything About Reality TV" is on Podcast.com are all a good site but I recommend Anchor, Libsync and Podcasts.com. As you know the history of my podcast where it began to where it is to this very day it has changed forever rapidly fast and cannot believe how fast my podcasts grows and the more platforms you get on the more you will be noticed. Now it doesn't happen overnight but as you keep on producing more episodes the more the platform is getting noticed and trust me it took me more then 1 year to start being noticed. By 2018 is when things got on a roll for me finally. Yes I am referring to me covering Music City and Celebrity Big Brother which really helped grow the podcast even more. 


               Now the platforms I grew on from the main platforms were TuneIn which is a huge directory and no wonder it's grown rapidly on there since late 2016 when I added it to their directory which honestly was excited. Next on my list I expanded to Player FM, Castbox, ListenNotes, PodParadise, Google Podcasts, and also ITunes which came later as I wasn't sure on there. The second platform my podcast was on was called Stitcher which is another great platform and see a great amount of listeners as I check it this morning and more listeners then I had when I first started out on that platform back in 2016 which was the second platform I expanded to. Now those are some of the platforms my podcast is on I cannot remember them all but 13 to be exact I am currently on at the moment. However it takes time and I recommend to not rush expanding too fast I highly do recommend to take things slow at the start then slowly expect. Like the saying goes you can't rush greatness. Now video platform wise, if you want to put your podcast on YouTube I do not recommend it but if you want to with the adpocalypse and being demonetized then I respect your decision but you guys know my thoughts about the platform already. Now Twitch you can do a Talk Shows and Podcaster category and can stream it under there. There is also other platforms you can stream on as well but it would be too long of a post to actually list them all out but worth to even Google it.


                There are some of the platforms you can do you're podcasts and I have made a couple of recommendations but definitely highly recommend, Stitcher, ITunes, Player FM, Tunein.com, Podcasts.com but again but still Google it and research the platforms is probably the best way to do it and you will be definitely surprised the ones that you can put it on as I just added mine to a 14th platform that I found. See eventually you will end up where I am being over over a dozen of platforms which can be very overwhelming but totally rewarding especially in the end to watch your podcast grow over the years. Now like I said in yesterday's post, I am now taking a couple of days off from this topic and will return Tuesday back to normal to finish off this series then with other topics the rest of the week. Tomorrow I have a special post as I will be on location with my dad for a food review at an event along with the event itself too. 


Chris

Equipment For Podcasts- What Do You Need?

            Welcome to Day 2 of this mini series of Podcasting Help or tutorials. I am excited to be back to do another one of these for you guys and was a great turn out on the post yesterday so it is totally worth to continue this series. I was thinking about doing it every second day but decided to go day to day. Anyways today I am talking about equipment. 

1) Video and Audio ONLY: If You want to go on the video side of things, the equipment you probably need is: If you do not have a mixer a headset does work but still it is worth to invest in one, even a handheld on a stand itself can be the cheaper route for you guys to take. Also if you are streaming it live on YouTube, Twitch or any video platform a webcam is a must. You have to get yourself a decent one as the cheap ones were not the greatest as I know from experience but I got some quality cameras here in the studio now. Also for recording using Audacity is a great program, but there is other programs out there like Adobe Audition, however you can just Google it and see what there is out there. Finally for this part of today's post is the software you use for streaming your podcast live. Now there is a few programs that are very popular these days. First is OBS which is an open broadcast software and it is free compare to the other two you do have to buy a pro to get more features to where OBS is totally free. The link for this software is www.obsproject.com which I am not paid to promote their software but highly recommend this! Next is X-Split which I used for many years but the only issue is for the free version of the software you have only 4 scenes and I think some features are locked unless you get pro which I do not know as I haven't used that program in a very long time as I am more a OBS user now these days when I do or did stream. Finally is Wirecast which does cost a bunch to get and I wouldn't recommend it whatsoever.

2) Audio ONLY: For Audio ONLY all you need is Audacity or any audio recording program which I spoke about above, microphone or microphones depending if there is one or two of you for the podcast which my studio is setup for 2 mics right now at the moment. I highly recommend to even get a 70 - 100 dollar hand held like I said above even a stand that you can adjust. That is actually how it all began for me then a goose neck and the rest is history but that is a great way to start then as you go on then you can upgrade to a condenser like I have and like I have told you guys I have the handheld which is now on the second boom behind the second screen which is rarely used minus when guests of a certain collaboration podcast is over here talking up snow on me at the wrong time... haha. Anyways start small scale then you can build it up eventually. 


              Anyways that is the post for this morning, tomorrow we get into the beauty of the podcasting world with the different platforms and it will definitely will be an interesting as my podcast is on way to many platforms and I will cover em and what to do. I am excited to get to this portion of the podcast especially. Fair warning after tomorrow's post I am taking a few days off to cover different topics on here so it will be changing but Tuesday we will be back on this topic after a small break. 


Chris

Starting A Podcast, What You Need!

                This has been on the schedule, sorry the list for quite some time now and I want to talk about this to help you new podcasters out especially. I have been technically been podcasting almost 5 years now so now I wanna give back to you guys after the years I have been doing this. So today's topic out of several which mind you I do not know how many exactly, but it could be 3 - 5 at the most tops no more then that. If there is part of this I am missing please do feel free to contact me and I will cover it on the blog. Today's post is about starting a podcast which takes numerous steps to get done. 

1) Microphone/Web Cam- Microphone doesn't have to be as professional as mine Next up is a Web cam especially if you are on a video platform like Twitch or YouTube which I do not recommend YouTube as you know by the situation I went through with YouTube but a good web cam is recommended but I will get into that under equipment later.

2) Choice of Platform- There are so many different podcast platforms to where your RSS Feed comes from, Podcasts.com, Mixer, Anchor which Punk Rock Cheeseburger Podcast uses and yes I gave Rocky a shoutout there! lol. There is other platforms you can put your podcasts on from submitting You're Podcast which will be in this blog series, but not sure. I want to do different platforms you're podcast can be on and think that will be tomorrow actually where I will cover that. 

3) Program- You will need a recording software to record which is key to recording and again that will be under equipment post later on when I actually do that nut it is key to recording a podcast even if you stay Audio ONLY like I have been doing for the past 2.5 years now soon to be 3 years. 

4) Subject/Theme/Topic- Finally you need a subject/theme or Topic. For example for me as you know, I talk Reality TV each and every week and also as you know occasionally the Power Rangers Podcast. That is kind of what I mean is to have an topic or subject and best to try staying on the same topic week but if you wanna just go off the cuff that is good too. 


                     There is what you need to start a podcast and I know it is quite a list and I cover most of what you need and I will talk about the equipment you need and that is actually tomorrow's blog post is about is the actual equipment part as I tried to be short on my points that I made as some of them I will be covering tomorrow. However it is upmost important to have these 4 items in order for a successful podcast and of course its common sense that you need these things honestly if you wanna succeed in the world of podcasting which has become a really big thing these days. 



Chris