[Coco] The Future of CoCoTALK!

[Steve Strowbridge]

CoCoTALK! started as a spontaneous decision about a month before this
year's CoCoFEST! to get some people together on Skype and do a live,
impromptu discussion about the CoCo, and our excitement and expectations
for this year's CoCoFEST!

That was 20 weeks ago, and I had no idea where this would go, what it would
become, and if it would even continue.  I suspected we'd be good for at
least 2 shows a month after the Fest, one to talk about the CoCo Crew
Podcast, and maybe one more filler show.

We have not run out of things to talk about in 20 weeks time and I'm of the
belief that this is a self-sustaining community.

When there are discussions that take place in this list or on Facebook, we
have something to talk about.  When projects and blogs are announced, and
updates shared, we have something to talk about.  When the CoCo Crew
Podcast drops a new episode, we have plenty to talk about.

And... the more people are talking about these discussions, and projects, I
think the more people get inspired to do more.  We've seen no shortage of
hardware or software being designed and developed, and I don't see an end
in the near future.

This level of activity inspired and creates more.. more people are picking
up and taking on hardware projects, more people are picking up old or
starting new software projects...

The cycle of life is ongoing it seems.

In 20 weeks we've had several behind the scenes looks, sneak peeks and
debut premiers of all kinds of cool things like;

   - John Strong of Strongware showing future game projects and development
   toolkits
   - Nick Marentes talking about his ideas for a future game that would
   become Gun Star
   - An interview with Tim Lindner showing us how the Speech Sound Pack was
   finally emulated and added to MAME
   - Jim Gerrie's MC-10 projects
   - A special surprise visit by Steve Bjork and Neil Brookings
   - Ed Snider's media players, a peek at DunJunz for the Dragon with
   author Ciaran Anscomb
   - The world debut of the fully completed Pac-Man Transcode by Glen
   Hewlett
   - A how-to on making the MESSUI very friendly for CoCo emulation
   - The world premier of Rick Adams' Bomb Threat game
   - An introduction to OS-9
   - CoCo hardware discussions from real hardware to emulated hardware
   - The world premier of the Forrest of Doom teaser trailer

So, are we going to run out of things to talk about? I sure hope not!  So
what's next?

Well, the show has an official website and URL now which is
http://cocotalk.live
All previous episodes can be replayed from that link
We have official merchandise with a CoCoTALK cool cartoon dude created by
Joel M. Adams
I'm looking to take previous episodes and convert them to audio format and
create a PodCast in the near future.

And most importantly, we want more involvement and engagement from the
community.
We're looking for new show ideas and suggestions, we're looking for people
who'd like to join the discussion to either talk about a particular project
they may be doing, or just talk about the CoCo in general  The feedback and
suggestions we get from the community are what makes this show possible.

I'm in the mental planning phases of a "best of" episode which will require
the assistance of those who've heard and watched the show, need a list of
shows/segments/topics that were of particular interest to anyone, you name
it.

If it's about the CoCo and you want to either hear about it or watch it,
we'd love to hear what that is, and even better, have you join us in the
discussion.

The CoCo Crew Podcast was for me the single most influential force in
existence to make we aware of the CoCo community, peak my interest, and get
me involved, and they got me going to CoCoFEST! twice, and Tandy Assembly
this year.  It's listening to their show, and not wanting to wait another
month to hear another that was one of the driving forces behind CoCoTALK,
and I think our two shows help compliment each other as the formats are
very different, but there is literally something for everyone out here in
the community, and we want to talk about it with you all each and every
week.

I invite you all to check out the latest website http://cocotalk.live and
let me know what you think!


Steve Strowbridge, aka
The Original Gamer Stevie Strow
Website/Merchandise/CoCo links page:
http://ogsteviestrow.com
Email:  ogsteviestrow at gmail.com
Get your "Game Play Goodnes" fix of CoCo and retro videos at:
http://youtube.com/ogsteviestrow