Five years of Best-of's

Today sees the release of the Best Of 2011 episode of Tech News Today. Once again, I'm super thrilled with the end result. I better be! It took a lot of time to put together. Best-of episodes always do!

These episodes are not easy to produce. They take organization, patience and a LOT of time. Thanks to the energized fans of the shows I've produced, picking the moments has been made easier via submissions of moments which gives those fans ownership of the episode. Almost always however, even though a ton of moments have been submitted by fans for inclusion, the episodes still require manual mining on my part to fill in the loose ends. Is the show filled with a bunch of moments from a particular part of the year, leaving another part of the year empty and unnacounted for? Certainly there are great moments within those blank periods. That's when I grab all of the episodes and scan randomly, looking for moments of laughter and odd looks. Those usually signal a great moment to be snapped up for the episode.

I export each moment with ample time before and after the key part to its own file in a folder, naming it after the episode number it was pulled from and a 1-3 word descriptor. This tells me in aggregate which episodes are being included in the best-of and when all moments have been pulled, this makes it much easier to see what parts of the year are missing, if any.

Once they're all grabbed, its simply a matter of laying them all out on a timeline, cutting them down so as to only include the meat of the clip and nothing extra and unnecessary. A best-of isn't succesful if the listener is bored with meaningless ramble in order to get to the nuggets. They want nothing but good stuff. At least, that's how I've always approached my own best-ofs.

It occured to me that I've now produced five years worth of Best-of's. From Buzz Out Loud, to Gadgettes, to Tech News Today, I've spent a good amount of time (and its a labor of love) putting together book-end episodes that, if I've done my job right, act as keep-sakes for the year's worth of episodes. The way I figure: Most people will never go back and re-listen to an episode of Buzz Out Loud from 2008 or re-watch an episode of Tech News Today from January 2011 because the news is quite simply too old and dated. But if I create a magical best-of, they get to revisit the many things they loved about those old episodes with none of the old news to weigh it down.

I present to you a compilation of all of the best-of episodes I've produced in one easy-to-find place! I forgot about a few of these myself. (The Buzz Out Loud "Titles of 2008" episode was particularly difficult to produce!) I hope you enjoy these as much as I still do.

Buzz Out Loud

Best of 2007 (2007)

Best of 2008 (2008)

Best of 2009 (2009)

Gadgettes

The Songs of Gadgettes (2007)

Director's Cut of 2008 V. 1 (2008)

Director's Cut of 2008 V. 2 (2008)

The Web Not-As-Exclusive-Anymore Episode (2009)

The Web Obviously-Not-Exclusive-At-All Episode (2009)

Best of Gadgettes pt. 1 (2010)

Best of Gadgettes pt. 2 (2010)

Tech News Today

Best of 2010 (2010)

Best of 2011 (2011)

Just Talking podcast

I was invited to take part on the Just Talking podcast a few weeks ago and true to the title of the show, I had an awesome conversation with host Christopher Snider. We discuss my career path from school, to CNET, to TWiT. We also talk about geeky audiophile things like compression rates on MP3s, as well as tips for making your own podcast more engaging to your fan base. Christopher was an excellent interviewer and I'm honored to have been approached for the show, so thanks Christopher!!

What's it like to be a producer?

Well, I'll tell you all about it in this interview! I spill the beans on my education leading up to my opportunity at CNET, my transition and time spent at TWiT, my encounter with the Secret Service as a 7th grader, being a father, and a whole host of other stuff.

Dr. Ken Tangen was gracious enough to ask me to take part in a project of his where he's compiling the stories of people from all walks of life. If you've ever wondered what it's like to be a cop, a tech writer (Iyaz Akhtar), a fire breathing magician (Brian Brushwood) among many others (and more published every week), then these audio interviews should give you an idea. The interview was smooth and Ken was super easy to talk to. Check it out!

NSFW show times TWO

This Wednesday, I was invited to be a part of the NSFW show for a second time. Are you kidding? It was a blast all around. Here are my two appearances. Both involve the awesome concept of a 10 second film festival where viewers of the show are asked in advance (maybe a day prior to the show) to create a 10 second video based on a particular theme. Hilarity ensues.

Opportunity comes a-knockin'

They say "do what you love and the rest will follow." I put that mantra into effect years ago when I went after a degree in audio production. It didn't feel like work. It was an opportunity to hone my skills and become better at the things I loved. The entire experience felt effortless as a result.

Fast-forward six years and I am thrilled with the fruits of my labor. After a number of unpaid internships, I've risen from production intern for ZDNet, to Podcast Producer for CNET TV, to one of the leads around the creation of CNET Live. I've also created a close rapport with the fans of CNET that make it possible for me to make a living doing this stuff. It has been a satisfying experience throughout and it all stems from loving what I do.

Jason Howell: Coming to TWiT!Opportunity came knocking once again by way of Leo Laporte's TWiT network. I am proud to announce that, effective Monday, September 27, I will become a member of the highly regarded TWiT-iverse, acting as Producer for my longtime Buzz Out Loud cohort, Tom Merritt. If I were Yoda, you'd probably hear me say something like "Thrilled, I am." Thankfully, I am not Yoda. I'm much taller. I am, nontheless, thrilled!

I am absolutely confident in my ability to produce top-notch quality content for TWiT. I know how well Tom and I work as a team, and I plan on using our podcast history together as a launchpad for even better things going forward. It's an opportunity that I quite simply can't pass up, and I'm flattered that Leo and company have chosen me to help with this effort.

This news takes nothing away from the entire gang at CNET, to whom I owe so many thanks. I've been awarded numerous opportunities and entrusted with much responsibility over the years. Everyone at CNET TV has been supportive of my development as a Producer of all things podcast, and to say that I've learned countless lessons from you (you all know who you are) would be a complete understatement. I will really miss working with you guys on a daily basis. A lot.

Me too, Yoda.But, you know another thing they say, right? When one door closes, another opens. After more than five years at CNET, I'm stepping through that door to face a new set of challenges with TWiT, and I look forward to seeing you all on the other side.