But I totally get that for some, reading the review is an easier and less time consuming endeavor.
So I'll make you a deal. Subscriptions are huge to the success of podcasts. So are five star reviews. Why this is so, I have no idea. I'm still trying to figure out Nielsen boxes. But they are, especially subscriptions. Even if you subscribe and don't listen that's a big help. So I tell ya what, if enough people subscribe today (which just takes a couple of clicks) and maybe a few toss me a star or five I will post the review tomorrow in the blog.
You just click on the DOWNLOAD ON ITUNES button above, click on "view in iTunes", and subscribe. Or go here.
There are also ways of doing it on your smart phone apps but I'll leave that to you to figure out (translation: I have no idea).
Thanks so much for your support of the podcast. I'm trying to present different types of features and interviews -- stuff that I can't do in print and keep the blog content as fresh as its always been. Oh, and have a life.
So that's my deal. I hope you take me up on it.
Your obedient blogger,
me
Cleaver International Studios. Oh, Ken. I remember those days!
ReplyDelete"But I totally get that for some, reading the review is an easier and less time consuming endeavor."
ReplyDeleteFor some, reading the review is the only option because we read it at work.
DONE AND DONE FROM A SECOND [DIGITAL] LOCATION. LOVE THE PODCAST
ReplyDeleteKen, I realize that you're trying to build up an audience for your podcasts, and if that's what you want to do, well, I wish you good luck.
ReplyDeleteBut on a personal view, since you began promoting and pushing the podcast I've found that I'm coming to your site less and less. I've been a daily reader here for several years (3?, 4?) since Mark Evanier mentioned it on his blog. I enjoy reading well written, entertaining and informative blogs and have noticed that ones hosted by writers, like you and Mark, are especially worth going to every day. As for podcasts, I can take them or leave them. Mostly leave them, since most I've listened to are hosted by people with little to no public speaking ability and have very little to actually say.
I guess I'll continue to occasionally stop by but as your site becomes more audio-centric I may look for other sites to read.
And it's all somewhat ironic to me, a blog hosted by a writer, telling stories of writers and covering the entertainment business as it concerns writers is losing me, as a daily visitor, because it's getting away from being a written blog.
I've been a subscriber from the start, though I haven't had the chance to listen (life). Eventually I'll binge listen, which is easy thanks to the speed-playback option. (People don't sound that much different at 1.25 speed than they do at regular.)
ReplyDeleteRichard,
ReplyDeleteSince I still post new entries every day on the blog I don't quite see why also having a podcast and creating different content for that should keep you from following the blog. I'm sorry that by expanding my reach I'm disappointing you, but these are my creative pursuits and you're welcome to follow as much or as little as you like.
A wonderfully funny review of the Oscars filled with truth. And nothing is funnier than the truth!
ReplyDeleteI subscribed and rated your podcast, Ken. I think many of us appreciate all the years of great entertainment you have provided in this blog, which you seem to do for free, and allow to read it for free. So you're free to pursue your ideas. We are free to follow or not. America...America!!
ReplyDeleteDone! I'm a reader, first and foremost, but I'm trying to change my habits. Have to make the time to listen during the day. (Whaddayamean 'work avoidance'?)
ReplyDeleteI listen to every podcast at double speed. It's still easy to understand. I highly recommend.
ReplyDeleteBy chance, I now have to spend ten minutes each morning and each night with a mask on (it has something to do with tear ducts). So I decided that I'd listen to your podcast on romantic comedies. It worked out very well. You kept me engaged and I'd seen all but one of those films (an indication we may have similar tastes, as Jews born in the same decade are likely to).
ReplyDeleteFor those who complain about the promotion of the podcast, I see a lot of differences between the blog and the podcast and I can understand why Ken wants to do the new thing. For one thing, speaking on air was his radio career and his baseball broadcasting career, and I imagine he just likes it. For another, the pace and nuance of vocal communication is different from written communication. Some of these lines might end up in future Levine plays and it's a lot easier to try them out out loud than to do so on the page. And finally, he's funnier when he tells the jokes than when you read them.
Of course, I'm prejudiced because I have a need for a podcast to keep me entertained under my mask. But necessity is the mother of Frank Zappa or something.
I did subscribe to the Podcast and have listened to (and really enjoyed) each episode so far. In case you aren't aware, iTunes is mainly used for getting Podcasts by those that are using Apple devices, particularly iPhones. I use an Android phone and subscribed via Pocketcasts, which is a popular Podcast app for that platform. Podcasts are also available through the Google Music app, although yours doesn't currently come up in the search (it did come up when I searched in Pocketcasts).
ReplyDeleteYou might want to keep in mind that focusing only on iTunes probably is undercounting your audience and you may be missing out on at least some potential audience by not being discoverable in Google Music right now.
I'm completely baffled by the resistance to the podcast. It's something I didn't anticipate. The idea that the blog has become less is absurd, too. Aside from one post about the Oscars, it's exactly the same.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like a lot of fuddy duddies scared of new technology. If you don't want the podcast, don't listen to it. I think you should give it a try myself. I don't believe for a second that people don't have time to listen. Don't you commute to work? Don't you ever walk anywhere? What you never drive? You can listen at your leisure, three minutes at a time, if you'd like. Your podcasting app will remember your place. That's the beauty of podcasts -- you can listen at your leisure.
You still get the same blog, but you also get portable Ken to carry around if you ever feel like some additional FREE entertainment.
This is no different than when Ken has a new book. Or a new play. He promotes them heavily, too. The only difference here is that you don't have to pay to get his new creative endeavour.
I subscribed. I listened to the Oscar review here on your website and enjoyed it. Thanks!
ReplyDeletei just subscribed....where's my toaster?
ReplyDeleteI never cease to be amazed at how many people will make demands of someone who's trying to give them something for free.
ReplyDeleteI subscribe in iTunes, but I then transfer the files through Windows Explorer to my little SanDisk Sansa Plus. It's about the size of a couple of postage stamps and has a clip on the back. It's just takes a couple of clicks and a USB port.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that you're doing the podcast and using your broadcasting skills. You're funny in both venues.
Chiming in to echo the sentiments regarding Android. I don't iTunes, but if the podcast were findable in google play, I'd give all the stars.
ReplyDeleteWe have applied for inclusion with Google and all those other platforms. It just takes time for them to respond and approve. But just know we're on it, and I thank you for your patience.
ReplyDeleteAlways amazed at people who complain about free entertainment.
ReplyDeleteYou go Glen Coco!
ps- http://deadline.com/2017/02/oscar-controversy-pricewaterhousecoopers-writers-guild-strike-paramount-pictures-1202026178/
Your thoughts on a potential strike? What picket line did you do back in '07?
I'm trying to subscribe but dealing with Apple products.....well let's just say that getting a vasectomy with a rusty butter knife would probably be more enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteHi Ken!
ReplyDeleteI've listened to every podcast of yours so far. Via http, works fine. I don't see the reason nor have the wish to install a program only for endowing a subscription count, especially if that program in question comes from Apple or Google.
Nevertheless, thank you for the wonderful insights into and entertainment about the industry!
I will gladly try it when there is an android app. I am behind a firewall at work that won't let me play it. I don't listen to people talking in the car - including sports talk, play by play, political commentators, howard, my phone, etc. because I find it too distracting.
ReplyDeleteAndroid user, have no idea how iTunes works, and don't want to find out :)
ReplyDeleteAs soon as it's on Android, will subscribe for your ratings. Even though I'm the deaf guy who can't hear it :) :)
I love your podcast, have subscribed via Podcast Addict, and will get around to giving you your 5 stars when I have a chance. :) I have to echo the other comments that I don't really feel it's affected your blog writing whatsoever. Just another pursuit, and honestly, I enjoy hearing your voice behind what I've been reading on a regular basis for a while now. Keep up the great work!
ReplyDeleteKen, I've listened to all the episodes of your podcast so far and really enjoyed them. I have a suggestion, although I'll say upfront that I have no idea how easy it would be to implement, even assuming it's something you're interested in.
ReplyDeleteI was listening to an NPR weekend cooking show and they answered a listener question that had been phoned in. There was something kind of cool about hearing the voice of the person asking the question. So that's my suggestion: take questions not just via print, but through voicemail. I realize that there are technical issues involved: having a public phone line that people can call, getting a voicemail message into the podcast itself in the best audio quality, etc. So it may not be worth the effort. But just like something is gained by hearing your voice, and the voices of your guests, there might be value in sometimes hearing the voices of your listeners.
Congrats on your digital expansion. I will subscribe. But where do I get a pod?
ReplyDeleteSome of us non-Apple types would gladly subscribe. Stitcher or SoundCloud please?!?
ReplyDelete@Johnny Walker: "I don't believe for a second that people don't have time to listen. Don't you commute to work? Don't you ever walk anywhere? What you never drive?"
ReplyDeleteSure. But there are already about 100 hours of unheard podcasts on my phone, so it's already somewhat difficult to keep up as it is.
I've tried podcasts, but my brain just isn't wired that way. I can only process every few words. I have this problem with voicemail too. I don't have anywhere near this much trouble listening to a person in a room, but electronic sound is nearly incomprehensible.
ReplyDeleteEnjoying the podcast. I subscribe through the RSS feed as I don't/won't use Itunes. Some of my podcasts are moved to my phone for listening on the go, but yours is one I play over my media player system at home. It gives an experience just like radio as my media players are linked and I can wander through the house listening.
ReplyDeleteThanks for keeping them to around one-half hour in length (shorter is fine) and I like the mix of you alone and also with a guest.
I've been reading the blog since early in its run and won't give it up. But, perhaps like others, I seldom read daily, but read several at a time, when I have the leisure. And I enjoy the comments as well, so seldom read the blog when it is first published.
This is just to let you know that there is no one way to listen to a podcast (or read a blog, for that matter). So you'll never get a review from me in Itunes, but at least your blog comment section will allow me to offer my praise for one of the few blogs which has engaged me for years.