Help Keep the Day in Technology History Podcast Going – Kickstarter Project
One of the shows I create has been a labor of love. For the last 5 years, I have been putting together a timeline of technology history on posting on first a weekly, then daily basis. The Day in Tech History was first called the “Week in Tech History” when started in January of 2008. In August, I knew it needed to move to a daily show. Since then, I have recorded 7 days a week – 365 days a year going into it’s fourth season.
The show had many great sponsors that have helped the Day in Tech History keep running. However – especially in the last year – Sponsors have been spotty. Besides, I never liked putting sponsors in the middle of a show – however, the cost of living pretty much told me I needed to do this.
But then I had a revelation. Actually, my friend Scott gave it to me. He said: “Why don’t you start a Kickstarter program and make the show user contributed?” I quickly passed it off, but later thought to myself: If I did that, I might be able to expand the show to it’s own website and get more content up.
Starting the Kickstarter Project: Day in Tech History
In weighing options, the one big concern I had was: What if it doesn’t meet the goal? Times are tough and getting people to help out monetarily might be tougher. I did another kickstarter earlier in the year for the Special Media Feed, and it just missed the end result. If one of my other passions doesn’t get funded, what will that say?
Still, after careful decision, I decided to launch this project a week ago. I am also taking due diligence on this: along with the Twitter/Facebook/Google+ campaign, I also set up a Press Release for the event. I’m also talking with other tech people about it – hoping they will add it to their show’s agendas.
Will Day in Tech History Go Away if Kickstarter Doesn’t Work?
It’s tough to say. I hope it doesn’t come to that (which is why I put a lower goal on the Kickstarter). Most likely, I will have less time to make the updates and add last year’s history due to more projects I’ll have to pick up. I’ll have to pound the pavement and get more sponsors to support the show.
The history timeline is on a Wiki page (found at wikazine). You can request to become an editor to help add tech history. I had to restrict access because the Spammers tried to take over the pages. Still, anyone that wants to help add and maintain historical content, it would be much appreciated.
I did find out that podcast listener numbers doubled from last year. That means people want to hear about Technology History. So hopefully they can help keep this project alive.
The DITH Kickstarter Project – Be a Backer Starting at One Dollar.
So the project is under way. 30 day project (ending October 22nd) with multiple sponsor options. $1 and $5 gratuity options. The $10 gets you a Day in Tech History bumper sticker. Starting at $25, you are backing one day of the show. That means I will be reading your name as a backer to the Day in Tech History (up to 4 backers for one day).
It’s different from a sponsorship, because there is no call to action. I can read your name, someone else’s name (if this is a gift) or your name and website. There would be no “Call to action” or 30 second ad in the middle of the show.
There are more options, you can back for one whole week or even one month. If you want to be the only backer, you can choose that option, too! If you back exclusively for the month, I’ll send you a USB drive with your shows you backed. You can use that for your personal records.
FAQ about the Day in Tech History Project Kickstarter
I am trying to add FAQ when questions arise. If you would like to ask a question for the FAQ – please Twitter me @geekazine. So far, I have talked about the amount of hours put into the show, where all the tech date information is and how to contribute.
Jeffrey Powers Can also Talk on Your Podcast About Day in Tech History and Kickstarter
Another FAQ talks about being a guest on your show. I will come on your show to talk about Tech History. If you need clarification about what happened in the past, or just want to talk history, let me know!
There is a lot more to the Day in Tech History than just the podcast. That is why I am real passionate about keeping this project going. I hope you can help out, even with $1. So if you have some time, please check out the Kickstarter project.
Thank you.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/geekazine/day-in-tech-history-project-2012-season