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hen two of food blogging’s most popular, dynamic and offbeat personalities met thanks to the blogosphere, sparks flew, a friendship blossomed and Homefries was born. Food bloggers Joy Wilson of Joy the Baker and Tracy Benjamin of Shutterbean share why they take their conversations beyond the blog to thousands of listeners with their podcast Homefries.
You two are really good friends. Did that happen before or because of the podcasting and how has it brought you closer together? Tracy: We met at the BlogHer Food Conference in 2009 and it was love at first site! I feel like we had a spark and there was something very fun/magnetic/weird about our relationship. Joy brings out my inner weirdo and I absolutely love that about her. Podcasting has definitely brought us closer together. Since we’re talking about the most important/unimportant things you can’t help but be bonded. Joy: It really was love at first sarcastic joke. Tracy is an absolute wild-card. I feel like I never know what sort of ridiculousness is going to come out of her mouth. I totally love that about her. Podcasting every week has definitely brought us closer together and really helped us to see what a good working relationship we have. Where do the two of you find inspiration for your podcasts? Tracy: We do a lot of brainstorming together through text/email. Most of the time we talk about things that are pertinent to our lives at that moment and sometimes/most of the time it’s just completely random. We also get a lot of input from our wonderful lis-
teners through emails & voicemails. Joy: The podcasts aren’t super planned out. We have a rough outline of topics that have to do with the season or an upcoming holiday, but then we usually just devolve into discussions of nail polish and childbirth. Michael (our producer) is also a big part of helping us shape each episode —until we start talking about nail polish and childbirth. j oy & t r a c y
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How to start your own podcast tracy
Be organized & be yourself! The more authentic you are and the more comfortable you are being recorded, the better. If you have a problem listening to your own voice (like I did) GET OVER IT. It’s a podcast for crying out loud. Joy
Find a good gin and an amazing, totally tech savy producer like Michael.