WYRD 101

The Hole That Needs Filling

If there was one thing that my parents taught me about how to find your place in the world, it can be summed up in one sentence: Find a hole, and fill it.

To be truthful, I lost that mantra over time, lost in a sea of neckties and empty suits, in 20 years of call centers, and customer service. In schedules, and call volume forecasts. The truth is, anyone who can type can do that. Anyone who knows how to work an Excel spreadsheet or a Filemaker Database can do that. And I did.

Well. But it wasn’t the shovel I was born with, nor was it the hole I found. That tool was thrust into my hand, and I was pointed towards that hole, and I slaved over it like Stanley Yelnats for more than a lifetime.

All the while, the small voice in my head nagged at me. This is not what you were meant to do, it said.

This is not your purpose. Not your hole.

I have put that shovel down, and I am determined that no matter how golden that handle is, no matter how inviting that hole might be, I will never dig that way again. For as long as I can remember, all I have ever wanted to do was entertain people. I’ve tried my hand at acting on stage. I’ve done standup. I’ve written on acres and acres of dead trees, and of course, I make funny noises that people find pleasing.

You’ve heard me say this many times, and you’ll enjoy hearing it in the future: I was internet radio before it was cool to be internet radio. I’ve been banging these bits and bytes since 1994. I’ve been doing this for 15 years now because I love it. I worked in radio, riding a board for minimum wage, to writing and producing for a morning show, to having my own show on a rinky dink peanut shucking station in Suffolk for shit money because radio was the first love I ever had. Before it got corrupted by people who haven’t a clue about what makes radio fucking MAGICAL.

I intend–I have always intended–to bring that magic here. A little bit at a time. I do 40 minutes to an hour at a time, and I’m grateful for every single one of you who listen, and those of you who support us through the shills, or the tip jar. I want to give you more. And now, I’m going to give it to you.

In the previous post, I told you that we’re awaiting approval for the WYRD 101 iPhone App. I would LOVE to put a similar App in the Android market, and in Blackberry App world (Of course Blackberry, I LIVE on my Crackberry). Now for the rest of the story.

I made my first New Year’s Resolution this year. I resolved to fix what was broken in my life, and stop making excuses for why I’m not where I want to be. If I spent half the energy making excellence instead of excuses, I’d be well on my way there.

I got off the free ride that is Mevio, and pulled the trigger on a big boy podcast delivery network–Libsyn. We have our iPhone app as part of that transition.

I got off the cut rate web hosting service we were with–Globat–and we’re now with Hostgator.

I dropped the Left Of Center Name, and we got back to where I should have always been. WYRD 101.

On a personal note, I set in motion the process to fix what was broken with me physically. We’re recovering from that now, and I look forward to being a part of the outside world again with not having to be embarrassed about my appearance anymore.

And now, we come to the final part. The hole, and my shovel. What am I going to do?

Well, if you look around at the podosphere, you see many things, but what you do not see…what just isn’t there, is a Morning Radio Show for the Internet. Of course there are Terrestrial Shows that make themselves available as a podcast, but there is not now, nor has there ever been a show that was conceived, written, and delivered as a Morning Show for the Webernets. I don’t believe anyone has even tried.

Well, I believe I have found myself a hole, folks.

In the next post, I’ll tell you how it’s going to work, how your support will help, and what being a member of the SAS will get you once the Juggernaut gets going.