One thing you can do is take pictures whenever you are at an event and post the pictures on the front page. Maybe a slide show and not just a link to flickr
One thing you can do is take pictures whenever you are at an event and post the pictures on the front page. Maybe a slide show and not just a link to flickr
Hmmm... GeekNights photostream. Aggregate all of our GN-related photos. That's actually not that bad of an idea.
Look at the success non-serial webcomics have with them.
Just because they have a random button, and are successful, doesn't mean the random button caused their success or gets much use. Show me some data on how much use the random button gets.
Just because they have a random button, and are successful, doesn't mean the random button caused their success or gets much use. Show me some data on how much use the random button gets.
I recall talk that people who click the random button on xkcd will end up staying there reading archives for a while. I don't know if there is any evidence, though.
I'm guessing it would help us trap Internet-addicted people into obsessive listening. ;^)
Even more of a reason to fix it, Tycho's stuff is often better than the comic.
Something I found when Penny Arcade was doing a podcast was that the strip was funnier after I listened to the corresponding podcast. Often the funniest part of their comics isn't in the panels per se, but in a throwaway character's motivations and back story, which they would discuss when coming up with the strip.
EDIT: This shines through in my favorite PA strip evar.
Why do you want people to visit the website front page? It seems you are looking for a solution without a problem.
Having people actually visit the site doesn't in and of itself help a lot. However, I do want people to link to the main site for Google juice. Why would someone link to the main site? There's nothing there. They just link directly to the mp3s, to the forums, etc. That doesn't really help podcast discovery.
I want to make the main site someplace people want to go. If it is a place people want to go, that means it has things people want to see. If it has things people want to see, people will link to it. If people link to it, then more new people will discover it, and the show, either via those links or via Google.
Even though the forums are completely public, nobody discovers GeekNights by way of the forums. They discover by way of iTunes or conventions and such. We really need to spread on the Internets via links, the same way XKCD spreads. It's harder being MP3s and not JPGs. Thus I need something else to use as bait.
If you want google juice, you've got to work with google. What it expects from a podcast: a blog-style presentation of a series of episodes. Make those blog posts better, with more content, and you're most of the way there.
For example, I found your podcast via google reader. It was one of the reccimmended feeds it thought I should read.
These days, you often don't even include the things of the day. That's just not going to cut it. Now go look at the show notes for the SFFaidio podcast. They list everything they talk about. Every book or movie, every author, every other podcast too. That's how I found out about it, when a google alert popped up, saying one if them mentioned my own podcast. They have a massive website too, more popular than their podcast, but the podcast is doing really well. That approach takes time though, more time than you'll be willing to spend. That's why collaborative show notes with Wave would work, especially if the listeners can add to them while watching live on Ustream, and all embedded on the front page while the show is live.
Personally I trust the format of my own podcast to work for me. I gave it a very does-what-it-says-on-the-tin name, and stick to a single topic (book) per episode. Everyone who emails me, I ask how they find the podcast. The overwhelming majority say "I searched in iTunes for something to do with science fiction books." The next reason is via wikipedia. I get no google juice there, but for each book I review, I add a link to it on that books page on wikipedia. An audio review and discussion of a single book is often exactly what someone wants, and many become regular listeners.
Luke has a bit of a point with regards to getting people to notice the front page. I keep the front page bookmarked and use it as my notifier that there's a new show up; if there's a feed that's changed as I cruise past on my way to the forum then I fire up iTunes and let it get caught up on Geeknights as well as all the rest of the podcasts I listen to. Other than that, I have no real reason to give a second glance at the front page.
My thoughts: The video feed is a moot point for me because I'm going to be listening to the audio of it soon enough. Other video feeds that we don't normally get the audio for (such as Scott's Box) would be more likely to encourage eyeballs to stick around. The aforementioned Flickr stream of photos from cons and such would also be a good idea. The links for the shows at the top that take you to the notes for that episode are a bit redundant, because the show notes (News links, ToTD, and a full breakdown of what went on in the episode, including tags for all items discussed) really should be on the front page. The click-through for each topic (which would include making the graphic for the topic clickable) really should take you to the archive for that topic, which would include the current show.
because the show notes (News links, ToTD, and a full breakdown of what went on in the episode, including tags for all items discussed) really should be on the front page.
That's a whole lot of stuff to put on the front page. Especially if there is more than one show on that page. There are UI considerations here. Why don't you draw that and see what it looks like?
Well Think about this Scott, do you think everyone who is extremely active in the Somethingawful forums actually read the website somethingawful, I think a lot of them ignore the site and just hang in the forums.
Well Think about this Scott, do you think everyone who is extremely active in the Somethingawful forums actually read the website somethingawful, I think a lot of them ignore the site and just hang in the forums.
Maybe, but there are plenty of people who do read SomethingAwful who maybe aren't in the forums. We do not have such people, or not many.
I think a lot of them ignore the site and just hang in the forums.
Yeah, pretty much the only thing I care about here is the forums. And, when I do end up listening to the show, it's usually because of the discussion it generated in the forum thread.
Yeah, pretty much the only thing I care about here is the forums. And, when I do end up listening to the show, it's usually because of the discussion it generated in the forum thread.
Yeah, this isn't really meant for you guys. It's meant for completely random Internets people so when they see our site they find something that makes them stay instead of immediately leaving.
Just admit you're asking the wrong people. We're in the forum. This is what we like.
The only way google juice is useful is if it increases listeners to the show. Make the front page more about the show.
By the way, you're not special in this. There are many podcasts I listen to where I've never been to the website, ever. iTunes is the one thing I needed. I say try to increase your iTunes juice. Ask people to write reviews, keep your feeds full of nouns and proper nouns that will show up in searches, that kind of thing.
Maybe put more stuff up on youtube? Doesn't have to be full shows, maybe just the opener and things of the day or something. "For more tech news, video games, anime/manga/comics, go to frontrowcrew.com!" You can just copy the description from what you already wrote for the show notes, and add a link to frontrowcrew.com. It might not get you many new people, but a hell of a lot more people go to youtube than ustream. Plus, it can be embedded all over the place. I know ustream can too, but people don't know that.
Comments
I'm guessing it would help us trap Internet-addicted people into obsessive listening. ;^)
EDIT: This shines through in my favorite PA strip evar.
I want to make the main site someplace people want to go. If it is a place people want to go, that means it has things people want to see. If it has things people want to see, people will link to it. If people link to it, then more new people will discover it, and the show, either via those links or via Google.
Even though the forums are completely public, nobody discovers GeekNights by way of the forums. They discover by way of iTunes or conventions and such. We really need to spread on the Internets via links, the same way XKCD spreads. It's harder being MP3s and not JPGs. Thus I need something else to use as bait.
For example, I found your podcast via google reader. It was one of the reccimmended feeds it thought I should read.
These days, you often don't even include the things of the day. That's just not going to cut it. Now go look at the show notes for the SFFaidio podcast. They list everything they talk about. Every book or movie, every author, every other podcast too. That's how I found out about it, when a google alert popped up, saying one if them mentioned my own podcast. They have a massive website too, more popular than their podcast, but the podcast is doing really well. That approach takes time though, more time than you'll be willing to spend. That's why collaborative show notes with Wave would work, especially if the listeners can add to them while watching live on Ustream, and all embedded on the front page while the show is live.
Personally I trust the format of my own podcast to work for me. I gave it a very does-what-it-says-on-the-tin name, and stick to a single topic (book) per episode. Everyone who emails me, I ask how they find the podcast. The overwhelming majority say "I searched in iTunes for something to do with science fiction books." The next reason is via wikipedia. I get no google juice there, but for each book I review, I add a link to it on that books page on wikipedia. An audio review and discussion of a single book is often exactly what someone wants, and many become regular listeners.
My thoughts: The video feed is a moot point for me because I'm going to be listening to the audio of it soon enough. Other video feeds that we don't normally get the audio for (such as Scott's Box) would be more likely to encourage eyeballs to stick around. The aforementioned Flickr stream of photos from cons and such would also be a good idea. The links for the shows at the top that take you to the notes for that episode are a bit redundant, because the show notes (News links, ToTD, and a full breakdown of what went on in the episode, including tags for all items discussed) really should be on the front page. The click-through for each topic (which would include making the graphic for the topic clickable) really should take you to the archive for that topic, which would include the current show.
Just my two shekels.
Do we have nothing to offer other than a handful of quality links each week? If you want TotD just go to Collegehumor, BoingBoing, del.icio.us, etc.
The only way google juice is useful is if it increases listeners to the show. Make the front page more about the show.
By the way, you're not special in this. There are many podcasts I listen to where I've never been to the website, ever. iTunes is the one thing I needed. I say try to increase your iTunes juice. Ask people to write reviews, keep your feeds full of nouns and proper nouns that will show up in searches, that kind of thing.