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Off topic, but it's interesting to see that you're active on HN, as I certainly remember you on the forums and on the show. I used to be a big fan of KATG from

Off topic, but it's interesting to see that you're active on HN, as I certainly remember you on the forums and on the show. I used to be a big fan of KATG from about 2008 to 2012 but fell off the bandwagon. As far as podcast communities go, however, it always did seem like you guys had a good handle on using the web for interacting with fans and established a decent setup for monetizing the product which a lot of other podcasts lack. So...good job.

MichaelApproved 11y ago
That's awesome to hear, thanks =D From a technical perspective, I've been working on streaming live shows via YouTube and having that automatically embed on the homepage and throughout the site. It's displaying 4 cameras in a 2x2 layout similar to this NSFW clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLqRSwyqnU1WEECXxN3uN08G24h34EQOko&v=BydOLSkCLSs https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLqRSwyqnU1WEECXxN3uN08G2... I'm also working on a new app that uses Cordova/Ionic Framework that'll make it easier to listen for regular fans and premium VIP members. In the spirit of staying connected with the fans, I've been posting updates on that progress https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C219o_6tzNk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C219o_6tzNk As far as using the web for interacting with fans, it's been a challenge, so it's great to hear your compliment. Initially, we just had our own forums where fans would participate. Now, our community interaction is fragmented along Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit and our forums. Of course, all those platforms allow us to stay in front of more fans but it's a challenge to keep posting across those platforms without just repeating the same exact thing on each site.
- fluxquanta 11y ago
  All very cool stuff. Let's just say that the reasons why I stopped listening to KATG were not tech related. There was a point when I was beginning discussions with a former KATG guest to develop an app for his podcast, but that didn't work out. Similar to your work it would've involved going much further beyond simple RSS feeds and I would've needed to write an API, provision servers, and write a front end (I was looking at possibly Meteor/PhoneGap), and we didn't see eye-to-eye on time frame and compensation/profit sharing for such a project. My point is that it does appear that there's a market for podcasts that can go beyond the simple RSS/iTunes feed, and I wonder if there's any developers doing any serious work on this front. Like a "podcast community as a service", where the fractured elements you noted are all combined in one ecosystem.
  - MichaelApproved 11y ago
    The biggest issue I see with podcasting is the complicated subscribe process and monetization of the show. The biggest fish (Marc, Joe, Leo) have a team behind them to help with monetization but subscribing is still problematic. Without having a custom app for your podcast, you need to explain to people what an RSS feed is. You just lost 80% of your potential listeners. Alternatively, you can suggest they use a 3rd party app, like Stitcher and search for your show. Now you're promoting someone else's product and it's impossible to create a sales funnel using someone else's app, if the customer even manages to jump through the hurdle of installing Stitcher and then finding your show. From a developers perspective, there are the problems that you described and there's no white labeled podcast app. That means, most podcasters can't afford to have their own app. Podcasting is a medium that's dying to be upended. I'm experimenting with some ideas to do just that. First step is getting the KATG app into production, so I can test some of my theories. Sounds like you're an app developer as well. Working on any fun projects?
    - fluxquanta 11y ago
      >Podcasting is a medium that's dying to be upended. I couldn't agree more, specifically in the realm of comedy podcasts. I don't have the hands on experience you do, but I've followed a lot of podcasts that have grown to the point where they have a rabid fanbase that's dying to pay for more content, but existing means of doing so are clunky or otherwise unappealing (some podcasts that come out of a certain Mexican restaruant/comedy club in LIC come to mind). The closest thing (short of joining a subscription network like KATG's) is probably Patreon, which in my experience has been less than ideal. Also, many comedians treat podcasts as means to an end (increased album sales, drawing bigger crowds on the road) where as I imagine many comedians could be earning more from their podcasts than any other single thing they do (short of maybe attaining that Louis CK/Kevin Hart/Amy Schumer level of fame). If there was an easy way to set it all up it would take minimal extra effort from the comedians and could turn into a really nice revenue source. But enough of me blathering about things you're already well aware of, I'm sure. I work for a desktop software provider mainly handling integrations with other companies through our webservice -- mostly backend LAMP stack stuff. No fun side projects as of yet, but the more I think about this podcast stuff the more I think I should try to do something.

MichaelApproved 11y ago

That's awesome to hear, thanks =D From a technical perspective, I've been working on streaming live shows via YouTube and having that automatically embed on the homepage and throughout the site. It's displaying 4 cameras in a 2x2 layout similar to this NSFW clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLqRSwyqnU1WEECXxN3uN08G24h34EQOko&v=BydOLSkCLSs https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLqRSwyqnU1WEECXxN3uN08G2... I'm also working on a new app that uses Cordova/Ionic Framework that'll make it easier to listen for regular fans and premium VIP members. In the spirit of staying connected with the fans, I've been posting updates on that progress https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C219o_6tzNk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C219o_6tzNk As far as using the web for interacting with fans, it's been a challenge, so it's great to hear your compliment. Initially, we just had our own forums where fans would participate. Now, our community interaction is fragmented along Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit and our forums. Of course, all those platforms allow us to stay in front of more fans but it's a challenge to keep posting across those platforms without just repeating the same exact thing on each site.

fluxquanta 11y ago
All very cool stuff. Let's just say that the reasons why I stopped listening to KATG were not tech related. There was a point when I was beginning discussions with a former KATG guest to develop an app for his podcast, but that didn't work out. Similar to your work it would've involved going much further beyond simple RSS feeds and I would've needed to write an API, provision servers, and write a front end (I was looking at possibly Meteor/PhoneGap), and we didn't see eye-to-eye on time frame and compensation/profit sharing for such a project. My point is that it does appear that there's a market for podcasts that can go beyond the simple RSS/iTunes feed, and I wonder if there's any developers doing any serious work on this front. Like a "podcast community as a service", where the fractured elements you noted are all combined in one ecosystem.
- MichaelApproved 11y ago
  The biggest issue I see with podcasting is the complicated subscribe process and monetization of the show. The biggest fish (Marc, Joe, Leo) have a team behind them to help with monetization but subscribing is still problematic. Without having a custom app for your podcast, you need to explain to people what an RSS feed is. You just lost 80% of your potential listeners. Alternatively, you can suggest they use a 3rd party app, like Stitcher and search for your show. Now you're promoting someone else's product and it's impossible to create a sales funnel using someone else's app, if the customer even manages to jump through the hurdle of installing Stitcher and then finding your show. From a developers perspective, there are the problems that you described and there's no white labeled podcast app. That means, most podcasters can't afford to have their own app. Podcasting is a medium that's dying to be upended. I'm experimenting with some ideas to do just that. First step is getting the KATG app into production, so I can test some of my theories. Sounds like you're an app developer as well. Working on any fun projects?
  - fluxquanta 11y ago
    >Podcasting is a medium that's dying to be upended. I couldn't agree more, specifically in the realm of comedy podcasts. I don't have the hands on experience you do, but I've followed a lot of podcasts that have grown to the point where they have a rabid fanbase that's dying to pay for more content, but existing means of doing so are clunky or otherwise unappealing (some podcasts that come out of a certain Mexican restaruant/comedy club in LIC come to mind). The closest thing (short of joining a subscription network like KATG's) is probably Patreon, which in my experience has been less than ideal. Also, many comedians treat podcasts as means to an end (increased album sales, drawing bigger crowds on the road) where as I imagine many comedians could be earning more from their podcasts than any other single thing they do (short of maybe attaining that Louis CK/Kevin Hart/Amy Schumer level of fame). If there was an easy way to set it all up it would take minimal extra effort from the comedians and could turn into a really nice revenue source. But enough of me blathering about things you're already well aware of, I'm sure. I work for a desktop software provider mainly handling integrations with other companies through our webservice -- mostly backend LAMP stack stuff. No fun side projects as of yet, but the more I think about this podcast stuff the more I think I should try to do something.