The HikerJamz Geocaching Talk Show was brought to this blogger's attention via a "who to follow" link at his personal Twitter account (not the OpencachingNA account). I followed @hikerjamz, and quickly saw that his profile mentions his radio show. Turns out that like this blog, HikerJamz, with the "Jamz" being pronounced "James", his first name, is also a March, 2013 entry into the big world of Geocaching media. The show airs live every Saturday, at 3:00 PM Eastern Standard Time on the Blog Talk Radio website. And of course previous shows are archived and available for listening. He was nice enough to agree to be interviewed by this blog.
OCNA Blog: Where are you from, how did you hear about Geocaching, and when did you start?
HikerJamz: I am from Piqua, Ohio and have lived here for around 20 years. Previously I was born and raised in Illinois. I first heard about geocaching when my stepdaughter in Florida left a comment that she was going geocaching and I asked her what that was. She said it was hard to explain in a comment but go to www.geocaching.com and read about it. I did, and looked it over for about 10 minutes and signed up for the free membership. About a week later I changed my membership to premium membership. I have been addicted now since 09/10/2011
OCNA Blog: Your show is on Blog Talk Radio. Would you consider yourself more of a Geocaching talk radio host than a Geocaching Podcaster, or is there really no distinction between the two?
HikerJamz: I consider myself a Blog Talk Radio host. Podcasting is more of a video show and there are a less options of having my show on podcast. It’s limited to being on your computer and you can’t really call in and it’s more of a discussion between a limited amount of people. Radio, callers don’t have to be at home on the computer while they are live on the show. All you need is a phone and the number and know what time it airs. (You could call in while geocaching!)
OCNA Blog: What type of gear do you need on your end to put on a show like this?
HikerJamz: All I need on my end is a Blog Talk Radio account, Microphone headset, a phone or Skype to call in my account number to connect to the studio. From there I just wait for the countdown for my air time to start. I usually call in to connect 15 minutes before show time and one caller called in about 10 minutes before show time so I chatted with him while waiting. I can host a show for either 15 min. or 30 min. with the account I’m on right now. If I switch accounts, I can run a show up to as much as 2 hrs. Right now all it cost me is my internet connection and my Skype account.
OCNA Blog: How does it work from a callers perspective? They just have to call a certain number during the show, and they're on the air with you as soon as you put them up live?
HikerJamz: Yes, The call in number for the live show is (646) 478-4941. They will be put on a hold until I see the line light up that I have a caller. As soon as I get a chance to connect them to the studio, they will be live. I usually interrupt whoever is talking as soon as I can without being rude to them and get the caller on. I can mute a caller or I can disconnect from one. I like to leave them on live as long as they want.
OCNA Blog: I noticed you can put on more than one caller at once. How many people can you put on in this conference call format, so to speak?
HikerJamz: I can have up to 5 consecutive callers on live at one time with my account. Some accounts allow 50 and some are unlimited. I think 5 is plenty to have a conversation with at one time.
OCNA Blog: Looking at the show's Twitter feed, I see a couple of weeks ago you tweeted that you might be possibly looking for a co-host for the show?
HikerJamz: If someone would like to be a co-host, they would need to contact me at info@hikerjamz.com and let me know what Saturday they would do this. All they would need to do is call in just like a guest at the number above about 5-10 min. before the show (or as soon as the show allows them to connect) and be able to stay on like for the entire 30 min. Here at home, like if I wanted my son or anyone else here to be a co-host, I just give them a microphone headset and plug it in with mine to my computer and that’s it.
OCNA Blog: Do you have a huge list of potential topics for the show every week?
HikerJamz: Right now, I just randomly think of a topic to discuss. This coming Saturday show is titled “What do you want to talk about?” I would take suggestions also by contacting me at the above email link. Also, to send me a message, You can go to my website www.hikerjamz.com and there you can also go to my Blog Talk Page where a list of archived shows are and the next show to air if I have it up by then. I try to set up the next show by Monday evening to give everyone a week to see it and for me to advertise it on several sites and twitter. I share the show as soon as I submit the time, day, title and all the necessary information (usually Monday) then Wednesday, then on Friday I put it up as a reminder to listen.
OCNA Blog: Thanks HikerJamz! Very interesting and informative, we appreciate you coming on and talking to our new blog about your new Geocaching radio show! Again, the show airs at 3:00 PM EST on Saturdays, and you can listen to all the archived past shows. Links to follow:
Geocaching Talk show website: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/hikerjamz
Geocaching Talk show Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hikerjamztalkshow
HikerJamz Personal website: http://www.hikerjamz.com
HikerJamz on Twitter: https://twitter.com/@hikerjamz
AWESOME! Another show to listen to!! We will be checking this one out for sure! -authorized users
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