Help improve CocoaRadio

Knowing that many of you are enjoying this podcast, I though I'd post a general request to all of you on how to improve it. I've received lots of email directly with questions to ask developers and guests to invite - that's great. Now it time to push this discussion to the blog. I can't fix previous audio issues but have made process changes to improve it.

Please post your suggestions as comments. I'll post later about changes I'll be making.
- What is the one thing you value most about CocoaRadio?
- If you could suggest one thing to improve the show, what would it be?
- What do you dislike about the show?  (audio quality and levels is a known issue)

Thanks for listening and helping to spread the word.

Technorati Tags: apple, cocoa, mac, osx, podcast

Comments

[Stompy]

1) I like the way that these are small shops or single programmers who are able to create really great apps, and I know how great they are, because I use them.

2) Broaden the base. See if you can get someone like, say, Aaron Hillegass. It's still Cocoa!

3) Irregular schedule.

I really enjoy the show, and it gets me fired up to fire up XCode.

Cheers!

[Stompy]

When I said "Broaden the base", I was trying to say get some people who train Cocoa and Obj-C, not just use it.

[Chris Bailey]

I really enjoy hearing from successful independent developers, since that's what I hope to be someday. The show has motivated me to learn Cocoa and Obj-C, and I wrote my first app two nights ago - fun!

My suggestion would be to ask one or two somewhat deeper technical questions. Maybe ask them to talk about a specific interesting use of a given framework or something. Oh, I'd also like to hear how much time they spend on their app(s); i.e. if it's full time, are they slaving away like at a startup, or do they work 40 hours; and if it's part-time/on-the-side, how much time?

Dislikes, lack of deeper technical discussion (as said above :), aside from that, very cool.

[Darrel Davis]

I have really enjoyed all the shows. I was excited to hear you start the podcast since I'm a wannabe Cocoa/OSX developer.

My only suggestion is to fix the audio, although you mention that you have done things to fix this. It has been quite bad at times. I had problems hearing Gus Mueller and Brent Simmons.

Love the podcast and will surely listen to them all.

BTW, I second the request for Aaron Hillegass. That would be amazing.

-darrel

[encro]

I'd really like to see it get a little more in depth. Of course it depends on what the developers being interviewed are actually willing to share :) I realise its hard to share coding ideas in an audio format but it would be great to have more insights on what was complicated during the project, tricks and tips and sharing knowledge that would make it better for all listeners which are mostly going to be coders or aspiring to be a software developer in the near feature. I like the concept but right now it feels like a general mac related software podcast rather than CocoaRadio.

[John Nunez]

Love the podcast.

1 - Like the fact that you have been talking to developer around the world and a few have talked about their business model.

2 - I second Abizer suggestion on asking if the devs are full-time, part-time or a side job. You should attempt to keep a schedule Let's say every two weeks. On week one you announce the developer and you give a deadline for any questions. For the rest of Week 1's podcast you read/answer mail and read off a few user supplied tips and tricks. These tips should be collected on the web site just like podcast "Tips from the Top Floor". Week two, you publish the interview. Week Three repeat the cycle. Note: I know that you have a regular job just like all of us but this is my wish list. As Cocoa Radio catches on and more developers have signed on to interviews I think you should attempt a quarterly Roundtable Discussion with a selected panel of developers. You should discuss changes in the Apple Development community (such as Intel).

3 - The only bad thing I can say about the show is it's schedule. I have tons of weekly podcast and the best ones have me yearning for more right after the show is finished and I know when they will appear and usually download them on the hour that they are released. I want Cocoa Radio to get to this point.

[BlakeB]

Guys, this is great feedback. Thanks for the time you've taken to post here. I'll be working on being regular ; ) adding more tech detail, and of course improving the audio quality so you don't blast your ears out trying to hear the guests.

[Matty]

- What is the one thing you value most about CocoaRadio?
A. It's the only resource of it's kind out there.

- If you could suggest one thing to improve the show, what would it be?
A. More of them.

- What do you dislike about the show? (audio quality and levels is a known issue)
A. Heh... not enough of them.

Good work

[Brian]

The link is broken (at least for me). It should be

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=73799534

Right now it is

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?playlistId=73799534

[Greg]

Hey, I know you're aware of the audio quality issue. But I'm not sure if you're all that aware of ways to fix it, so I'll offer up some really simple suggestions that you might already know but clearly have yet to implement. :)

#1 - Compression

Not to be confused with MP3- or zip-style compression, compression in audio refers to compressing the dynamic range. Dynamic range is the difference between the quiet and loud parts of the audio. Typically you want to *decrease* dynamic range which fixes your audio levels and adds a lot of warmth to dialogue (the warmth gets added when quiet subtleties are made to be louder). As an added bonus, just about all compressors feature gates that'll get rid of some low-level noise for you.

Don't over-compress or you'll come out in monotone, however.

#2 - Reverb

This puts you in a physical (though artificial) place and adds great deals of warmth. Warmth makes you sound professional and more interesting.

Use this subtly, however. If you apply a Cathedral setting, I'll cry.

[marc nothrop]

I've been enjoying the podcast, it's great to hear from the developers of tools you own, use, admire and sometimes try to emulate their quality. : )

Some things that might help improve the podcast, some low-hanging fruit to start with:

1. Contact details don't seem to be too easy to come by (or I'm blind), would be good to have these more clearly on the site, and in the feed description.

   ** I couldn't see your email, so this will probably be a bit long as a comment! Sorry. : )

2. Descriptions seem to be truncated in iTunes, it would be great to get the full text.
3. Consider adding show notes to the iTunes Lyrics tag, so they're viewable on the iPod (haven't got the latest iPods around to verify.)
4. Follow Greg's advice, it's good! : )

So far as content is concerned:

1. The bio shows are good, getting to know developers etc., but this is also something that will dry up eventually (or at least a bit, as you work your way through the better known developers), so you might want to think about other formats, e.g. like round-tables, or panel discussions (a la IT Conversations), which could work well around WWDC, but generally around significant events or launches (and needn't be limited to Apple-only), or on notable topics, like the Intel transition, working with particular sections of the OS (e.g. Quartz Composer, WebKit) etc.
2. Along similar lines, but with individual developers I'd like to hear the guest's thoughts on specific issues outside of their own app (which you do a bit of anyway.)
3. Case studies, or detailed looks at a particular application, perhaps looking at its long term development, or a single release, and look at the bigger picture issues, and then details that lead the app in the direction it eventually look, but I'm not sure if this could really sustain as a full programme... perhaps these could be vignette shows that pad the schedule. You could record another little session when doing the larger interview, and then mix up the content so that the min-segment is available later, perhaps while the audience is waiting for you to release the latest interview.
4. It would be good to make more use of the iTunes podcasting support, since so many of your listeners are using that, and the iPod; i.e. offer an AAC version, with bookmarking, artwork etc. (and importantly the speed controls, it can really help to fit an episode into a shorter trip!) Artwork would be very useful you could show a screen shot of the app, when being discussed (would be great for users listening in iTunes, and should scale somewhat for the iPod screen (close-ups would be better, of course.)

Sorry for the long post! : )

[Chris Hanson]

Another bit of advice on audio quality: Try multitrack recording. Record yourself on one track, and each guest (or set of guests coming in over one "line") on a separate track. That will let you adjust the track levels independently in postproduction, which will let you easily fix the "really loud interviewer with really quiet guests" issue.

This issue actually causes me some physical discomfort; I listen to CocoaRadio (among other podcasts) on my Shuffle while I run, and occasionally to hear the guests I have to turn the volume up high enough that your voice is painful. This hasn't been an issue with (say) the IT Conversations podcasts, except during their conference session Q&As.