Saturday, July 23, 2016

Interview with Podcaster John Orlando



John Orlando, welcome to Up Around the Corner. Please tell us a little about yourself.
I am the creator of the PVDcast podcast, which is named after my second home of Providence, Rhode Island. My mother has lived there for the past 20 years and I have become quite fond of the area. I am an avid film buff, hockey fan, comic book geek and pro-wrestling nerd. I have been involved in independent pro-wrestling in the state of Ohio for 14 years. I have called Columbus, Ohio my home for the past 19 years.

What inspired you to become a podcaster?
I have always had a creative streak. Even as a kid, I was always being super-creative when I played with my toys or drawing pictures or playing different games that I made up on the spot. When I got involved in the pro-wrestling industry, I got a chance very early on to help with the booking of the promotion. Booking is the term for creating matches, feuds or new characters. I booked in Fire & Ice Wrestling for about 6 months and booked Ohio Championship Wrestling for about three years. About four years ago, I quit booking for Ohio Championship Wresting, so I decided to try my hand at podcasting.  


In your experience what are the minimum computer hardware and software requirements?
This is a great question! I say that because I’m very DIY with my podcast. I don’t have a state of the art studio or a massive amount of equipment. I simply have my laptop, a microphone and a wind screen. I would say to anyone thinking about creating a podcast, the microphone is the most important piece of equipment you need. I use the Blue Snowball microphone, which plugs right into my laptop via USB connection. It’s a really good microphone for the price. One of my immediate goals is to upgrade my equipment when the opportunity present itself to do so.

Can you discuss one interview or guest that really ended up surprising you?
The one guest that really surprised me was Lou Jasikoff. He was a political journalist that was in town during the 2014 Libertarian Party National Convention. He surprised me because I was a little bit unsure what to expect from a journalist that has a Libertarian viewpoint. I guess that I expected the stereotypical anti-big government, anti-wealthy, anti-corporation, conspiracy theorist spiel. But, Lou was a very articulate, intelligent, journalist that explained his ideas in a logical way. While I may not have agreed with all of his points, the experience of talking to Lou was one of my personal highlights of doing this podcast. 


How do you pick the topics/contents for your Podcast?
I pick my topics through a few different ways. I like to present topics that I’m passionate about, like movies, comics, pro-wrestling and hockey. Therefore, I look for guests that are connected to those topics. I also try to pick topics that are independent in nature. Personally, I feel that independent endeavors are the backbone to change and innovation in our world. I like to help those folks with these independent endeavors get the word out about their projects.

Where do you see the PVDcast five years from now?
Ultimately, I would love to see the PVDcast become one of the top podcasts in the world! But on a more pragmatic note, I would like to see the PVDcast continue to grow and entertain the people that listen to it. I am always trying to improve my podcast to make it more entertaining and meaningful. I would hate to think that people listen to my podcast and then regret wasting an hour of their day.  

What are your three favorite podcasts? What do you like about them?
There are so many good podcasts out there. I would say that my three favorites are The Art of Wrestling, Hollywood Babble-On and How Did This Get Made? I like The Art of Wrestling because I enjoy listening to the stories of the various wrestlers who appear on that podcast. They share their experiences in the crazy business of pro-wrestling, which I find intriguing. HollywoodBabble-On is just flat out funny. It’s a great comedy podcast featuring Ralph Garman and Kevin Smith. How DidThis Get Made? is also extremely funny, but I enjoy the behind-the-scenes trivia you can learn about the awful movies profiled on each episode.

What is one thing you know now which you wish you knew when you first started out?
Promoting a podcast is the one thing that I thought would be so easy. When I first started out, I thought, “all I need is a Twitter account and the listeners will flock to the PVDcast.” Oh how wrong I was!  Having a strong social media presence helps, but that can take you only so far. There are, literally, hundreds of other podcasters hyping their podcast on Twitter too. You blend in with the others, unless you figure out a way to stand out from the rest. That is the real challenge, especially when you’re promoting your podcast on a budget. I’m still trying out different ways to promote the PVDcast and that’s why I appreciate when people give me the opportunity to promote it through their platforms.

Is there anything else you’d like add or share?
The PVDcast is always improving in some way or another so that I can continue to entertain my listeners and add to my audience. Currently, I’m working on fixing some HTML code that will allow my podcast to be available through I-Tunes and Google Play. I’m working on procuring new, original theme music and working on lining some great guests, including someone special for episode 100 (which isn’t that far away). So keep check in on the PVDcast because big things are on the horizon!

===========

Below are Links where you can find out more about John Orlando and the PVDcast.

Twitter: @PVDMVP
Instagram: PVDMVP

PVDcast is available at: http://pvdcast.com or through Stitcher Radio or SoundCloud



No comments:

Post a Comment