{"id":168265,"date":"2023-04-21T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-21T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ict-pulse.com\/?p=168265"},"modified":"2023-04-20T19:06:09","modified_gmt":"2023-04-21T00:06:09","slug":"5-key-takeaways-from-having-a-caribbean-tech-podcast-for-5-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2023\/04\/5-key-takeaways-from-having-a-caribbean-tech-podcast-for-5-years\/","title":{"rendered":"5 key takeaways from having a Caribbean tech podcast for 5 years"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>The ICT Pulse Podcast turned five this week. To commemorate this milestone, we share a few of the insights we have had over the years.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Had I not realised it a few months ago, the milestone may have slipped me altogether. The ICT Pulse Podcast is five years old this week. On 18 April 2018, we released our first episode, and have done so every Wednesday, save except during the Christmas and New Year seasons when we take a brief hiatus. As of this week, we have released 248 episodes and had 300 guests on the show!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When we conceptualised the ICT Pulse Podcast, it was to add another dimension to the blog, ICT Pulse, by allowing us to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>have more direct conversations with the Caribbean tech community,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>celebrate the ventures and initiatives that are happening in the region, and acknowledge their leaders<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>tap into the expertise existing in the region, and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>engage in some of the tough tech-related conversations that we, in the region, should be having.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Although the market for podcasts has been growing steadily over the past several years, and inherently are audio only, the Caribbean does not appear to be as enamoured with the medium as other regions. Nevertheless, podcasting is a powerful service that we hope will continue to grow and find its place in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Having said this and having the benefit of producing the ICT Pulse Podcast for five years, here are a few takeaways we would like to share.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. The Caribbean region has important stories to tell<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Having produced 248 episodes so far, we have not run out of topics to discuss. There are always tech issues and developments that merit further conversation. A challenge we occasionally experience is identifying or being connected to the right individuals to discuss a particular issue, or to a lesser degree, scheduling conflicts that cannot be easily resolved. With very few exceptions, people have been happy to join us on the Podcast for which we are grateful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also, a point that has been highlighted by digital marketers we have had on the show, is the uniqueness of the Caribbean experience, and consequently, the unique content that we can create. As Small Island Developing States, which inherently have their own unique challenge that we have to navigate, whilst still being aware of the standards expected globally, that balancing act would have shaped a perspective that others would not have, but could benefit from learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Recent examples of episodes that highlight this point include the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/2UkGcx4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">ICTP 160: Understanding how technology perpetuates bias, with Matthew Cowen, of dgtlfutures.com<\/a> (from Martinique)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3xlkWsH\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">ICTP 199: Fintech in the Caribbean, from a banking perspective<\/a> (with the head of the Caribbean Association of Banks)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3uaiDWN\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">ICTP 210: Cyber insurance, the good, the bad, the risk and everything in between, with Max Pragnell of Gallagher Insurance Brokers<\/a> (of Jamaica)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3CudP3b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">ICTP 224: An update on the CARICOM Single ICT Space, with Jennifer Britton of the CARICOM Secretariat<\/a> (Guyana)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3FccIGB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">ICTP 232: FTX, Bitcoin, stablecoin, the Caribbean region and the global state of crypto<\/a> (with guests from Barbados and Trinidad\/Jamaica)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2.&nbsp; There are a lot of interesting and innovative tech ventures across the region<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Although to some degree, Silicon Valley\u2019s reputation has been tarnished over the past few years, it is still seen as the hotbed of tech innovation, with the superstars of Silicon Valley being held as exemplars that Caribbean techies hope to emulate. However, what has become increasingly evident, thanks to the Podcast, is that we have several innovative ventures, which are homegrown and solving problems in their local communities or the wider region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Recent examples of episodes that highlight this point include the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/2M5sYyJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">ICT 017: The importance of grit when building a business, with Larren Peart, of BlueDot Data Intelligence<\/a> (from Jamaica)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/2QezYsJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">ICTP 056: Building Caribbean-relevant software applications, with the team from Rovika<\/a> (from Montserrat)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3lI1QnM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">ICTP 132: Virtual and augmented reality, and key opportunities for the Caribbean, with 4th Dymension<\/a> (from Montserrat)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/fgd.dfv.mybluehost.me\/.website_c81a1e61\/2022\/07\/ictp-213-winning-global-hackathons-by-solving-caribbean-problems-with-frameperfect\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">ICTP 213: Winning global hackathons by solving Caribbean problems, with FramePerfect<\/a> (from Guyana)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3xFNjRx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">ICTP 222: Artificial Intelligence, the potential, the challenges and why the Caribbean region still needs to embrace it<\/a> (with Matthew Stone, of Jamaica)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3HMv1DS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">ICTP 237: Revisiting tech innovation in the Caribbean region and at TTLAB in Trinidad and Tobago<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3.&nbsp; There is deep knowledge and experience across the region that can be shared<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It is perhaps part of the Caribbean culture: to be outward-facing and look to our more developed countries in the north for knowledge and expertise. It has thus been gratifying to point to regional experts to discuss topical issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To be clear and fair, these guests possessed deep knowledge and decades of experience and could not only share their domain expertise but also understood the region, and so be able to contextualise their insights and knowledge through that lens. It should therefore be no surprise that such episodes are well-received and widely downloaded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Recent examples of episodes that highlight this point include the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3nQT3Cu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">ICTP 179: Understanding NFTs and the opportunity for wealth creation, with Trevor Forrest<\/a> (of Jamaica)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3Qqdfam\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">ICTP 220: Regtech and the opportunity in the Caribbean region, with Jennifer Potter<\/a> (of the British Virgin Islands)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3jJlOTC\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">ICTP 238: Fintech in the Caribbean region, from an Economist\u2019s perspective, with Dr Justin Ram<\/a> (of Trinidad and Tobago)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3XQpqRM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">ICTP 240: An update on data protection and privacy since GDPR, with Bartlett Morgan<\/a> (of Barbados\/Jamaica)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3mTIqC3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">ICTP 243: 2023 Expert Insight update on cyber threats and security in the Caribbean, with Sean Slattery of Caribbean Solutions Lab<\/a> (based in the Cayman Islands).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. Podcasting takes work and discipline<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Although it seems as if everyone has a podcast these days, especially those in video format, what people tend to overlook is that podcasting takes effort and discipline. In the five years that the ICT Pulse Podcast has been around, we have seen Caribbean-based podcasts and Caribbean-based tech podcasts start and go dormant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;Similar to blogging, podcasting requires consistency. The widely accepted best practice is that new content ought to be released on a regular schedule \u2013 be it daily weekly, fortnightly or even monthly. This requires preparation, planning and scheduling to juggle a podcast successfully, especially when at the start when the host and producer may have o do it all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. There is still a lot of work to be done<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, and nearly 250 episodes in, it feels as if we have just scratched the surface. There are still interesting innovations happening in pockets across the region of which we are not aware. Also, as close as we are as countries in terms of distance, as much as we have technology that has collapsed borders, it still feels as if we are isolated from each other. For a region as small as ours, for countries that are interdependent on each other \u2013 contrary to popular belief \u2013 there are barriers and insularity still to overcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s to the next five years and beyond!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Image credit:  ICT Pulse;  <a href=\"http:\/\/canva.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Canva<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The ICT Pulse Podcast turned five this week. To commemorate this milestone, we share a few of the insights we have had over the years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":168269,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[323],"class_list":["post-168265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ict-tech","tag-podcasting","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/5-key-takeaways-from-having-a-Caribbean-tech-podcast-for-5-years-1024-%C3%97-576-px-ICT-Pusle-Canva.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2iE1G-HLX","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168265"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168265\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":168270,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168265\/revisions\/168270"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/168269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=168265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=168265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}