I posted this for my Patrons a while ago but never cross posted this here. Since it came up on a podcasting panel I did recently, I was reminded to post it publicly. Enjoy!

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So I attended Podcast Movement in Chicago last week and it was … a thing. I only went because they had a payment plan for registration and it was in my city. I can tell you that I wouldn’t travel for this convention and I definitely would not pay what they ask for registration costs.

It wasn’t that the session titles were bad, but for the money (I got the early bird rate but it was still over $300) there weren’t a lot of vendors, some of the panels/talks were not so hot. There was one that was a thinly veiled pitch for the speakers services, but it wasn’t anything I didn’t know.

I mean, maybe some people need common sense before they need lessons on how to be a good podcast guest, but the ‘advice’ she was giving was very 101, like promote the episode when it airs, talk up the show you’re going to be on, come prepared to record, make sure you give the hosts your full attention!

Who doesn’t know such basic stuff? The thing that baffled me the most by her talk was the advice of go write a book to be a podcast guest. I repeat, her advice was go write a book to be on a podcast. That just kind of made me want to walk out. Yes, let’s spend time writing books to be on a podcast.

Let’s be honest, getting to guest on a podcast is not like being on a network tv show or likely something that will make or break your career. Yeah it’s cool, it’s fun but let’s be real here. There are very few shows with enough reach to make you better known.

The other thing that bugged me was that a lot of the ‘experts’ on these panels or giving talks were folks who have corporate backing or had money to spare and acted as if they had such a damn hard time getting where they are. There was no practical advice for small podcasters really.

Just mostly white dudes and white women talking about their corporate sponsored shows that struggled oh-so-much. There was only one diversity panel, and it was almost derailed by the first audience question, or I should say rant. One of the panelists made the very salient point that ok, we’re having this panel and what then?

It was refreshing to hear that from someone on a diversity panel, but the audience member who came back to that point for his ‘question’ went on a whole other level with his ranting about how it means nothing in the end. So that happened 😐

Bad panels, talks and lack of representation aside there were some cool things about going. I got to meet Godfrey of Gamertag Radio, see Cicero H of Spawn on Me again and meet a lot of other cool podcasters. There was good networking to be had and that has some value but not $300+ worth IMHO.

So yeah, if I could ever get a speaker gig (HAHAHAHA) for this and it comes back to Chicago, I may return to it once it’s grown into itself more. For a three year old convention it was slick and pretty but very, very shallow at the end of two and a half days.

Published by cypheroftyr

Tanya DePass is the founder and Director of I Need Diverse Games, a not-for-profit organization based in Chicago, which is dedicated to better diversification of all aspects of gaming. I Need Diverse Games serves the community by supporting marginalized developers, attendance at the Game Developer Conference by participating in the GDC Scholarship program, helps assist attendance at other industry events, and is seeking partnership with organizations and initiatives. Tanya is a lifelong Chicagoan who loves everything about gaming, #INeedDiverseGames spawn point, and wants to make the industry better and more inclusive for everyone. She’s part of the Rivals of Waterdeep actual play stream on twitch.tv/rivalsofwaterdeep, a partnered Twitch variety broadcaster; and often speaks on issues of diversity, feminism, race, intersectionality & other topics online, at conventions and as a public speaker.. She’s also contributed to publications at Green Ronin, Paizo and Monte Cook Games and is the co-developer for the Fifth Season RPG based on N.K. Jemisin’s three time Hugo award winning Broken Earth trilogy. She’s the creator and Creative Director of Into the Mother Lands, a Twitch supported RPG and Actual Play stream, airing weekly on her channel, twitch.tv/cypheroftyr. Additionally, she is a Senior Annenberg labs Civic Media Fellow at USC. She’s also the creator and Creative Director of Into the Mother Lands, a new sci fi afro-futurist RPG developed with a team of all POC and Black creators; live streamed on her twitch channel, /cypheroftyr. She’s named as one of The Game Awards Future Class 2020, a diverse group of builders, thinkers and dreamers whose voices elevate and diversify our artform. It recognizes individuals around the world who represent the bright, bold and inclusive future for video games. She was also named as one of Gamers of the Year 2020 by Kotaku along with three of her contemporaries. She was also invited to the Xbox MVP program in February 2021. Her work to make the industry more inclusive has been highlighted in Game Changer, Directed by Tina Charles, WNBA star & olympian as well as filmmaker. The short documentary premiered at Tribeca 2021, as part of the Queen Collective; an initiative started by Queen Latifah, supported by Proctor & Gamble in an effort to get more Black women into film making. Game Changer was also featured as part of BETHer’s 2021 Juneteenth Programming on 19 June 2021. Tanya is the programming & diversity coordinator for OrcaCon and GaymerX. She also serves on the Board of Directors for OrcaCon and was named the Chair for Take This in January 2023. She often speaks on issues of diversity, feminism, race, intersectionality & other topics at conventions. Her writing about games and games critique appears in Uncanny Magazine, Polygon, Wiscon Chronicles, Vice Gaming, Paste Games, Mic, and other publications. She’s the editor of Game Devs and Others: Tales from the Margins (2018, CRC Press) and contributed to The Advanced Game Narrative Toolbox. (2019, CRC Press) Writer Bio for pubs: Tanya is the Founder and Director of I Need Diverse Games, a not-for-profit organization based in Chicago. She’s part of Rivals of Waterdeep, an actual play D&D show on twitch.tv/rivalsofwaterdeep; the programming coordinator for OrcaCon & GaymerX; and often speaks on issues of diversity, feminism, race, intersectionality & other topics at conventions. She’s on the Board of Take This as well as a Stream Ambassador, and was part of the inaugural cohort of The Game Awards Future Class. Her work to make the industry more inclusive has been highlighted in Game Changer, Directed by Tina Charles, WNBA star & olympian as well as filmmaker. The short documentary premiered at Tribeca 2021, as part of the Queen Collective; an initiative started by Queen Latifah, supported by Proctor & Gamble in an effort to get more Black women into film making. Game Changer was also featured as part of BETHer’s 2021 Juneteenth Programming on 19 June 2021.