Category: podcasts

Podcast.com Upgrade

Posted on by

Well, after ages of thinking and and coding, I have managed to do a huge overhaul of the podcast.com code, mainly in the directory / feed folder rendering department.

Ever since I built the first rendition of the renderer. I knew I’d have to rethink it somewhat, to cope with many, many users without losing the very cool functionality that I have put in there (for good reason).

Now you will find that the site loads ALOT faster. A quick peek at the OPML for each folder (see the red opml icons – which may change – when you open a feed folder) will show you that we use inclusion at every level now. This helps the whole system to scale.

Also, this means that one user can now link easily to another user’s folder without breaking the ‘tree’. It works with internally generated and managed ‘feed folders’ (creating OPML) as well as external OPML.

When you view a feed, you will also notice with added a link to show ‘where’ this feed appears in our users’ folder structures. (OK.. not so many users as yet, but we hope to add to them by the end of October) Also, you’ll see a button to show single-click subscription methods will a list of chicklets.

Another cool thing you should see is that EVERY folder has a permalink url – also with some links to add to del.icio.us or digg

We want the data here to work EVERYWHERE. We have an opportunity to work with EVERYONE.

We love you guys. Now I gotta do me a podcast! 🙂

feed, feeds, mp3, OPML, podcast, podcast.com, podcasts, rss

Evan’s Podcasting site roundup feedback

Posted on by

Evan Williams, founder of Pyra – which became Blogger.com and head honcho of Odeo has got some Alexa results of podcasting sites out there and provides some feedback.

Good job. Nice to see Libsyn pumping away at the top. I really like those guys.

So, I’m not surprised to see the results for podcast.com 😉

We opened up the doors of the site back at the end of May, as an ‘alpha’, based on some of the early foundation technology we’re building, simply because we couldn’t bare to look at the old horrible greenish page that used to be there any more 😉 The feedback we’ve had has been positive.

Since then, we been going like the clappers, not sleeping much, slowly but surely bringing together a whole load of features you haven’t seen yet. The list of subscriptions in the directory there are basically *mine*. As in my user account. There’s two actually – a user called kosso curates the canada.podcast.com directory and the secondlife.podcast.com directory (they’re actually folders within koz.podcast.com). Soon you’ll be able to create your own version of the site and have access to a load of tools and info to get you going in podcasting, whether it’s as a listener or a podcaster. We have publishing tools too – and some pretty nifty urls and data for you to play with. Some original content too! (I can’t wait to let you in on all that 😉 )

I often use the analogy of the book industry to describe what we’re up to:

To start, we want to help people find books they want to read and let the author know what they think. Moving along, we want to help people build bookshelves to put all these books on. Then give people the tools to build whole libraries – and connect them together.

Back the other way, we naturally want to help people publish books. And help promote their hard work. Then back, we want to help teach people how to write a book and provide nice and easy tools to do so. Even further back to the core, we also want to help people make paper and ink and even research new types of paper and ink, which might make a book easier to read or understand and hopefully more popular!.

As the people running the generic domain, we intend to DO THE RIGHT THING. What else would you do with the generic domain? I left the BBC to work on this, as I’m incredibly passionate about podcasting having fiddled with building tools and systems since it started. Becoming a podcaster (but not as frequently as I would like – that’s why I’m builfing tools 😉 ). Meeting the likes of Dave Winer and Adam Curry last year was a real motivator. Still is. Respec’.
I really didn’t want the site to end up squatted or parked or simply wasted. I’m on a mission (from pod). ‘With great domains comes great responsibility’. We have some interesting things coming up soon which might perk up your ears 😉

I’ve just got back from Boston after a great time with the rest of the boys – making sure we’re all on the same playlist and getting the new hands on deck up to speed with the system, ethos and roadmap for the whole place. It’s been very reassuring.

We still have alot to do to get the site open as a public beta, where people will be able to join up and have a go at using the tools we’re putting together. It won’t all come at once. We intend to listen to what you think and iterate. We think it’s going to be an exciting resource for anyone interested in podcasting.

It’s going to be a few more weeks, but now we can all see the next checkpoint. There is no finish line 😉

feeds, grazing, Kosso, mp3, multimedia, OPML, podcast, podcast.com, podcasts, rss

Pajamas Don’t Podcast

Posted on by

I noticed Dave mentioned he was interviewed by Andrew Keen, who I have met through podcast.com activities. I’m glad to see he called it an interview and not a podcast. Why? No RSS feed at all containing the ability for me to subscribe to a series.

To quote Andrew in the interview “RSS is so simple – so elegant”

Andrew’s ‘AfterTV’ did have someone doing a feed for him a while back, but now it looks like Andrew is creating content now for some set up called Pajamas Media. They call themselves the best in global blogging, podcasts and opinion. Blogs? Check. Podcasts. Nope. MP3s to download from the site? Yes. Opinion? No doubt.

They say there are podcasts there – and in their Politics Central section – but I cannot find any at all. Sure, there are some MP3 which have had alot of time and effort put into the them to produce them, but no podcasts.

No feed = Not a podcast (IMHO)

To quote Dave in the interview : “Podcasting is another thing I invented”

I really wish people would do that final last leg of the production effort properly. I also wonder if the hosts etc realise their content is now stuck on a website many people will not have heard of – and not out there being freely aggregated all over the world, while telling anyone who sees it about that website and production team.

This happened few weeks back from Andrew, where he had interviewed Philip Rosedale from Linden Lab (which I now can’t find – no search results for Linden on PM or PC) . I like Andrew’s style and interviews, but he should get someone to sort out his feeds.

He’ll be glad to know the publishing system over at podcast.com is just about ready to roll. 😉

feed, feeds, podcast, podcast.com, podcasts, rss

Turn on – Tune in – POD OFF!

Posted on by

iPiss people offWell, the world is still going completely mad. Not only are Apple trying to own anything that starts with a ‘i’, they are now taking steps to stop products and brands with the lettters POD in it.

“… As set forth below, Apple is concerned that the application for and use of the PROFIT POD mark infringes its trademark rights and dilutes Apple’s famous IPOD brand…

…We believe there is confusing similarity between Apple’s IPOD mark and the PROFIT POD mark. PROFIT POD is a POD-formative mark and incorporates a substantial portion of Apple’s IPOD mark. The products are likewise related. Both devices receive and transmit data and are used with computers, both are used in connection with video games, and both have other similar components. Moreover, it has not gone unnoticed that, like Apple’s IPOD device, the PROFIT POD product is a small, flat, round corned rectangular device with a display screen. In addition to the likelihood of confusion between the products, because Apple’s mark is famous, it is entitled to protection from dilution attributable to the PROFIT POD mark.”

For f*cks sake – what’s the bloody point? It’s idiocy if you ask me. No bloody wonder people have to make up such stupid names without vowels etc to create a new brand! I had to say it – “piss off Apple!”

It reminds me of whem Sun decided to stop all things j-a-v-a, which annoyed me years ago when I owned vajava.com 🙂

How will this nonsense fare for the likes of PODcast.com, PODshow, PODnet, PODtech etc, etc, etc.

Expect more swearing. 😉

I’m the proud owner of an Apple MacBookPro and a MacMini (along with 8 Windows 8 PCs), but now I just remembered why I hate Apple so much. They LOCK YOU IN – they take away your FREEDOM. Sure, they have cute design, but can you build your own Mac? NO! Never. Arse!

idiots, ipod, podcast, podcast.com, podcasts

Are Apple rewriting your podcast MP3 ID3 tags??

Posted on by

On today’s Daily Source Code, Adam Curry mentions that when a podcast gets downloaded and synced through iTunes, Apple are rewriting the ID3 tags in the MP3 file – editing it and replacing some fields with info from the RSS feed.

WTF?? – Was my initial reaction. But I do wonder what people think about this, if it;s true. It’s clearly just as bad as the feed manipulation Podshow were seen to be doing.

At least poshow fixed it. I doubt Apple will.

What do YOU think?

Apple still make it impossible to copy and paste a podcast RSS feed (hidden behind the ‘i’ icon, AFTER you susbscribe using iTunes) so you can subscribe using a different reader. I suppose the only thing to do is use another podcast feed reader (podcatcher).
The KoolAid effect around the iPod is staggering. No one who owns one has any idea how the rest of the world without an iPod or iTunes is doing things. It’s like AOL’s early walled garden kidding users that there was not a world wide web out there. So many people think that to get podcasts, they need an iPod. So many people are forced into using iTunes, which is one of the worst bits of software I have ever been forced to use. I mean it.

I got an iPod to just see for myself what all the fuss is about. Sure, I too can get swept off my feet my a lovely, well-built gadget but the user experience with iTunes and the iPod has been awful. I wonder if it would be different if I didn’t know as much as I do about the alternatives and freedom available.

I’m amazed Steve Jobs didn’t announce an iPadlock at yesterday’s WWDC. Foolproof lockin for the masses.

I do love my MacBookPro though. Can’t wait for the winter. Mmmm, toasty. 😉

IMHO, ipod, mp3, podcast, podcasts

O, Canada Podcasts!

Posted on by

Wow! Those Canadians sure do! Alot! Eh! 🙂

Have a look over at canada.podcast.com and see what I was able to create pretty easily with my test account.

I want to get these tools on your hands and on your screens (and in your pockets) ASAP! 🙂

Hopefully, that won’t take too long.

I was at Gnomedex over Canada Day, and it was great to meet so many of you Canadians there. You sure do know how to celebrate your country! We Brits don’t do much else than wave at the Queen, whenever they wheel her past 😉

feed, feeds, ideas, Kosso, mp3, OPML, podcast, podcast.com, podcasts, rss

Canada Podcast OPML

Posted on by

I noticed that the OPML created for the Canada Podcasts out there has alot of easy to fix mistakes (and a few custom tags, which is fine). Maybe Bob Goyeche (listed as the author) would like to drop me a line, so we can sort it all out properly. 🙂

Try entering the URL for that OPML into an early OPML manager I created – then hit load. It all looks fine, until you realise that the OPML thinks each link to a feed is a ‘link’ to more OPML and not the type ‘RSS’ with xmlUrl to the feed, as it should be.

Here’s an audio message I made a while ago about this.

The ‘DaveSite‘ which Mr. Winer points to is not all that useful as it stands – this is because it is simply linking to the RSS xml feeds and displaying those. That upsets lots of people, who don’t know what they are looking at. Not only that, but David seems to insist on linking to OPML AND RSS with the same icon. Bad idea imho. Sure it is XML, but that orange button has meant ‘RSS’ for so many, for so long – it’s confusing to link to OPML with (even though is is just XML). I always wandered if he had promoted an orange icon saying ‘RSS’, maybe people wouldn’t be so confused about RSS and ‘feeds’ as they are now. (Almost) EVERYONE adopted the old orange button – now they use a generic ‘feed’ icon.

I will have a bash at cleaning up that Canadian OPML and trying a test import.

UPDATE: I fixed the Canada OPML to comply with the spec – though I left the custin tags in there.

You can find it here : http://podcast.com/opml/canada_fixed.opml

See the comments in the OPML for what I did.

Now it works perfectly, as people will expect. 🙂 Try entering the new URL into my OPML manager – now you can RSS feeds! Yes!! (It is also in the drop down list on that Flash app)

feed, feeds, IMHO, OPML, podcast, podcasts, rss

Community Podcast Directories

Posted on by

Dave Winer points out one of the core reasons we have built (and continue to build) podcast.com in the way we have – forming a solid content data foundation, with easy tools – then slapping that data into a great UI, for the web, mobiles and desktop. Heads up, Scoble! 😉
‘Community Directories’ (made by real, passionate people) are exactly what you will have available at podcast.com, all with lots of lovely open OPML and RSS for you to consume and manipulate using the gorgeously easy tools we are building here for you. And IMHO, much nicer OPML management than some applications I have seen out there from the self-declared OPML centres of the Universe out there.

Soon, you will be able to log in to podcast.com, create an account – get a super hot url for your podcast directory and fill her up!

  Check out BBC.podcast.com, CNN.podcast.com – or NPR.podcast.com – these took seconds to set up.

The power of OPML inclusion will make it very easy to connect many different users’ podcast directories together to form an infinite growth of trees of directories, mashed up any way you like.

Update : Dave Winer is not allowing me to comment on his Blog Annexe – shame. My posts seem to disappear. Not totally unexpected, as he does not like me at all – but not what I would expect from Mister ‘Open and Transparent’ – The posts were relevant too – maybe this trackback will work, to his daily comment area.

feed, feeds, OPML, podcast, podcast.com, podcasts, rss

So, how did Dave Winer get the fresh BBC podcast feed?

Posted on by

I thought I’d show you where that feed came from that Dave Winer pointed to yesterday (since there was no link to the site 😉 )

Over on podcast.com, you will see many folders in the podcast directory you see there. One of the icons is a green feed icon : clicking it will display all the latest feeds (like a ‘NewsRiver’ for podcasts) The RSS feed icon link that appear there is the subscription link you need to stay updated to all feeds within that folder.

For the BBC podcast feeds though, we have set up a subdomain, pointing directly at the / Podcasts / News & Media / BBC folder.

This can be visited at http://bbc.podcast.com

From that subdomain page, you can also view the freshest feed by clicking the ‘freshest feeds’ button on the left menu. Again, the feed subscription link will appear there for you. For the BBC it is http://feeds.podcast.com/2417 and eventually we’ll make that easier my having bbc.podcast.com/fresh/feed or something.

Soon we will have some cool things for you to embed wherever you like, so you can keep updated and also see all the cool things you can easily put together using the feeds and data we have for you at podcast.com

BBC, feed, feeds, OPML, podcast, podcast.com, podcasts, rss
1 2 3 4