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In January, I attended PodCon 2 in Seattle. PodCon is a podcast conference for anyone interested in podcasts: fans, podcasters at any stage, and people who work in the podcast industry.
One of the opportunities that PodCon offered was the option to volunteer at the event. If you volunteered for 8 hours over the course of the two-day event, you would earn up to a $100 refund on your ticket purchase.
I decided to apply to be a volunteer at PodCon. There were a few reasons that I wanted to volunteer at PodCon.
First, I wanted to meet people. My whole reason for attending PodCon was to meet people who love podcasts. Listening to podcasts - and writing about them - can be a lonely hobby. The whole reason I started the Podcast Maniac blog was to connect with other podcast fans and to have a place to talk about all the great shows out there.
I knew that volunteering would give me more opportunities to meet and interact with people (especially since I was attending the event alone).
The second reason that I wanted to volunteer at PodCon was to experience the event from more than one perspective.
As an attendee with a general admission ticket, I had access to 95% of the live podcast recordings, panel discussions, and meetups. But volunteering would force me to spend time in areas of the event where I might not go if left to my own devices.
The last reason I wanted to volunteer at PodCon was to see if it was worth it to volunteer for 8 hours in exchange for a $100 refund. Would saving $100 seem like an even trade-off for missing some of the cool podcast sessions at PodCon? I was going to find out.
Keep reading for my full review of the PodCon volunteer experience. If you want to read my general review of PodCon, click here.
Applying to Volunteer at PodCon
You can only apply to volunteer at PodCon once you have already purchased a ticket to attend the conference. The online volunteer application requires that you enter your valid ticket number/proof of ticket purchase. I assume that this was to ensure that people who applied to volunteer were committed to going to the event, regardless of whether they were selected to volunteer.
The PodCon volunteer application provided example volunteer positions. There were people needed to stuff goodie bags, staff the registration desk, and serve as monitors for different sessions/live podcast recordings.
I had to provide the PodCon staff with any previous experience that I had volunteering. I listed some of the duties that I performed at events or conferences over the years (most of which were actually paid, as part of my job at the time, but I assumed that they were interested in my skill set).
The application also asked if I would be able to attend a volunteer orientation session on the Friday before the conference (it was strongly recommended that volunteers attend one of these orientations).
I applied to volunteer right after I purchased my PodCon ticket in November, but I didn’t find out that I was selected to volunteer until early January (PodCon was scheduled for Jan 19 & 20).
This late notification meant that I was waiting to purchase my plane ticket and schedule a hotel room in Seattle. I didn't want to pay to stay an extra night in a hotel if I didn't have to arrive early for volunteer orientation. I felt a little like a sitting duck waiting for the notification from the volunteer staff.
In the end, everything worked out for me. My husband is a master at booking travel arrangements short-term, so it wasn't terribly inconvenient or costly for me. Still, I think that the PodCon staff should consider earlier notification for future events.
Volunteer Selection & Position Sign-Up
When I received the email notification that I had been selected to volunteer, I felt like I was in a mad dash to sign up for the volunteer positions that I wanted. Let me set the scene for you:
I casually checked my email one afternoon, while sitting on the sidelines at my husband's tennis match. I saw the email from PodCon that told me that I had been selected to volunteer.
The email included some FAQs about volunteering, a full list of volunteer positions and descriptions, and a link to a website that would allow me to sign up for my desired positions and times to volunteer.
The email from PodCon made it clear that none of the volunteer positions would provide special access to the conference guests/speakers (so, no, I wouldn’t get to be Roman Mars’ personal assistant all weekend).
Let me be totally honest here: there was a position that included "monitoring" a dry-erase board, handing Sharpies to people, and making sure that they didn’t walk away with the markers. It was NOT my first choice position.
It was then that I realized that other volunteers might feel the same way about some positions, and that they might already be signing up for the positions I was interested in. I needed to hurry up and create an account with the online volunteering website.
In order to complete 8 hours of volunteer work, I signed up for the following positions:
- Meetup Monitor - 3 hours on Saturday
- The Podcast Telephone Assistant - 2.5 hours on Saturday
- Door Monitor for a Creator Chat session - 2 hours on Sunday
Anyone wanna count that up for me and tell me how many hours that is?
Seven and a half.
UGH. I didn't notice this error until I was reviewing my schedule on my flight to Seattle two days before the event.
This isn’t because I can’t do simple math. It's because I was racing to sign up for positions and time slots that wouldn't interfere with sessions I really wanted to attend at PodCon. I also had to work around a meet-and-greet with Aaron Mahnke at 2:00 on Sunday afternoon.
There were definitely moments in which I thought that these 8 hours weren't going to give me time to enjoy PodCon. I wasn't sure if I should go through with the volunteering.
Still, once I discovered my mathematical error, I logged in to the volunteer website, canceled one short shift, and signed up for a different, longer shift. It was as simple as that. I ended up in the same volunteer positions, just in a different configuration.
Volunteer Orientation
The orientation was quick and easy. I attended the last orientation group of the day, which was about 7 other people and myself. The volunteer coordinator and a couple of other PodCon staff members showed us around the two floors of the conference center where PodCon took place, and explained the very basics of most volunteer positions.
After that, we each got our bright orange PodCon Volunteer t-shirt (here's a photo of all of us in our shirts):
Thank you for an amazing and magical #podcon2. We hope you had as much fun as we did! But also...let’s all give a round of applause for our ALL STAR volunteers. This event could not happen without them! pic.twitter.com/YVV0HlsPhn
— PodCon (@podcon) January 21, 2019
I felt that the orientation session was just right; not too long, not too short. Truly, the biggest benefit to me was being able to get my bearings at the conference center. This helped me maximize my time over the two days at PodCon, as I hurried to go from one session to another, to a volunteer shift, to grab lunch, and so on.
Event & Volunteer Organization
I received multiple emails from the PodCon staff, about both general attendance/PodCon updates, and about the volunteering application and approval. I got the impression that the PodCon staff were very friendly and responsive (this turned out to be true).
I thought that the overall organization of PodCon was very well done. Pre-event emails and updates were clear. There were apps and software systems provided in order to view and make my schedule. As far as I could tell, sessions started and ended on time. The staff even scheduled several 30 minute breaks each day, which gave attendees and speakers time to eat, wander, rest, etc.
In terms of volunteering though, I found the time slots for the shifts to be longer than necessary.
I realize the irony in my saying this, since I was scrambling to sign up for 8 hours of volunteering. But here is what happened:
Volunteers were asked to sign into their shifts 15 minutes prior to the shift starting. That meant that I had to leave whatever session I was enjoying (a live podcast, speaker panel, etc) 15 minutes before it finished. (This is one of the trade-offs of volunteering; I'm not complaining, just explaining.)
Then, I had to find the sign-in computer. There was one laptop that all volunteers had to use to sign in and out of their shift. But that laptop moved a few times over the weekend...sometimes it was at the registration desk, other times in the exhibit hall.
Once signed in for the shift, I would go my shift. And wait...because for two of my shifts, the actual "thing" I was there to do didn't start for another 30 minutes.
Meetup Monitor Volunteer Shift
For the Meetup Monitor position on Saturday, I was scheduled to work from 11:00 to 2:00. But the first meetup didn't start until 11:30, and people didn't start showing up until around 11:25.
The area where the meetup was to be held was a massive open space, with two sections of about 10 tables each. But it was also en route to an exit. So, for the first 25 minutes of my shift, I ended up answering questions like, "Where do I get a map of the convention center?" and "How do I get to the 6th floor?"
Was I volunteering? Yes. I was answering questions, meeting people, and being of general help to the PodCon staff. Thankfully, I'm an extrovert, and I don't like to be bored, so I really put myself out there. I made sure that I could be seen in my bright orange PodCon volunteer shirt.
I definitely earned my keep in that first half hour, but I don't think that the Meetup Monitor position needed to start at 11:00.
Door Monitor Volunteer Shift
This same thing happened during my shift for the Door Monitor; I arrived at 3:00, only to start checking names off of a list at 3:30. (Okay, there were one or two early-birds who showed up at 3:15, but most of the people attending PodCon were respectful, and would have waited outside the door if a door monitor had only showed up at 3:25.)
Am I being nit-picky? Maybe. But during those two half hours - and the 15 minutes before each of my 3 shifts - all I could think was, "I'm missing out on something cool while standing around waiting for people to show up."
Podcast Telephone Volunteer Shift
My remaining volunteer shift was working something called the Podcast Telephone. This activity was located in the exhibition hall, where most of the hubbub at PodCon took place.
The activity let participants contribute 30-60 seconds to an audio recording. Their recordings were part of a crazy, on-going story (like a standalone podcast episode). People would listen to the last 10 seconds of the previous person's story, and then make up their own part of the story.
It was a super fun concept, and a lot of people liked it. My role as a volunteer: encourage people to participate, and then help them with their recording.
I knew when I signed up for this volunteer shift that it could be fun. Again, this is where being an extrovert came in handy.
I had a really good time during this shift. Some people were really reluctant to participate, even trying to avoid eye contact with me as they walked by. I used friendly guilt trips to lure them in, and I think that they ultimately enjoyed themselves.
At the Podcast Telephone, I was able to joke around with people, ask them if they have a podcast, and talk about which live podcast recording they had just attended, etc.
I also got to do a lot of looking around at all of the other things going on in the exhibit hall. It was a cool place for people-watching, and it was the most fun I had while volunteering at PodCon.
Would I Volunteer at PodCon Again?
So, now that PodCon is over, let me answer the big questions:
- Did my volunteer experience at PodCon live up to my expectations?
- Did I earn a refund on my ticket?
- Did I still have fun at PodCon?
My overall experience
My volunteer experience at PodCon did live up to my expectations. I knew that I would end up missing out on some of the podcast sessions that I wanted to see, but I was willing to make that trade-off.
I did get to meet more people than I would have if I hadn't volunteered. (Maybe this was because I was wearing a bright orange shirt with the PodCon logo on it.) I also got to meet the other volunteers, and made some new friends from that group.
And I did get the experience of seeing what the "rest" of PodCon was like, outside of the scheduled sessions. Instead of sitting quietly in a live podcast recording or a speaker panel, I was forced to hang out in the hallways and exhibition hall some of the time, and see the event through a different lens.
Ticket refund
Last week, I received an email from the volunteer coordinator that said that the PodCon staff was in the process of tallying all the volunteer hours. If they found that I had a total of 8 hours of volunteer time, I would receive a refund soon.
I checked my credit card statement this morning and there it was: a $100.00 credit from PodCon.
Would I do it again?
Now that I've volunteered at PodCon, I don't think I would do it again. At least not for the 8 hours/refund.
But hear me out.
I'm really glad that I DID volunteer at the event this year. As a first-time attendee to PodCon, I think that it's a fantastic opportunity. It was exactly as advertised: I worked 8 hours and I got a refund. And it gave me the chance to experience the event from more than one angle.
If I decided to volunteer again, I probably wouldn't aim to do the 8 hours for a refund. When I think about those two days, I realize that I did a lot of racing to get from one session or volunteer shift to the next. I actually hate racing around like that (it's one of my personality quirks). So to do that again wouldn't be very fun for me.
Maybe I'd just help out at one of the exhibit hall activities for a few hours, to meet and chat with people. I definitely think that those volunteer positions provide the most fun and interaction with other attendees.
I would also recommend the "floater" volunteer position, which means you'll fill in wherever a volunteer is necessary. I met a volunteer who was floating, and he seemed to be having a blast.
If we're lucky enough to have a PodCon3 in 2020, I will absolutely attend. And if you're a first-time PodCon-er, I recommend applying to be a volunteer, especially if the $100 refund is important to you/your budget. Me, I'll spend the money to have a more relaxed weekend.