When Web2 Experiments Take All My Time

If you've noticed that I've been mostly MIA from Hive, please know it's not you...it's me. Seriously. Most folks know I conduct monthly experiments as part of the "Learn, Share, Grow" model which I live by. In July, my experiment is two fold:

1. The summerlong biphasic sleep experiment
2. Daily LinkedIn Live Audio Events + livestreaming the audio to my LinkedIn timeline.

Biphasic Sleep

The biphasic sleep experiment has been hit or miss. I can go on a strong stretch and then fall back into normal sleep patterns. The productivity when I am in sync with biphasic sleep is off the charts. What keeps getting in the way are meetings and deadlines which interfere with what would be the late afternoon nap/sleep. If I don't get that nap in then I cannot stay up in the wee hours to work. So, I'm trying to readjust my schedule to get back on track. For now, my sleep and work schedule is a bit of a mess.

LinkedIn Live Audio Events

Now this is an experiment I've been wanting to do ever since I heard LinkedIn was beta testing audio events. On Sunday, July 3rd I discovered I now had the option and immediately set to work creating a "Kick the Tires" test room and invited some folks to join me. It was buggy, but I know the best way for me to learn is to create a challenge. So, on Monday, July 4th I began a daily LinkedIn Live Audio Event on the topic of Web3.

The Real Challenge

LinkedIn Live Audio Events are NOT recorded. So, in order to get the most out of the time spent educating folks about Web3, I knew I would need to record it myself. But then the thought occurred to me that I could livestream the session to my LinkedIn timeline and perhaps encourage folks to join future audio events live. If nothing else, it would definitely be a way to expand visibility about my work, podcasts, social, workshops centered around demystifying the blockchain for Creators.

This seems easy enough. And it was. The livestream video recordings looked and sounded great! Each day I was tweaking the livestream. First adding in music, then an intro video, then an outro track, then a frame for the screenshare. I was having fun.

However, while the livestream video was fine, the audio for the actual live audio was not. I kept getting DMs and text messages from folks who knew me saying that my audio was glitchy. That the audio would be fine and then become unlistenable. This made sense given that I would see folks join for a few minutes and then leave. If the audio was unlistenable then I can completely understand why they didn't stick around.

So, each day I would adjust something in my audio setup to see if that would resolve the issue. Nope.

Finally on Sunday, July 10th I spent the day working through scenario after scenario after scenario. I tested within a private FB group using mobile to host the live audio and then using my computer to livestream the session from the browser. I finally found a configuration that worked. So, I hosted my Sunday LinkedIn Live Audio Event on the topic of curation. Then I went and listened back to the recording. No sound. Nothing. At least before the livestream was golden even if the live audio was glitchy. Now my new setup was unusable at all. Sigh.

Now What?

Never one to back down from a challenge (especially one of my own making), I went back to drawing board.

When I looked at my settings again, what had worked before was not working now. What?! Like how? I hadn't changed any settings. I mean once you find something that works you stick with it. I had even written the settings down. Yet no dice. Sigh.

Okay back to the drawing board...again!

This time I found a solution that was not quite what I wanted, but it certainly worked. Or at least it did in my tests. Now the real test will be if it works today for real.

So, I'm sure you can understand why the title of this post is "When Web2 Experiments Take All My Time" because this experiment is totally taking all of my free time. Is LinkedIn Live Audio worth it? I have no idea. Hence the experiment. I won't know until after July 31st. Until then wish me luck!