Would GeekNights be as popular if it weren't a daily?

jcc

How many of you were drawn in because of the frequency of updates? Are there any podcasts out there that you would have subscribed to if they had put up shows with more frequency and regularity?

I continue to listen to GeekNights because it's interesting and well-produced, but I started listening to GeekNights solely because it was a daily. I listen to podcasts exclusively at work, which means that I have 40 hours a week that need filling. Your average 20-minute podcast that's updated once a week and that's done a total of 50 shows will get its entire archive inhaled in 2-3 days. Starting with an empty feed reader, having a dozen longer regularly updated shows like GeekNights was more convenient than having over a hundred "waiting in line" shows, since it takes quite a bit of time to ferret out the good ones from the bad ones.

I recently heard a podcast panel recording where Scrym mentioned that they can confirm having over 1,000 listeners. (Scott also admonished Rym for flirting with one of the audience members, but that's a note for The Other Thread. :P) That's probably two to three times more listeners than the average well-produced niche podcast. Is it entirely due to their winning personalities?

Omnutia

I have wondered how many people subscribe to just one of the days instead of all five, might be worth running a poll. Also I would have thought that most of the forum members listen to all five days, as do I.

Viga

Even if Geeknights wasn't a daily I'd still like it the same as I do now. The content, audio quality and humor is the draw in. The frequency is just a huge plus to them as well as their personalities. That brings the question: if Rym and Scott were bad fanboys would they still be as awesome?

Omnutia

If Geeknights went to once a week now then people would still listen but if it had been that way from the start it would have taken a lot longer to get near to this level of quality and there were a couple of points where Scrym could have stopped.

Kiey

I think that Geek Nights is as good as it is, because it's almost daily. I think doing all those episodes has made them better at doing the show, and thus made the show more enjoyable and more popular.

HMTKSteve

The daily thing brought me in. My total commute time is about 1:30. GeekNights fills that time span nicely.

Thaed

The quantity is awesome, but if it were crap, I wouldn't listen. I think the only thing that they give up going 4 nights is depth. But most radio shows don't have depth either. You need public radio for depth.

rhinocero

I think that, for most people, a consistent release schedule is as important or more important than regularity. People want to know that it's going to be there when they expect it. The volume probably doesn't hurt, though.

Sail

(Almost) Daily means I always have something new to listen to. I like that. I would probably still listen to GeekNights, but I don't know if I would like it as much.

One Sin

This question begs another question: If Geeknights weren't daily, which content would remain? Would it be a multi-topic-per-episode show?

One of the show's main pluses is the variety of topics it covers. This is what gives it it's wide appeal. It's not a matter of frequency so much as it is the range of content needed to sustain a varying audience. Even if the shows were to become longer and maintain their range of material, the sheer length of such a show would be seen as unattractive.

Personally, such a change wouldn't matter much to me unless the show was all tech-related.

Cremlian

From what I gathered if they ever reduced to two shows a week it would alternate from week to week. One Week would have tech and Anime and the other would be gaming and misc.

...

Hmmmmmmm, if Geeknights wasn't daily. Like Thaed, I wouldn't listen if it was horrible, either once a week, or four nights a week. But if it was once a week I wouldn't enjoy it as much as four days a week. I mean, there is less to enjoy then.

And Jcc, where was this podcasting panel recording? (as in URL)

Neito

I think being daily helps GeekNights remain in people's brains easier. That, in turn, can get you fans who are more devoted, who then promote the podcast to others.

HMTKSteve

What also kept me is the sound quality. At the time so many podcasts sounded like shit and this was the only one with good sound.

Double Z

What also kept me is the sound quality. At the time so many podcasts sounded like shit and this was the only one with good sound.

Yes, and now I'm spoiled. Because of Geeknights I can't stand anything that sounds like crap, no mater how good it is.

jcc

And Jcc, where was this podcasting panel recording? (as in URL)

http://www.fan-service.org/features/podcast/podcast/070815.mp3

It was hiding in the Fast Karate archives from August.

kumarhk

Acutally, the #1 problem (and the only problem, I guess) that I have with GeekNights is that it is too frequently updated. I want to listen to it all, but I just can't seem to find the time.

Infinity

The quantity does add to the enjoyment of it, but it's mostly that they have interesting insights that are pretty entertaining. Actually, I most often get into the shows where Scott and Rym are just talking about their life. All the childhood experiences, RIT stories, and odd stuff that happened that day. I can't wait for college (it's less than three years away).

The other thing, though, is that if GeekNights was once a week, I'd have weeks where I wouldn't listen; I always listen to Tuesdays and Thursdays, and sometimes Monday (if it's not crazy technical), but never Wednesday. I've never been an anime person, nor do I think I ever will be; that's a bit off-topic though.

Regardless, GeekNights has remained one of the best, most well-produced shows through the years. Keep it up Scrym.

Rym

I've never been an anime person, nor do I think I ever will be; that's a bit off-topic though.

Anime is a medium, not a genre. Saying you don't like anime is like saying you don't like "movies" or "photographs."

Infinity

Anime is a medium, not a genre. Saying you don't like anime is like saying you don't like "movies" or "photographs."

Either way, it still doesn't appeal to me right now. I don't consider it a genre; some people don't like documentaries. Anime's not that bad; when I was younger I liked Yugi-oh (ugh) and Pokemon, and Teen Titans sometimes seemed to have a dash of it, but it's not that I like other stuff more, given that I rarely watch movies and the like. I would, but it's just not feasible yet.
Mostly what turns me off is when I hear people talking about it when I have no idea what's going on. To even relate to those conversations, you have to have watched it far more than I could. I still respect it as a medium though. Don't get me wrong.

kenjura

If 99% of movies or photographs were unappealing to me, I'd certainly say "I don't like movies/photographs".

You've admitted that so much of the anime that comes out these days is unoriginal moe crap. It's much like American TV, in that the majority of shows are just meh or worse, but it's still worth watching for the good shows. I think there's a slight difference in the way the shows are managed; it seems like anime usually gets at least one full season out before cancelling, unlike American shows which have to claw and scrape their way to even having a few shows to prove themselves.

We don't even *see* the vast majority of TV shows produced in America, and usually for good reason. In Japan, I think the traditionally rigorous update schedule of anime means they're more likely to get a show out there (and onto DVD) than not. So, more of the things "below the cutoff" get put out there.

And I'm fine with that. Surely there are millions of Japanese and others who want to see a lot of that stuff, but not me.

The predominant culture appealed to by modern anime is so not for me; then again, I could say the same for American TV, movies, music, etc, so that's no knock on Japan.

I disagree that anime is a medium. Animation is a medium, and anime is a big part of that. Discounting 3d animation, most of the innovation in animation comes from anime. It has many genres, to be sure, but it isn't quite it's own medium, any more than Japanese film is its own medium, distinct from American.

"Medium" is not the upgrade from "genre".

And to at least remotely address the actual topic; Geeknights is kind of like Simply Syndicated, in that the same people do multiple shows under a common name. Their tech, anime, and game shows, in my opinion, are first rate among all podcasts, and like the aforementioned group, the synergy between them helps a great deal too.

I think Geeknights would lose something if it didn't cover 3+ topics, though if the existing 4 shows were not daily, but rather weekly (with the same number of shows overall), I don't think that would change a whole lot. If you subscribe to enough podcasts, you always have fresh ones to listen to.

Zeehat

Of course it would be.

merry_minstrel

Well, I'd say the four releases a week are important. I don't listen to it *because* they release so frequently, but it allows them to cover a wide range of topics. If there's a show that doesn't particularly interest me (although I usually still listen to them, because the main bit is usually less than half anyway), I just wait for the next day. If, say, /dev/radio (it's in German) does a show I don't like, I have to wait two weeks for the next one. I still like their podcast just as much, but it's not as important to me.

Dkong

Yeah, I think it would be as popular if it wasn't daily. Even if it's once a week, that doesn't take away from the fact that they're awesome podcasters.

Then, to answer the question if I would listen to other podcasts if they were daily, then no, I wouldn't. Out of all the podcasts I don't listen to anymore, I stopped because they were bad, not because they were infrequent. I'm not gonna throw names out there, but I definitely wouldn't go back to them if they did daily shows....unless that in turn caused them to become good at podcasting....<_<.


Then again, I don't think geeknights would be as popular if it wasn't so broad. If they cut it down to 2 days, and chopped out 2 categories, instead of doing 2 in 1 episodes, they'd lose listeners for sure.

nlatimer

The name is what got me to subscribe when I was browsing some feeds a few years ago, I guess the frequency made me stay, but I just delete ones that don't look interesting or I don't think I have time for anymore.