It Not’s Me, It’s You

By Cheval John

Everyone was enamored with the live streaming platform called Blab when the app came out in July of 2015.

We saw influencers like Kim Garst, Michael Stelzer, Sue B. Zimmerman using the platform to record their shows and provide valuable information to us about social media.

We also saw celebrities and brands like ESPN using the platform to record their shows.

Then we got the message from the CEO of blab that they were not investing more resources into the platform because they saw that the audience was only there for the hangout after the shows were over with, paraphrased.

Everyone of us knew that it was a matter of time before blab was going away for good.

So we look at alternatives to record our shows.

Then we got the message last night from the CEO that they were shutting down blab.

My reaction was mixed because blab was the reason why I became a better podcaster.

Plus, I met amazing people like Jackie Bernardi, Gerald DuBose, Victoria Taylor, and Vicki Fitch who I would not have met before.

And I had the opportunity to talk with Kelly Hungerford, Brian Fanzo, Rachel Miller, Christin Kardos, Adel de Meyer, Samantha Kelly and many more which I don’t have the space to mention.

Blab revolutionized live streaming because they had saved the audio in addition to video of the live streaming show.

They were the reason that many people who were not podcasters became podcasters.

Now I will get to the disappointment of blab.

The CEO of blab had a lack of communication with their users.

They did not give any warning of a change in direction of the platform.

I understand 100% that blab was their business and that the main goal is to be profitable.

However, they should have at least have the decency to let the users who was heavily invested in blab, know that they were moving in a different direction.

If they would have been more transparent about the change in direction of their business, I honestly believe that many people would have been cool with them.

And the fact that they decided to shut down everything without letting the people know about it was utterly classless.

They should have allowed the users of blab to have ample time to save their recordings so that they can have a track record of the interviews that they did on the social media platform.

It is so sad that the CEO had the audacity to blame most of the users for blab’s failure.

Other than the lack of transperency, blab opened up the possibilities to see that podcasters can also be live streamers.

Blab also allowed me to be featured on Ebony Magazine’s website.

What I can say is that I am thankful for the opportunity to record my show, What’s The Word on blab and later repurpose the show on BlogTalkRadio.

At the same time, I am grateful that I did not leave BlogTalkRadio entirely because if I had moved my show fully to blab, I would have regretted the decision above.

Now, I am using different live streaming platforms like Firetalk.com to record my show and putting that same show onto BlogTalkRadio.

The lesson that blab teaches us is to never put all of your resources in one social media platform because in the end, you will get burned.

About Cheval John

Cheval John is the Founder and CEO of Vallano Media, LLC, a marketing agency which helps small to mid-sized businesses use social media correctly to build a loyal following and in the process become more profitable. Cheval is also the host of "What's The Word?" a podcast about finding out what inspires people to choose their respective careers and how social media impacted their lives and business. He is the author of two books including the Amazon Best-Seller, "8 Lessons Every Podcaster Needs To Learn." He has spoken at Social Media Week Lima in Ohio and at Social Media Day Houston 2017 about topics around live streaming and podcasting. Cheval has been featured in media outlets including Ebony Magazine, Social Media Today and Forbes. He was named a Houston Top 25 Social Media Power Influencer (2016 and 2017) and a Twitter Top 50 Influencer by Onalytica in 2018.

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