Zack to the Future

A question I am asked regularly – though not as regularly as "Who are you again?" – is "When will you be bringing back Radio Free Hipster?"

For a long time my response was simply a shrug of the shoulders. However, over the last few days things have changed.

Pics or it didn't happen.

It all started with a Patreon.

Wait, no; that's a lie. It all started with GeekDad's unceremonious split from Wired, but that's a tale best told by our own Ken Denmead. Suffice it to say that the GeekDad crew has been keeping that boat afloat by none but the sweat of our collective brow since we went indie.

We've at last reached a point where we may finally be able to really move the blog forward, but, as is often the case, that's a solution that will ultimately require a little scratch… thus the Patreon. When it launched, it was about moving away from the Google Ads that help us keep the lights one – they're a necessary evil that we're not at all crazy about – but it quickly became apparent that it was really be about maximizing content.

The idea of creating a proper Geekdad Podcast Network was broached, which served to remind me that maybe I did a podcast or somethin' one time.

I mentioned that, should funding of the GPN prove successful, I was considering re-launching a music podcast via Twitter, and some people responded. Shortly thereafter it became its own Milestone Goal.

Since that time a number of you have mentioned to me that you'd love to have RFH back. (And folks like my friends Matt and Larry have been expressing the same opinion totally unsolicited since I shuttered the project.) Hell, even artists that I enjoy and admire like The Doubleclicks and Marc with a C have been willing to help fund my return to the mic.

Artist's rendering of out present business plan.

Presently the pledge value is creeping slowly upward, and it looks like podcasting may indeed be in my future. Now, I can't say for sure that this means I'll approach it as a continuation of Radio Free Hipster – mostly because so much has changed both for me and for nerd-centric media in recent years – but it will be me curating a hand-picked selection of music on each and every episode. And that at least seems to be something that a few people are interested in.

Maybe you don't think you should have to pay me to podcast (and, truth be told, I agree), but that's not what this is. Basically GeekDad's editorial team, of which I'm a member, is just trying to get away from having to constantly chase down sponsorships or run in-line ads to keep our blog alive, and by allowing our readers to help out alleviating that financial burden we're freeing ourselves up to get back into the business of making the most kickass content we can.

In conclusion, I just want to thank everyone for their kind and encouraging words – both past and present – regarding me and Hipster, please! and Radio Free Hipster and GeekDad. With any luck, we'll be speaking again soon.