The Lost Lowdown

http://gspn.tv/donate/

Dear Friend,

On January 1st, 2008, I took the step of leaving my career as an insurance agent in a family run insurance agency to go into podcasting and new media full time. Never before, in my life, have I felt so much confidence in what I should be doing with my life than when it comes to producing podcasts and building community. After feeling the tug at my heart to pursue my passion for the past two years, I finally decided I need to follow through, even though the future would be uncertain. With the full support of my wife, that’s exactly what I did.

...

We currently have between 1,000 to 14,000 people who download most of the podcasts that we produce. Amazingly, if only 400 listeners were able to contribute $25.00 per month to gspn.tv, we would be right where we need to be to operate on a balanced budget. This would cover all expenses for our business, pay for our health insurance, and provide and income for our family. The thought that only 400 people could make something like this happen is simply astonishing! However, with the economy being what it is, I know that not everyone would be able to give as much as $25.00 per month.

If 1,000 gspn.tv listeners were to join the monthly support team at only $10.00 per month, it would have the same exact effect as the concept above. We would be able to devote nearly all our time to putting together gspn.tv programming. I have faith that, one day, I really could be living my dream of producing gspn.tv content and building into the lives of the people that make up this amazing community full time and making a living doing it. Whether that would be through sponsorships, donations, or whatever, I believe it is what is in my future.

...

I guess when you throw in health insurance you might need 120k a year, but geez. You quit your job then beg for money.

I know someone who quit his 500k/year job to run forums full time, but he already has enough saved up that donations are only to break even with the forums.

$10,000 a month!!! That''s a lot of money. Don't they live in Kentucky?

they have a lot of kids. kids are expensive. and equipment.

Cliff doesn't have equipment? I always knew there was something wrong with that guy...

I almost threw up reading that.

I used to listen religiously (no pun intended) to their Lost podcast and eventually started listening to My Crazy Life. They had a series of MCL podcasts about getting out of debt, since they were in some dude's program that helps you pay off your credit cards. When these podcasts were released, they were nearly out of credit card debt and were on the way to paying off their mortgage years in advance. This had to be about 2 years ago. I'm sure they're cc debt free now and probably have a lot of equity invested in their home. They sounded fiscally responsible, once. Not anymore.

Why not approach a bank for a small business loan? Why not use the equity in your house to pursue your dream? To quit your job and then beg for money is absurd. Especially when the economy is taking a turn for the worse, especially when oil prices are still at an all time high, and especially with 3 small children.

I expect this will fail, and he will be returning to the insurance company. It will fail like his relationship with his former church failed. It will fail like the relationship with next door neighbor, Rachel, from their early Lost podcasts failed. It will fail like his 2007 New Year's Resolution to lose 100 lbs failed.

He did mention once that he believes it's God's will that he pursue podcasting like this. I hope he's praying hard.

On another note, my hobby is xxrkxxx xfx. It doesn't have to cost a lot of money (in fact i can do it for nothing), but I can surely think of ways to enhance it and make it ridiculously expensive. In fact, if i can dupe enough of you into giving me money for my hobby, maybe I can quit my job and do it full time for a 6 figure income... no more spreadsheets. Yay!

PS: Why are they the spy family? Is it their last name? I recall someone on LLD saying it sounded something like a British agent's last name.

I've been trying all morning to find the episode of the LLD in question, but have not been successful.

Here's how I remember it going:

...
Justin:...Cliff and Stephanie Ravenscraft
Claude: RAVENSCRAFT?
J: Yeah.
C: They sound like international spies.
...

I think that was on Mr. Podcast, one of the old ones.

Thanks, Justin.

• Part one 4.7mb (From Mr. Podcast number 1)
• Part two 10.1mb (From #2)

Funny how Drunk Girl actually led to the naming of Mr. Podcast. A comparison was made of her to someone on Mr. Show and that's how that was brought up...

ahh, mr. podcast... of course. thanks for the clips. c&j somehow sound different on those.

no way.

I was just cruising his site looking for info on his weight loss journey (not found) and ran across this video. He has an iphone. What's that, like 500 bucks?

paul in vegas wrote:ahh, mr. podcast... of course. thanks for the clips. c&j somehow sound different on those.

We've gone through various methods of podcast recording over the years. In general, the older the podcast the crappier the audio quality.

years... damn time flies.

Wooooow. Maybe his wife makes enough to support them both. That wouldn't be quite as irresponsible. I used to listen to them, but they're sooo preachy, and that's coming from a Sunday School teacher. They also seem very judgemental, which really ticks me off.

Frau Ravenscraft does a podcast called "The Stay at Home Mom."

MekareQ wrote: I used to listen to them, but they're sooo preachy, and that's coming from a Sunday School teacher.

LOL!!!

They want $10k a month? I read on their site that they're currently at 86....dollars.

the spy family. that is hilarious!

Where did you find the progress towards their goal? I wonder what they're up to now.

Hey Clustin, how many cell minutes a month do you use providing us with good, wholesome entertainment? Shouldn't you be hitting us up for that? I mean, that's at least 5k a month, right? And if 5 of us dontate $1,000 per month, you could follow through with your dreams! But that might not be practical, so if 10 of us donate $500 per month...

MekareQ wrote:Where did you find the progress towards their goal? I wonder what they're up to now.

Hey Clustin, how many cell minutes a month do you use providing us with good, wholesome entertainment? Shouldn't you be hitting us up for that? I mean, that's at least 5k a month, right? And if 5 of us dontate $1,000 per month, you could follow through with your dreams! But that might not be practical, so if 10 of us donate $500 per month...

I did a big super-LOL reading that...

Hey, I'm in for $10.00 a month! Now, if you can get a thousand of us to sign up...

It's funny, I actually *was* wondering what kind of cell plan you guys were on, since it sounds like Claude at least is using his mobile.

Seriously, someone post the link, what kind of progress have our international-espianoge duo achieved?

Jesus Christ this is a hilarious discussion. These people sound like total douchebags, but that fact that Herr Douchebag has an iPhone is compelling...How could I get in on this kind of scam??

...Jesus has a plan for me-- I'm to guest host The Lost Lowdown every week until someone gives me an iPhone to stop...

Jen wrote:...Jesus has a plan for me-- I'm to guest host The Lost Lowdown every week until someone give me an iPhone to stop...

which one is jesus? c or j?

paul in vegas wrote:

Jen wrote:...Jesus has a plan for me-- I'm to guest host The Lost Lowdown every week until someone give me an iPhone to stop...

which one is jesus? c or j?

Jesus Christ
Justin Claude

Jen wrote:...Jesus has a plan for me-- I'm to guest host The Lost Lowdown every week until someone gives me an iPhone to stop...

Hope you stand by this Jen, don't go back on your word. I expect to hear you from now on.

Just hope you don't get an iPhone as a present.

oh please, perry, you saw last night's episode-- WAAY too good for me to podcast on...

I *like* Jen on the show. If it wasn't for her, Kate's, er... "problem" may have never been pointed out, that's the female perspective that is so important.

I like Justin and Claude on their own, too, though. I love how their conversations just evolve.

MekareQ wrote: If it wasn't for her, Kate's, er... "problem" may have never been pointed out

yes, that observation really was my best Lost theory to date and the apex of my podcasting career. 'See' you all in Season 5.

Jen wrote:oh please, perry, you saw last night's episode-- WAAY too good for me to podcast on...

Aww poor Jen, doubting yourself. I think the only reason anyone wouldn't want you on the podcast is when you say "OK, what's next". The more tangents the better.

yeah, i'll have to work on that...i don't have the stamina that these guys have, and by hour 4 I am usually tired, hungry, and sick of the sound of my own voice.

Wow! I always knew there was a sucker born every minute, but 52 people have already fallen for this. (according to the http://gspn.tv/donate/ ) Well that would be $520 per month or $6,240 per year. So if they get over 1,000 members are they planning on donating the extra income to their church or some other charity? Or is their true goal to make as much money as possible from this?

I just really want to gossip about this some more... Can we find out more crazy stuff, or am I going to have to listen to them to get more fodder? Don't do that to me guys!

I've tried to give several LOST podcasts at least one listen. When I heard Agent Ravenscraft podcast himself walking down a street talking about how he thought people wanted to hear him walk down a street, I moved on. I see now that actually are going to charge for additional "Plus" content.

Thank you David. Now guys, was that so hard?

J/k
Mek

thats crazy. what a scam.

I downloaded the latest gspn to hear their take on the evil sinful homosexuality aspect. Naturally this was absent. I'm downloading their intial reaction to see if there's anything there.

Stephanie's father was born in 1963. She must have married quite young... I always imagined her being like 29.

Okay on their IRPat about 4:30 they discuss it for a few minutes. They really dodged the topic but to paraphrase Cliff said he liked Tom a lot more before this episode.




EDIT: here it is so you don't have to bear through it all: http://tlld.net/stuff/tom.mp3

Stephen wrote:I downloaded the latest gspn to hear their take on the evil sinful homosexuality aspect. Naturally this was absent. I'm downloading their intial reaction to see if there's anything there.

Stephanie's father was born in 1963. She must have married quite young... I always imagined her being like 29.

Okay on their IRPat about 4:30 they discuss it for a few minutes. They really dodged the topic but to paraphrase Cliff said he liked Tom a lot more before this episode.

whoa. whoa.

i watched "New Amsterdam" a new TV show. I really enjoy the show. I listened to GSPN doing a podcast on this TV show.
Cliff didn't like the fact that the lead actor in the show starts dating and having sex with a married women. What he didn't even bother to learn about this woman, is the fact that she is estranged from her husband. She could be legally seperated.

Oh boy... he is soo judgmental for a stupid TV show.

I won't listen to any other podcasts they do about shows that i like. he usually puts it down and bums me out.

I really don't like gspn, they're the dregs of the lost podcasting world for me. But that's just my opinion. I'm sure there's other people who enjoy his podcast. So I don't necessarily understand what's wrong with him asking for donations? I'm not gonna be giving him any money, but let him do what the fuck he wants with his own podcast/career.

I saw a Vodcast of Cliff a couple of days ago. He is asking people to email him everyday to remind him to exercise.
Just an update.... Any thoughts?

vickih wrote:I saw a Vodcast of Cliff a couple of days ago. He is asking people to email him everyday to remind him to exercise.
Just an update.... Any thoughts?

I think we need a link to the video in question.

http://gspn.tv/210-my-crazy-life-playing-catch-up/

Revelations:

in NYC not everyone takes cabs everywhere. the subway CAN get you everywhere. it doesn't just go in a straight lines.
certain days of the month you have to move your car so they can clean the street!
not everybody gets mugged or pickpocketed in the big city.
children probably exist who were born and raised in NYC.

hahahahahaha... it seems he had been driving whilst recording the podcast. he stopped by the post office to check "the PO box"... he hadn't checked it for two weeks. still no mail.

his daughter wears crocs


come on. couldn't he have stayed part time at his high paying job?

Stephen wrote:come on. couldn't he have stayed part time at his high paying job?

If he's happier doing podcasting full-time instead of staying at a high paying job I think he should do it.

You-Know-Who wrote:

Stephen wrote:come on. couldn't he have stayed part time at his high paying job?

If he's happier doing podcasting full-time instead of staying at a high paying job I think he should do it.

My problem is he quits his job and then begs for money.

Stephen wrote:

You-Know-Who wrote:

Stephen wrote:come on. couldn't he have stayed part time at his high paying job?

If he's happier doing podcasting full-time instead of staying at a high paying job I think he should do it.

My problem is he quits his job and then begs for money.

He's not begging. Begging Is when someone asks for a gift without any goods in return, basically asking you to to help them out of your own good will. Cliff is making content and if people enjoy it and want to show their gratitude the one thing they can do is give a donation out of their own free will.

Radiohead did something similar with the release of their in rainbows album, where you could pay what you wanted or nothing at all. NPR asks for donations. Wikipedia asks for donations. The goverment doesn't, you have to pay taxes whether or not you like what the goverment is doing/does.
It's not like cliff is the only podcaster accepting donations, another one I can think of is Leo laporte who does all the twit (this week in tech) podcasts. Sure, maybe cliff doesn't excactly go about in a nice way, but I repeat, if he wants to do things the way he's doing them let it be. People who do podcasting full time (and there are area out there) need to make a living, some put up ads, some accept donations, some, like the ricky gervais podcast, ask you to buy.
I personally prefer a free will volountary model. For example I like to keep all the LOST episodes on my hard drive so I can watch them again and again (the DVDs come out too late for me), now, I could torrent all those Lost episodes but since I really respect the show I buy them on iTunes, I know probably very little of my 1.99 actually goes to the writers and creators but I like to support the show in any way I can.

You-Know-Who wrote: He's not begging. Begging Is when someone asks for a gift without any goods in return, basically asking you to to help them out of your own good will. Cliff is making content and if people enjoy it and want to show their gratitude the one thing they can do is give a donation out of their own free will.

Radiohead did something similar with the release of their in rainbows album, where you could pay what you wanted or nothing at all. NPR asks for donations. Wikipedia asks for donations. The goverment doesn't, you have to pay taxes whether or not you like what the goverment is doing/does.
It's not like cliff is the only podcaster accepting donations, another one I can think of is Leo laporte who does all the twit (this week in tech) podcasts. Sure, maybe cliff doesn't excactly go about in a nice way, but I repeat, if he wants to do things the way he's doing them let it be. People who do podcasting full time (and there are area out there) need to make a living, some put up ads, some accept donations, some, like the ricky gervais podcast, ask you to buy.
I personally prefer a free will volountary model. For example I like to keep all the LOST episodes on my hard drive so I can watch them again and again (the DVDs come out too late for me), now, I could torrent all those Lost episodes but since I really respect the show I buy them on iTunes, I know probably very little of my 1.99 actually goes to the writers and creators but I like to support the show in any way I can.

And all along I thought it was "Ricky Jarvis". I'm all for donations. I much prefer the donation method to the use of advertising. I just think he should have gotten his financial ducks in a row before quitting his job. If he has a bunch of money saved, maybe his house and cars paid off and the ability of getting his job back easily, i'm perfectly fine with what he is doing. If he jumped off a plane with his entire family by his side just hoping after the fact he'll find a parachute along the way, that is what I have a problem with.

What Cliff needs to do is team up with some other (established) podcasts and bring them under his wing. I'm turned off to his podcasts by he and his wife. If, for example and it will thankfully never happen, C & J became part of the GSPN family, then I would surely become a plus member of GSPN.tv.

Stephen wrote:

You-Know-Who wrote: He's not begging. Begging Is when someone asks for a gift without any goods in return, basically asking you to to help them out of your own good will. Cliff is making content and if people enjoy it and want to show their gratitude the one thing they can do is give a donation out of their own free will.

Radiohead did something similar with the release of their in rainbows album, where you could pay what you wanted or nothing at all. NPR asks for donations. Wikipedia asks for donations. The goverment doesn't, you have to pay taxes whether or not you like what the goverment is doing/does.
It's not like cliff is the only podcaster accepting donations, another one I can think of is Leo laporte who does all the twit (this week in tech) podcasts. Sure, maybe cliff doesn't excactly go about in a nice way, but I repeat, if he wants to do things the way he's doing them let it be. People who do podcasting full time (and there are area out there) need to make a living, some put up ads, some accept donations, some, like the ricky gervais podcast, ask you to buy.
I personally prefer a free will volountary model. For example I like to keep all the LOST episodes on my hard drive so I can watch them again and again (the DVDs come out too late for me), now, I could torrent all those Lost episodes but since I really respect the show I buy them on iTunes, I know probably very little of my 1.99 actually goes to the writers and creators but I like to support the show in any way I can.

And all along I thought it was "Ricky Jarvis". I'm all for donations. I much prefer the donation method to the use of advertising. I just think he should have gotten his financial ducks in a row before quitting his job. If he has a bunch of money saved, maybe his house and cars paid off and the ability of getting his job back easily, i'm perfectly fine with what he is doing. If he jumped off a plane with his entire family by his side just hoping after the fact he'll find a parachute along the way, that is what I have a problem with.

What Cliff needs to do is team up with some other (established) podcasts and bring them under his wing. I'm turned off to his podcasts by he and his wife. If, for example and it will thankfully never happen, C & J became part of the GSPN family, then I would surely become a plus member of GSPN.tv.

I saw on the gspn site that there are like 3 podcasts hosted by other people that are "produced" by cliff. I remember one being called "corvette chief"... whatever that means. :)
I understand where you're coming from on the finances... It's just inspiring for me to see someone following their passion through thick and thin.

http://gspn.tv/category/mcl/page/2/

the vodcast is the one dated april 23 at the hospital

also this might help.
http://blip.tv/file/get/Gspn-AtTheHospital706.mp4

I guess they got their pay podcasts up and running. anyone here a member?

No. Not me.