I'm fairly certain that it was this exact video that first prompted me to want to make a podcast. I didn't use this exact method -- you'll understand why when you watch the video -- but my first one did eventually get out there. It was on SoundCloud. It was about writing. It was terrible. But I learned a lot from that experience, and have since made many more, and hopefully better, shows.
And I'm now reflecting on the origins of that and much more, of course, thanks to Vlogbrothers Rewatch -- an ongoing series of articles in which I document my journey though the back catalog of Vlogbrothers videos on YouTube. Using this playlist, I'm watching everything in chronological order from the beginning, one "new" video per day.
This video is absolutely fascinating considering that it is almost completely irrelevant watching it back now. That's because this is a step-by-step guide explaining how to upload files to a podcast RSS feed via web hosting in 2007 -- which is not how podcasting is generally done now, at least not by the general, non-professional public.
Now, podcasting is much more accessible because you can create a free Spotify account (or something similar), download your files, and hit publish. There are a few others steps in-between, but it's quite simple in comparison when you watch videos like this and consider how much more complicated it used to be.
And that's really how technology evolves over time, isn't it? It's much more expensive and inaccessible until it isn't. Until easier, less expensive methods come about and suddenly anyone can publish a podcast episode to the internet in basically no time at all.
I'm not sure where I would be now as a content creator without this video. As outdated as it may be practically, it's a priceless gem to me.