I love podcasts and my own shows in the past have been mostly independent. I was briefly a part of a network with one of my shows but there hasn’t really been a network that I felt I fitted in to. As I see it, podcast networks suffer from exactly the same problem as traditional radio networks. Unless your show pitch meets with the approval of the lead(s)/head(s) of the network in question, you’re out of luck. If you’re trying to get your show on a network but it doesn’t quite fit with what they’re looking for then you’re independent or you have no show at all.
Once a network that caters to your niche exists your podcast potentially has a home, but if that network niche doesn’t exist, you’re out of luck. I’ve known many podcasters that modify their show pitch to appeal to a specific network, but is that really what podcasting is about? It’s power to the people, to the individual or to the niche-groups of people. Podcasting can give them a voice.
If you’re into a niche topic, know some others that want to make the same sorts of show that you want to, then what do you do? There’s only one thing for it.
Start A Network
There are a very small number of Engineering focused podcasts out there that aren’t primarily about software development. In fact if you listened to the podcasts out there you might be mistaken for thinking that Software Engineers are the only engineers that exist.
Of course that’s not true. I’m an electrical engineer and I work with control systems, process, chemical, mechanical, civil structural and civil infrastructure engineers and I’ve previously worked with aerospace, environmental and biomedical engineers as well.
The Engineered Network now exists to cater for that niche. If you’re an engineer that has something you want say, has an itch to podcast and thought no one else was interested in what you had to say, The Engineered Network (TEN) can give you the platform you’re looking for to get your content out there.
Launch
TEN launches on the 9th of October, 2015 with a short list of three shows:
Neutrium
A podcast about engineering topics, centred mainly around chemical and process engineering design challenges faced by engineers in their daily work. Neutriums goal is to bridge the gap between theory and practice and is hosted by Matthew Kidd and Trevor Walker. More about Neutrium on the show blog
Causality
Causality is my (John Chidgey) solo podcast that dives into the details of the cause and effects of disasters, serious incidents and accidents that could have been prevented. Inspired by the response to Episode 11 of Pragmatic, I’ve been fascinated by Cause and Effect for my whole life and am excited to tackle this show. More about that on the show blog.
Pragmatic
With such a big fallout from ending the show earlier this year, I couldn’t disappoint the fans of the show. However in order to address the time committment required and to balance show production with my work/family time there are conditions: Pragmatic will now be a fortnightly show and will be strictly limited to 90 minute episodes, no matter the topic. You should also welcome my new co-host Carmen Parisi who also appears on an excellent engineering podcast The Engineering Commons and will be helping out with show production. More about that on the show blog.
Big Things Have Small Beginnings…
The launch of TEN is intentionally small. It’s a short show list and yes I know, I’m in two of them. However there are several other shows in the works that just aren’t quite ready and there will be more details released about them as time progresses.
I’d like to say a special thank you to the Networks Launch sponsors:
Thank you also to the fans of Pragmatic that have encouraged me to make the time to keep podcasting. I hope we can collectively deliver content that you’ll enjoy.
If you’d like to support the shows and the network the best way is to support our wonderful sponsors. Let us know what you like via the feedback forms as we all love getting listener feedback :)
Another avenue we’re exploring is Patreon, and you can visit our Patreon page and donate whatever you feel comfortable with. There’s more on the About page.
If you’re interested in making your own podcast, solo, with a friend, or a group of friends and you’re practicing professional engineers, then please get in touch via the contact form.
Thank you all for taking this next step with me. I’m excited to see how this turns out. :)
Best regards, John Chidgey