Podcast Format & Direction Discussion

[Milton]

As someone who is a great admirer of radio (and as of late, podcasting), I have to say that you guys have a great understanding of what is entertaining and what isn't, and thus could be trimmed. I can tell this simply by the fact that your show has lasted this long; it's a monumental achievement to continue the podcast after so long, and still have a "fresh" feel to it. Honesty and a "down-to-earth" feel achieved through talking about your lives helps keep the show fresh.

Personally, I love the podcast, "personal" stuff and all; to be honest, it's one of the main reasons why I canceled my satellite radio subscription. So to any people that might take issue with the amount of personal life banter, I pretty much have to say that you don't have to waste your MP3 player's space with the show if you're bothered that much by people talking about their lives.

As a side note, I just wanted to say this: Mike, you've got some of the most professional sounding podcasts I've ever heard. I've dabbled in audio editing for radio, and I can tell how much work you put into this show and your other shows. Keep up the fine work!

[Captain Awesome]

The main reason I listen to the podcast is to hear the opinions of people that I can identify with, as dorky as it sounds I feel like I know Mike, Meri and Julian and that's part of what keeps me listening, I enjoy tuning in every week to hear my "friends" talk about something I love.

As for the quality of the podcast, I've got a diploma in Multimedia which includes audio engineering, from a technical standpoint it sounds clean and professional (not so much early on ), but not to the point where it sounds like a sterile news broadcast. I've listened to a lot of podcasts, but don't find myself really getting into many as they tend to go one of two ways; trying to sound super authoritative at the expense of that connection with the audience, or trying to be too entertaining and not having any real direction, you guys seem to have hit that sweet spot in the middle, a great place for news and topical discussion, but with that conversational atmosphere.

Anyway I love what the show has evolved into, so don't stop any time soon.

[The Tori-bot]

I personally love the format of the show and I enjoy the "Stuff" segment. The only thing I think could be changed is the introductions. Sometimes they go on for about a minute. And the constant use of "to my proverbial [direction]" really gets on one's nerves after a while.

Furthermore, if people are listening for 150 episodes, and new listeners begin tuning in, the former will know exactly who you are and the latter will know through the regular site and by checking out past episodes.

That's really all I gotta say. Other than that, the podcast is a-OK and my favourite thing of a Sunday eve/Monday morn/aft.

[VegettoEX]

Just wanted to say that I'm absolutely paying attention to every word written in the thread and it means a lot to me that it means a lot to you (being a general, plural "you").

I'm getting justification on my own pre-conceptions and reasonings for the "Stuff" segment... which makes sense, since the people who are most apt to say they like and understand that stuff are *already* posting and getting involved. While the internet is so full of disgusting, obtrusive, negative, and ill-mannered nonsense... we thankfully have very little of it here. At the same time, because it's so generally positive, there's little in the way of "constructive criticism" (I suppose you could say) these days... which is different than, say, anything I was involved with seven or eight years ago, but I digress .

And yes, I just used two ellipses in the same sentence/paragraph. Sue me.

I mean, I'm a guy from Spain, listening to stuff that happened to a guy in New Jersey, USA. Usually I wouldn't care, but it happens that such guy hosts this podcast, and even if you don't care now, I'm pretty sure you would begin to wonder about their lives eventually. Because listening podcast after podcast, you would get familiar with those voices that bring you DB stuff every week, and it would be only natural to want to know more about them.

That also really means a lot to me, and I think truly showcases just how amazing of a work the series is. We have listeners from all over the world, and we're all getting together to share this love of the same stupid cartoon from Japan. We have listeners and visitors from USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, China, England, Germany, Spain, France, Portugal, Mexico, Brazil...

The podcast needs one more thing and one more thing only. More Andrew Deluxe.

Pfft, good luck .

Also, the podcast is a little far along to be making such suggestions, isn't it? I mean, if Mike was to suddenly change everything around, the majority of the listeners would probably be pretty irritated.

But what if the ends justify the means? If the show is genuinely better for it, but jeopardizes a percentage of the previous listeners in order to gain a larger audience... is it worth it? I don't actually know the answer to that question, but it's a valid question none-the-less.

As a side note, I just wanted to say this: Mike, you've got some of the most professional sounding podcasts I've ever heard. I've dabbled in audio editing for radio, and I can tell how much work you put into this show and your other shows. Keep up the fine work!

As for the quality of the podcast, I've got a diploma in Multimedia which includes audio engineering, from a technical standpoint it sounds clean and professional (not so much early on Razz), but not to the point where it sounds like a sterile news broadcast. I've listened to a lot of podcasts, but don't find myself really getting into many as they tend to go one of two ways; trying to sound super authoritative at the expense of that connection with the audience, or trying to be too entertaining and not having any real direction, you guys seem to have hit that sweet spot in the middle, a great place for news and topical discussion, but with that conversational atmosphere.

Thanks. That basically sums up what I wanted to do from the get-go, and I've both accomplished that *AND* other people enjoy it... awesome to the max. And yes, I've dropped some cash along the way to get a better-sounding show. I think it's totally worth it and makes a big difference. I still have *a lot* to learn, but the pure audio quality of the show has only increased over time, and as I get more toys to play with and understand, it'll be great .

I'm actually bringing home some upgraded equipment this weekend to do both Daizenshuu EX and vgconvos on... so... we'll see how that works out ^_~.

[Hao_Kaiser]

Also, the podcast is a little far along to be making such suggestions, isn't it? I mean, if Mike was to suddenly change everything around, the majority of the listeners would probably be pretty irritated.

But what if the ends justify the means? If the show is genuinely better for it, but jeopardizes a percentage of the previous listeners in order to gain a larger audience... is it worth it? I don't actually know the answer to that question, but it's a valid question none-the-less.

That really depends on what you're aiming to do with the show, though, doesn't it? I understand what you're trying to say, but I can only imagine that a majority of your listenership is people that regularly visit your site and forum, and find you to be a genuinely entertaining person. If you consider the podcast to be an extension of Daizenshuu EX itself, then it seems like you'd be trying to appease that instilled community before you tried to conquer the rest of the internet.

Sure, you're bound to find someone who doesn't enjoy the "stuff," like the topic poster, but based on the responses in this thread, I would say he's definitely in the minority.

Of course, the forum and the rest of the internet are two entirely separate things. Maybe there are a lot of people that listen to your show via iTunes or whatever, and honestly don't enjoy it. I guess there really isn't any way to determine that, though.

However, it isn't like you're getting any sort of Nielsen ratings, or you'll lost funding if you don't consistently widen your audience. I can understand wanting to have wider appeal, but I would rather do something I enjoy, and have fun with it, rather than try to take out the personality of the show in order to expand listenership.

I do see what you're saying, though, and I agree that you've presented a question that doesn't really have a definite answer. I'm just biased in that I really love the podcast as it is.

Furthermore, if people are listening for 150 episodes, and new listeners begin tuning in, the former will know exactly who you are and the latter will know through the regular site and by checking out past episodes.

Isn't it possible that if a new listener was to just randomly check out the podcast via iTunes, they'd have no idea who these people were?

I think it's necessary to have some sort of introduction for the hosts, otherwise, newcomers are just going to be lost, and possibly feel overwhelmed. I've joined several podcasts way into their life-cycle. I never would've stuck around had they not introduced themselves for the 50th time on their 50th episode. It's not fair to expect someone to go back to the beginning just so they can know the names of the people talking to them on episode #150.

[Yi Xing Long]

I enjoy the current format of the episodes, though I wish Jeff (maybe Andrew) was on more often. I think the video game reviews tend to take over the topic (I like it when there is an actual topic), but overall it is enjoyable. Your personal stories are very amusing. One thing that annoyed me was when you (Mike) would scream throughout the entire episode, such as with the earlier episodes. Please try to get Jeff and/or Andrew on the show more often, as it does get rather stale with just you and Meri.

Over the past few months I went through and listened to every podcast (even your WTFEX one). They were all very entertaining, so keep up the good work. Also, for a future topic I think it would be interesting to have a segment on Dragon Ball voice actors in One Piece. I find it funny that there are so many of them: Masako Nozawa plays Dr Kureha, Mayumi Tanaka plays Luffy, Ryusei Nakao plays Erik the Whirlwind (filler), Tohru Furuya plays Daddy Masterson, and Toshio Furukawa plays Ace. There might even be more than this.