This episode focuses on the launch of Open Signal, a new weekly commentary show from Open Channels FM. Host Bob Dunn shares how the idea for Open Signal quickly came together, transitioning from a Friday blog post into a short and direct audio format tailored for the community.
Listeners can expect commentary on topics from the open source and open web ecosystem, sometimes sparked by quotes from previous episodes and sometimes offering fresh perspectives.
The format will be flexible, featuring either solo commentary, guest voices, or a blend of both, but always released on Fridays. Bob Dunn also mentions that some past commentaries will be archived under the new show, making related content easier to find. Tune in to hear about the ideas and motivations behind this new addition to the network.
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Takeaways
- Introduction of Open Signal: Bob introduces “Open Signal,” a new weekly show on Open Channels FM, focused on commentary related to the open source and open web ecosystem.
- Format and Frequency: The show will release on Fridays with a short format, featuring either commentary sparked by quotes from previous episodes or standalone commentary, aiming to stay direct and focused.
- Evolution of the Concept: The idea for Open Signal evolved quickly from a Friday blog post series, which combined quotes and news wrap-ups, to a dedicated audio commentary after Bob realized the format would work better as a podcast.
- Separation of Content: The news updates will remain as written posts on Fridays, while audio commentary becomes the focus of the new show, providing clarity and easier access for listeners.
- Flexible Hosting Approach: Initially, Bob will host the episodes, but the show may feature different hosts, guests, or even blended voices in future episodes, emphasizing flexibility and avoiding a single format.
- Archival Content Inclusion: Some earlier commentaries by Bob from the past eight years will be added to Open Signal as archival episodes, to consolidate related content under one show for better accessibility.
- Consistent Schedule, Variable Structure: While the schedule will be consistent—episodes every Friday—the hosting, format, and use of quotes will remain flexible to keep the show dynamic.
- Acknowledgment of Sponsors: The show is sponsored by Automattic, InMotion Hosting, and Omnisend, companies supporting the open web and its community.
Episode Transcript
Bob Dunn:
Well, I just want to drop in today and tell you about our new podcast. This is the 5th podcast in our channel called Open Signal. Now, what is Open Signal? It’s basically a weekly show that will come out on Fridays, a commentary. Most of the episodes will be sparked by a quote in the previous week’s episodes, or it may just simply be a commentary without the quotes. Either way, it’s going to be short and direct and focused on what we want to talk about.
Now, if you’re wondering how this idea evolved, it did rather quickly in a sense. I’m doing this Friday blog post called Signal that I’d bring in quotes from previous episodes. And then last Friday I thought, hmm, maybe I should add a little commentary to it. And then I put also a news wrap-up from Open Channels News, all in this one post. Well, as I looked at it after I published it Friday, by Saturday I’d made the decision to split it up. It just made more sense. The commentary side, of course, works better as an audio than a post because that’s where our audience is. Now the news updates works better as a post, of course, with the links. So we’ll be doing an update post every Friday as well.
Now, who’s going to be doing this? Well, you can guess initially it will be me. Now, as we move into things, maybe some weeks there’ll be a host, some weeks there might be a guest. Sometimes we’ll even blend 2 voices together. We want to keep it open-ended, and want to keep the show from being boxed into one format or one-person commentary. What is standard is it’s always going to be a commentary, not who’s giving it or whether a quote kicks it off.
And during this 2-day decision that I made, I thought, well, this shouldn’t really be folded into Channel 4, which I had actually thought of doing. Channel 4’s kind of turned into the catch-all. We have updates, off-topic series, and Open Signal instead has one clear job every week. So I basically didn’t want that getting lost in the mix.
Moving forward, what can you expect? Of course. Well, some weeks, quote plus commentary, some weeks commentary only, one voice or two, a consistent day every Friday. Consistently short format and flexible on the rest of it.
So that’s basically it. A new show that transpired in a matter of 48 hours, which if you know me, that’s not unusual. And looking forward to it. We’ll see where this goes next week when I actually do the formal first episode.
Now, the one thing you will note that we will have some archival episodes in this, even though it is a new one. There’s been commentaries we’ve made over the 8 years, not a lot of them, but some, mostly myself, I should say. And I’ll tuck those in under this new show just because I’m fitting all the content and want to fit it into the current podcasts to make it more easy to find.
So that’s it. I hope you catch us next Friday, or I should say catch myself, and we’ll see where this goes. Until next time, take care.
