Ben Franklin's World Cover Art

Ben Franklin’s World: A Podcast About Early American History has an identity. Two weeks ago, I submitted a design brief to 99designs.com for podcast cover art.

Over the course of a week, graphic artists submitted designs they thought would fit the bill.

I received several worthy designs.

Unable to make up my mind, I polled the Uncommonplace Book Community subscribers, my Twitter followers, and Google+ friends. Over 35 people voted and this design emerged as the clear winner.

Thank you to all who voted. You submitted useful feedback and led me to choose a design that I am very happy with.

Work Still To Do

I still have a lot of work to accomplish before I launch Ben Franklin’s World. I would like to release the first 3-5 episodes in October 2014.

Before I launch, I must complete 6 tasks:

1. Finalize the intro, outro, and show segment music and voice overs 2. Set-up the webpages that will host the show on my website 3. Contact potential interviewees 4. Interview historians 5. Select an audio engineer 6. Send my first episodes to be edited by my engineer

Ways to Get Involved

Would you like to get involved with the Ben Franklin’s World Podcast?

You can get involved in 2 ways.

First, you can sign-up for the Ben Franklin's World mailing list.

The Ben Franklin's World mailing list will keep you up-to-date with the latest news about the podcast. You will also be the first to know when I set the official launch date.

You can sign up using the form at the bottom of this post.

Second, you can suggest a guest.

Do you know of an historian who has an interesting early American history project to share?

I am interpreting “Ben Franklin’s World” broadly. The show will cover the period of Ben Franklin’s life (1706-1790), but it will also discuss the history that produced the “world” Franklin lived in and the “world” Franklin helped to create.

I plan to interview historians who work on projects that relate to the development of early American history between the 17th and early 19th centuries. Therefore, historians who study European, Atlantic, African, and South American history may have projects that would be appropriate for the show.

If you would like to suggest a guest, please leave a comment or send me an e-mail.

(Yes, you may suggest yourself.)

Ben Franklin + Music = ?

My podcast is in development and I need your help. Presently, I am taking a month-long course with Jeff Brown to learn more about podcast intros, outros, and how to conduct interviews so that my listeners will feel like they are part of the conversation.

I am also finalizing the format of my show, which I am still tentatively calling “Ben Franklin’s World: A Podcast About Early American History.”

Segments for "Ben Franklin's World"

I have devised 4 different segments for the show outside of an introduction and concluding remarks.

1. Discovery: A brief segment where I will discuss any fascinating historical discoveries that I have made.

2. Interview/Historical Monologue: This will be the "meat" of the show. I will interview an historian who has conducted (or is conducting) fascinating research about important episodes and people in early American history.

Alternatively, some shows will feature me discussing a captivating story from my own historical research.

3. Time Warp: A post-interview segment where I will ask the interviewee a hypothetical history question for fun.

4. Ask the Historian: A segment where I will answer listener questions about early American history.

Music

One aspect of the show that has me befuddled is the music.

I want to have background music play during my intro and outro segments, which leads me to the question I posed in my title: Ben Franklin + Music = ?

Questions

What kind of music do you associate with Ben Franklin or early American history in general?

What type of music would you expect to hear on a podcast about early American history?

What type of music would draw you into the podcast?

I want to find music that fits the subject of early American history and yet also proclaims that this is “not another boring history podcast.”

Please leave a comment, send an e-mail, or tweet me with your ideas about possible genres and artists or if you have general suggestions/comments/questions about "Ben Franklin's World."

Refining My Niche

Do you ever have the feeling that the left side of your brain doesn't know what the right side is doing? Or vise versa? I had this feeling a few weeks ago.

Aha Moment

After I wrote my "Getting to the Malleable PhD" post, it occurred to me what my personal narrative really is: I am an historian who strives to make well-researched history accessible.

The medium doesn't matter. I write, speak, and work with digital platforms.

My quest to make history accessible is why I am interested in how historians can write better, get published, use social media, and establish platforms.

We need to know how all of this works to produce accessible history projects.

My blog has always been about the practicalities of how to make history accessible, however I did not consciously realize this until my "Aha Moment" a few weeks ago.

It seems my left brain did not know what my right brain knew.

The Evolution of My Niche

Blogging pundits will tell you that maintaining a blog is all about niche.

They advocate for as narrow a niche as possible because the more specific your interests the more likelihood you will find a dedicated group of readers.

Over the last 16 months or so, I have been widening my perception of my niche.

Initially, I blogged with an idea that I would write about being an independent historian, which is how I work.

A few months later, I started writing more about writing, so I thought I was writing for historians and non-historian writers.

Now I realize that my writing and interests have always been about history how to make it more accessible. That is the real reason why I write this blog.

This means I write for you, someone who is also interested in history and how to make it more accessible.

Conclusion

My realization won't change the types of posts I write, but it has helped me write more focused posts.

I hope that my realization will help you too.

I hope it will encourage you to think more about why you research, write, and present history.

These are fun and important ideas to think about.

Share Your Story

What is your niche/personal narrative? How do all of your interests connect?

Why I Want to Start a Podcast

Over the last 9 months or so my brain has been stuck on the idea that I want to start a podcast. The podcast provides a perfect medium to convey historical knowledge to a wide audience and for research-driven historians to interact with the larger public.

In this post you will learn why I think starting a podcast is a good idea and about the work I need to do before I launch one.

I hope you will read this post to the end as my idea still needs refining and I could really use your feedback on it.

Why A Podcast?

Social media authorities such as Michael Stelzner have declared 2014 to be the “Year of the Podcast.”

Why?

In 2014, smartphone ownership by adults will increase to over 50%. Additionally, smartphone manufacturers and app providers such as Apple and Google are making it easier for smartphone owners to find, subscribe to, and download podcasts.*

Podcasts allow listeners to create a customized radio station that will always play topics they find interesting on a schedule that conforms to their needs.

There’s An Interest in History

People are interested in history.

As History Camp, C-Span’s American History TV, and the many television shows based in historical periods (Downtown Abbey, Mr. Selfridge, Turn, Outlander, and Sleepy Hollow, to name but a few) demonstrate, people want to interact with and learn more about their history.

History Camp and American History TV, in particular, also show that history lovers want to interact and connect with historians.

The podcast market underserves these history-minded people.

A Problem with Format

Over the last 9 months, I have been thinking about how I can start a podcast that showcases well-researched, historical narratives about early American history.

Initially, I toyed with the idea of presenting 15-20 minute narratives. I have a stack of ideas about mining my American History survey lecture notes, dissertation chapters, and freelance article research for stories and information.

However, I know that 15-20 minutes of speaking equals about 10-12 pages of text.

The most successful podcasts release a minimum of 26 shows a year; a new show every 2 weeks.

This production schedule makes my initial format unsustainable. I want to produce a podcast, but I also want time to work on my other projects, such as my book.

Additionally, my research is narrower than most people’s interests.

Many of my shows would focus on the history of upstate New York or Boston, the areas I have researched over the last 14 years. In the future, they would become Connecticut and Revolutionary War centric as my next project will take me into both of those areas.

My podcast has to be more expansive than my own research to attract a wide audience.

Eureka! My Plan

After wrestling with these thoughts, the solution finally came to me last week: An interview-focused podcast with occasional historical narratives written by me.

As you know, I am passionate about making well-researched history accessible for everyone. It frustrates me that too many of our colleagues do not make enough attempts or time to share their wonderful and important research with non-academics.

My solution of an interview-based podcast will allow me to help historians engage with the public.

My interviews will focus on their research and new books. It will allow interviewed historians to advertise their work and explain to non-academics why their work matters and why it is worthy of their attention.

As the interviewer, I can can ask my guests questions that will encourage them to share their information through the engaging examples and characters they use in their books, articles, and dissertations.

I also hope my podcast will expand our discussions of history.

I plan to interview academic historians, librarians and archivists, museum professionals, historians at historical societies, and independent historians.

Work to Do

Now that I have found a solution to my format problem, I am motivated to work on launching my podcast, which I have tentatively titled: “Ben Franklin’s World.”

I plan to interpret “Ben Franklin’s World” broadly.

Born in 1706, Franklin was a world traveler and consummate learner. Franklin helped found the United States and influenced technological developments after his death.

The podcast will center on early American history. I believe that the spirit of Ben Franklin will allow me to cover important issues in Atlantic History, European History, and North American History between the 17th and early 19th centuries.

I have a lot of work before I release my first episode.

First, I must take the video course I purchased on how to edit, tag, and publish podcast files using GarageBand.

Second, I need to brainstorm a list of interviewees.

Third, I need to schedule and conduct Interviews.

Fourth, I need to create 3-6 months worth of episodes before I release the first 5 episodes.

There are also a lot of other smaller tasks that I must research and do before I launch.

I would like to release my podcast before the end of the year.

What Do You Think?

What do you think about my podcast idea?

Do you like my title “Ben Franklin’s World?” Do you have a suggestion for a different title?

Would you like to help or be on the show?  

Send me an e-mail, tweet, or leave a comment.

*Links to podcasts about podcasts where you will find some fascinating statistics: "Interview with Michael Wolf of NextMarket Podcast" and "Interview with Podcasters Michael Hyatt and Chris Brogan."

How to Expand Your Writer Platform with Medium

Are you looking for a platform that will allow you to share your ideas, spread news about your writing, and workshop your drafts with other writers and readers? If so, Medium might be the right platform for you.

In this post you will learn what Medium is and how it can help you expand your writer platform.

What is Medium?

Founded by Twitter and Blogger founders Evan Williams and Biz Stone, Medium stands as "a new place on the Internet where people share ideas and stories that are longer than 140 characters."

Medium allows you to blog without a blog.

It has a clean appearance that presents both words and pictures in a visually appealing way. In fact, you can blog using just pictures.

However, Medium is more than a blogging platform.

Medium curates and workshops content through user-established and moderated collections.

What Are Medium Collections?

Medium collections organize and filter content.

You can use Medium to explore your interests in 2 ways:

1. You can use its search to find a collection that contains user-submitted articles or photos that discuss, or depict, a topic of interest.

2. You can create a collection.

Responsibilities of Collection Creators

When you create a collection, you become its moderator.

User-writers who share your interest may submit essays to your collection for publication. As collection moderator, you decide which of the submitted content to publish.

If you opt to pass on a submission, Medium requires that you provide the author with a reason for your rejection.

User-moderators help Medium curate content in 3 ways:

1. Moderator-established collections help writers see what kinds of visual and written content users want to read about.

2. Moderators help vet the content to make sure it fits within the collection they establish.

3. Moderators help readers easily find content they want to read.

The idea behind user-moderated collections is that user-readers will be able to find a collection that has content that matches their particular interest.

Medium As A Tool for Writers

Medium encourages posts by giving writers the option to request reader-feedback on their work.

Medium serves as a great tool for writers who need to workshop a piece because they lack a writing group.

It also serves as a great tool for writers who want to market their books.

Medium as a Book Marketing Tool

Late last year, Walter Isaacson posted excerpts of his new book about the "Information Age" to Medium for user feedback.

18,000 people read Isaacson's first excerpt. 125 readers commented, dozens of people sent him e-mails, and several writers wrote full-length articles that explored the ideas in his post.

Isaacson posted to Medium because he arrived at "the point of the book where people started using the Internet to collaborate" and "it didn't take a genius to say, 'why don't I use the Internet to collaborate?'"*

Isaacson used Medium to lessen his writer's isolation as well as generate buzz for his new book.

By asking readers to submit feedback, Isaacson allowed them to participate in his creative process, which in turn gave these readers a stake in his new book.

A Great Idea With Strings Attached

Medium is quickly becoming a great platform for writers because it provides them with the opportunities to both workshop and market their writing.

It is a platform for writers who want to blog, but do not want to take on the time commitment that comes with maintaining a blog.

With that said, WRITERS BEWARE.

Medium belongs to Evan Williams and Biz Stone. It is there platform, not yours.

Williams and Stone own the information for Medium users, not you.

This means that just like your Twitter followers and Facebook friends, you have no way to contact them all directly nor do you have a say in how Williams & Stone reproduce, post, or monetize their site with your content.

Conclusion

I view Medium as a great supplement to my digital platform.

Although I have not posted to Medium yet, I can see using it like Isaacson did, as a place to escape periods of writer isolation, workshop sections of my book, and interact with readers interested in early American History.

Medium may also help me expand my digital platform.

By including my website and blog URLs in my byline, I may lead Medium readers and writers to my digital hub and mailing list.

These are experiments I might try as I revise my book.

What Do You Think?

Do you use Medium? How do you use it and what has your experience been like?

What other platforms do you use to help extend the reach of your writer platform?

*Joshua Brustein, "Walter Isaacson on Crowdsourcing his New Book," Bloomberg Businessweek, December 30, 2013.

You can also read about Isaacson's use of Medium at The Christian Science Monitor and Fortune Magazine.

Photo of Walter Isaacson courtesy of David Shankbone.