Ryan Record: To build a network is more than just building a show.
Like start there, start small.
It can always grow from there.
And to surround yourself with the people that will not only back you up, but
challenge you to push for that something greater that you're aspiring to do.
And all starts with ideas.
Everybody has a story to share.
Neil McPhedran: Welcome to Continuing Studies, a podcast for higher education
podcasters to learn and get inspired.
I'm Neil McPhedran, founder of Podium Podcast Company, and Higher Ed Pods.
Jennifer-Lee: And I'm Jennifer-Lee, founder of J'Pod Creation's.
Podcasting is broadcasting.
We want you to know you're not alone.
In fact, there are many of you higher ed podcasters out there, and
we can all learn from each other.
Neil McPhedran: You got it, Jen.
And before we jump into this episode, I would just encourage you all to
join the higher education podcaster community at HigherEdPods.com.
We continue to add on more podcasts there.
It's amazing how we just keep finding more podcasts at it just keeps growing and it's
turning into more and more of a robust directory of higher education podcasts.
Jennifer-Lee: I remember when you started with a handful of podcasts
and now we have a huge community.
Neil McPhedran: There is over 1200 higher education podcasts in there now.
So in this episode, we are chatting with Ryan Record.
Ryan is the podcast network manager at Howard Community College, which is in
Maryland, and the actual network itself is called Dragon Media Podcasts because
Dragon is the college's mascot, so that's why that's called Dragon Media Podcast.
Ryan's had quite the journey, so he is now the podcast network manager.
He's recently taken over that full managerial responsibility.
He actually started as an intern and then he was the assistant
manager, and now he's the manager.
So he's got a, he's got a big job there 'cause there's
eight podcasts in the network.
I think what's interesting about this conversation is last episode we chatted
with Dee Patel about the Wharton Podcast Network and so staying on the network
theme here, what is interesting about this is, this is from a community college,
so a, a different kind of network.
Like this network is very much more the grassroots, it's part of the community.
It's, it, you know, there's a large component that's for the
students and for the community.
So it's a different sort, sort of purpose.
And I think that really is interesting in our conversation that we have with Ryan.
Jennifer-Lee: Yeah.
And I really like how they vet the network, they really vet it.
And then not only that, I asked them the question, if someone has
a great podcast idea, do they have to be connected to the university?
And I was shocked that you don't because a lot of them you do.
So we're gonna get into that in just a second.
Neil McPhedran: Let's get into it.
Hello Ryan.
Thanks for joining us on the Continuing Studies podcast.
Ryan Record: It's an honor and pleasure to be here.
Thanks for having me.
Neil McPhedran: Wonderful.
So you have a lot going on there on the podcast front from what I understand,
actually, let's just start at, you've just taken on a whole new role.
You're now the network manager.
Maybe we should start there and just sort of let us know just about your new
role and what, what does that all mean?
Ryan Record: Yeah, so stepping into the role as manager of Dragon Podcasts is
a dream come true for me as somebody that was an intern here years ago.
My mentor Matt, who was the manager that just left, laid out like a
really solid creative foundation for me to jump in and thrive, really.
So I'm hitting the ground running eight shows that I oversee.
Yeah, it's just really exciting time to be around, man.
Jennifer-Lee: Yeah, congratulations.
And I have to say, so I met Matt at, of course, the Higher Ed PodCon,
and you guys were wearing badges that just said Dragon Podcast.
So what is the Dragon Podcast Network?
Ryan Record: We're the Dragons because we're the Howard
Community College Dragons.
It's our mascot.
So yeah, Dragon Podcast is a branch under Dragon Media, which is a branch under the
college's press and marketing division.
Now I do get a lot of creative freedom to create some of my own concepts.
I run a student life oriented show, but we also have some shows with
faculty members, not just at the college, but also other universities.
So it's really created a community beyond the community college to
really bring in some higher ed ideas.
Neil McPhedran: Well, that's great.
So, how big is Howard Community College?
'cause that's a pretty big podcast network that you know, and we've come across a
few of them, but that is very commendable to built it up to eight podcasts.
Ryan Record: Yeah, I mean, as far as community colleges go, Howard
Community College is definitely on the bigger end of the spectrum.
I believe we currently have about 30,000 students.
Now, they don't all come to campus.
A lot of that is online as well.
But we are a rather large school that's still growing.
Like we're currently building an apprenticeship program, building, they're
gonna run 12 different apprenticeships.
We just finished a new gym.
We have a new STEM building, a new health science building.
It's really exciting time to be a dragon in Howard Community College.
Neil McPhedran: Love it.
Jennifer-Lee: Can you tell us a little bit about what some of the podcasts are about?
Ryan Record: Wow.
I mean, where to start?
One of my personal favorites is a podcast called Bookish, which is done
by three faculty members in the English program here, and one of them just
went to Towson University, is still a member of the podcast, but it is
one of our most listened to podcasts.
If you ever wanna get the in on like a new book that came out or we just finished
up, like their summer reading wrap up, it's really an amazing podcast to just
immerse yourself in the world of novels and short stories, anything in between.
We run a, a movie podcast where two faculty in the film department sit down
and talk about new movies they see, and their dynamic is truly wonderful.
It's like the yin and yang, like one's always like glass half full,
the other's always half glass empty.
That's a fun listen.
My personal podcast is called Dragon Talk.
Like I mentioned, it's a student life oriented program where I like
to get student voices involved, like I interviewed the SGA.
We're working on collaborating with the cybersecurity department
'cause we got a huge grant to build up our cybersecurity program.
We also work in the community with a couple people that are part of
the Howard County Health Department.
So we have a show called HoCo Health, and we'll talk about anything from
drug overdose prevention to signs of menopause and how to deal with it.
We have so many shows to check out, but those are just some of my favorite ones.
Neil McPhedran: That's great.
That's a real breadth as well too.
So maybe sort of take a step back and tell us what was the genesis of the network?
You know, I see this, and Jen and I have talked about this a number of
times on the show, and we've talked to a few others where a university
or college has a network and we see a ton of positive reasons to do it.
But curious, what was the genesis of the Dragon Podcast Network?
Ryan Record: Yeah, I'm glad you asked.
The genesis was kind of like a chocolate chip cookie.
You just got the ingredients came together at the right time.
Neil McPhedran: I love it.
Ryan Record: If you can find a silver lining in COVID, like COVID times
it's the genesis of Dragon Podcasts.
We were running a digital radio station before, which is what I
was a member of the internship team with, and that was a lot of fun.
But as you know with podcasts, you can kind of tune in
whenever, listen asynchronously.
So we were losing listenership as a digital radio station and that's
when we made the leap to just become a podcast network instead.
We had all these great shows we could just carry over from
those times and keep running.
So that was really the start of it all.
Neil McPhedran: Was the digital radio station part of
a program within the college?
Ryan Record: Yeah, it was a branch under Dragon Media, right?
Neil McPhedran: Ah, okay.
Ryan Record: So we rebranded ourself as a podcast network as
opposed to a digital radio station.
So the radio station is dead.
It's been reborn as Dragon podcasts.
Neil McPhedran: That makes a lot of sense.
I really like that evolution.
So yeah, I mean the radio side of it, you know, for other colleges who have more
of a terrestrial radio station and what we're seeing is some of those are under
fiscal constraint and it makes so much sense to pull podcasting in, but yours
was a digital radio station and then the evolution that was into podcasting.
That makes a lot of sense, especially your point about asynchronous listening.
I mean, that's the beauty of podcasting.
Ryan Record: Exactly, and if you look at a Venn diagram between
like podcasts and radio shows, there's a lot of intersection there.
It's very similar, but it's easier to just jump in and listen to a podcast
whenever you want, instead of tuning in at 5:30 specifically to hear the show you
want to hear, especially if you're busy.
Neil McPhedran: Right.
So maybe just give us a little bit more insight into how the network
connects to and operates within the school, within the community college.
Ryan Record: Yeah.
I mean, we're pretty intertwined and a lot of the activities going
on, and not just with students, but faculty, the higher ups as well.
The PRM, the press and marketing division, they'll often give us
directives like, hey, we would like an episode made about this.
Which is great 'cause it gives me like an idea to run with, but then they give
me the creative freedom to really produce a show that I think encompasses what
they're looking for, if that makes sense.
So, I mean, we're pretty involved on social media.
I'm trying to get my hands a little dirtier in that department.
Now I'm in charge of the Instagram page and the Facebook and the
YouTube and to maintain the engagement that Matt has built.
'Cause that was one of his fortes.
Like he's a social media wizard.
Really, I mean, we're involved with clubs, the athletics department,
we're making a new show with them.
Our tentacles are intertwined in many parts of the college, and our mission is
to get more engagement, get more people in the know as to like what's going
on here at Howard Community College.
Jennifer-Lee: Obviously these networks take some time and it's
not just one person to build it.
Can you tell us a little bit about the other people on your
team, unless it's all you?
Ryan Record: Well, currently I have my director, Karen, and we're a
branch under the media department, but ultimately we answer to the
people in press and marketing.
It really falls on me right now to be the creative outlet which is
great and I'm up for the challenge, but we're still looking to fill my
old role as the assistant manager.
I'm working on getting some student interns on here so they
can get hands-on experience.
So we're moving in a directions where it will be more of a
cohesive team bonding experience.
Neil McPhedran: And so what's the process for bringing a new show into the network?
Like is that, does that all come out of your group or do faculty,
et cetera, approach you with ideas?
Ryan Record: It's all of the above, and there is a heavy vetting process.
So ultimately we look at is this show gonna be educational and how
will it benefit the wider community?
A couple months we welcomed a new show in, so network working with a
professor with Loyola University.
Her show is called Essential Pause: Leading and Living With Intention.
It's a mouthful of a title, but it has been a wonderful podcast
about mindfulness, finding your inner zen, if you will, just be
engaged with what's going on.
So back to your initial question, what is the vetting process like?
You can approach us with an idea.
It all starts there.
But we gotta bring it up the ladder to the right people that can be like
signing off on, yep, the show meets our criteria to be on the network.
Is it educational, does it benefit the community, is really what
we're looking for in a show.
Jennifer-Lee: Do you have to be a student or associated with
Howard Community College to be part of the network?
Ryan Record: No, no.
Like I said, we deal with some faculty that work at other colleges and
universities as well in the higher ed field 'cause we get so siloed in our
own like networks to where, oh, we're only representing this college, but at
Howard Community College, we're really building that sense of community.
Neil McPhedran: You're leaning into the community part of the community college.
Ryan Record: Exactly.
Exactly.
Neil McPhedran: It's really neat because usually when we talk to
most universities, you have to be connected somehow to the campus.
And then that's why when a lot of these people move on to different careers or
they're students and they leave and they graduate, the podcasts either stop or
they have other people come on, and maybe sometimes it doesn't gel because they're
not the original people that did it.
So I really think it's unique that you're bringing a lot of
diverse voices to the campus.
Ryan Record: Agreed.
And that's kind of the magic behind it.
Neil McPhedran: It, it's obvious from the outside and what you've shared
that podcasting is a key channel for engagement for Howard Community College.
How is awareness created?
How is discovery built for the network itself, but also the shows
within it, within the campus?
And I guess, you know, the, back to my community comment there, outside and
beyond the Howard Community College.
Ryan Record: Great question.
I mean, it does start within the campus.
A little shameless self-promotion goes a long way.
Putting QR codes up on bulletin boards so people can tune
into our shows on the campus.
But also, you know, working with people from other colleges
goes a long way as well.
Hey, check out my podcast and before you know it, everybody at
Towson, everybody at Loyola is listening to this podcast as well.
I was looking at our listener demographics, we use Podbean to upload
all of our episodes, and it kind of tells you where your listeners are coming from.
We're like international.
It's crazy.
Like we got people in Indonesia and Malaysia checking out the podcast, people
in Europe, Africa even, it's, it's nuts like the expanse of what we're doing here.
It's more than just our little town of Columbia.
It's becoming an international phenomenon.
Neil McPhedran: I think that's what's really great about podcasting is that
voice beyond the campus and you know, your example there, around the world.
I was actually just attending a symposium last week at NYU and one
of the panel discussions was can podcasting save the university?
And I, and I think at the heart of it is, you know, part of that was using
podcasting as an academic tool, uh, beyond just the written word, but
the other part of it is this way and this voice for academia directly from
the campus, and I think that's really what you're seeing in your analytics.
Ryan Record: I would agree.
Yeah.
Jennifer-Lee: What would be some tips for someone thinking, hey,
I wanna build my own network?
Because they're not that easy to build.
Ryan Record: I mean, to build a network is more than just building a show.
Like, start there, start small.
It can always grow from there.
And to surround yourself with the people that will not only back you up, but
challenge you to push for that something greater that you're aspiring to do.
It all starts with ideas.
Everybody has a story to share and finding those stories, getting the
meat of those stories, 'cause I'm sure you guys sit down after recording
these interviews and sometimes you can be like, well, we have like over
an hour of material here, but really the meat of it is about half an hour.
So finding like what really clicks is, is crucial.
'Cause you gotta think like from a listener standpoint,
what do they want to hear?
What's gonna challenge their ideas about certain beliefs they might have?
What's gonna give them a new perspective?
Like those kind of ideas go a long way.
And just creating a cohesive narrative.
Neil McPhedran: So you, you must have senior leadership buy-in to put
budget behind this and obviously that buy-in to build a network like that.
So we're curious what that looks like at Howard.
Ryan Record: We're lucky to be at a public institution that gets public
funds and the higher offices kind of determine what our budget is, and
that's what we have to work with.
That's a blessing.
Most people in podcasts don't have a budget to start with.
Neil McPhedran: That's right.
Ryan Record: So that comes with time, that comes with the buy-in,
the investment into the idea.
But yeah, absolutely blessed to have that backing us right now.
Neil McPhedran: That's great.
You know, back to Jen's question of tips for building other networks,
I would imagine that's a key one.
If you don't have that senior leadership buy-in, it's hard
to push these things forward.
Ryan Record: Precisely.
Yeah.
It is huge and like I said, it's not something that everybody has.
Neil McPhedran: Yeah.
You mentioned it's partially out of the media department, so I presume that's the,
that would be the, is that at the school level, like that's the internal media
department, or is that actually like a department that's teaching media skills?
And then you also said it's the college PR team as well too,
so, help me understand that.
Are those two different teams working together?
Ryan Record: Yes.
It's actually three different teams.
So as the podcast network, I'm a branch under Dragon Media.
Dragon Media is a branch under the press and marketing division.
Now, Dragon Media, that's its whole own team.
We run a TV station here as well, I believe we have two
public access stations going.
We have a studio specifically for television.
So that's kind of what Dragon Media started as.
Years ago they're like, hey, let's make a digital radio station and now
we're here making podcasts as well.
Neil McPhedran: I think that's great because you know, we'll typically come
across an either or, not necessarily those two things put together where you've
got the media arm of the institution, which typically has students learning.
That's all part of it.
That's all built in.
And then you've got this separate team typically, which
is the comms team, the PR team.
And they've got a budget and it usually comes out of that.
But I like how what you're saying is those two things have been put together.
So you've got that engine of the actual media team and the students and everything
around that, but then it's also plugged into, and part of this overarching Howard
Community College Comms PR team as well.
Ryan Record: Precisely, yeah.
The PR team's kind of like the brain and we're the motor that keeps it going.
Neil McPhedran: I think that's a really good insight for our listeners
that might be sort of trying to figure out how to navigate this.
They've got one or two podcasts under their purview.
They're really looking to move forward with this network idea.
If there is a college radio station on your campus or a department where media
is being taught, put it together with the schools comms team, marketing team
as well is a good way to move forward.
And here's an example where this is a very engaged, large podcast network.
You can see the power of putting those things together.
Jennifer-Lee: Networks are becoming more common, and it's something we see
at the Higher Ed PodCon conference.
Ryan being at the first Higher Ed PodCon, was there anything that you learned to
strengthen your network or strengthen the shows that you work on or consult on?
Ryan Record: Absolutely.
That whole experience was invaluable to like honing our crafts.
Networking first and foremost.
That was invaluable.
The ins and outs of recording, like, how are you gonna stand out?
Also, the social media aspect, there were so many bright minds there that
to get all these amalgamations of perspectives crammed into one day.
You know, my brain was overflowing with, with knowledge by the end of it, but
what an enlightening experience that was.
And I can't wait for the second one.
It's in Cleveland, I believe.
Neil McPhedran: Cleveland, yeah.
And it's gonna be two days.
We've just opened up early bird registration today, we're recording
this on the middle of October here.
So yeah.
Thank, thank you so much for, for sharing that.
I, I wanna circle back to social media.
You talked a little bit about it earlier on in our conversation, but
curious the role that social media plays within the network's ecosystem.
You had mentioned there was a specific Instagram account for the network.
Like maybe you could sort of tease that apart for us and give
us a little an insight there.
Ryan Record: Of course.
So our social media, like I said, we have an Instagram, a Facebook.
I believe we have a Twitter X, whatever you wanna call it.
It's really important for outreach, engagement once again, but also calls
to action, like what we have going on.
Um, there's always events happening at school and just to kind of cross
promote those through different channels goes a long way to getting engagement
for these different things going on.
Jennifer-Lee: Sticking on social media.
You mentioned also that you learned something specifically about
social media and podcasting at the Higher Ed PodCon conference.
What is it, and do you implement it with your existing social media strategy?
Ryan Record: Yeah, absolutely.
It's just consistency really.
Like continued outreach is what's gonna get you those hits,
those likes, those follows.
That's what's gonna get you in the algorithms to stay in people's feeds.
I have a, a mission here, it's called Wednesday Podcast, where we post a podcast
every Wednesday, but really I'm trying to like make it an every day kind of thing.
We have so many podcasts I could post a show every day of the week.
I could have calls to action as to like, keep your eyes out for this.
We have something coming up, things that are interesting.
Like I said, I'm kind of a novice when it comes to the whole social media thing,
but I guess what I really walked away with from the PodCon was consistency.
Neil McPhedran: Great.
And then how does cross-promotion work from between the podcasts?
So say I stumble across The Green Dragon Show, do you have like sort
of ways that for each of the shows to like refer back to the network?
Because if I, for example, have come across and my discovery point was
The Green Dragon Show, if I listen to that, am I gonna know, oh, there's
other Dragon Podcasts out there?
Ryan Record: Absolutely.
I mean, with our tag ins and tag outs, we want folks to know that
we do more than just this one show.
If you're liking this show, there's probably some other shows in the
network you're gonna like as well.
So once again, a little shameless self-promotion, but also I wanna
start interjecting some like inner ads just to promote the network as well.
Like, all right, let's cut for a quick break.
And then we have like a specific advertisement say for like the
Razzle Dazzle show or what have you.
Neil McPhedran: Yeah, I think that's a good idea using the
dynamic ad insertion tool.
But from a house ad perspective, you could create that and you play
those across all of the shows, I think is a really good idea.
And, and then as well, you have your website, so that's a central point
within the Howard Community College web ecosystem, but there's a specific section
in there with all the podcasts as well.
So that's sort of a central point I would imagine.
You drive people there to discover all of the shows.
Ryan Record: Absolutely.
And in addition to that, our college president puts out an update once a week.
She always plugs our shows in there.
We have a monthly newsletter where everybody that subscribes gets
the in on all the new shows we just made the following month.
So, things like that really go a long way.
Jennifer-Lee: I always tell people, this is great.
Start with what you have.
Like if you already have a base and an audience, like a podcast network
use it, don't compete against it.
And sometimes we're like, oh, well I wanna be unique and different.
Like, no, let's cross promo, let's build each other up.
Because once we build each other up, we'll have a powerful tool.
That being said, Ryan, I dunno if it's a fair question to ask you, but
what is your favorite show on the air?
Ryan Record: That's tough because I want to say it's my show, right?
It's the one I make.
I won two platinum awards.
I won dotCOMM award.
I won a map com award.
It feels good to get recognition, you know, especially as somebody that is new
in the sphere that like, hey, people are listening and they think it's pretty good.
But you know, I'm gonna sit with my original answer from
earlier in the interview.
I like Bookish, like the casual book club podcast.
They just have such a great chemistry and dynamic with each other.
They're like naturals.
You'd think they've been doing it for 10 years, but I think they've only
been doing it for like two or three.
So if I'm gonna plug any show, get out there, listen to Bookish.
Whether you like reading books or not, you will find it entertaining.
Neil McPhedran: It's such a good idea for a show coming out
of an English department too.
I mean, it just feels like a natural thing to do for, in this case, I think
you said it was three profs that do that.
Like that's a really clever idea that every English department should almost do.
So, any sort of final, I know we asked you about a couple of tips, but any sort
of additional tips that you'd share?
I think that, as I said, I truly believe that networks are such a great opportunity
for, you know, all those reasons you just gave a couple of minutes ago about
just how they could promote each other, cross promote and all that kind of stuff.
But sort of any other tips that you would share for any of our listeners
out there that are about to embark upon creating a network on their campus?
Ryan Record: Absolutely.
Some wise words a professor told me years ago that has gone a really
long way for myself is take care of those that take care of you.
That's what's gonna create the team experience.
When you take care of those that take care of you, you're gonna
find that your job is a lot easier.
You're gonna have the resources you need to get things done and get 'em done right.
So always just be looking out for those that are looking out for you.
Jennifer-Lee: I love that.
Neil McPhedran: Yeah.
That's great.
I mean, I think that is a really good thing that I find that what is great
about the podcast industry overall is I think there's a lot of people
out there that are super helpful and really willing to help each other,
and that's a good spot to leave it at, I think with our conversation today.
I think that's a good, a good wise tip.
Thank you so much for joining us today, uh, Ryan.
Ryan Record: Thank you guys.
Pleasure's all mine.
Have a good one.
Neil McPhedran: Well, another awesome conversation there.
I enjoyed further getting into this whole podcast network conversation and sort
of digging into the ins and the outs of the Dragon Media Podcast Network.
What a robust network, and just really interesting how podcasting is such a key
channel for the Howard Community College.
Jennifer-Lee: It is, and it just goes to show you, it doesn't matter
if you're a community college, if you're a larger institute,
podcasting works for many purposes.
Neil McPhedran: That's right.
Well, Jen, why don't you read us out?
Jennifer-Lee: There we go.
Thank you for tuning in to the Continuing Studies podcast, a podcast for higher
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