EOY 2021 | 2148

2021 has been a terrible year, far worse than 2020. There is no point in dwelling on it. The next year will unfold from the last.

Full Show Notes: https://www.thejaymo.net/2021/12/19/301-2148-eoy-2021/

Watch 301 on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/jayspringett

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Website: https://www.thejaymo.net/

Permanently moved is a personal podcast 301 seconds in length, written and recorded by @thejaymo


EOY 2021

Well that’s it. All done for the year. We made it to the end of Season 4 of 301. I’ll think I’ll be back with Episode 22-01 the weekend of the 8th Jan. That said, it occurs to me that I have an all day band practice that day … Anyways. 

I’m looking forward to taking a break and recharging. But most of all I’m looking forward to spending some time with my family.

As has become tradition around here. Let;s cover some of stats for EOY 2021. I really do think it’s important that creators talk about and share these things.

This little one man band of a 5 min podcast is closing out 2021 with just over 72.5k all time downloads to its name. A big number by anyone’s estimation.

Growth took a downturn in the second half of this year. Which saw downloads per month in Q4 falling to half what they were in Q1.

The devil however – is in the details. 

The important metrics continue to trend upwards month on month. Those metrics being the number of downloads an episode gets within the first 72 hours, and after 30 days of release. My current numbers put me in the top 10% of podcasts or top 50% world wide depending on the metric.

The top three episodes of the year by downloads were:

  1. 2105 – The Political Voice as Demonstrated by the Councillors of Handforth
  2. 2107 – Solarpunk, Stacktivism and Cold Texas
  3. 2101 – In The Archipelago

Speaking to other podcasters. Overall download numbers have slowed for some of my friends too in H2 of 2021. Apparently iOS 14.5 changed the default behaviour for new subscribers in the podcast app. ‘Download All’ is no longer as prominent in the UX for new subscribers.

Moving on from audio. As you may or may not know, for the last 6 months I have been making a video version of the show. It goes up with the podcast on my youtube channel

That has been a learning experience for sure. It turns out it *wasn’t* as simple as – turning on a camera when I’m recording the audio – as I thought it was going to be. (See Episode 2122). I added the video component to the show during the summer this year as a creative challenge. Whilst I only just feel like I’m making progress with that part of the whole endeavour. It’s been enjoyable.

I know I’ve mentioned it before, but consistency is so important to me creatively. Doing something every week and putting it out is not just a commitment but an opportunity. An opportunity to learn and improve week after week. I am really pleased with all the new skills I’ve picked up this year, and have honed down the show’s expanded production workflow.

I’m now in a position where I feel confident enough to try and make some more ambitious things for audio, and explore some stand alone video too.

Speaking of making and doing more, a huge thank you to all the paid supporters of this show. You bought the camera, and your support makes it all worth it.

I’m currently just 3 paid supporters away from having the budget to overhaul my website. I want to offer proper email and subscription management. I also want to join the RSS club and post exclusive things for people using feed readers.

In 2022 I’d also like to start sending anyone supporting me at £5 a month and above a physical newsletter in the post. My minimum goal for 2021 was not to actively loose money on my creative endeavours on the internet. So bootstrapping it is. Doing all this outside of the Patreon or substack ecosystem however costs money.

So If you’re feeling the Christmas spirit and would like to support me or the show financially, please head over to www.thejaymo.net/support 

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Join 4,514 other subscribers.

Thank you again to everyone who already has. 

To round out the stats, with the release of this episode I will have made 4 hours of audio this year. There’s 52k words in my script document with 6 abandoned episode topics. The titles being: Anti-Nostalgia, Press publish, Think in 1k, Barcodes, Rhythm & Repetition, and Software Surfaces.

Now they’re all out the way, I’ll reiterate what I said in Episode 150. I’ve learned this year that stats are simply proof of having done. Caring about them keeps you stuck in the past. Appropriate for an end of year roundup yes, but as a day to day concern? Not so much.

2021 has been a terrible year, far worse than 2020. It’s been a year of total stasis and suspension. A total failure to make any significant progress across a variety of endeavours. A year of urgent anxiety, quiet brooding and ennui.

But it’s ok. I even have differences with my own opinion. Perhaps this year has just been a great deferral, a hangover from the intensity of the last. I have felt at times, like I’ve been sitting on the lid of a boiling pot. Or the cover of a seething well, bubbling with possibility. 

There is no point in dwelling on it. The next year will unfold from the last. The space weather suggests I have a year of Lights, Camera, Action ahead. But I will take things as they come. 

I don’t really make resolutions. But I will try to live in and enjoy the present, and do all the things that need doing, when they need getting done.

Thanks again for listening this year, I’ll be back for season 5 in the next one. 

Watch


The script above is the original script I wrote for the episode. It may differ from what ended up in the episode in the edit.

If you’d like to support this blog and its various projects, please consider making a regular contribution here. It genuinely helps me keep things up and running, so thank you!


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