The Smart Passive Income Online Business and Blogging Podcast SPI 922: Lessons Learned Running a Community Since 1996 with Paul Gowder
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Mar 27, 2026 
Paul Gowder, founder of PowWows.com and 30-year community builder promoting Native American cultural events. He talks live streaming workflows and gear, using YouTube for archives and Facebook for huge organic reach, strategies for moving fans into private communities and email, and creating digital products and lead magnets from live events.
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Hobby Website Turned 30 Year Community
- Paul Gowder started powwows.com in 1996 as a hobby while in grad school and it grew from simple HTML pages and photos into a community hub.
- He added a vBulletin forum early, which turned casual visitors into an engaged community and sustained growth for 30 years.
YouTube As The Video Archive Home
- Paul treats YouTube as the long-term home for video while using Facebook for discovery because YouTube stores organized clips from long livestreams.
- After long powwow streams he clips competitions into individual YouTube videos to build a searchable archive.
Post Frequently On Facebook While Organic Reach Exists
- Post high-frequency on Facebook now because organic reach and creator monetization currently amplify discovery and revenue.
- Paul posts 15–20 times daily (text, videos, links) and saw 100–150 million views/month during powwow season with ~1.7M followers.