Half A Mil Of MM Value | Reflecting On 500 Episodes

We have reached half a (MIL)estone so let's give it a half assed effort!In Episode #500 of 'Meanderings', Juan & I discuss: six years of podcasting, the origin story of why we originally started, stats and highlights across YouTube and audio, mishaps (spiders, dead mics, random street cameos), how our focus on value has changed over the years, community shout-outs (thanks for the surprise cake, Mum!), the lessons learned from interviews and long-form chats and why we’ve kept ads out of the show, what “doubling down” means for us, clearer topic lanes across our channels (tech, AI, books, art, fitness) and staying open, decentralised and listener-supported while the tech and monetisation landscape evolves.  Huge thanks to Cole McCormick for the support, absolute legend!Stan Link: https://stan.store/meremortalsTimeline:(00:00:00) Intro(00:01:01) Origins in 2019 & splitting channels(00:03:59) Going live & cake(00:05:02) Stats time: YouTube vs podcast numbers and history(00:10:02) Throwback: Mere Mortals challenges and early experiments(00:14:40) Shifting away from chasing numbers & Value(00:19:13) Format choices: long form, low edits and creator trade‑offs(00:23:20) Personal archives: NFT's & Old Clips(00:29:38) Audience vs creator value & peak effort era(00:35:12) Guest pitches and curation(00:36:57) Boostagram Lounge(00:40:22) Support models ahead: value for value, subscriptions and tech shifts(00:43:53) Advertising, AI & Governments(00:49:19) Doubling down: personal life over production(00:51:43) Segmenting interests: tech, AI, art, books, and fitness channels(00:56:19) Concrete plans: more conversations and remote interviews(01:00:19) Confidence to reach out: lining up future guests(01:03:50) Skills to build: live speaking and community events(01:08:50) Travel networks vs local communities: effort vs payoff(01:10:54) Sign‑off: six years in, 20k unique listeners and thanks Connect with Mere Mortals:Website: https://www.meremortalspodcasts.com/Discord: https://discord.gg/K99e8fysBnTwitter/X: https://twitter.com/meremortalspodsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcasts/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@meremortalspodcastsValue 4 Value Support:V4V: https://www.meremortalspodcasts.com/supportPaypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/meremortalspodcast