sUAS News podcast passes 100,000 downloads
The sUAS News podcast came on air in May 2012 and is now twenty six shows old it has been for us a sleeper hit. When we decided to add a piece about it the counter was just coming up to 100,000 downloads, less than a week has passed and another 18,000 downloads have occured.
The podcast aims to bring a voice to the people actually working in the UA field and making regulatory decisions. There really is too much BS and too few hard questions being asked around the web, smoke and mirrors abound.
Patrick and Gene have done an outstanding job of innovating, taking the show on the road and broadcasting live from the field. Sometimes that creates technical jeopardy. In our latest episode Patricks phone connection went down moments before broadcast. Currently on location at White Sands, Patrick reverted to a satellite phone and the sound quality suffered as a result. As the saying goes, you can’t make an omlette without breaking eggs so trail blazing is bound to bring issues.
A big thank you to all our guests and those of you that have downloaded and listened. If you would like to be a guest or have a program idea please contact Patrick or Gene @suasnews.com
I asked the team why they thought the podcast was going so well, so quickly.
Gene:-
First, I believe that there is a huge population of participants in this industry that are frustrated at being “in the blocks” and the firing gun keeps getting waved around, but no crack to put all that energy to good use. The frustration is pent up, because of position they really can’t even voice it because of repercussions. We have given them that “voice” and it offers some encouragement to know that we are out there taking note and spreading the word.
Second there are people out there that are willing to make concessions to fly and they are not being heard. Solutions are being offered only to fall on deaf ears – or the problem changes so fast that today’s solution is no longer viable. The eternal game of “whack-a-mole” has grown tedious and lost even the slightest thread of common sense. We have been broadcasting common sense approaches, and having guests that believe that common sense approaches will win the day.
Third, we have established a wonderful network of industry innovators. We get to see and hear about some of the coolest stuff that is coming out and that has been in use but quietly excelling in what it does. We get to tell people about those sort of developments in a easy to use format. You don’t have to read, just load it up to your iPod or Android and listen to it on your commute to (or from) work.
Our years of experience and network associates allows to get the “inside scoop” on things that the usual channels don’t always report. The congressional hearings, law making, policy changes and things that have affected us so profoundly get identified, reported on, and explained. Even if it is in our “own opinion”!
As always, we are passionate about this technology. We really do believe it will positively change many facets of our lives.
Patrick as ever includes a word I did’nt know in his response.
When we started this endeavour back in May, I figured we’d be bringing down the house with five or six hundred downloads a week. When we started getting numbers like five or six thousand a week… I was totally blown away.
Obviously when we’re getting over ten thousand or fifteen thousand downloads in a week… we must be reaching people from outside of the community with interest.
The show follows the same ethos as the website, our vision is to share years of empirical knowledge and views with the reader/listeners. I believe it is this praxis that makes the sUAS News brand unique. Folks know that they are going to get an unbiased view from people that use the technology. No one can touch us on that!”
Sometimes the integration discussion goes Debbie downer, but it is hard to put a happy face on a U.S. regulatory effort that has basically degenerated into unmitigated disaster. I wish I had some good news to share with the audience, but the picture isn’t pretty.
The sUAS News is the only outlet that has given the end user a voice. The FAA has been buying their own propaganda and as time rolls on things are only getting weirder, and the community wants to hear the real story.
sUAS News now reaches 10,000 people daily through social media, email, podcast, tablet and the of course the website itself. We aim to give voice to the UA community across the world.
