August 2012, UPublic TV station, Albuquerque.
Toby Younis, the outreach coordinator and trainer of public access producers sits at his desk in a small, sparsely furnished office. Checking his Invicta wristwatch, he flips to a new page in his leather-bound notebook. Toby looks up as Shelley Carney knocks lightly on the open door, right on time for her appointment. As his father and uncles had taught him, Toby stands as she enters, extending his hand. Shelley steps toward him and smiles warmly as she shakes his hand.
SHELLEY: Hi, I’m Shelley Carney.
TOBY: Welcome, Shelley. Please take a seat. I think we’ve met. (Toby rubs his forehead in thought, then sits as he recalls.) Were you a student in the CNM film program in January?
SHELLEY: That’s right.
TOBY: You helped me with a documentary for the Spanish Colonial Arts Society. I remember you were a hard worker. You’re here to become a producer?
SHELLEY: That’s the plan. Though I’m not sure what I’m doing yet.
TOBY: (Toby writes in his notebook with a stylish, hand-turned pen as he speaks.) I recommend starting with an interview format talk show. That’s the simplest kind of show to produce and the guests will bring in new viewers each week. You could focus on the local film industry since you have some experience and connections there.
SHELLEY: Keeping it simple works for me. I’m not sure how many connections I have, but if you tell me where to start, I’ll do my best to make it happen. What should we call the show?
TOBY: I think it should encompass not just filmmakers, but also new media creators who are expanding on YouTube. How about New Mexico Media Makers?
SHELLEY: Perfect. Let’s get started.
My business partner, Toby, and I have been working together for 10 years. We’ve created many projects including television and YouTube talk shows, short films, screenplays, documentaries, livestreams, books, and various other media products.
We love to create as a team.
The longer we continue to work on a project, the more it grows into a community and business.
For instance, in 2017, we built a YouTube channel based on the Forrest Fenn treasure hunt. That turned into a community of almost 7000 subscribers who showed up at least once a week for a two-hour session of chatting, short videos, phone calls, and other fun stuff we put together throughout the week.
We tapped into a passionate community and that YouTube channel bloomed into a small business for us.
That ended in 2020 when somebody found the treasure that was the cornerstone of our content and curated community.
For the past few weeks, Toby and I have been exploring and listening to our current subscribers, the ones who are still with us, to find out what they want to see from us going forward. They told us they like our travel videos and chatting about current news topics. Things that appeal to the 50+ age group.
I’ve been putting together a course and membership for content creators who are interested in transitioning into content entrepreneurs through consistent content creation and distribution. The course is based on our recently published book titled Livecast Life: the Content Creator Lifestyle.
Our livecast program is tailored for encore entrepreneurs and service providers who want to help others by spreading their message and method. It’s called Messages and Methods: Livecast Life 2.0.
It’s time to take these various pieces of information and bring them together into something powerful.
Content creation means pulling ideas from your life experience and learning, and writing or speaking those thoughts in your own voice.
Content curation involves taking content from other sources and posting them on your site, newsletter, or across social media in a thematic and clear manner.
I like to do both, but I mostly use other people’s content for research and inspiration. Then I put my spin on it and share it in my voice through my lens of experience.
To create this post today, I read through several blog posts and articles to get a handle on the common understanding of content curation and why it is important for growing your audience.
The article, The Complete Guide to Content Curation in 2022: Tools, Tips, Ideas from Michelle Martin at Hootsuite makes a good point:
Content curation is more than sharing. It’s about finding the best content your audience wants and presenting so that they keep coming back — to you. While creating original content is vitally important for thought leadership, so is content curation. Curating the best stuff shows that you’re in the know about your industry and its trends.
In another brief post, Content Creation vs. Content Curation: What’s the Difference? Stephanie Fehrmann of Redefine Marketing Group shares this helpful nugget:
While some businesses lean towards one type or the other, there are compelling reasons to incorporate at least a little of each. In fact, many businesses find success with using a blend of about 40 percent shared content and 60 percent original content on their sites. Of course, over time a business should get a feel for what type of content seems to speak the best to their customer base.
On Friday morning I spoke with podcast coach Michael Sharkey who helps podcasters to grow their audience. He takes these conversations and turns them into podcast episodes on Your Podcast Coach podcast. He suggested I build collaborative relationships with other podcasters who also serve the older generation.
We talked about the challenges of growing a podcast with this specific audience.
People who are living in the second half of life, are often lagging in the adoption of technology such as listening to podcasts or joining a live YouTube audience to chat.
The more I hear about Web3, the more I think the older generation is still figuring out Web2. We’ve finally got the hang of using Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube, but most of the older generation has not yet taken full advantage of content creation and distribution to share their message with the world.
The Sounds Profitable Research Study: People Behind The Podcasts shows that only 2% of podcasters are over the age of 45. Toby and I think of ourselves as 55 plus, but we still fall into the 45-plus age group. One of their observations in this research was that the 45-plus age group is underrepresented in podcasting. Meaning there are very few creators that are 45 plus. Therefore, they feel that the 45-plus audience is underserved in podcasting.
I believe this statistic correlates to all content creators, whether they are making videos, blogs, or podcasts. The over 55 content creator is in the minority. We are a small niche of a larger community.
The retirement and encore entrepreneur community is growing as Gen X enters the second half of life, joining the Boomers and Generation Jones. The closer we get to retirement, the more we seem to invest our time and money in education, travel, and making the world a better place for our children and grandchildren.
We want to have a voice in the big conversations that matter to all generations.
To share our wisdom, we need to understand the technology that bridges the gap between using social media to listen as an audience member, and using platforms like YouTube and podcasting to lead the conversation and advocate for our needs.
When Toby and I were leaders in the treasure hunt community, we put out an annual poll to gather information about the treasure hunters and their position on a variety of issues within that world.
A year or two later, journalists contacted us to learn about the results of the polling we did. We had established authority because we gathered information and statistics from a specific group of people.
Bringing together our 2 percent of podcasters and age 50+ content creators into a community would offer us that same level of leadership and authority. It is the smallest portion of a larger group that researchers and advertisers want to understand, speak to, and sell to.
If we come together to tackle common challenges, such as slow adoption of technology and fear of being harmed by appearing on the internet, we can come together to celebrate our advantages.
The older generation is brimming with experience, wisdom, stories, time, and money.
But we don’t want to just be consumers and audience members. We want to be producers and make a positive difference by leaving a legacy that can help our kids and grandkids through the difficult times ahead.
If we can make the technology and training accessible to seniors, we can amplify their voices so they can advocate for the things that often get lost in media hype and news of the day.
My mom just turned 80 years old this year. A few weeks before her birthday, she experienced a debilitating stroke. She felt alone and victimized by this horrible event that stole the usefulness of her left arm and leg and her understanding of the world.
When I visited my mom and dad this past May through June, I introduced them to a podcast about stroke recovery. It amazed them to discover current, reliable information and stories from other stroke victims they could listen to every week. They weren’t alone after all and they felt stronger and more hopeful.
That’s what a podcast can do when it advocates for the needs you experience.
As content creators, we need to explore the best way to share our messages and methods with the wider world around us.
Should we create or curate content or should we build a community?
I think we can do it all.
My podcast partner, Jen McFarland, and I have been focusing on creating content and collaborating with other creators in our recent livecast, Content Creator Collaboration for Audience Growth.
I believe collaboration and community growth are what will help us thrive in the coming years as our little niche of elder content creators becomes a powerful voice in the worldwide conversation.
If you, or someone you know, is in the over 50 age group of content creators or if you, or they, would like to become a content creator, share this article and join us on YouTube on Wednesday evenings for News & Views and on Thursdays for Women Conquer Business and Messages and Methods.
We’ll soon be opening up a free Heartbeat community so we can come together to discuss our future plans for Livecast Life 2.0.