Episode 18: What’s In The Name

I’m extremely guilty of trying to come up with catchy names or titles for my podcasts and episodes. Unplugged and Totally Uncut, The Choice, View from the Writing Instrument and Pod-crashing to name a few. Weird way out there labels but nothing as cool as Marc Maron’s WTF, Discraceland, The Joe Rogan Experience or Crime Junkie.
While thumbing through iHeart Radio’s podcast directory I had an extremely difficult time locating Ellen DeGeneres’ On The Go. I wasn’t aware of the title. It wasn’t as easy as Elvis Duran On Demand or the Ben Shapiro Show.
When I danced for the first time seven years ago with podcasting my DJ radio ego wanted to be cool like 48 Hours, Good Morning America and The Late Show. I wanted something that could be branded by me and not a major Broadcast Corporation. Podcasting was like taking my first baby step. No more scooching across the floor. I was up and ready to run. That’s when I realized babies don’t learn how to walk they learn how to fall.
Podcasting’s the same. Everybody has the freedom to write, produce, act out and say whatever they want. What happens if the name of the show or episodes become that collection of letters people aren’t typing into search engines? No matter how many times you social network the presentation the image doesn’t come to mind when new and old listeners need something pretty awesome to stuff into their ears.
I chose Unplugged and Totally Uncut because in the opening scenes of the digital race I thought I’d be original and let listeners in on the entire process of the interview. From the comedians walking into the studio and never knowing the show started before they arrived to leaving in my vocal mess ups cuz I want to be just as human as those who’ve chosen to take a shot and listen. More importantly I was the production director of six radio stations and editing was too time consuming so I had to come up with a name that basically said this is why it isn’t perfect. Unplugged and Totally Uncut.
7 years later, as a personality I’m still unplugged. I’ve always been on the strange side. I’m ok with a head dented in by the school of hard knocks. The totally uncut part has change tremendously. I’m an editing whore. It took me the longest time to learn how to edit for podcasting versus editing for a terrestrial radio show. Podcast listeners accept mess ups and but make them sound natural without having to edit the show to absolutely no mistakes. During those days my numbers were horrid. I remember a listener writing to me, “I love your effort but if I wanted to hear a show I’d turn on the radio. I’m more into conversations.”
View from the Writing Instrument is the writer in me being awkwardly overbearingly too determined to never say, “I talk with published authors.” I wanted a podcast that was all about who what where why and when is your next book due? I live the life of writers because in all things I do it all starts with letters, sentences and paragraphs. My biggest battle wasn’t getting the authors but rather who and what is a writer? What about songwriting? What about script writers? Those that put together recipe books? It truly opened the door for me to broaden my niche.
I also have a podcast called The Lyrics From Billy’s Forest. I don’t want to call this a dork moment because the story behind the name runs extremely deep into the soul of why broadcasting is the addiction. What do you think happens on The Lyrics From Billy’s Forest? A farm boy country songwriter gone big city? Nope. Mark Twain inspired tree hugging poetry? Nah. I spent two years writing in the forest that surrounds the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, NC. I started doing it the day my father passed away. I wrote things down no other place on the planet shot through my thinking system. I’d always tell myself “These aren’t my words. These are the lyrics from Billy’s forest.”
A podcast I totally get into is NBC’s Songland podcast. The name says it all. But only if you’ve seen the weekly music show on television. The Best Of Steve Harvey is a great name. It tells thumbing around podcast listeners exactly what it is. The Best Of. Not to be confused with The Steve Harvey Show podcast.
Armchair Expert from Dax Sheppard totally rocks my listening world. If my wife wouldn’t of told me about it the name Armchair Expert would’ve convinced me that it’s a sports show. Right? I’ve had a conversation with the creator of the LORE podcast. The Dude’s totally focused and turns word play into a candy store. Chelsea Handler’s Life Will Be The Death Of Me sounds like a totally awesome comedian driven laugh your ass off funny show. But it’s not. She’s incredibly brave to push mental illness forward and deals with it by taking the subject to multiple stages and through many different levels. When you listen to the podcast you’ll instantly get the name but without an explanation it kinda sat there for a while. I didn’t grow up listening to albums and cd’s that featured comedians. I’m that guy that’s an out of control visual.
Stuff You Missed In History Class is a brilliant title. Food 360 with Marc Murphy puts being an all-out fan of food on the most important part of the day list. Purple Panties though kinda scares me. What if while listening my wife looks over my shoulder at the smart phone and sees only Purple Panties. That’s why I can’t figure out why E.D. commercials put so much focus on men having more sex. Guys are shouting “Hell yes!” Women on the other hand are thinking, “He’s gonna screw around on me.”
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend makes me laugh without listening. I wish he would’ve gotten into radio decades before podcasting. The Last Podcast On The Left makes me wonder about what’s across the hall on the right. What do you think this podcast is about? Judge the show by its title! The Last Podcast On the Left. It covers all the horrors our world has to offer but imagined and real. Demons and slashers to cults and serial killers.
So what’s the moral of the story? There are millions of podcasts currently playing, many of which bare unique names that don’t always come up while using the search engine. I totally grasp the energy put into being original and how fun it can be to stick our way of thinking way out there globally. Thinking like a listener I’m reminded of my talk with program director of a Charlotte station in 1985. He wanted me to drop the name Arroe Collins. Listeners would write on the Arbitron Earl, Harrold, Errol and believe it or not Aerosmith. I disagreed and did everything I could to protect the name. 35 years in the same market and I still bump into people that greet me with, “Hey Arlo.” As in Guthrie.
As big corporate business radio gets its arms wrapped around podcasting will those being hired need to create content need to shape up their names? The way I moved around the oddness of my titles was to put Arroe Collins on it first then the addition of the other title. A smarter me would of spelled my name A R R O W totally taking out the letter E.