How To Rise Above The Noise - James Hicks

Chris Stone [00:00:01]:
Let's let's bring him on. Would you please welcome to deal casters.lythechief technologist of Hicks New Media. I call him the good doctor James Hicks. Welcome to the show, my friend.

James Hicks [00:00:15]:
Come on now. Oh my goodness. Mama I hope Mama's watching this. Your son's been made it. My man, I'm over here hanging with the deal casters. What what were we at? We Amazon on. We're we're we're we're YouTuber on the Facebook.

Chris Stone [00:00:28]:
I think we're

Jim Fuhs [00:00:29]:
are we on Twitter, Chris?

James Hicks [00:00:30]:
I think.

Jim Fuhs [00:00:30]:
Who knows? We make the

Chris Stone [00:00:31]:
A couple in Twitter. Yeah. Who

Jim Fuhs [00:00:32]:
knows? Yeah. Twitch. Yeah. Are we on Twitch?

James Hicks [00:00:35]:
My goodness.

Jim Fuhs [00:00:35]:
Are we switching?

James Hicks [00:00:36]:
Ladies and weird global.

Chris Stone [00:00:38]:
That's right. You know, James, I just you know, I gotta I gotta tell you, man.

James Hicks [00:00:43]:
It's Come on.

Chris Stone [00:00:44]:
I can't believe we've waited this long to have you on the show, to be honest. It's like one of those things where Jim was on your show, and then I was on your show, and we're we're just kinda chopping it up on your show. And you just kinda said, man, when what's like what's man gotta do to

Chris Stone [00:00:59]:
get an invite on your show? And I was like,

Chris Stone [00:01:02]:
oh my god. How would we not add you on our show? But it was an honor to even hear that, my friend.

James Hicks [00:01:07]:
I'm just wondering, you know, who's who's whose whose yard I gotta cut? You know, whose pool I gotta clean.

Jim Fuhs [00:01:13]:
Well, just remember who sent you the invite.

Chris Stone [00:01:16]:
The people are here to hear about James Hicks. And I tell you what, the day I tuned in to I don't know what show it was, but you were it was a round table. And there was people there was Janae Rob Balasabbas, you know, all the legends, right, in terms of live selling. And there's this guy with this focused hat in the middle of it. Said James in the corner. And I was really taken aback about how good of a host the skills that you had as a host in the middle of all of these content creators that you know how it is sometimes. Some people they they like to talk a lot but you were hurting the cats and you were taking this conversation and really catapulting it. And as of someone who myself studies the art and wants to continue to get better and to continue to do this for a long period of time and not just hang out and talk, but really to deliver value to the audience. I really appreciated that. And I and I I saw that and I was like, okay. What is it about this guy? And I started down that rabbit hole of Hicks's new media, and I realized, man, you're hosting a ton of shows. You're bringing a lot of people on the show. But, like, what what is this guy about? Like, what's his story? Like, where did you come from? and and how did you get to that point and develop those skills to where you're at? I'd love to hear that because just for my own selfish reasons, And hopefully, the audience as well gives them an idea of where you came from to where you're at now.

James Hicks [00:02:56]:
Man, listen, night 1st and foremost, I appreciate you I appreciate both of you for the invite to be here hanging out with you and your community breaking bread and fellowship in with you guys. I have been You what you just said means you get it, right, in terms of what my goal is, what my again, my focus is my focus is stay is to stay focused on you and to have the individuals or the organizations to people that come on to any of my streams, any of my sessions, really have the camera really turned on them. Right? I'm just here to facilitate. I'm here to be the wizard vase behind the scenes, pulling the ropes, and things of that nature. But Everyone has a story to tell. Regardless of if it's a professional conversation, regardless of if it's a personal conversation of motivation or how to anything of that nature, we can always find some commonality in that. And as long as we are truthful with each other, as long as we allow ourselves to debate, as long as we allow ourselves to have those heartfelt conversations. We can find common ground, and we can be respectful. So regardless, again, what the subject matter is, it it could be a political conversation. It could be a business conversation. It could be whatever the case may be. And the show that you're particularly talking about was my session, the digital collective.

Chris Stone [00:04:14]:
--

James Hicks [00:04:14]:
where I bring in, and we talk about technology. We talk about products, hardware services, things of that nature. Right? We've got folks coming in on that show that we're I'll say some competitors, you know, new screen yard users, there were re stream users, there were e cam users, and just using all the different things. But we found commonality. And, again, we found respect in terms of what are you doing to do what it is that you do, and maybe I can take a nugget of that information back to my workflow and learn from it. That's that's the beauty. That's rising above the noise. Right? Because yeah, we we can be out here on all these social networks, and there's a ton of noise. But if you rise above that, and you said the word bring value to the community, you're gonna be You're gonna have the longevity. You're gonna have that adviser status. You're gonna have that subject matter expert status as well, and you're gonna be more of an advocate as opposed to an influencer that I'm really key on that as well. So, again, that's that's the goal. Right? And if you see that, then that means I'm doing something right, and I'm a keep on I'm a keep on trying to do it, brother.

Jim Fuhs [00:05:20]:
You know? And that's a really great point you bring up. And Chris and I actually just had this conversation. Maybe you were bugging our rooms, but that's okay.

James Hicks [00:05:27]:
I I I do that.

Jim Fuhs [00:05:28]:
That we that we do need to sometimes have these conversations where it doesn't always have to be like, oh, yeah. I completely agree with you a

Chris Stone [00:05:35]:
100%.

Jim Fuhs [00:05:36]:
You know, there there needs to be what I call and what you're calling it, like, that healthy, respectful debate. It's something that we seem to have lost in this country of late, you know, not wanting to get get too political. But, you know, because it's funny. Right? Even when you see the the folks that pick different streaming platforms, like, oh, my platform's best. I don't know mine's the best. It's like, They all have their pros and cons. Right?

James Hicks [00:06:01]:
And and

Jim Fuhs [00:06:01]:
it was funny. I was telling Chris the other day in this toastmasters Facebook group. this person was asking like, well, what are the, you know, the programs that you use to on Zoom? And I said, ECAM. Right? And then he's like, well, I use OBS. Why do you use ECAM? And and I think Chris got a chuckle out of him. My response to him was customer service.

James Hicks [00:06:24]:
Yeah. This is a. That's too much.

Chris Stone [00:06:26]:
--

Jim Fuhs [00:06:26]:
all this free stuff and try to figure it out yourself, but when there's no one to turn to, You know, I I don't have time for that. And and knowing that you used to work for this company that we're all very familiar with and Probably, I I know I'm a fanboy of Apple. You know, they're all about that. And and, you know, You know, you you know, I know Doc talks about how he was he was the genius there in Hawaii, but you were, like, the genius up in up

James Hicks [00:06:54]:
north. Yeah. Up here in North of California. Did I ever tell you about my infamous one on one with Mister Jobs himself? Did I ever tell you that story?

Jim Fuhs [00:07:01]:
You you told me, but why don't you tell our

James Hicks [00:07:03]:
Oh my goodness. Alright. Sit down for story time, everyone. So -- Here we go. You got some soft music to play. So I I used the He probably does. I used to run the implementation department for the PowerSchool division, which was student information services when when Apple was heavy into education, PowerSchool think, digital progress reports, digital reporting, digital state reporting and things of that nature. Back in our day, right, we'd get the paper, progress reports, and report cards, and we can fake the grade. We can change

Jim Fuhs [00:07:36]:
a

James Hicks [00:07:37]:
a d to a b. But when it's all digitally, you can't do that. That's what PowerSchool did. I took my team from Northern California down to Infinite Loop down to headquarters, gave them the tour, gave them everything, right, free lunch in the cafeteria, shopping at the apples at the on a site Apple store and all that. As we were walking out of the building, Steve was walking in. I didn't see him. I I'm six foot. Steve was a little bit less than 6 feet. And the Urban legend is or urban story is that if you were ever in an elevator with Steve Jobs and he asked you what you did for the company, there's always a chance that he may say. But time you get down to the bottom floor that you no longer work for the company. So keep that in perspective. Again, as I'm walking out the building, he's walking in. I don't see him Hi, Dan. They knocked the guy down. He literally falls down. He buckles, and he he, you know, almost hits the ground. But I reached over, grabbed him, helped pick him up. I'm sweating, but we look at each other. I give them my my my customary finger point and, like, dude. You alright? We have a little quick exchange. Hello. Thank you. Appreciate you. Sorry about that. And I didn't get fired, but that is my impromptu unofficial one on one with Steve Jobs that I'm gonna hold for forever and that that and and direction is is something that I again, I'm I'm glad it didn't turn out bad for me. I'm glad it worked out for the best, Yeah. He he is definitely one of those insane geniuses in the world that he's like the the Richard Branson's, the Jeff Bezos, the you know, those those theon must. Those kinds of folks we need those kinds of folks and just for me to be able to work for that company for over a decade for me to be able to have when engagement interaction with him really make me a part of the the Colton Mac for forever.

Jim Fuhs [00:09:27]:
Oh, yeah.

Chris Stone [00:09:28]:
think it's just amazing you didn't get fired after that.

James Hicks [00:09:31]:
Me too. Let let me taste them. I I waited to see by the time I got home from that drive to see if if my email's still working.

Jim Fuhs [00:09:39]:
How how long were you how long were you nervous, James? Was it I mean, was it like I'm

James Hicks [00:09:42]:
still nervous, Missus.

Jim Fuhs [00:09:43]:
You're still nervous.

Chris Stone [00:09:46]:
And made me nervous to hear it.

James Hicks [00:09:48]:
You know, it's it's still nervous. I I that that was just not a good thing. Right? But went to his house, drove by it. Hold on. Listen. Let me not just let me sit every president here. It's not like I've been invited inside his house, but it drove by his house, unfortunately, after he passed away just to kinda show some homage. But yeah. So being in Silicon Valley, being so close to Silicon Valley had that capability I gave HP 20 years of my life as well, so I've been to the garage. I've I've been to, you know, a lot of these locations that our landmarks for what it is that we do today from either enterprise technology or even consumer technology. So being at Twitter, being at HP, being at Google being at Apple being at those locations and on campus, it really makes you appreciate what we use on a daily basis. Right? We're we're utilizing these services, products, hardware, software, whatever the case may be. But to be in the build and be in the room and talking to some of the folks that are actually making those products, It's it's it's pretty cool. Make it makes you really pause and respect and appreciate the the talent of the engineers behind the scenes. So see, I I talk a lot.

Chris Stone [00:10:56]:
No. This is why you were gonna shits while you're here.

James Hicks [00:10:59]:
Oh my god.

Chris Stone [00:11:00]:
I think I think, you know, it's a again, I'm gonna get selfish. And so you know. Live streamline. I also know the audience. Right? It's like, okay. If you're walking to Google and you're sitting down and you're and you're you're dealing with people because, you know, like a lot of people don't know some of the other things that you're doing currently. Right?

James Hicks [00:11:20]:
Yeah.

Chris Stone [00:11:21]:
but, you know, going into the offices of Twitter, going into these these particular offices. And you you you intimated like, hey. seeing how these people are doing. What are some of the things that you've learned by being in some of these offices, whether it's, you know, dealing with Apple or Microsoft or any of these other things. What are some of the things that they've done that you've implemented in x new media and what you're doing today?

James Hicks [00:11:45]:
That technology should be respected and not ignored, and the advancements of technology are coming far faster than a consumer ever could have expected. So think AI. We've seen this before. We've we've known this already. those that are in the enterprise technology space, this is nothing new to us. It now just has a pretty name chattyBT. It now has a pretty name perspective that a AI and, right, generative AI and things of that nature. But we've seen this evolution happening a few years ahead of time. Now it's on TV. Now it's on the CNBCs of the world. Now it's on the CNNs of the world. So the consumer is seeing the power of this technology and how it can hurt harm, infiltrate what we do on a day to day basis. So it has to be respected. Mhmm. Right? You you have to understand how to I'm I'm not gonna get on here and say, right, their their to be any types of regulations or need to be any types of whatever. But, again, be careful what you wish for sometimes because it's it it's here. It's not coming. It's it's here. And we we do have to be respectful of the technology and use it for its most effective good. Right? So there I think really see that things like this generative AI, artificial intelligence, to check GPTs and things of that nature. There is more benefit there's more pros and cons of this as long as we have, again, that that conscious effort in terms of how it's deployed and how it's implemented. So I I that's what I see from the folks that are behind the scenes. They know what they're doing in terms of creating workflows and processes and systems and platforms, things of that that make our lives easier. It's just they're cognizant that there could be that negative in that dark that down to it as well. And that and that's a real tough place to be. Right? When when you're a coder, when you're a developer, you know the power of what it is that you develop. And that could be a scary thing as long as it's done and implemented and used the right way. Then, you know, then then there's the the desire and and to keep going as opposed to stopping and saying, I'm only gonna make it up to this point. Right? Because may be used for something negative, but, you know, just be respectful of the technology that we have and use it for more more more good than bad.

Chris Stone [00:14:06]:
From the developer standpoint, there's that. But as a content creator, which you also are

Jim Fuhs [00:14:12]:
and -- Yeah.

Chris Stone [00:14:13]:
--

Chris Stone [00:14:13]:
a a very good one I might add. Make sure you're going to Hicks, new media. dotcom and following at James Hicks because he is a tremendous follow on all the platforms. But as a content creator yourself, how do you sort of mitigate that world of AI and human and Being able to, like you said, you know, don't be afraid of it. Lean into it. Start utilizing it. And start and and also at the same time, keeping yourself let that balance to make sure that you're not putting out something that doesn't feel like it is yourself. Like, what is your What's your mindset in in not just yourself, but the other content creators that you're working with?

James Hicks [00:14:59]:
A lot of these tools today, again and so now the next evolution is this generative AI type of field and type of utilization. from a content creator perspective, we'll do something like this long term long form content,

Chris Stone [00:15:12]:
30

James Hicks [00:15:13]:
minutes long, 60 minutes long, and One of the harder parts for me is chopping it up. Right? Doing the editing, making the making the micro content and pushing it out to the individual platforms and things of that nature. So if there is something out there, a tool, a process, a workflow that I can add into my day to day activities that streamlines that, I'm a take a look at it. Now I'm not just gonna go into it blindly I'm going to give it the parameters. I mean, give it the data, give it the information, and then still go back with my human eye just to make sure that it has my personality in the context that is put out. It has my brand. It it it has my look and feel in terms of you can tell that it was being generated by by an algorithm. But if there is something that can knock off from 5 hours down to an hour a half in terms of, again, the workflow of pushing out content and information to the community, I'm definitely gonna be very interested in that and and find a way to take advantage take advantage of that. be honest with you. But, again, don't just blame blindly utilize these these tools and give them access to your Google account or your iCloud account and then have them automatically go out there as fast.

Chris Stone [00:16:29]:
--

James Hicks [00:16:29]:
cloud. Private. Like, there's a lot a lot of times we'll we'll download an app or will you start using a platform and opt in to whatever and not actually read

Jim Fuhs [00:16:40]:
Yeah.

James Hicks [00:16:40]:
Right. The context of what that opt in is. And if you don't do that, you almost blindly give access to your information, your data to those particular software pieces or those platforms, and you gotta really be careful in terms of, again, how you utilize this. So be respectful, be careful. I use it kind of as a framework and as a foundation, and then I'll go in again. I'll I'll add a little James takes flare to do anything that goes out before I actually push it out to the public.

Jim Fuhs [00:17:09]:
Yeah. Speaking of that too, I think I just read the other day in a in a group somewhere that You know, as much as everyone talks about the issues with TikTok and but cap cut, owned by the same company

Chris Stone [00:17:21]:
--

James Hicks [00:17:21]:
Yes, sir.

Chris Stone [00:17:21]:
--

Jim Fuhs [00:17:21]:
in the fine print, I believe you're giving them the ability to have your content. And so now this is like, oh, do I wanna use this tool if it if they can take my videos and do what they want with it because I put it into their program. It's like, maybe I'll take a step back and find something else that, you know, might take me a little longer, but to your point. I mean, I just went through a document that I gotta send to Chris is a 100 different AI tools. Mhmm. And it's just Well, you know, I'm looking at some of this as, like, it's mind blowing. You can do stuff like, we could take a picture of you and you could turn it into all these different profile photos. Right? That make you look, you know, better than you are, which is hard to believe the day I can do that.

James Hicks [00:18:06]:
I'm gonna need that I'm gonna need that for sure. So send that one.

Chris Stone [00:18:08]:
--

James Hicks [00:18:08]:
send me

Chris Stone [00:18:09]:
the URL. Yeah.

Jim Fuhs [00:18:09]:
I I'll be sending you a URL. And I don't even have an affiliate link for that, unfortunately. But but, yeah, it's a crazy stuff like that that's going out there. And I think, right, you you kinda hear that whole thing of, like, oh, this is, you know, this is the worst thing ever. But I I like what you said. Right? Hey. If I can do something in, you know, 20% of the time that allows me to do other things that are more important. And I think the other thing that people miss on, and I think You know, Chris and I, I think, Marshall, because you've kinda been around this tech space for a long, long time. Right? We've gotten into this later in life. We've been learning these new skills. And I think that I I feel like sometimes there's this this mindset, like, well, you know, I became a copywriter. That's what I'm gonna do for the rest of my life. And heaven forbid, somebody tried to take my job away from me. Right? It's like, you've gotta be constantly learning, evolving, you know, and we all need to do that. If if we're gonna continue to, you know, fulfill just the things that we can do to make it a better world. And so I think, you know, there's still a lot of things that we haven't even figured out are gonna need to be done. as people get older and things of that nature, you know, as opposed to, oh my gosh. You know? This stuff's gonna write everything for me. But if it doesn't have your voice, it's gonna be like, well, I know that's not really Chris Stone. That's just some robots

Chris Stone [00:19:32]:
--

James Hicks [00:19:33]:
That's just an algorithm out there. Right? And and Piggybacking what you just said, that time frame of staying aware of what's what's now and what's next. Right? We're not saying you gotta have a crystal ball, but that that -- Mhmm.

Chris Stone [00:19:47]:
--

James Hicks [00:19:47]:
ability to know what's now and what's coming and just have some thoughts about it. Actually, think about it as opposed to just being content and and lackadaisio in terms of how you are a member of society. That's shrinking. Right? As in technology, long term is really

Chris Stone [00:20:05]:
12, 16, 18

James Hicks [00:20:06]:
months. That that's the long term when it comes to technology, and we're starting to see that shrink now as we start talking about, again, these tools, these platforms, these automated processes that are out there to all within good faith to streamline our our workflows and and to make some somewhat of a of a more simpler life or more more effective u usage of time. Let me let me put it that way. More of effective usage about time. But what's next? Right? Yesterday, we were talking about AI. Today, we're talking about generative AI, which is it was which is a different twist on that. already. What so what's next? What what are we gonna be talking about next? Right? Are we talking about taking capabilities from from data centers up into the cloud and from the cloud down into the data center. So, again, I'm putting my my enterprise data enterprise technology hat on, but that's where it's at. That's where the Google's The apples, the Metas are talking about right now now. Right? How do we make those applications on our phone more intuitive in terms of our needs, not necessarily targeted advertising, but

Chris Stone [00:21:12]:
--

James Hicks [00:21:12]:
Mhmm. Right. -- when you wanna buy something, maybe Amazon, knows that you ran out of toilet paper. I don't know. I'm just I don't know why I thought of toilet paper. But but I just thought of right. But, again, Amazon does it. You got your phone with you or whatever. Right? So it sends you a notification. These are just off the top of the dome right now. But, again, making them more personable, making them more relatable, making it faster, making it more customized as well. So I really think those are the kinds of things that folks need to start being aware of.

Chris Stone [00:21:42]:
You slipped by something and

James Hicks [00:21:44]:
I slipped by the toilet paper. I don't know.

Jim Fuhs [00:21:46]:
Yeah. I don't

James Hicks [00:21:46]:
want that at all. It's it's the token

Chris Stone [00:21:48]:
that you've taken the stream into the toilet, James. Congratulations. But you use you talked about AI and generative AI and talking about the differences and that's coming. Can you break that down for a folk and kinda, you know, and let's let's, you know, talk to Chris Stone like a nine year old. Like, I'm a nine year old and tell me the difference between AI and generative AI.

James Hicks [00:22:10]:
My definition is this. So here here's a thirty five thousand foot level. So artificial intelligence is really more from my definition more from a manufacturing and more from an industrial perspective. Right? It's more how I could utilize computers, algorithms, infrastructure to do x, y, and z faster and cheaper. So -- Okay. Thank you Elon Musk got here building robots to now go out there and build the cars. Back that's the artificial intelligence, and then the computer's learning how to streamline that process, how to make that 10 seconds faster, a little bit cheaper if I did this before I did that. Right? And and then having that understanding and having that math equation running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. That's the artificial intelligence piece. Right? You you feed it with some information, and it continues to build on itself. And it says I can do this process, this much better if I did that. generative AI is the is the thought of introducing information and extrapolating something from that information. So, again, back to the content creator perspective, 30 minute, 60 minute live stream, I put that into a tool like Opus Pro or cross clip or descript things of that nature and say, chop that up. Right? And it will automatically auto reframe it it'll automatically put captions on it. It'll automatically add music to -- Take your voice. Well, you can do that. Well, Descript. That's that. Right? You know, train Descript. Crazy. That's the scariest listen. It's too good. Yeah. You you you read one paragraph into Descript. and it just can come up with every single word and y'all check out this script. It's it's it's the truth.

Chris Stone [00:24:07]:
Jeff C called me one time. Yeah. But you guys know Jeff C, obviously. Yeah. Another fantastic, full bearded content creator.

Jim Fuhs [00:24:16]:
We still get Call

Chris Stone [00:24:17]:
me one time. and his voice was something he had generated in Descript. And it was his talking to me. The and, like, when that that whole overdub prospect process for Descript came out. He started you know, he decided to because I was like, what are you talking about? And he all of a sudden, I got this voice mail from Jeff and it was it really wasn't him. He got to the end and he goes, hey,

Jim Fuhs [00:24:38]:
it's me. You know, I was like,

Chris Stone [00:24:39]:
oh my god. That is too weird and too good. But, I mean, that's a Yeah. He so so let me let me rewind this back a little bit because, you know, our our audience, there's a lot of entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, people that, you know, may may treat this more as

Chris Stone [00:24:57]:
a side hustle or side job.

Chris Stone [00:24:59]:
You know? And so they're like, okay. We know eyes coming or it's here. Right? Or has always been here, and now it's just, you know, shiny object. Right? And they want to do this stuff. but, like, to Jim's point, here's a list of a 100,000 new AI things or people just slapping the word AI or something. Right?

James Hicks [00:25:18]:
Yep.

Chris Stone [00:25:19]:
Like, where like and and this is really what I get a lot of. And honestly, James, I don't have an answer yet because it's like drinking water out of a fire hose right the way this stuff is coming out, and everybody's like, look at this. Look at this. Look at this. And you're like, I can't check out a 120 pieces of software in 10 minutes. I only have like 1 hour a day that I can devote to this. And, you know, we talk you talk you've got really great points about saying, hey, I can use this stuff to cut my day to you know, from content creation, from 2 hours down to 25 minutes or something like that. What are some of the things that people should think about maybe first in your experience? Is it Descript? Is it hey, take this mindset. If you're a podcaster or if you're a live streamer, take this mindset. Here's a couple of tools that that you you might wanna utilize.

James Hicks [00:26:15]:
So I'm a flip it, right, because that's an excellent question. And for us to be the 3 of us to be subject matter experts to be trusted advisors when talking to individuals and coaching and things of that nature. We really have to change the conversation from products. Like, let's not talk, Tony. Let's not talk to Chris. Let's not talk road, and and and shoot. Right. Let let's not talk about that. Let's talk about What is it you're trying to do? And why is it that you're trying to do it? And who are you trying to reach? That starts right there, those three questions start whittling down that list of 10,000 websites down to a 100. Right. What are what are you trying to do? What what's the message? What's the community that and and the the audience that you're trying to reach with a specific conversation? identify that, and you identify your short, mid, long term goals. Understand where where you wanna where you are today and where you're trying to go. Right? And then we can start talking about let's look into this category of tools products, services, hardware, software, whatever the case may be. But I I would not even initially have the conversation about even a an e cam or rescream or streamyard or the script or whatever the case would be. But let me under you wanna do start doing podcasts. Okay. What what's the what's the niche that you have? What do how long do you want a podcast for? what's the audience that you're trying to reach. Right? Where the podcasts are gonna be filmed and and held? Are you gonna be doing them in a home studio, or are you gonna be doing them on on on-site at a at a gymnasium. Right? Whatever the case may be, right, that starts really narrowing down, and we can start putting those those points together and saying, okay. You're gonna do a sports podcast. You're gonna be at the YMCA. You need noise canceling. You you need this. You need that. So that's when you start really building that framework as opposed to me just initially going out and say, here's a here's a a sheet of products that you should go to BNHO. I'm sorry. Amazon. There you go. Caught myself. You did. You did. Good.

Chris Stone [00:28:25]:
It's too bad. We can't live deep fake, you man.

James Hicks [00:28:27]:
You're gonna you're gonna bed up. Here's a list of gear that you can go buy off of Amazon, off of my Amazon store. No. Yeah. What what do you wanna do when you Turn the lights on, press record, fire up the mark. What what are you really trying to say and what are you trying to do? That's really where where we would start as opposed to, again, talking about individual products. So And that eliminates a lot of confusion that actually

Jim Fuhs [00:28:51]:
eliminates a lot

James Hicks [00:28:51]:
of the folks who may not be ready to even start talking about this. Right? Because you put that onus back on them to say, tell tell me if you're hiring me and you're asking me these questions, You have to clearly articulate what it is that you're trying to do when you enter this particular industry. Now just because you see the deal casters or you see the Mister Beast. So you you see these people out here doing all this big stuff, and you think you can get into that, and you can get the plaque on your wall as well. That's not what it's all about. Yeah. Right? It's all about reaching communities. It's all about telling stories. It's all it's all about owning that digital online presence. It's all about those kinds of things as opposed to the adsense checks coming in on the 24 21st the month. That's when they come in. 21st. Or or the, you know, the idea of I'm crazy. Right? You you you can't never let me back on the show. But, you know, the affiliate related ships or the, you know, the merch sales or anything of that. It's it's not about all that. That's that's the ancillary stuff. Right? That's the extra gravy on on top of the mashed potatoes. But building relationships, building the network, changing someone's life possibly, right, again, by raising above the noise and having those types of awkward, but necessary conversations at time. That that's really where it's at, brother. See, I do, Jim. -- and answer.

Chris Stone [00:30:16]:
Jeez. Jim, I do. If we get him out of the host meeting into the guest seat, we're gonna get Boy. It's gonna it's like -- Get

James Hicks [00:30:22]:
the truck

Chris Stone [00:30:23]:
right now for a contact Look.

Jim Fuhs [00:30:24]:
It reminds me too though, Chris, and this is something that, you know, Chris has talked about. We've talked about it and you you hit on it without saying it, but it's all about problem solving. Right? What is the problem? that you're gonna solve once we know what that is and can kinda refine it, then we find the tools

Chris Stone [00:30:41]:
--

James Hicks [00:30:42]:
Mhmm.

Chris Stone [00:30:42]:
--

Jim Fuhs [00:30:42]:
to solve the problem as opposed to 100%. My my tool's gonna solve your problem. How do I know? I don't know what your problem is.

James Hicks [00:30:49]:
Might not. Yeah. Right. Yeah. And then again, as as our role is, again, our I'm talking about the 3 of and and probably also number folks in your community. Our roles as those subject matter experts, those trusted advisers, we should be out there looking and evaluating, maybe testing all of those new platforms forms and products that are coming out. Right? We we have we should have some type of a generalization and kind of a high level knowledge of what each of those products software pieces and things that do so we can have a constructive conversation with with clients and with folks that are reaching out to us. We You gotta continue it's, again, that continuing to evolve, that continuing to have knowledge, and continuing to be aware of what's out there because if you don't, I'm not gonna call you next time. I'm a call somebody else who is on top of their stuff.

Jim Fuhs [00:31:42]:
Well, I'm James. I you used this you know, this is a good example too. A product that recently unfortunately had an untimely demise Volley. Right? I thought Volley was great.

James Hicks [00:31:51]:
It was so good.

Jim Fuhs [00:31:52]:
It was, you know, asynchronous video and everything else, but it was almost like they were ahead of their time.

James Hicks [00:31:59]:
Volley was so good. Yeah.

Jim Fuhs [00:32:00]:
And, you know, because it maybe if it had started at the beginning of, you know, what happened a few years back because I only like to talk about it, it might have jumped on. But now people are like, oh, wanna be in person. Right? Everybody wants to go back to the way things used to be. Well, that's not gonna happen till

James Hicks [00:32:15]:
we get over there. Right.

Jim Fuhs [00:32:16]:
But it was just you know, it's it's one of those things. Right? We had to be aware of that. So then you're like, you know what? I like what this product would do now that it's gone. what can I find that can give me similar results and capabilities because I still see where it can be helpful for people?

James Hicks [00:32:34]:
I got 3. You want me to give you? I can I can take it. Yeah. Yeah. I can tell you three products that are that are pretty decent out there.

Chris Stone [00:32:40]:
1

James Hicks [00:32:40]:
is Noodle, n o o d l e. Oh. 1 is called Pensight, pen s i g h t, and the one that I'm using is called beacons.ai. Beakinsnet AI is they're actually based here in in Silicon Valley based in San Francisco. And it's that Linktree on steroids. Right? Meaning so it's not just links. It's actually you can actually embed video. You can embed merch stores. You can embed in bed calendaring. You can charge for services. You can charge for subscriptions. So myjameshicks.link goes to my beacons.ai site that is a catchall for every single thing. So I've got my latest I think 9 live streams off of YouTube there. I got I got links to my Amazon store, links to my merch store, all of that. So those three tools could kind of stepped in for Volley, which was providing again a a mobile app for consumers to reach out to consultant and advanced and technology enthusiasts to ask for help, ask for assistance, and and and you could charge for it. Right? You can for subscriptions where you could pay on on a one on one basis. So noodle, pin site, and beacons that a there's others, but those are the 3 that I know -- Well, if if

Jim Fuhs [00:34:00]:
you're coming out of the the the mouth of James Hicks out, that's what I'm listening to. I don't need to do

Chris Stone [00:34:04]:
a lot. We're we're similar

James Hicks [00:34:06]:
stuff, but it brings some sound effects. I know. But you

Chris Stone [00:34:09]:
want you want a DJ whore?

James Hicks [00:34:10]:
I want something. I I don't know. Alright. No. Beakins

Chris Stone [00:34:20]:
is beakins is something a lot of other Amazon influencers have talked about using.

James Hicks [00:34:25]:
Yeah.

Chris Stone [00:34:25]:
That they're So you're saying that there is, like, there's a calendar scheduler within beacons, or you just kinda link your own calendar within it.

James Hicks [00:34:34]:
So check this. So so there's an app store within Beacons, and you can use different other platform that you already have. So if you have Calendly, you can -- Yes. directly integrate. So there's an API between Calendly and Beacons that it'll actually show your calendar. And even if their free sessions or if they're paid for sessions, and it will link them together. You can link other platforms in there as well it it's it's really cool, man. Check check them out and check the fact and for the fact for entrepreneurs, folks that are turning that making that turn from just side hustle to actual business, Beacons provides all of that business aspect as well, so tax forms, payroll, all of that integration as well for content creators that are kinda stepping into the world of actually the LLC world.

Chris Stone [00:35:27]:
See, I knew you get some to some value at some point, Jane.

James Hicks [00:35:30]:
There is some We'll get to what was it? Let me see. How long did it Hey, god.

Chris Stone [00:35:36]:
45

James Hicks [00:35:36]:
minutes, and and we finally oh, jeez. I'm exhausted.

Chris Stone [00:35:40]:
No. No. Seriously, man. This is this is this

Chris Stone [00:35:43]:
has been tremendous already, but I I you know, can we get back to my questions? Because I Can't

James Hicks [00:35:47]:
sound familiar to you.

Chris Stone [00:35:48]:
I mean, this is I'm selfishly bringing a you know, free are you trying to pull

James Hicks [00:35:51]:
up just

Jim Fuhs [00:35:53]:
free consultation from you, yes.

Chris Stone [00:35:55]:
Okay. So I touched a little bit, James, about you being a studied podcast host.

James Hicks [00:36:03]:
Yes.

Chris Stone [00:36:03]:
You know, someone someone that I respect, and I studied the art, and I know you studied the art. I can tell. Like, you don't just wake up James Hicks. Right? You you and I both know that. Right?

James Hicks [00:36:13]:
Takes a lot of work.

Chris Stone [00:36:14]:
It does. It takes a lot of work, and it's not easy. And I think people need to hear that. that this stuff, all the AI and all the tools and all this stuff. Like, at the end of the day, you still have to put it in. You still got to figure it out. You still gotta, you know, maybe pay and invest in someone else to do things for you. All of the all of those things. One of the things that I think we all have to do is to continue to be lifelong learners and to learn and to have influence And, you know, like yourself as a podcast host, I use as an influence. I see how you sort of orchestrate The show, I mean, I was a guest on your show and I'm going, oh, I need to use that as a host on my show. I need to kinda figure out, like, I like the way he did that. I like the way he did that. And as a former musician or I guess I still am a musician, you know, people will say, oh, that sounds like Sting or that sounds like flee or that sounds like, you know, this or that or the other. Sure. I played all of those songs. Those are all influences of mine. As as a content creator, I know you have influences yourself. I'd love to hear like who you listen to. Who you who do you study? Like who are some of the some of your influences? Maybe not just podcast hosts, but just people in general or influencers in general.

James Hicks [00:37:33]:
Yeah. I so one piece of software that I use on a regular basis is Audible. Yeah. Audible is is my go to. And the only thing that I download in my library are motivational conversations, either business, motivation, personal development, mental health, mental awareness, just just kinda getting out of your own way, kinda kinda things. Folks that talk about that. I I really like folks who have gone through struggle, come gone through gone through struggle, experienced it, had a difficult time with it, and come out of it and are willing to share their story. Folks like the David Goggins of the world. Yeah. Right. You you're not gonna play David Goggins at the dinner table when you got kids around

Chris Stone [00:38:23]:
--

James Hicks [00:38:23]:
Right. But yeah. When when you're when you're underneath the squad rack in the gym, that that's a good guide, you know, to listen to in terms of the struggle, in terms of being literally under bottom, not even at the bottom, but under the bottom. And then finding a way to use this term a lot, get out of your own way and and and and make something of yourself and of the situation. So the the goggins of the world, from a business and from a creative perspective, someone like a Pat Flynn, right, talking about super fans. Right? I mean, those kind of cats. Right? Folks that, again, have seen it, done it, and are willing to share and articulate it. the Chris Doves of the world -- Yes.

Chris Stone [00:39:04]:
--

James Hicks [00:39:04]:
in in terms of how to market yourself and how to charge for your worth. and have that conversation about maybe rejection from potential clients who to stick a shock and say, well, why why are you charging this month? And then you being able to really articulate the value. So that's something that really Crystal really talks about. So I love that. So the Goggins, the Fens, the Doves. And then, you know, some of the folks that may be even closer to us. Right? The I I like the longevity of someone like a Lori Petrucci. Right? Mhmm. because I've seen hers from I've known her since before. she came out with the before she called herself by her own name, right, when she was telling you when she was on on TV with Leo Laporte. Right? So just the longevity again of someone who has started been to the top, fallen down a couple of times, but it again has has risen to the top and is what focused on making sure that the community grows. Making sure that community is not intimidated by all of this stuff. Right? All all these keyboards and mice and lights and all this. Don't worry about that. she's really locked in on that. That that's really why I kinda resonate with her. So Loria is is fantastic about that. So I mean, those those are the kinds of things that that I listen to of. If I had phone around me. I would I would tell you what else is in my my audible playlist, but those kind those kind of things are are really what I resonate and listen to.

Jim Fuhs [00:40:35]:
Yeah. I think a lot a lot of

Chris Stone [00:40:36]:
--

James Hicks [00:40:36]:
So so think about that. So so not a lot not a lot of coding books. I started in MDS and Cobalt. Right? I I was writing the cobalt scripts to to help -- Mobile. -- when when we thought the world was gonna blow up. Right? Going going from the 22 digit year codes to the 4th -- That's true.

Jim Fuhs [00:40:51]:
I was always doing that,

James Hicks [00:40:52]:
like right? But so I I I don't I don't get down with a lot of that as much anymore because that that's not as tangible. I I actually wanna hear not just common sense, but I wanna hear real world stories and real world experiences of folks. Like I say, who have gone through something and are finding a way to get get through it. The Gladwell Maximus is the best. Malcolm Malcolm with Gladwell? Dude, It's it's it sounds so simple when someone else is saying it. You know, the stuff that he says, it just just makes sense. Lights go on and everything. And you

Chris Stone [00:41:29]:
--

Jim Fuhs [00:41:29]:
Yep. Right. You know,

Chris Stone [00:41:31]:
it's like a lot of times I think, you know, what we're saying, it's not like it hasn't been said before. It's just being said by us in a different way, and it's not that we're trying to copy someone. Right? But it can impact someone. it Malcolm Gladwell might not impact someone. But if you're using some of the same things that he's using as an influence and it influences somebody else, and maybe after we're dead, then that's what that's that's what we're doing it. Right? I mean, you know what's funny is that I actually James was gonna talk about monetization. We never got there. And I don't wanna go there, actually. Because I I I consider you someone that's that is successful, you know, at at what you're doing. You know? Maybe we don't have, you know, bentley's in the in the garage or anything like that or or we're not getting on private jets. Right? But we're we consider success, you know, you know, a balance of family, which I know that that you have and and your life being on the sidelines with Super Bowl champions and in all of these things, you know, you'd like how I slip that in there.

James Hicks [00:42:35]:
I love that. That's really good.

Chris Stone [00:42:37]:
And so but we we never talked about, hey, everyone. Here's how you can make money. Right? Now there's money to be made in these things. But that's not that's not what we talked about. We talked about how you can do this stuff to create something and live life on your terms based on implementing these these you know, whether it's AI or whether it's like the the mindset that you're talking about and all of these things. We never once James talked about, okay. Here is the special secret for you to make a $1000 a day, you know, doing this, that, and the other. And I actually was gonna I I had planned to talk to you about, you know, how okay. So what are some key monetary I would and I'm I'm like, why would I why would I ask you that question? at this point. It just doesn't seem like right to even bring it up in this conversation.

James Hicks [00:43:26]:
Well and so let I'll interject, and I'll be the doubting comments. I'll I'll be just

Jim Fuhs [00:43:32]:
The doubting Christopher. Yeah.

James Hicks [00:43:35]:
Just just wait till my sports analogies come out right now. I'm a bring some more in here. Right?

Chris Stone [00:43:39]:
It's a home run.

James Hicks [00:43:40]:
It's it's a justified question asked. Right? Because, again, you've got folks that are digital creators, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs, looking to do this. Right? Looking to spend up a presence online, own that digital property, sell goods and services, sell a hardware and software, have affiliate relationships, have partnerships, things like that. There's nothing wrong with that.

Chris Stone [00:44:04]:
That's right.

James Hicks [00:44:05]:
Right? There's nothing wrong with that. So don't don't be Don't don't think that that's what we're coming at. But if you're constantly always chasing the bag, If you're only chasing the bag, if you're only looking for that next affiliate payout, if you're only waiting for those adsense check to come in, then you're you're missing the real reason for doing what it is that we do. Right? What we do is really build community build relationships and have engaging conversations with interesting people. That right there is kind of at the premise and is kind of that cloud 9 right there. All the other stuff will come. Right? All all all the other financial if if that's what you're looking for will come, all the other success criteria and factors will come. And what success means is different for for somebody else. Success could be 100,000 subscribers on YouTube. It could be a plaque on your wall. It could be that bentley in in your it could be all of those other things. or it could just be I did a live stream today. Five people showed up. One person sent me a DM on Twitter and said, you really touched me with the conversation that you had, and I'm gonna go out and do something better for myself. All of those mean success.

Chris Stone [00:45:25]:
Yes.

Chris Stone [00:45:25]:
--

James Hicks [00:45:25]:
in some way or or shape or form. So understand what it is that you're trying to do in terms of and and understand what your individual metric for for successes and go after that. Don't go after what James is doing. Don't go after what Jim or Chris is doing. Go after what it is that you wanna do. And Dolan might tell you that you can't do it.

Chris Stone [00:45:44]:
Exactly. Man, and, you know -- You

Jim Fuhs [00:45:46]:
were you a preacher you hit

Chris Stone [00:45:47]:
on life?

James Hicks [00:45:48]:
No. There it is, blah, blah. Yeah. The doors of the church will be open and bring you ties. Soach James -- And the offerings -- Yeah.

Chris Stone [00:45:55]:
--

James Hicks [00:45:55]:
to the

Chris Stone [00:45:56]:
--

Jim Fuhs [00:45:56]:
He's gonna be working with coach Prime. But You know, the the thing too that you hit on and, right, like, even the reason behind this show for me and Chris

Chris Stone [00:46:05]:
--

Jim Fuhs [00:46:05]:
Yeah.

Chris Stone [00:46:05]:
--

Jim Fuhs [00:46:05]:
it's not about the monetization, it's about helping others. Yeah. Right? The it's always been about helping others. And so I love what you just said. Right? You you may not have a big audience But you reach that one person that makes a difference in their life. That's what matters. Right? That that's

James Hicks [00:46:21]:
what it's all about. You you reach one person. You have that conversation, and and you provide a a stellar service to them. You you give them a 110% of what they're they're only asking for 90. You actually end up giving 110%. they're gonna say, you know what? I had such a great working relationship with the deal casters, and they'll tell that to their friend. they'll tell that to another friend. They'll post that online and say, if you're looking for advice on infrastructure, whatever the case would be, check these guys out. There it is right there. Right? There there's that domino effect. There's that again, I know, like, word influence. I I yeah. For sure. I I really start itching when I say when people say I'm more of an advocate, there is that advocacy. There there is that where you're reaching into other people's lives and bringing value as opposed to just selling and telling and and doing those kinds of things, you're you're asking and you're helping instead. Yeah. Come on now.

Jim Fuhs [00:47:18]:
God. Okay, Amy.

Jim Fuhs [00:47:19]:
Alright. Alright. We got we got we got some friends in the chat.

James Hicks [00:47:23]:
They've been chatting with me. I'm a make sure I make that a little tiktok real sometimes.

Chris Stone [00:47:27]:
Oh, listen. We're gonna be clipping. You know who who this is. Maybe he was at all parts of the pic, dude. All parts of the pic Hiras Webb. Thank you for thank you for joining us. Another great great host who does some some fantastic interviews. Cyrus, we appreciate you joining today. Of course, we saw Richard. He's been he's been chiming in and sharing things. Our boy's strict is is here. Stryk, are you going to creator camp? DJ Stryk, are you going to creator camp? Let us know

James Hicks [00:47:56]:
if you're

Jim Fuhs [00:47:56]:
He he might camp counsel for

James Hicks [00:47:58]:
a lot

Chris Stone [00:47:58]:
of you. Okay. Yeah. I figured. He he probably running this thing by now.

James Hicks [00:48:03]:
But pretty much. No. Strictle makes sure that I don't that I don't cause any trouble out there, you know. TP and the

Chris Stone [00:48:08]:
--

Chris Stone [00:48:08]:
It's a big

James Hicks [00:48:08]:
job, man.

Chris Stone [00:48:09]:
--

James Hicks [00:48:09]:
the the place and everything. He'll be looking out for me, man. actually got a meeting with with Strick later on this afternoon, so I'm looking forward to that. I'm a a little little plug. I think I'm a be on the screen show there.

Chris Stone [00:48:19]:
Oh, really? Okay. Yeah. That's a Well, maybe

James Hicks [00:48:21]:
I shouldn't drop that. You know, I'm I'm out here breaking news. Y'all breaking breaking news.

Chris Stone [00:48:26]:
Oh. Hey. This is where we like. We like that at deal casters. Any other you wanna break. You know, feel free.

James Hicks [00:48:30]:
I don't know if he's on loud or not.

Chris Stone [00:48:32]:
Special time secret cloud secrets you got. You know?

James Hicks [00:48:36]:
What do I got? Man, I don't I don't know. I only got 4 of the Lotto numbers. I still need 2 more. So I I'm I'm not there just yet, brother.

Chris Stone [00:48:46]:
But one thing I do one thing I do and and, man, this has been a great show, and I I don't wanna keep you too long, James, because I I know you only have 17 other shows to go today. But Another thing we'd like to ask people is,

James Hicks [00:49:00]:
you know,

Jim Fuhs [00:49:00]:
and you're someone that has touched

Chris Stone [00:49:00]:
a lot of technology in terms of know, whether it's microphones or if it's interfaces, whether it's headphones, whether it's, you know, cameras, all of the things. Right? And just like AI and the software that somebody should use, a lot of content entrepreneurs that are looking to you know, start or kinda move up from just their laptops. What what

James Hicks [00:49:27]:
would you suggest?

Chris Stone [00:49:28]:
Maybe not like the you know, the the super expensive, you know, whatever's a 64100 that you might have in front of you or, you know, the you know, the s m 7bs of the world. Yeah. You know, we talked about how, hey, you first should be thinking about what your content is, who you're doing for the problems you're solving. And then, you know, like, Jim and I usually end up talking to somebody because they they wanna know if they're starting a podcast like what microphone they should get. Right? We don't ask we don't tell them right away. Hey. Get the Sure S m 7 b. We say, what kind of room are you in?

James Hicks [00:50:07]:
Right? Yeah.

Chris Stone [00:50:08]:
Mhmm. And and and do it like, how big is the room? Do you have carpeting in it? Right? Do you have, like, all of the things in terms of sound treatment and things like that. What are what's some advice and maybe some items that you would suggest for people to kinda look at what types of maybe microphones and and techniques that maybe people should be thinking about in terms of content creation.

James Hicks [00:50:33]:
Yeah. And what what you said said right there or just think about the additional questions that probably come out of that conversation or the additional answers that come out of that question. By by again, by not starting at the gold standard, by not starting at the Michael Jackson microphone. Right. That's what it is. Right? My my not starting with the one that he recorded thriller with and and and maybe understanding a little bit more about the environment. whole lot of other competitors out there, whole lot of other manufacturers that are fantastic out there. Look. We we like what we like, but, again, if, like, if you looked in my my equipment closet right there, there's some other manufacturers as well. And depending on having that engaging conversation, a lot of that other information will will come out. I'm a huge proponent, though, when it comes to the video piece. I'm a huge Sony guy. Listen, I I I lived in Japan for 4 years. I've been to some I'm I'm a Sony guy. I'm I'm just gonna say that. and that that's what I'm use. -- desire. Yeah. That's that's what I'm doing. So -- 14 70 for 2. Let's let's Is that right? Okay. I I I don't know. I just wanna make sure. I don't I don't -- Well, you know,

Jim Fuhs [00:51:46]:
Chris Chris only gave a good part of his adult life to to sell.

James Hicks [00:51:49]:
Okay. Not I know. That's That was music. I just see this see his reaction. Right?

Jim Fuhs [00:51:54]:
He usually, we love Sony.

James Hicks [00:51:56]:
Yeah. Kinda I

Jim Fuhs [00:51:56]:
think I have a Sony TV. This is actually a Sony that I'm using right here. So an easy -- There

James Hicks [00:52:00]:
you go, man. You know, keep the stock going too because we're investors as well. So f X Thirty is is what I'm rocking right here right now. That above and beyond what a a lot of folks will probably want and or need. But I've decided to stay with the APSC as opposed to the full frame for these talking head types of videos and and and sessions because it just there's more of a variety in terms of lens options as well. So I've got the 11 millimeter lens on here right now on that FX Thirty. My B cam is a ZVE 10. So if is listening. This is probably what we're gonna talk about on his show. So, man, but but I've got that running. I've got the z V One f as my overhead cam. So, again, all Sony cameras at for different purposes

Chris Stone [00:52:44]:
--

James Hicks [00:52:45]:
Mhmm.

Chris Stone [00:52:45]:
--

James Hicks [00:52:45]:
in terms of lighting, I've kinda standardized on a particular platform and a layer manufacturer as well. So everything in here is GoDocs in terms of the tube lights and the the point lights in front of me as well. those kinds of things. I've I've standardized on manufacturers because I've actually I've gone through that hard work of buying a whole lot and saying, nope. That doesn't work and returning it or whatever the case. So I've I've gone through that iteration of knowing what works specifically for me. So in this room, in this 8 by 10 area, with the this set up and these conditions, these things work best for me. So You know, it's it's really a living document too in terms of the the gear that I that I would recommend to to folks for their particular situation. But Sony, Godox, Shore Road, Elgato. The the big names are the big names for reason.

Jim Fuhs [00:53:37]:
That's right. Mhmm.

Chris Stone [00:53:39]:
Again, you're you're preaching to to Jim and I being the choir here, but it's true. It's like there's no the reason why there's longevity and then you see a brand that you never even heard of, that just came out of the gate. Like, you might wanna let them, you know, have 87 years of mistakes like some of these other companies have had.

James Hicks [00:53:56]:
Let them marinade just for a little while. Right? Just to

Jim Fuhs [00:53:59]:
And I think I think

Chris Stone [00:54:00]:
you bring up another great point is the consistency within the brands for, like you mentioned, the Godox lights. And I you know, I'm in a situation where when it comes time to turn the lights on in my studio, I got 6 different types of lights that are going on, and it's like, I think the other thing is, like, if you can get one brand of lighting and you have it all synced to a an app you have a little more control over that. That's it. Things are a little bit easier. You're not like, what do I do this? And what's the and I got, you know, into different types and formats of of of all of those things. And you run that risk because you're you're chasing what other people said you should get.

James Hicks [00:54:38]:
Man and Tim Tomo.

Chris Stone [00:54:39]:
And you said you said yourself, it's like, hey. This works for me. And it didn't matter if it's GoDocs. It could be Philips. It could be What's what's Govie? Like, there's a there's a bunch of different, you know, brands of of of lighting. So it's, like, find one that works for you. If it doesn't work, return it. and find another one that works and stay consistent with it.

James Hicks [00:55:00]:
So I'm a okay. I'm a take you on another little trip, though. Right? So you talked about Philips and talk about Hugh as well, and those are great for practical lights. I I had Philip Hugh when I first really spun up the studio, but understand the purpose and the goal and the and the rationale for those types of lights. There's a big difference between practical, very cool lights that you can get at Target, nothing wrong with Target. I love Target. Shouts out to them. I'll take a

Chris Stone [00:55:27]:
--

Jim Fuhs [00:55:27]:
Shout out. -- deal.

James Hicks [00:55:28]:
I'll take a show when I shoot them.

Chris Stone [00:55:29]:
--

James Hicks [00:55:29]:
out on

Chris Stone [00:55:30]:
a show on Amazon, but that's okay.

James Hicks [00:55:32]:
You know what? That's okay. We're sticking. You you need to send me the stipulations of what I can talk about.

Chris Stone [00:55:38]:
Where's my junk button?

James Hicks [00:55:40]:
Man, cop. So back back to what I was saying. Those aren't video lights, though. Right? When if you get if you've got Phillips you in your situation and those are and you've got the rules as your primary life, there's gonna be issues more likely down the road, not maybe not day 1, maybe not even day 20. But down the road, if you're using non video lights

Chris Stone [00:56:02]:
--

James Hicks [00:56:03]:
Mhmm. -- as primary lights within your environment, there's gonna be some some flicker. There's gonna be some shutter offsets, things of that nature. You gotta keep that in mind. Mhmm. So we all spend the extra couple of nickels to get video lights within our environment such that regardless of what the frame rate is that we have on our cameras, they're not flickering because they're made to be on video for these particular situation. So, again -- Mhmm.

Chris Stone [00:56:27]:
--

James Hicks [00:56:27]:
that's the conversation that we that that we would have with a potential client and with someone who wants to spin up their own studio. What's your environment look like? What would you like to use practical lighting for? Over to my to my side right here, I still have some some hue lights, but they're not as visible. They're just providing kind of an an overcast of of the blue. And, yeah, I am anal every single one of these blue lights in this studio. matches that hex code that we were talking about.

Chris Stone [00:56:54]:
--

Chris Stone [00:56:54]:
co pro.

Chris Stone [00:56:55]:
20557

James Hicks [00:56:56]:
b. Listen. Come on now. I I I'm not guy that knows my hex code off top of his head. Something's wrong with me.

Chris Stone [00:57:02]:
I got the hex code over here on my screen because I had to

James Hicks [00:57:05]:
be the guest on your show.

Chris Stone [00:57:06]:
I've got

Jim Fuhs [00:57:06]:
the I've got the eye dropper in my browser. Let me see if I get there we go. There we go. Click on your -- Yeah.

James Hicks [00:57:11]:
Grab grab it the right way or, you know, is it? But it it should be y'all

Chris Stone [00:57:14]:
20557.

James Hicks [00:57:16]:
I'm like Tom Buck. Right? And and this is not Tom Buck Blue. This is my Blue.

Chris Stone [00:57:22]:
This is James Hicks Blue. So everyone hit Hicks' new media follow James Hicks on all of the tubes. You're everywhere, dude. You're on TikTok. You're right. Like, that was another question I was gonna like, how how do you manage your social media? You talked about one of the challenges you have is the micro. stuff and getting that sort of managed. But I do see a good bit of you on social media. Is that something that you're intentional do you use software in order to to manage that process? How do you treat your social media as it relates to your business?

James Hicks [00:57:59]:
Yeah. So really good question. And that's still evolving. But where that workflow sits for me today is livestream that's a long form piece of content, I will pull that into Opus Pro. I will let Opus Pro chop that up. I will also use a iOS app called captions.

Jim Fuhs [00:58:22]:
Mhmm.

James Hicks [00:58:22]:
And captions will act actually do a lot of the reframing, a lot of the the caption, a a a lot of the cleanup of audio and things of that nature, and chop it up into

Chris Stone [00:58:32]:
9

James Hicks [00:58:32]:
by 16 or 1 by 1. For all the different types of platforms, save that to my phone and then start pushing that out individually to where my audience is. So Instagram Reels, Facebook Reels, TikTok is just for entertainment. I'm not I'm not as locked in and focused on TikTok as I am, IG, and and Facebook for sharing the micro content. But those platforms are the ones that I'm using. Opus Pro captions. I use cross clip as well. If if Opus Pro is ever server bound because so many people are finding it and taking advantage of it and using it so that there are some some limitations in terms of just access. I I don't have any patience. So I'll use a a platform that's part of StreamLabs called Cross Clip. And it'll do essentially the exact same thing. Right? The reframing and the moving around of the of the cameras and the content things of that nature. It'll save it down to my phone. And then when I'm ready to, I will fire up the YouTube app save it as a as a short schedule it out from that perspective or just put it out there on the IG ID page or Facebook page. Yeah. I had to think about

Chris Stone [00:59:45]:
that for sure. -- tactical approach I'm seeing is, like because I think a lot of people take a scattershot approach to their social media. They're taking one piece of content and they're putting it on 8 different platforms. It's the same content. Right? And and you're saying, you know what? This is for entertainment. So this piece of content only works for this platform. So this is where I'm putting it, and it's a much more intentional way. And it may take a little bit of extra thinking Right? But I think the benefits are like, hey. If I follow James Hicks on Instagram, I'm not gonna get something that it wasn't intended. for Instagram. This feels

James Hicks [01:00:16]:
like -- So you you think about that. You you made the the reference to me hanging out with those NFL players. Right? What you probably saw if you followed me on TikTok was a little bit different than what you saw in the IG reel. The the music was different, the transitions was a little bit different, and again, I was intentional about what went there. I didn't just copy and paste the the IG reel and put that on TikTok to where you had that watermark. So The process is the process. It's the process. It's the process. And if you're not ready to deal with a lot of that those moving parts sometimes Maybe this game in for you. Right. But you but you gotta put in that work. If you really wanna again, I'll say it again, rise above the noise because there's so many people that are out there yet they look like they're successful. And they're out there killing the game, and they got a ton of content out there, big audiences, big whatever. but all their stuff looks exactly the same. There's no identity to them. So be intentional about what you put out. If you're putting something out there that's a Facebook story or Facebook real. Make it for Facebook. Putting something that's out there just for for Instagram. Frame it the right way. use some trending music. Do do all those things and be intentional about it. It's gonna take you a little bit of time to get through it, and then but you will learn your workflow, and you will actually be more respected by us within the community as well because we see all the stuff. Right? fuse and stone over there. They they know when someone's listen. They they they got that that that eye. Right? We we can tell when someone's kind of gone the easy route as opposed to actually knowing what it is in the world they're doing. And it's more respectful for you to know the process, respect the process, go through the process because then you can actually share that information with somebody else. That's where you gain that advocacy. God, Doug. You put come on. You you don't have no music, golly.

Jim Fuhs [01:02:12]:
Trish. Hold on, man.

James Hicks [01:02:15]:
Damn, son. Come on, man. Sorry. I'm sorry. Well, you

Jim Fuhs [01:02:19]:
know, we don't wanna get any copyright strikes for music. But I but I love what you're saying there too. because even like yesterday, I did a YouTube video

James Hicks [01:02:26]:
Yeah.

Jim Fuhs [01:02:26]:
Right? But I took that video, the native video, and I uploaded it to LinkedIn. Instead of just I'm gonna share the YouTube link and put it in the post because you're gonna get different results. And Chris and I have gotten frustrated, and and the a people may hear this, You know, they have this new thing in Spire, but you got people doing exactly what you said. They're taking that TikTok with all the TikTok watermarks. and they're uploading it to Amazon. And it's just like, it's garbage. Right? You know, make the the you know, your content for the platform.

James Hicks [01:02:59]:
There you go.

Jim Fuhs [01:03:00]:
You're not you're not fooling anybody. You know, it's like, oh, they just you know, or or the people that even when you're sharing stuff from Instagram to Facebook, you've gotta remember that the tags are different. And that used to drive me crazy. when I was in a social media manager when I'd see these people, like, sharing their Instagrams to Facebook. It's like, nobody's seeing it because you didn't tag it. Right? You gotta go in and edit all the tags. So you could either do that or just reupload it and do it clean. But, you know, let's take some time. And then there's a difference between -- -- engagement.

Chris Stone [01:03:33]:
And when you're fishing, there's a difference between just grabbing a pole and running to a a body of water and throwing in a worm on the end of your thing versus going out on a boat with a radar and getting and making sure it's a certain time of day. And when you know and you've researched and you studied, somebody's gonna come home with fish, and somebody else is just lucky if they do. Right? And so, you know -- This

James Hicks [01:03:54]:
man is making it plain, folks. Right. There you go.

Chris Stone [01:03:57]:
Like I said, I speak speak to myself like a nine year old. So so that's that's how they work. No. But you talked about respect for the game, James, We have respect for you, my friend. We seriously

Chris Stone [01:04:06]:
--

James Hicks [01:04:07]:
Thank you, Ben.

Chris Stone [01:04:07]:
--

Chris Stone [01:04:07]:
you brought a ton of value to the show more than more than I think any other guest that we've had, and I mean that. And I really appreciate the the time you've taken and the amount of value you brought to our audience, my friend. So everyone thank you for joining. Everyone Richard, Scott Strick, Cyrus, Denise, everyone here in the chat. I know we didn't get to to everyone but, you know, there's just, you know, we have a

Chris Stone [01:04:36]:
preacher in our midst. you know, the content pastorate content creation and chief technologist of Hicks New Media, James

Chris Stone [01:04:44]:
Thank you so much for joining us, man.

James Hicks [01:04:46]:
Thank you, brother. Y'all be good. I really appreciate this. This is awesome.

Chris Stone [01:04:49]:
Alright. Alright, everybody. Don't fear the gear.

Jim Fuhs [01:04:52]:
Thanks for listening to Dieocasters. Congratulations. You've taken another step forward in your content creation journey. Please don't forget to hit the subscribe or follow button here in your favorite podcast player so you can be reminded every time we drop an episode.

Chris Stone [01:05:09]:
We love hearing from our listeners and viewers. And if you're wanting to watch our shows live on Amazon, feel free to follow deal casters live as well at deal castersdot live. Follow us on Twitter or subscribe to our YouTube channel where we also included added content that you cannot find anywhere else.

Jim Fuhs [01:05:28]:
If you have questions about this episode or have something you want us to review, you can also though email us at field casters@deal casters.live. Thanks again for listening, and you know the deal. Don't fear the gear.