A New Home and Format for Fortt Knox, on LinkedIn Live

I’ve decided to make LinkedIn the primary digital platform for all of my Fortt Knox digital work. So I’d like to announce an experiment: Call-in shows on LinkedIn Live.

I started Fortt Knox at CNBC about three years ago as a podcast and live streaming show. It wasn’t a show CNBC asked for; it was a project I wanted to tackle because there were things I wanted to learn and share.

I wanted to learn what equipment would be necessary for a multi-platform live digital show. I wanted to dust off the podcast production skills I developed 15 years ago when the genre was born. And I wanted to dive into deep end of digital audience development, learning which platforms are good for what.

I also wanted to share the insights I get from some of the smartest inventors and leaders in business—insights that never make it to air on CNBC. On TV, we serve a broad, smart business audience. Online, I could offer more depth to enthusiasts, entrepreneurs and technologists who want to hear more nuts-and-bolts discussion of strategies and platforms.

Along the way, I’ve gotten support from my colleagues at CNBC who wanted to learn and grow. I’d like to specifically call out Todd Bonin, executive producer of Squawk Alley and coiner of the name “Fortt Knox,” who has offered his support and greenlit the time producers have spent working with me. I’ve also got to mention producers Evan Falk, Tyler Eyre, Jonathan Kim and Justin Lape, who have brainstormed ideas, booked guests and pushed ideas ahead week after week. And a special shout-out to Wale Adekanbi, our creative powerhouse who developed the logo and look for the show.

The New Fortt Knox Live

Now, a change. I realized pretty early on that an audience of millions isn’t what I’m aiming for with Fortt Knox. What I really want is deep relationships with experts, and a brand that convenes them to share insights.

A podcast wasn’t really delivering that. It’s great as a broadcast medium, but it’s lopsided. It can be hard to know who your audience is, and to interact with them. The analytics data is hit-or-miss.

An old-school live show wasn’t delivering it, either. It’s too hard to interact with the audience while broadcasting; they’re posting comments on one interface, and I’m talking and looking at another. If I have a producer helping me, they can copy and paste over comments and I can respond, but it’s like sliding notes under a door. There’s got to be a better way.

In search of that better way, I’m focusing on LinkedIn. The audience here is unmatched for civil conversation about business, productivity and ideas. The overwhelming majority of people are use real names, displaying real experience. Here I’m going to dig for tools and formats that help me better interact with the audience, and help audience members better interact with each other.

Initially, it’s going to take two forms:

Fortt Knox Enterprise

First, Fortt Knox Enterprise, a live show with some prerecorded segments that will feature experts you can follow right here on LinkedIn. I had Intel Chief People Officer Sandra Rivera on the inaugural episode in the format this week. For my next show, I’m going to focus on the impact of COVID-19 on emerging markets, and how technology can help. Guests will include Justin Ram, an independent economist and former director of economics at Caribbean Development Bank; Jean Arnell, managing partner at Computech; and my longtime friend Jacqueline Charles, Caribbean correspondent at The Miami Herald.

Fortt Knox Month in Review

Second, Fortt Knox Month in Review, a lighthearted live show where I’ll look at the most significant developments in tech over the previous month, often with help from my colleagues at CNBC.

My goal is to open both shows to live questions from the LinkedIn audience when appropriate—as in, you’ll call in and appear in the show. I’ll post a URL that you can use to appear on screen and ask a question, kind of like talk radio. I’ve got the ability to screen callers and shut them down if they go sideways. But I suspect that will be less of an issue on LinkedIn than it would be on some platforms.

What do you think? Weigh in here on the changes and the formats, and I hope to see you on Fortt Knox soon.