I have to admit, I never thought that a Power BI Podcast could be a thing, let alone a valuable thing. After all, Power BI is a very visual and interactive tool. But indeed, Power BI Podcast IS a thing invented by my friend and Microsoft MVP Lars Schreiber from Hamburg, Germany. Recently Lars contacted me and asked if I would be interested in being a guest on his Podcast, which I was pleased to do. Since then, I have spent some of my spare time listening to some of the other episodes that Lars has recorded, with people like Marco Russo and Adam Saxton to name a few.
It is still early days, but I have to say that Lars is doing a great job exploring this different medium for this topic – something no one else seems to be doing (that I am aware of).
Why the Power BI Podcast Works
There are a few reasons. Firstly (as Lars mentioned in the episode with Marco), people can listen to a podcast without the need to engage their eyes [and hands]. This brings into play lots of opportunities to consume, including travelling on public transport, riding a bicycle, working out in the gym, mowing the lawn, lying in bed resting, etc. The second reason I think this works is that Lars has the opportunity to cover topics that would not otherwise translate well to other media. Some of the podcasts are positioned as expert talks on a topic, but more recently Lars has been exploring more of a “fire side chat” with his guests. And I have to say, I really like this format. Even though I have had the privilege to meet Marco and Adam, I have to say I know more about them now than before I listened to these episodes. And another thing – I have a deeper understanding about how similar the journeys of Marco and Adam have been to my own.
Why Not Give the SSBI Podcast A Go?
I suggest to my readers that you make a note (or mental note) to have a listen to the SSBI Podcast some time in the near future. You can find the links to the site below and you can also find it on the major podcast sites such as Apple and Google – just search for SSBI Podcast.
Here is the link to my episode
And here is the general link to the site. https://ssbi-blog.de/podcast/
Lars also has a blog that you should consider subscribing to https://ssbi-blog.de/blog/
What do you think about this?
Let me know in the comments below what you think about the podcast.
Really enjoyed this podcast!
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to your story! You and Rob and others have been awesome role models for all of us.
“When you learn with the intention to teach someone else you learn at a depth of knowledge that is far beyond what you’ll otherwise achieve.” (Around the 00:40:25 mark)
These are really, really wise words, Matt.
You know this approach works even without you having any ambitions of teaching other people. If you can take on the role of your simpler I and ask yourself “stupid” and down to earth questions, it’ll help the learning process immensely. I even think that Galileo Galilei invented a character to that effect, named Simplicio. If you can explain something really complex to your grandmother you really understand – an old saying goes.
One example: At a certain time I asked myself; what actually is the literal meaning of dicing and slicing (if any) and it’s relevance to DAX?
One question could lead to another, like…
Could ALLSELECTED() be called REMOVE_DICE_FILTERS(), could ISINSCOPE() change name to IS_COLUMN_DICE_FILTERED()? Would a better name for REMOVEFILTERS() aka ALL() be REMOVE_BOTH_DICE_AND_SLICE_FILTERS()?
I think people should listen to what you have to say about this approach. It has helped me a lot when faced with the challenge of learning something new and complex.
Best regards Jes.
Matt,
Many thanks for the heads-up to the SSBI podcast! Best regards,
Tom
Thanks for sharing, will definitely try it out.
I enjoy listening to podcasts while working. I enjoyed your episode with Lars.
I second Simen’s suggestion below– BIFocal is also a great podcast.
Generally, I love consuming content via podcast because it does leave me free to do myriad other things such as:
walk my dogs, clean my house, drive, knit….
I do find that in general I absorb the general gist of the content rather than the details.
There are also tons of other non-Power BI specific podcasts. One that I love is Data Engineering.
Matt, I will definitely give this a listen. I think that this is a great idea….I too had no idea this was thing but I just added it to my podcast subscribe list. I will definitely give it a go.
I listened to the two hour podcast with Marco yesterday. As someone who is looking ahead on how to best apply my knowledge of this still relatively new technology, getting to here Marcos journey and advice was pure gold to me. Thanks Lars for this format!
Great talk with awesome advices. Thank you for your time Matt.
I fully agree on your comments about how good the podcast format can work, even for “visual” topics. I have been listening to the BIFocal Podcast for a while. Great content about everything Power BI from John White and Jason Himmelstein. Would recommend to give it a try.