SPECIAL EDITION
Greetings,
When I was a young woman, my favorite way to connect with others in my introverted way was to listen to public radio programming that featured people talking. (Leave politics out of it, please.) My reason for listening was primarily that public radio didn’t assault me with audio-compressed commercials featuring screamy people demanding I buy something. Instead, my imagination was eternally engaged, the world was endless, and I liked the companionship of the voices of the people I heard whose voices, typically, did not annoy me.
I loved it so much, it led to my first real media job as a public radio host and producer back in the 80s!!! Gulp. It’s been a while since then, and although I’ve gone in many directions since then, my love of audio was never diminished. The power that aural delivery of information has can be awesome. That is why I am so tickled that Substack now empowers me to use audio with such facility by giving me and other independent publishers a brand-new suite of audio tools.
So, this is a test. This is a test of me plopping in some audio of my own writing, without having to create a podcast, upload it, and so on. The production values are just so-so, but over the years, just as I’ve given in to all the ways grammar and spelling have been obliterated by texting, I’ve learned to be a little less annoyed by the imperfection of on-the-go audio production. Eventually, my actual productions will match my production values, but this will do for now. The metrics show that so far, people aren’t too put off when I podcast using mediocre technology.
That’s no excuse to rest on my laurels, but! That I can speak to you directly without lots of equipment or least of all, a transmission tower, while hopefully engaging your imagination by way of thoughtful audio, is also progress, even if it’s not linear.
Here’s what I am not crazy about, however: I can’t screw up and then do another take. I’d have to re-do the whole thing, and the point here is to be quick and dirty, so to speak. So, the two places where I stumbled are clearly there. Also, you hear me clear my throat before beginning. This is why it’s called raw audio!
If enough of you like it, I will start recording audio versions of what I write, so you can hear me as well as read me. So, please put your comments in the comment section by using the little chat bubble icon at the top of this post.
As for what I am about to read to you…I harkened back to a post from earlier this year, as I thought its message was fairly timeless. At least as long as we have technology and media. Here’s the text:
And the audio is linked above. I hope you enjoy this new way to interact, and that it enrichens your experience of docu-mental. Please let me know!
Peace,
Whitney