Mike Murphy Unplugged

Episode Summary: Part 3 of the on-location podcasting series, recorded in the Florida Everglades — real facts about the ecosystem, on-location recording tips, and a first introduction to noise removal.

What You'll Learn

• The final part of a 3-part mobile podcasting series, recorded in the Florida Everglades
• Real facts about the Everglades ecosystem and alligator-vs-crocodile trivia
• What went wrong during the on-location recording, and the lessons learned
• A first introduction to noise removal in Audacity, Auphonic, and Adobe Audition

Mobile podcasting series:

• Part 1 (Episode 48): San Francisco, CA
• Part 2 (Episode 50): Naples, FL Beach
• Part 3 (this episode): The Florida Everglades

The Podcaster's Toolkit

Divi WordPress theme by Elegant Themes. Web design pricing for hire: $750–1,000, including hosting setup, Google Apps setup, and Divi/WordPress install with basic page setup (monthly fees and the Divi theme itself billed separately).

Everglades Facts

• One out of every three Floridians (roughly 8 million people) relies on the Everglades for water supply.
• Often described as a swamp or forested wetland, it's actually a very slow-moving river.
• Home to 73 threatened or endangered species.
• Mosquitoes are a genuinely important link in the food chain — and very much alive and well.
• Everglades National Park spans 1.5 million acres, the 3rd largest national park in the lower 48, behind Yellowstone (2nd) and Death Valley (1st).

Alligator vs. crocodile: alligators live mainly in freshwater; crocodiles live in salt or brackish water. Everglades National Park is the only place on Earth where both can be spotted in the same body of water. Alligators lean black or dark grey; crocodiles are green-grey. Crocodiles have more V-shaped snouts; alligators are wide and flat. Crocs can reach 20 feet; American alligators typically top out around 13–15 feet.

Airboats are the main mode of transportation through the Everglades — invented by Alexander Graham Bell.

Tips for On-Location Podcasting

Recording outside is inherently distracting, so the top priority is preparation from home: connect all gear and cables, load batteries, set everything up so nothing gets forgotten, and write a detailed script or outline in advance. Charge batteries, pack chargers, and bring portable backup chargers (Anker is the go-to brand). Format memory cards ahead of time, and sync/clear space on iPhone and iPad.

Supply kit: microfiber and regular towels, lip balm, sunscreen, bug spray, water, snacks — common sense and preparation cover most of it.

Lemons to Lemonade

The Everglades recording session ran into real problems: the script wasn't fully dialed in before recording started, too much was attempted at once (BTS foo…

Read the complete show notes and resources on mikemurphy.ai.

Support the show

Subscribe To Weekly Newsletter:
AI Unplugged

Connect With Me
🌐 Website
📧 Newsletter
🎥 YouTube
🐦 X
💼 LinkedIn

Comments, Questions & Feedback: 
[email protected]

Episode Summary: Writing for podcasters and content creators — the writing process, strategy, and the exact tools used to get words out of the head and onto the page.

What You'll Learn

• The 8 types of writing a podcaster or content creator regularly does
• Mike's 4-tool writing stack: Google Drive, Scrivener, Byword, and Workflowy
• How Byword's multi-markdown shortcuts map to standard heading levels

Got a favorite writing resource or tool worth sharing? Send it to [email protected].

This week's toolkit picks: the MeFoto Sidekick 360 and Manfrotto Pixi Mini Table Top Tripod.

Writing Examples for Podcasters

Podcast outlines and scripts, show notes, marketing promos, newsletters, emails and correspondence, tutorials and teaching content, blog posts and articles, and eBooks/guides/books.

Tools

1. Google Drive — Docs, Sheets, Slides, for general writing and collaboration.
2. Scrivener — the primary writing tool of choice.
3. Byword — a $12 Mac App Store app built around multi-markdown, ideal for show notes. Heading shortcuts map directly: # = H1, ## = H2, ### = H3, #### = H4.
4. Workflowy — for building outlines.

Show Notes & Links

• MeFoto Sidekick 360
• Manfrotto Pixi Mini Table Top Tripod
• Google Drive
• Scrivener
• Byword
• Workflowy

Read the complete show notes and resources on mikemurphy.ai.

Support the show

Subscribe To Weekly Newsletter:
AI Unplugged

Connect With Me
🌐 Website
📧 Newsletter
🎥 YouTube
🐦 X
💼 LinkedIn

Comments, Questions & Feedback: 
[email protected]

Episode Summary: Part 2 of the mobile podcasting series — recorded live on Naples Beach, Florida. The gear, the checklist, and the full post-production workflow for recording anywhere with minimal equipment.

What You'll Learn

• How Sugru moldable glue solves real studio and cable problems
• The exact mobile gear list used to record an episode live on a Florida beach
• A repeatable pre-recording checklist for on-location podcasting
• The Auphonic-to-Dropbox-to-Audition post-production pipeline

The Podcaster's Toolkit: Product of the Day

Sugru — $12 for a 3-pack, $22 for 6. Essentially moldable super glue that sticks to nearly any surface, mainly for fixing and mending, with plenty of creative hacks beyond that. Some Sugru uses via Lifehacker. Real-world use here: repairing and reinforcing Apple power cables before they split, and molding a hook to hang Sony MDR-7506 headphones on the side of a desk. The individual packets are about the size of a to-go mustard packet — handy to keep around the studio or in a travel bag.

Got a favorite resource or tip worth sharing? Send it to [email protected].

Recap: Part 1

Episode 48: The Golden Gate Show covered the same mobile-recording concept from San Francisco.

Equipment used in Episode 48: Shure SM58 microphone, Shure Windfoam , OnStage mini tripod, OnStage shockmount, Zoom H6 handy recorder, memory card, 4 AA Eneloop rechargeable batteries, Apple earbud headphones, iPhone 6, Joby GorillaPod for behind-the-scenes footage, and a 9.7" iPad Pro running Scrivener for the script.

Part 2: The Beach-Cast Show

Location: Naples Beach, Florida. Disclaimer: recording on a windy beach isn't generally recommended — this one happened because it's episode #50, and for instructional purposes. Goal of the series: build the skills to record in any situation with minimal gear — a genuinely valuable addition to any podcaster's toolkit (right alongside Sugru).

Equipment Used in Episode 50

• Device: iPhone 6
• Tripod adapter: MeFoto SideKick 360
• Tripod: Manfrotto Mini Desktop
• iOS app: Auphonic
• Microphone: Audio-Technica ATR2100 (dynamic)
• Accessories: wind foam
• Cable: Apple to USB3 connector kit
• Headphones: Sony MDR-7506
• Script: iPad Pro 9.7" (Scrivener)

Post-Production

Export from Auphonic to Dropbox, import on the studio computer, edit in Adobe Audition.

The Beach-Cast Checklist

Confirm the iPhone has enough storage for audio and behind-the-scenes footage. Set the iPhone to Air…

Read the complete show notes and resources on mikemurphy.ai.

Support the show

Subscribe To Weekly Newsletter:
AI Unplugged

Connect With Me
🌐 Website
📧 Newsletter
🎥 YouTube
🐦 X
💼 LinkedIn

Comments, Questions & Feedback: 
[email protected]

Episode Summary: Instagram Stories 101 — the Facebook/Snapchat backstory behind why it exists, how it differs from Snapchat, and 6 real benefits for podcasters and content creators looking to build an audience.

What You'll Learn

• The Facebook/Instagram/Snapchat backstory behind why Instagram Stories exists
• How Instagram Stories differs from Snapchat, and why Instagram builds audience faster
• 6 real benefits of using Stories for reach, authority, and brand awareness
• Simple content ideas to start posting Stories today

The Podcaster's Toolkit (Mike's Favorite Things)

Tools, gear, resources, tips, and tricks. Have a favorite tool or resource? A gear question? Reach out: [email protected].

Resource of the week: Auphonic — browser-based audio post-processing, easy and high quality.

Featured podcast of the week: The Podcast Engineering Show, hosted by Chris Curran — specifically Episode 21: Georg Holzmann (Auphonic founder).

The Instagram Stories Show

History lesson: Facebook bought Instagram in 2012 for $1 billion. A year later, in 2013, Facebook tried to buy Snapchat for $3 billion — Snapchat said no. Snapchat is now valued at over $20 billion, and Facebook (now valued at over $350 billion) simply built its own version and called it Instagram Stories — nearly identical to Snapchat in format.

How to Use Instagram Stories

Two quick video walkthroughs: How to Use Instagram Stories and How to Add Your Camera Roll to Instagram Stories.

Instagram vs. Snapchat

Instagram: easier to build an audience on, since it starts from an existing follower base. Snapchat: takes a lot more work to grow from scratch.

Benefits of Using Instagram Stories

Reach (building an audience), networking, brand awareness, marketing products and services, establishing authority, and teaching/helping others.

Ideas to Get Started

Be yourself. Show behind the scenes of a business or workflow. Teach. Share genuinely valuable tips. Be a person of value — authentic, genuine, real. Don't overthink it — keep it simple.

Show Notes & Links

Auphonic The Podcast Engineering Show PES: Georg Holzmann (Auphonic founder) How to Use Instagram Stories (YouTube) How to Add Your Camera Roll to Instagram Stories (YouTube)

Read the complete show notes and resources on mikemurphy.ai.

Support the show

Subscribe To Weekly Newsletter:
AI Unplugged

Connect With Me
🌐 Website
📧 Newsletter
🎥 YouTube
🐦 X
💼 LinkedIn

Comments, Questions & Feedback: 
[email protected]

Episode Summary: Part 1 of the mobile podcasting series, recorded live on Baker Beach in San Francisco — why record on location, the full travel gear list, and the real challenges of podcasting away from the home studio.

What You'll Learn

• Why this episode was recorded on-location at Baker Beach in San Francisco
• The full travel and location-recording gear list, packed and priced
• 3 real reasons to record on location: interviews, events, and CEO sit-downs
• The 3 biggest challenges of mobile/location recording

Today's episode is Part 1 of a series on how to record a podcast on location. Part 2 and Part 3 continue the series.

Ask Mike Anything: Favorite Travel Accessories

Question: Any favorite travel accessories that never get left at home?

Answer: Power is priority #1 when traveling — cords, chargers, and batteries get packed carefully. Portable chargers: Anker Small ($15), Anker Large ($40). Rechargeable AA batteries: Eneloop ($20). Camera batteries: Wasabi Batteries + Charger for Canon T5i ($20, incredible value), Wasabi Batteries + Charger for GoPro ($20, incredible value).

Why Record in San Francisco?

Reason 1: to learn the ins and outs — practice makes perfect. Reason 2: mobile podcasting and live streaming/broadcasting are the future. Reason 3: one of the "whys" from Episode 22: The Why Show was to eventually run a location-independent business — traveling and podcasting from interesting locations sounds like a great way to do that. No rush, but it's coming in one form or another.

Why Record on Location?

Impromptu interviews or man-on-the-street style pieces at events, trade shows, or meetups; CEO interviews at their own location (or any business person, really); even RV travel, someday.

Gear Used to Record the Golden Gate Cast

Shure SM58 Dynamic Microphone ($99), Shure Windscreen for SM58, On-Stage Mini Tripod ($15), On-Stage Shockmount ($8), Zoom H6 Handy Recorder ($400), and Apple earbud headphones.

Other Gear Used

An iPhone 6, a JOBY GorillaPod for behind-the-scenes video footage, and a 9.7" iPad Pro running Scrivener for iPad for the script — genuinely great on iPad.

Challenges of Mob…

Read the complete show notes and resources on mikemurphy.ai.

Support the show

Subscribe To Weekly Newsletter:
AI Unplugged

Connect With Me
🌐 Website
📧 Newsletter
🎥 YouTube
🐦 X
💼 LinkedIn

Comments, Questions & Feedback: 
[email protected]

Episode Summary: The podcatcher apps and playback speeds used to get through a weekly listening queue, plus Mike's top 7 podcast picks for summer 2016 — along with a long list of other favorites and shows from friends of the show.

What You'll Learn

• The podcatcher apps and playback speeds used to get through a weekly queue
• Mike's top 7 podcast recommendations for summer 2016, with specific episodes
• A longer list of regularly-listened-to shows across business and creativity
• 5 podcasts from friends of the show worth checking out

Ask Mike Anything: Podcast Listening Setup

Apps used: Overcast and Apple Podcasts. Playback speed: 1.5x, 2x, or 2.3x with Smart Speed enabled (Overcast).

Mike's Top 7 Podcast Playlist for Summer 2016

Profit. Power. Pursuit. — CreativeLive.com, hosted by Tara Gentile. A successful blogger, creative entrepreneur, coach, and author interviews other successful businesses in her space, going behind the scenes on the tools and resources they use and how they generate income. The Chase Jarvis LIVE Show — CreativeLive.com, hosted by founder/CEO Chase Jarvis. The podcast version of 30 Days of Genius, interviewing highly successful thought leaders and entrepreneurs like Richard Branson, Seth Godin, Mark Cuban, Gary Vaynerchuk, Arianna Huffington, Brené Brown, and Marie Forleo. 99% Invisible — hosted by Roman Mars. A storytelling podcast about design that's everywhere in daily life, especially the parts that go unnoticed. Recommended episodes: 219: "Unpleasant Design" and 130: "Holdout". Revisionist History — hosted by Malcolm Gladwell (author of The Tipping Point, Blink, and Outliers). A storytelling podcast revisiting a missed or misunderstood person, place, or event in history. Recommended episode: 04: "The Big Man Can't Shoot". The Way I Heard It — hosted by Mike Rowe (Dirty Jobs). Under 8 minutes, reverse-engineering the story of a recognizable pop culture, political, or historical figure before revealing who it is at the end. Clever, simple, light entertainment. Podcast Junkies — hosted by Harry Duran. A podcaster interviewing other podcasters about podcasting, life, and business — laid back, candid, and genuinely inspirational. The Freelancer — hosted by Paul Jarvis, freelance web designer. 7 minutes or less, aimed at solo creative entrepreneurs — edgy and a bit cynical, but the advice lands.

Read the complete show notes and resources on mikemurphy.ai.

Support the show

Subscribe To Weekly Newsletter:
AI Unplugged

Connect With Me
🌐 Website
📧 Newsletter
🎥 YouTube
🐦 X
💼 LinkedIn

Comments, Questions & Feedback: 
[email protected]

Episode Summary: What screencasting is, the exact software and gear used to make "over the shoulder" tutorial videos, and a 6-question recipe for planning one before hitting record.

What You'll Learn

• What screencasting is and why it's called "over the shoulder" video
• The exact software and gear used to make screencast tutorials
• A 6-question recipe for planning a good screencast before recording
• 10 real advantages of screencasting for online businesses

Ask Mike Anything: A Small Light for iPhone Live Streaming

Question: Any recommendation for a small light for an iPhone, for live streaming?

Answer: The LumeCube ($79) or the Manfrotto LUMIMUSE 8 LED Light ($89).

What Is Screencasting?

Simply recording the screen of a device — laptop, iPhone, or iPad — using dedicated software (a camera pointed at a monitor is the low-tech alternative). It's often called "over the shoulder" video, since it shares the screen exactly as the presenter sees it — a genuinely effective teaching approach.

Ways to use screencasting: training employees, briefing virtual assistants, explaining or teaching anything done on a computer or iDevice, and communicating with clients about a project (designers, especially).

How to Make Basic Screencast Videos

Screencast software: Camtasia (new favorite), Screenflow (used less now, but still good), or QuickTime (free for Mac users).

Gear for making screencast videos: a MacBook Pro, occasionally an iPhone or iPad, a Shure SM7B microphone, an Allen & Heath ZED 10 mixer, a Logitech C930 webcam, a Cowboy Studio Green Screen, Reflector (mirrors iDevices wirelessly — great software), and Adobe Premiere for final video edits when needed (not required).

Recipe for Good Screencasts

Tip 1: Preparation. Write an outline or detailed notes before pressing record — figure out exactly what the video needs to cover ahead of time.

Mike's screencast recipe:

1. Who is this video for?
2. What is the purpose of this video?
3. What should the viewer learn or take away from it?
4. What steps will be covered, and in what order?
5. What's the simplest way to summarize the lesson, step by step?
6. What should the viewer do after finishing the video? Include a call to action.

Tip 2: cover everything promised in the title and description.

Tip 3: be concise and to the point.

Advantages of Simple Screencast Videos

Read the complete show notes and resources on mikemurphy.ai.

Support the show

Subscribe To Weekly Newsletter:
AI Unplugged

Connect With Me
🌐 Website
📧 Newsletter
🎥 YouTube
🐦 X
💼 LinkedIn

Comments, Questions & Feedback: 
[email protected]

Episode Summary: What Skillshare is, how its community and membership model works, what it takes to publish a class, and why teaching online — on Skillshare or anywhere else — makes for a better, sharper you.

What You'll Learn

• What Skillshare is, how its membership model works, and what it costs
• Why project-based learning is the most effective way to teach and learn
• What's actually required to publish a class on the platform
• 3 real reasons to teach: money, authority, and personal growth

Ask Mike Anything: An iPhone Holder for a Small Tripod

Question: Any recommendation for a good iPhone holder for a small tripod?

Answer: MeFoto Sidekick360 ($30) or the Manfrotto Twist Grip ($49).

What Is Skillshare?

Started in NYC, live since 2011. Over 1.8 million students, $5 million+ paid out to instructors, and 6,000+ classes in the library. It's a community-based platform.

Project-Based Learning

Every Skillshare class is project-based — the goal is that a student actually creates or makes something by the end, which is the most effective way to learn anything.

How Skillshare Works

A membership model with both free and premium classes; instructors decide whether to charge (most do). Membership runs $9.99/month for unlimited classes — the Netflix model applied to online education. Discount: signing up through this link gets 3 months of Premium for $0.99.

What Can Be Learned on Skillshare?

A smorgasbord of topics these days, but especially strong in design and creative arts, entrepreneurship and social marketing, technology, and lifestyle topics like meditation, health, fitness, and productivity. It's a particularly good place to learn Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere, photography, video, and Instagram/social media tips and tricks.

Requirements to Teach

Anyone can teach — the only real requirement is filling out a class properly (titles, descriptions, etc.) and making sure every class includes a student project.

Class Length

Skillshare encourages "snack-sized" classes, with roughly 20 minutes being the sweet spot.

What to Teach

The easiest approach, on Skillshare or online in general, is to think small and simple. Look at a typical work day — full-time gig or side project — and identify what's done every day that feels like second nature. A favorite Derek Sivers quote applies directly:

What's obvious to you is amazing to others.

Why Teach?

Read the complete show notes and resources on mikemurphy.ai.

Support the show

Subscribe To Weekly Newsletter:
AI Unplugged

Connect With Me
🌐 Website
📧 Newsletter
🎥 YouTube
🐦 X
💼 LinkedIn

Comments, Questions & Feedback: 
[email protected]

Episode Summary: What affiliate marketing actually is, why it's a genuine win-win-win for podcasters, their audience, and the vendor, and 5 concrete strategies for promoting affiliate products authentically.

What You'll Learn

• What affiliate marketing actually is, in plain terms
• The legal disclosure obligation every affiliate marketer has to honor
• 4 real advantages of affiliate marketing for podcasters and creators
• 5 concrete strategies for promoting affiliate products

Ask Mike Anything: A Lightweight Travel Tripod

Question: Any recommendation for a multi-purpose lightweight tripod good for traveling?

Answer: 1. MeFoto DayTrip ($99) 2. MeFoto BackPacker ($149).

What Is Affiliate Marketing?

Per Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income: affiliate marketing is the process of earning a commission by promoting other people's (or a company's) products. Find a product worth using, promote it, earn a piece of the profit on each resulting sale.

Simple version: like a product, sign up as an affiliate partner, promote it to listeners, earn a commission on every sale that results.

Legal: disclosure of any affiliate relationship is a hard requirement, not optional — always honor it.

Disclosure statement used on this site: "Some of the links on this page are affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase. I only recommend products I use and love and if I think will be useful for you or your brand."

Why Affiliate Marketing Is a Win-Win-Win

Someone else's product gets promoted, so the vendor wins when a sale happens. A product that's genuinely used and loved gets recommended, so the audience wins by discovering something useful. A small commission (or occasionally free product) comes back, which helps fund making more content — so the creator wins too.

Stay authentic: only promote products genuinely used or believed in, ones sincerely expected to help the audience. It's never really about the money — it's about the value of what's being recommended, and staying anchored to that keeps affiliate marketing a genuinely good practice.

Advantages of affiliate marketing:

• Making money
• Promoting other people's products rather than having to build everything from scratch
• Introducing an audience to products and services worth trusting
• Establishing authority while earning enough to keep making content

Affiliate programs joined (partial list): Amazon, Bluehost.com, Elegant Themes (Divi), Screenflow, Camtasia, Udemy.

Which programs to apply to: look at every product genuinely used and loved, and check for an affiliate program — usually linked in the footer of a company's website as "Affiliate" or "Partners."

5 Strategies to Promote Affiliate Products

Tutorials. Ma…

Read the complete show notes and resources on mikemurphy.ai.

Support the show

Subscribe To Weekly Newsletter:
AI Unplugged

Connect With Me
🌐 Website
📧 Newsletter
🎥 YouTube
🐦 X
💼 LinkedIn

Comments, Questions & Feedback: 
[email protected]

Episode Summary: The Podcaster's Emergency Toolkit — 5 areas to prepare yourself and your one-man-band business for unexpected events, from gear security to a real backup strategy.

What You'll Learn

• 5 areas every one-man-band business should have an emergency plan for
• A real 3-step backup strategy: cloud, local, and off-site
• How to tell if someone on Snapchat follows back
• Why a rainy-day fund matters enough to batch-record episodes around it

Failing to plan is planning to fail.

Ask Mike Anything: Does Someone Follow You Back on Snapchat?

Question: Is there a way to tell if someone being followed on Snapchat is following back?

Answer: Yes, two tells: 1) if a Chat option appears when flipping up from someone's story, they're following back; 2) a visible SnapScore on their profile also confirms it.

Follow along: mikemurphybts on Snapchat.

The Emergency Toolkit: 5 Areas to Prepare

1. Protecting your gear & security
2. Backup plan
3. Asset management / inventory
4. Password management
5. Banking

1. Security

The Canary Surveillance Camera and Mr. Beams Motion Detector LED Lights.

2. Backup Plan

Step 1: start with Google Drive and Dropbox for documents and small essentials carried around for years — tax records, PDFs, driver's license, passport, health insurance card.

Step 2: two local external hard drives, with Time Machine running on one of them. LaCie and Other World Computing are favorites; Western Digital and G-Technology drives have also worked well.

Step 3: cloud storage via Backblaze. Other cloud storage options: Crashplan, Carbonite.

3. Inventory (Asset Management)

The Sortly iPhone app.

4. Password Management

1Password or LastPass.

5. Banking

A rainy-day savings plan, and batch-recording episodes ahead of time as a buffer against the unexpected.

Show Notes & Links

Snapchat: mikemurphybts The Canary Surveillance Camera Mr. Beams Motion Detector LED Lights Backblaze Crashplan Carbonite Sortly 1Password LastPass

Read the complete show notes and resources on mikemurphy.ai.

Support the show

Subscribe To Weekly Newsletter:
AI Unplugged

Connect With Me
🌐 Website
📧 Newsletter
🎥 YouTube
🐦 X
💼 LinkedIn

Comments, Questions & Feedback: 
[email protected]