THE PARACAST NEWSLETTER
October 13, 2013
It’s Time for a Little Shop Talk on The Paracast
The Paracast is heard Sundays from 2:00 AM until 5:00 AM Central Time on the GCN Radio Network and affiliates around the USA, and online across the globe via download and on-demand streaming.
Why It's Important for You to Donate to The Paracast: Although ads help cover a small part of our expenses, the income they produce is never enough to pay your humble hosts decent wages. Also, we do not receive any revenue from the ads placed on the show by our network or local stations. So we hope you're able to help fill the gap, if you can, to help us cover increasing server costs and other expenses -- or perhaps provide a little extra cash for lunch and utility bills. No contribution is too small (or too large
. It’s easy to send a donation. We have aDonate link on our home page, below the logo and audio player. There's also a Donate link on our forums, at the bottom of the sidebar on the right. Or just send your PayPal donation direct to sales (at) theparacast (dot) com.And if you’ve had a problem getting to our Donate screen, please try again. We just fixed a serious PayPal access problem, and it should wor k properly now.
Attention U.S. Listeners: Help Us Bring The Paracast to Your City! In the summer of 2010, The Paracast joined the GCN radio network. This represented a huge step in bringing our show to a larger, mainstream audience. But we need your help to add additional affiliates to our growing network. Please ask one of your local talk stations if they are interested in carrying The Paracast. Feel free to contact us directly with the names of programming people we might be able to contact on your behalf. We can't do this alone, and if you succeed in convincing your local station to carry the show, we'll reward you with one of our special T-shirts, and other goodies. With your help, The Paracast can grow into one of the most popular paranormal shows on the planet!
Please Visit Our Online Store: You asked, and we answered. We are now taking orders for The Official Paracast T-Shirt and an expanded collection of other specially customized merchandise. To get your T-Shirt now featuring our brand new logo, just pay a visit to our online store at The Official Paracast Store to select your size and place your order. We also offer a complete lineup of other premium merchandise for your family, your friends and your business contacts.
About The Paracast: The Paracast covers a world beyond science, where UFOs, poltergeists and strange phenomena of all kinds have been reported by millions across the planet.
Set Up: The Paracast is a paranormal radio show that takes you on a journey to a world beyond science, where UFOs, poltergeists and strange phenomena of all kinds have been reported by millions. The Paracast seeks to shed light on the mysteries and complexities of our Universe and the secrets that surround us in our everyday lives.
Join long-time paranormal researcher Gene Steinberg, co-host and acclaimed field investigator Christopher O'Brien, and a panel of special guest experts and experiencers, as they explore the realms of the known and unknown. Listen each week to the great stories of the history of the paranormal field in the 20th and 21st centuries.
This Week's Episode: Gene and Chris present another "shop talk" episode, in which we give you our views about the most important topics being discussed in our forums, the state of UFO/paranormal research, and even the state of the world. We answer your questions about a possible "Pro" or "VIP" version of the show with extra content, and the prospects for a Paracast UFO/paranormal conference in the near future.
Chris O'Brien's Site: http://www.ourstrangeplanet.com
Reminder: Please don't forget to visit our famous Paracast Community Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal: The Paracast Community Forums. We recently completed a major update that makes our community easier to navigate, and social network friendly.
Sponsored Message: Don’t get ripped off when you need to liquidate your precious jewelry and silverware. Call Steve at Numis Gems at (480) 878-7678 and get the straight scoop!
Some Shop Talk -- 2013 Edition
By Gene Steinberg
We have a wide variety of guests on The Paracast, and every so often, Chris and I sit back in front of the campfire with mugs of coffee in abundance, and have a shop talk episode. We talk about the state of the world, the state of UFO/paranormal research, upcoming guests, and lots more.
On this week’s show, we also bring up a suggestion first voiced in our forums and actively discussed, that we sponsor a Paracast conference to bring all of our listeners together, and present some of the top researchers in the field.
Now this is no simple undertaking. I speak as someone with a little experience in such matters. Back in 1975, I was a cosponsor of the National UFO Conference, which was held at Valley Forge, PA, near Philadelphia.
All right, you probably won’t find much or any information about that convention online. The convention occurred when the Internet was in its infancy, and some years before I first got online. But we did our best to get the message out to the local media, and had decent coverage, although our promotional budget was slim.
In the end, a few hundred people showed up, and we ended up losing about $135, which wasn’t so bad as such things go. Unfortunately, I was far too occupied with the business and promotional side of the event, so understandably it wasn’t much fun. So I vowed never to do such a thing ever again.
I’m still skeptical, but if I got involved another UFO conference, I would only do it if we could somehow assemble a conference committee to do much of the heavy lifting. This is not a casual undertaking. Not if we want to do it right, and attract the people we need to make the event successful.
To be sure, there are financial considerations. Speakers need to be paid, even if it’s mostly travel and hotel accommodations. They are still entitled to some sort of honorarium, although some convention hosts will merely give speakers a vendor table and a chance to sell their stuff for their time and trouble. There are also facility and promotional expenses.
At the end of the day, we might consider running an online fund-raising campaign via Kickstarter to raise enough capital to make this venture succeed. That way, we spread the risk among a number of individual investors.
We’re in the early stages, so I cannot say whether such an event will actually happen. But Chris and I are thinking of a location in or around Phoenix, probably in the late spring or early fall. That way, you don’t have to suffer from the extremely hot temperatures that are common in the Arizona desert. There would be no effort to conflict or compete with anyone else. We’re all in this together.
Should it happen, a Paracast UFO/Paranormal Conference would be an annual event. The hope would be to keep ticket prices reasonably affordable, and there would be the usual hotel discounts, and maybe we could swing a deal for special coupons for those who dine at the hotel.
But I’m really just thinking out loud right now. If any of you want to help us in any capacity to move this project along, feel free to write us. Just visit the Contact Us link on our site, or the forums, and send us a message. You may also respond to our newsletter if you receive it via email.
During the episode, Chris and I also discuss the possibility of a premium version of the show, a Paracast Plus or Paracast Pro, or Paracast VIP. While the show itself will remain free to hear online or via digital download from our site, iTunes and other places, we would like to offer more.
Right now, though, an ad-free version of the show is out of the question. I know some shows are able to do this, but our network, GCN, says that The Paracast must be distributed with all commercials intact. That’s how they sell us to advertisers, but I’m pushing for a change.
Meantime, the premium version of the show can still offer a lot of great custom content for you. We are considering a private YouTube channel, with special audio and video interviews, plus an interactive chat room. That’s where you can meet with fellow listeners, and talk about the show while it’s on, or during special scheduled sessions. We might even invite special guests to interact with you via chat. There are loads of possibilities here.
The subscription rate for this premium version will be kept low. I’m not sure what the price will or should be, but it would be available on a monthly or annual basis. I realize that many of you don’t have a lot of disposable income. The economy is still pretty shaky around the world, so it has to be affordable.
One thing we do need, however, is some help with setting up the site to manage a premium section. I have already installed an add-on to the forum software we use, XenForo, which supports many of these custom features. But it will take a little back end programming to make it work the way we want. It has to be easy for members to find, sign up, and, if you change your mind, to cancel.
So we would welcome a few volunteers to help handle the heavy lifting. If you want to assist, and you know your MySQL and PHP, let us know and we’ll tell you what needs to be accomplished.
Will it happen? Perhaps in the next few months. It’s time we move out of the just-talking stage.
And, as usual, we welcome your constructive suggestions on how we can make the show, our site, and our forum, even better. Thanks for being a loyal listener to The Paracast.
Copyright 1999-2013 Making The Impossible, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy: Your personal information is safe with us. We will positively never give out your name and/or e-mail address to anybody else, and that's a promise!
October 13, 2013
It’s Time for a Little Shop Talk on The Paracast
The Paracast is heard Sundays from 2:00 AM until 5:00 AM Central Time on the GCN Radio Network and affiliates around the USA, and online across the globe via download and on-demand streaming.
Why It's Important for You to Donate to The Paracast: Although ads help cover a small part of our expenses, the income they produce is never enough to pay your humble hosts decent wages. Also, we do not receive any revenue from the ads placed on the show by our network or local stations. So we hope you're able to help fill the gap, if you can, to help us cover increasing server costs and other expenses -- or perhaps provide a little extra cash for lunch and utility bills. No contribution is too small (or too large
. It’s easy to send a donation. We have aDonate link on our home page, below the logo and audio player. There's also a Donate link on our forums, at the bottom of the sidebar on the right. Or just send your PayPal donation direct to sales (at) theparacast (dot) com.And if you’ve had a problem getting to our Donate screen, please try again. We just fixed a serious PayPal access problem, and it should wor k properly now.Attention U.S. Listeners: Help Us Bring The Paracast to Your City! In the summer of 2010, The Paracast joined the GCN radio network. This represented a huge step in bringing our show to a larger, mainstream audience. But we need your help to add additional affiliates to our growing network. Please ask one of your local talk stations if they are interested in carrying The Paracast. Feel free to contact us directly with the names of programming people we might be able to contact on your behalf. We can't do this alone, and if you succeed in convincing your local station to carry the show, we'll reward you with one of our special T-shirts, and other goodies. With your help, The Paracast can grow into one of the most popular paranormal shows on the planet!
Please Visit Our Online Store: You asked, and we answered. We are now taking orders for The Official Paracast T-Shirt and an expanded collection of other specially customized merchandise. To get your T-Shirt now featuring our brand new logo, just pay a visit to our online store at The Official Paracast Store to select your size and place your order. We also offer a complete lineup of other premium merchandise for your family, your friends and your business contacts.
About The Paracast: The Paracast covers a world beyond science, where UFOs, poltergeists and strange phenomena of all kinds have been reported by millions across the planet.
Set Up: The Paracast is a paranormal radio show that takes you on a journey to a world beyond science, where UFOs, poltergeists and strange phenomena of all kinds have been reported by millions. The Paracast seeks to shed light on the mysteries and complexities of our Universe and the secrets that surround us in our everyday lives.
Join long-time paranormal researcher Gene Steinberg, co-host and acclaimed field investigator Christopher O'Brien, and a panel of special guest experts and experiencers, as they explore the realms of the known and unknown. Listen each week to the great stories of the history of the paranormal field in the 20th and 21st centuries.
This Week's Episode: Gene and Chris present another "shop talk" episode, in which we give you our views about the most important topics being discussed in our forums, the state of UFO/paranormal research, and even the state of the world. We answer your questions about a possible "Pro" or "VIP" version of the show with extra content, and the prospects for a Paracast UFO/paranormal conference in the near future.
Chris O'Brien's Site: http://www.ourstrangeplanet.com
Reminder: Please don't forget to visit our famous Paracast Community Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal: The Paracast Community Forums. We recently completed a major update that makes our community easier to navigate, and social network friendly.
Sponsored Message: Don’t get ripped off when you need to liquidate your precious jewelry and silverware. Call Steve at Numis Gems at (480) 878-7678 and get the straight scoop!
Some Shop Talk -- 2013 Edition
By Gene Steinberg
We have a wide variety of guests on The Paracast, and every so often, Chris and I sit back in front of the campfire with mugs of coffee in abundance, and have a shop talk episode. We talk about the state of the world, the state of UFO/paranormal research, upcoming guests, and lots more.
On this week’s show, we also bring up a suggestion first voiced in our forums and actively discussed, that we sponsor a Paracast conference to bring all of our listeners together, and present some of the top researchers in the field.
Now this is no simple undertaking. I speak as someone with a little experience in such matters. Back in 1975, I was a cosponsor of the National UFO Conference, which was held at Valley Forge, PA, near Philadelphia.
All right, you probably won’t find much or any information about that convention online. The convention occurred when the Internet was in its infancy, and some years before I first got online. But we did our best to get the message out to the local media, and had decent coverage, although our promotional budget was slim.
In the end, a few hundred people showed up, and we ended up losing about $135, which wasn’t so bad as such things go. Unfortunately, I was far too occupied with the business and promotional side of the event, so understandably it wasn’t much fun. So I vowed never to do such a thing ever again.
I’m still skeptical, but if I got involved another UFO conference, I would only do it if we could somehow assemble a conference committee to do much of the heavy lifting. This is not a casual undertaking. Not if we want to do it right, and attract the people we need to make the event successful.
To be sure, there are financial considerations. Speakers need to be paid, even if it’s mostly travel and hotel accommodations. They are still entitled to some sort of honorarium, although some convention hosts will merely give speakers a vendor table and a chance to sell their stuff for their time and trouble. There are also facility and promotional expenses.
At the end of the day, we might consider running an online fund-raising campaign via Kickstarter to raise enough capital to make this venture succeed. That way, we spread the risk among a number of individual investors.
We’re in the early stages, so I cannot say whether such an event will actually happen. But Chris and I are thinking of a location in or around Phoenix, probably in the late spring or early fall. That way, you don’t have to suffer from the extremely hot temperatures that are common in the Arizona desert. There would be no effort to conflict or compete with anyone else. We’re all in this together.
Should it happen, a Paracast UFO/Paranormal Conference would be an annual event. The hope would be to keep ticket prices reasonably affordable, and there would be the usual hotel discounts, and maybe we could swing a deal for special coupons for those who dine at the hotel.
But I’m really just thinking out loud right now. If any of you want to help us in any capacity to move this project along, feel free to write us. Just visit the Contact Us link on our site, or the forums, and send us a message. You may also respond to our newsletter if you receive it via email.
During the episode, Chris and I also discuss the possibility of a premium version of the show, a Paracast Plus or Paracast Pro, or Paracast VIP. While the show itself will remain free to hear online or via digital download from our site, iTunes and other places, we would like to offer more.
Right now, though, an ad-free version of the show is out of the question. I know some shows are able to do this, but our network, GCN, says that The Paracast must be distributed with all commercials intact. That’s how they sell us to advertisers, but I’m pushing for a change.
Meantime, the premium version of the show can still offer a lot of great custom content for you. We are considering a private YouTube channel, with special audio and video interviews, plus an interactive chat room. That’s where you can meet with fellow listeners, and talk about the show while it’s on, or during special scheduled sessions. We might even invite special guests to interact with you via chat. There are loads of possibilities here.
The subscription rate for this premium version will be kept low. I’m not sure what the price will or should be, but it would be available on a monthly or annual basis. I realize that many of you don’t have a lot of disposable income. The economy is still pretty shaky around the world, so it has to be affordable.
One thing we do need, however, is some help with setting up the site to manage a premium section. I have already installed an add-on to the forum software we use, XenForo, which supports many of these custom features. But it will take a little back end programming to make it work the way we want. It has to be easy for members to find, sign up, and, if you change your mind, to cancel.
So we would welcome a few volunteers to help handle the heavy lifting. If you want to assist, and you know your MySQL and PHP, let us know and we’ll tell you what needs to be accomplished.
Will it happen? Perhaps in the next few months. It’s time we move out of the just-talking stage.
And, as usual, we welcome your constructive suggestions on how we can make the show, our site, and our forum, even better. Thanks for being a loyal listener to The Paracast.
Copyright 1999-2013 Making The Impossible, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy: Your personal information is safe with us. We will positively never give out your name and/or e-mail address to anybody else, and that's a promise!
