I have talked about my dabbling into social media in the past. I check LinkedIn almost every day but I don’t interact much because I don’t get any real value from it. I find Nextdoor to be largely busybodies that want to complain about their neighbors and identify speeders with blurry pictures. I also have a MeWe account that I made in 2019.

One of the podcasts I listen to made the entire switch from Facebook to MeWe last year due to privacy and Cancel Culture risks. I initially thought that I was going to push this blog more into interaction in MeWe in an attempt to build this enterprise. But, I just get turned off every time I log in. I am not interested in memes and snark all day long. If Instagram was not tied to Facebook, maybe that is more along my lines.

I want to see people doing cool and inspirational stuff, that is really it. I find that these platforms attract an echo chamber of whatever flavor of ‘room’ you happen to be in. Today, I made my first ever contribution to a post on MeWe that someone else made because I wanted to. It happens to be a group for a podcast that I joined. I have been listening since probably 2012 and the podcast has ebbed and flowed with the times.

The podcast is Harvest Eating. The owner is Keith Snow and he has had a cookbook (which I own) and a TV show (which I haven’t seen). But in the end, he is just a man that I seem to have a lot in common with. He is a about my age with a family is about the same age. We seem to share values about food. faith and politics. People that have lived in my house know his name because he has inspired me to cook things that I might not otherwise, like sauerbraten.

I can’t remember what ‘holiday’ it was but one time my wife ordered some olive oil from him (for me) and he threw in some seafood seasoning because the shipping was so expensive. While that may not be the best business move, it shows that he cares about his customers. It is that kind of caring that has made it difficult to reconcile careers in the corporate world, which I think we both share. We care about the impact that we have.

I suppose another reason that I like and identify with Keith is that he is spontaneous to where he doesn’t just stay in the food/recipe box. I feel like even though I have a formula here, I do wander around and change things on a whim. The basic thrust for my style was influenced by his podcast because I have just enjoyed it. I liked knowing what his kids were doing or hearing a rant about poor cookware or the infamous ‘Chinese Chair’ as long as the I always got some value out of the overall episode.

I have waivered a bit about how much food content I want to have. There are already so many resources and competition out there that I don’t want to be another me too. Plus, I have too many other interests. But, I do want it to be my mixture topics. So, I am going to try and add back more along the food front. Ultimately, I would like it to be once a week.

Over the years, podcasts have come and gone. From Harvest eating, I have learned about and tried sauerbraten, migas, palak paneer, olive oil, crepes with mascarpone, butter, rye bread, fondue, german potato salad and steel cut oats to name a few things. I have improved techniques like a better Thanksgiving turkey, more perfect grilled steaks and Mise en Place. More than anything else, it has sparked my interest in quality ingredients and the effort that goes into them. It probably prompted my involvement into the culinary book club for a whole new perspective and certainly other podcasts.

End Your Programming Routine: I don’t know if I solved my initial question. I have been accused of invoking Keith’s name too often at times. I guess that what I would say is that this podcast pushes all the right buttons for me, it entertains and educates. I am really glad that he has come back to focus on his own business which means more podcasts. I cant say if this will tip the social media scales for me but if you are interested, join us at https://mewe.com/join/harvesteating