Podcast Review - My Crazy Life
by July 23rd, 2008 Patrick GreerNo, this is not about MY Crazy Life but rather this is the audio journal of Cliff Ravenscraft. This is just one podcast of many that Cliff produces and has produced since he started podcasting a few years ago. Since then he has gone from podcasting as a hobby to a full-time business venture. In addition the hearing Cliff’s struggles and victories in starting his own business he has also given us a peak into his family life (to a point), friendships, personal fitness goals, etc.
This podcast is also an example of his “personal brand” and how sharing more of one’s life can create deeper relationships and in turn grow your business. If I understand it correctly from Cliff’s explanation of his podcasting endeavors, My Crazy Life came about from his original podcasting idea. His first interest in podcasting was about the TV show Lost but he also wanted to generally speak about other things that were of interest to him. He soon realized that not focusing on Lost for a Lost podcast would not be a good idea so he spun off talking about his “general interests” and personal endeavors into the podcast, My Crazy Life. One day you may hear him talking with a friend over chili dogs at a local restaurant, the next day he may be talking about his commitment to improving his personal fitness as he walks around his neighborhood or he may lay a lot of his business concerns out in the open. Cliff’s business partner is also his wife and she sometimes joins in for some of these podcasts in addition to hosting some shows on her own.
This is one of my favorite podcasts to listen to because I have been going through a lot of the same stuff in my life both personal and business in the past couple of years so I can really identify with Cliff and at the same time I am encouraged and learn from the experiences of another. Who would be interested in listening to “My Crazy Life?” I would say anyone who is a family man, thinking about their own business or just needed a little audio encouragement in an “unscripted” sense from a regular guy with a passion to excel in his personal and business life. This is one of the podcasts that has encouraged me to start podcasting myself.
Have you heard some other excellent “personal podcasts” that have helped you feel more connected to the podcaster as a person and not just a host of a show?
August 21st, 2008 at 1:14 pm
You bring up something I had not thought of before. Personal podcasting versus business podcasting.
I maintain both a personal (www.gilandvicki.info) and a business blog (www.biztrek.net). I see more and more people using personal blogs as an easier way to stay in touch with friends and family. I have friends and family spread all over the continent. I use Facebook to stay in touch with some. However, our personal blog allows picture and news sharing to anyone who wants to check in and “subscribe”.
My business blog on the other hand, is designed to communicate with people in my business circle of influence. They can subscribe to my posts, “hear” my thoughts and plug-in as desired. It would be hard for me to stay connected to 2900 people any other way. Indeed, sometimes I have nothing to say, and sometimes a lot. When I am vacationing (which I do often) I stop writing. I think it is okay not to feel forced. Then the content degrades to junk. But, if you discover something, or have a unique thought, then blogging is a nice way to return to the modern day version of the front-porch dialogue that our society lost many decades ago.
Why not apply the same principles to podcasting? Create a personal podcast or even videocast that allows your friends and family to connect with you on THEIR schedule. Raises some interesting possibilities!
August 21st, 2008 at 2:33 pm
I like your comment about the “front porch.” I wish more houses these days were built with front porches to sit on and get a chance to converse with the neighbors or other passerby’s. A lot of the episodes of Cliff’s, “My Crazy Life” take place as he is walking around his neighborhood and sometimes does converse with his neighbors. One of my favorite episodes was where he and a friend went to a local restaurant for lunch and talked about life when they were kids from stuff like video games, roller skating and T.V. shows. Because of these personal podcasts I have felt a whole lot more comfortable e-mailing, talking on the phone, calling into one of his live shows, etc.