What’s Eating the Gillmor Gang?
So here’s a moderately funny story. By way of background, I discovered podcasts a few months ago and became an instant addict. With ever-expanding piles of BitTorrent, RSS and other web content competing with books, magazines, cinema, golf and even occasional socializing for my precious leisure time, any medium that turns those tedious hours in the car or gym into a high bandwidth information injection is most welcome. So I’m always on the lookout for good podcasts, and a friend of mine has been bugging me for ages to check out the Gillmor Gang, which apparently resurfaced recently after a long hiatus.
I finally got around to doing so three or four weeks ago. I was on my way out the door to meet some friends, and I’d listened to everything interesting in my podcast roll, so I threw on the Gang. I was quickly bemused, however, by the fact that the show appeared to be composed of uncomfortable mumbling interspersed with long periods of complete silence. This was pretty annoying since I just wanted to be entertained during my fifteen minute walk and tram ride, and after a couple of minutes I stopped and fast-forwarded about fifteen minutes. By then they were actually talking to each other and quickly established that Steve Gillmor, the host, had intentionally left the call before it even started in order to prove to the world how vital he is to its success. All of this had something to do with an incident involving Gang participant Jason Calacanis, who had revolted against what he perceived as the poor job Steve was doing packaging and promoting the podcast.
I listened to another interminable segment of Steve whining about how he was at a loss about what to do about this mutiny in the ranks, followed by some chit chat about politics. Not to put too fine a point on it, I wasn’t that impressed. Since that particular episode was obviously an exceptionally gruesome train wreck, however, I did listen to the next episode out of respect for my friend’s opinion, seeing as he is a long-term fan. And indeed, there are some very smart folks on the show, and certain parts of the discussion are undeniably thought-provoking. I found Mike Arrington’s participation, in particular, to be worthwhile. But the overriding attitude was very clearly “screw the listeners, if they don’t like it they can unsubscribe.” So I did.
The funny part starts a couple of days later when I was standing in the entrance of LeWeb 3 conference in Paris talking to a friend when Cedric walked by with Mr. Arrington himself. We chatted for a few minutes, and I mentioned to him that I knew he was coming because he’d said so in the portion of the previous Gillmor Gang that I had listened to. I then launched into an abbreviated but impassioned rant about how annoying it was. That put a bee in my bonnet, and when I got back home I wrote Mike a mail in essence urging him to ditch the Gang and start his own rival podcast. I honestly do believe that there is a gaping niche for a tight, professionally produced show with smart technical debate and commentary, and Mike would be the perfect guy to do it. He has the brand and the network, and even an occasional podcast (TalkCrunch) that could serve as the launching pad for something more ambitious (and potentially lucrative).
And that was that, until my friend (the original instigator of the whole saga) pinged me earlier today to ask if I had heard the latest show. Of course I hadn’t since I had deleted it from my iTunes. He told me there was something at the end that I would love and that I simply had to listen to it. I was almost expecting Mike to announce that he was taking my advice and setting up the rival Arrington Army podcast. Instead, around minute fifty he started telling Steve about what I had said to him in Paris, and then read a long excerpt of my rather brutal email diatribe on the air. Of course this had me rolling around on the floor in stitches.
Just to set the record straight, Mike misunderstood me and thought that I was a long-standing listener to the show. Actually I listened to a total of two and a half episodes (well, three and a half now) and then abandoned it. And I don’t have the attention span to sit through twenty minutes of silence. I lasted through about two minutes of the “train wreck” episode, fast-forwarded to minute twenty and, since there was still nothing much going on, concluded that the part I had skipped must have consisted mainly of dead air.
Oh, and I still wish that someone would take the Gillmor Gang concept and do it right. Come on Mike!
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The Gang might be an acquired taste but I wouldn’t miss an episode. The gaps/silence are just part of the show like gaps in any conversation. It’s like listening in on a bunch of friends sitting around the table, there will be gaps.
Comment by PXLated — 12/19/2007 @ 11:31 am
I totally get that some people are passionate fans of the format, but I can’t get away from the feeling that its huge potential is largely wasted.
Comment by Matt — 12/19/2007 @ 12:45 pm
Steve Gillmor reminds me of an angry old man pissed off at everybody’s success’s around him.
Comment by Jeff O'Hara — 12/19/2007 @ 5:35 pm
But you’ve gotta understand, it’s this crazy thing… it’s a total must to me, because I think it feels SO un-typical-podcast and it feels real, dead pauses and all.
Is it the best way to convey information to me? No. Not at all. But that doesn’t make it less fun.
And why fun? PXLated is right. It’s a different kind of taste. It’s like… Charles Bukowski in a room full of …hmm… I dunno. Rilke?
And here’s something I believe: I think making us sweat the pauses and feel discomfort is part of the plan.
Half of that gang has found itself on other shows, and yet, they come back to Steve. Ask yourself why. I have my opinion, of course.
Comment by Chris Brogan... — 12/20/2007 @ 1:28 am