pogobat

pogobat radio

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 13:35:17 -0500

I’m trying something new. I call it “pogobat radio.” It’s a YouTube playlist designed to be listened to— watching the corresponding videos is strictly optional.

LINK: http://bit.ly/PPAbiL

I’m trying to feature music that is distinctly “YouTube”— that is to say old stuff, live performances, unsigned YouTube musicians, remixes, mashups, avant garde, etc. Stuff that wouldn’t get played on traditional radio.

Give it a try and let me know what you think I should add/how I can make the listener experience better.

WORD ASSOCIATION

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 23:48:29 -0500

Bacon>Bacon

I’m trying to make the stupidest music I possibly can with...

Fri, 22 Jun 2012 13:26:03 -0500

I’m trying to make the stupidest music I possibly can with Garageband. I need constructive criticism: how can I make even stupider music?

WHY PARENTS SHOULD STOP SINGING TO INFANT CHILDREN

Tue, 29 May 2012 10:57:41 -0500

-SINGING IS STUPID
-BABIES HATE IT
-EAT YOUR CHILDREN
-MOST PARENTS ARE HORRIBLE SINGERS
-IT WILL GIVE THEM AUTISM
-SINGING ATTRACTS DINGOS
-ONLY FLIPPER BABIES APPRECIATE SINGING

My biggest problem with Spotify so far has been its lack of...

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 15:50:54 -0500

My biggest problem with Spotify so far has been its lack of Zappa, but that might be a blessing in disguise: it’s forced me to listen to Zappa’s chamber music. I’ve been really into this album as of the last 48 hours (click to listen).

Response to a viewer's email

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:28:41 -0600

What started out as a typical response to a viewer email somehow turned into “therapy time for Dan Brown” —going on and on about the past couple years of my life on YouTube. If you want a peek into my brain, give it a read. Let me know what you think.

It’s been a crazy couple of years for me, but I agree— I think I’m finally figuring out what makes sense for pogobat again. Having grown up with YouTube, having been a “YouTube personality” for the last four years I somehow got it in my head that I could use YouTube differently than the average user. I was trying to keep track of everything going on on the site, trying to be an “expert”, trying to get views just for views sake. That might have been possible back in 2007, but now that’s akin to trying to pay attention to everything on television— if not harder! I got discouraged when I couldn’t meet my own impossible expectations, when I was only watching vlogbrothers, wheezywaiter, angryfilmsproductions (and other channels of that nature). I think my discouragement showed and turned off viewers.

…this is an oversimplification by the way. There was more going on in my life, but I digress…

Then I began thinking about what was drawing me to the channels that I was watching. Sometimes they were insightful, but not more insightful than a smart commentator on, say, BBC News. Sometimes they were funny, but not more funny than, say, a good standup comic. I wasn’t watching because of any one specific thing they did. I was watching because I could relate to them, see parts of who I am and who I aspire to be in them. Even thought they’re not my “friends,” my relationship with them felt much more friendly than my relationship with anyone exclusively in traditional media could ever be.

Also, in much the same way that real life friends are just kind of a part of one’s real life, internet “friends”— vloggers one watches— are just kind of a part of one’s internet life. When I open YouTube they’re on my frontpage, when I open twitter on my phone while pooping they’re right there, sharing all kinds of strange moments.

With that in mind, I realized that somewhere during Dan 3.0 I stopped being friendly with my audience. Somewhere we lost the trust that any “friendship” requires. Rather than having a conversation I was editorializing everything. I was expecting everyone to listen without bothering to listen back. I also distanced myself from the Internet to the point where I wasn’t a regular part of my viewer’s lives anymore. I took my quasi-fame for granted and it steadily dwindled to the point where I had a less engaged, less interested audience than I’ve seen in over four years of vlogging.

I’ve begun the slow and steady process of reversing that now. I know that trust doesn’t come back overnight, but I’m confident that it will in the long run. For the first time in a long time there’s a guiding philosophy behind what I’m doing.

Thanks for the email :]

Photo

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 00:32:24 -0500