John Orlando,
welcome to Up Around the Corner.
Please tell us a little about yourself.
I
am the creator of the PVDcast podcast, which is named after my second home of
Providence, Rhode Island. My mother has lived there for the past 20 years and I
have become quite fond of the area. I am an avid film buff, hockey fan, comic
book geek and pro-wrestling nerd. I have been involved in independent
pro-wrestling in the state of Ohio for 14 years. I have called Columbus, Ohio
my home for the past 19 years.
What inspired you
to become a podcaster?
I
have always had a creative streak. Even as a kid, I was always being
super-creative when I played with my toys or drawing pictures or playing
different games that I made up on the spot. When I got involved in the
pro-wrestling industry, I got a chance very early on to help with the booking
of the promotion. Booking is the term for
creating matches, feuds or new characters. I booked in Fire & Ice
Wrestling for about 6 months and booked Ohio Championship Wrestling for about
three years. About four years ago, I quit booking for Ohio Championship
Wresting, so I decided to try my hand at podcasting.
In your experience
what are the minimum computer hardware and software requirements?
This
is a great question! I say that because I’m very DIY with my podcast. I don’t
have a state of the art studio or a massive amount of equipment. I simply have
my laptop, a microphone and a wind screen. I would say to anyone thinking about
creating a podcast, the microphone is the most important piece of equipment you
need. I use the Blue Snowball microphone, which plugs right into my laptop via
USB connection. It’s a really good microphone for the price. One of my
immediate goals is to upgrade my equipment when the opportunity present itself
to do so.
Can you discuss
one interview or guest that really ended up surprising you?
The
one guest that really surprised me was Lou Jasikoff. He was a political
journalist that was in town during the 2014 Libertarian Party National Convention.
He surprised me because I was a little bit unsure what to expect from a
journalist that has a Libertarian viewpoint. I guess that I expected the
stereotypical anti-big government, anti-wealthy, anti-corporation, conspiracy
theorist spiel. But, Lou was a very articulate, intelligent, journalist that
explained his ideas in a logical way. While I may not have agreed with all of
his points, the experience of talking to Lou was one of my personal highlights
of doing this podcast.
How do you pick the topics/contents for your Podcast?
I
pick my topics through a few different ways. I like to present topics that I’m
passionate about, like movies, comics, pro-wrestling and hockey. Therefore, I
look for guests that are connected to those topics. I also try to pick topics
that are independent in nature. Personally, I feel that independent endeavors
are the backbone to change and innovation in our world. I like to help those
folks with these independent endeavors get the word out about their projects.
Where do you see
the PVDcast five years from now?
Ultimately,
I would love to see the PVDcast become one of the top podcasts in the world! But
on a more pragmatic note, I would like to see the PVDcast continue to grow and entertain
the people that listen to it. I am always trying to improve my podcast to make
it more entertaining and meaningful. I would hate to think that people listen
to my podcast and then regret wasting an hour of their day.
What are your
three favorite podcasts? What do you like about them?
There
are so many good podcasts out there. I would say that my three favorites are The Art of Wrestling, Hollywood
Babble-On and How Did This Get Made?
I like The Art of Wrestling because I
enjoy listening to the stories of the various wrestlers who appear on that
podcast. They share their experiences in the crazy business of pro-wrestling,
which I find intriguing. HollywoodBabble-On is just flat out funny. It’s a great comedy podcast featuring
Ralph Garman and Kevin Smith. How DidThis Get Made? is also extremely funny, but I enjoy the behind-the-scenes
trivia you can learn about the awful movies profiled on each episode.
What is one thing
you know now which you wish you knew when you first started out?
Promoting
a podcast is the one thing that I thought would be so easy. When I first
started out, I thought, “all I need is a Twitter account and the listeners will
flock to the PVDcast.” Oh how wrong I was!
Having a strong social media presence helps, but that can take you only
so far. There are, literally, hundreds of other podcasters hyping their podcast
on Twitter too. You blend in with the others, unless you figure out a way to
stand out from the rest. That is the real challenge, especially when you’re
promoting your podcast on a budget. I’m still trying out different ways to
promote the PVDcast and that’s why I appreciate when people give me the
opportunity to promote it through their platforms.
Is there anything
else you’d like add or share?
The
PVDcast is always improving in some way or another so that I can continue to
entertain my listeners and add to my audience. Currently, I’m working on fixing
some HTML code that will allow my podcast to be available through I-Tunes and
Google Play. I’m working on procuring new, original theme music and working on
lining some great guests, including someone special for episode 100 (which
isn’t that far away). So keep check in on the PVDcast because big things are on
the horizon!
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Below are Links
where you can find out more about John Orlando and the PVDcast.
Website: http://pvdcast.com
Twitter: @PVDMVP
Instagram: PVDMVP
Email: johnorlando@pvdcast.com
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