On Criticisms of the Show

[Frungi]

Since Gene responded to iTunes reviews in a “review” of his own, I thought I’d respond to that in a more appropriate venue.

Gene: You responded to a criticism of only covering Apple by referring to a single show that came out months after that criticism was made. Not only does that not make sense, but a single example doesn’t disprove a trend. Judging by what I hear on your show, you are definitely an Apple fanboy (not that there’s anything wrong with that), and if you’re going to deny it, you need to stop bashing Apple’s competitors.

As for the ads: It isn’t a radio show. I know you produce it as a radio show, but that’s not what’s on iTunes. It’s a podcast. What works in one medium doesn’t necessarily work in another. I humbly suggest you explain this to the network and renegotiate your contract, because due to the ad breaks, people have left negative reviews and avoided listening (which is bad for the advertisers).

 

[Gene Steinberg]

I'm sorry. but you need to understand how the business works. The network requires that we run their ads; they create the podcast files and we post them. The only change is that we convert three files to one, and embed ID3 tags. Period.

They have 50 shows on their network. They aren't about to renegotiate our contract and make it different from all other contracts.

In saying that, we are trying to get permission to post older episodes on a special premium package sans ads. But that requires CEO sign-off, and it may not happen.

As to the Apple fanboy nonsense, I use Apple products because, for my purposes, they are superior to other products. But if you listen to the show, you'll see we criticize Apple whenever appropriate and we bring on guests, such as Avram Piltch of Laptop magazine, a regular, who are definitely not fans of Apple.

We are equal opportunity offenders.

 

[Frungi]

Just ignore the ad-centric criticism, then, or pass it on to the network—it would probably be good for them to rethink how they do podcasts.

Like I said, there’s nothing wrong with being an Apple fanboy, as long as you’re not blinded by it (and you generally don’t seem to be). But, intentionally or not, the fact remains that the show covers Apple and Apple-related matters more than any other tech matters. Not to the extent that some of the reviews claim, but certainly the majority.

 

[Gene Steinberg]

Just ignore the ad-centric criticism, then, or pass it on to the network—it would probably be good for them to rethink how they do podcasts.

Like I said, there’s nothing wrong with being an Apple fanboy, as long as you’re not blinded by it (and you generally don’t seem to be). But, intentionally or not, the fact remains that the show covers Apple and Apple-related matters more than any other tech matters. Not to the extent that some of the reviews claim, but certainly the majority.

The ads are sold on the basis of a specific number of potential listeners. That's how the industry works. More to the point, we earn our bread from the ads we sell (not from network ads). If those ads have less circulation, there's less money to put food on the table and pay the rent. Or they simply don't advertise at all.

As far as tech companies go, Apple is way at the top, and gets the majority of coverage all over the media. That's the way it is.

 

[Frungi]

The ads are sold on the basis of a specific number of potential listeners.

What I mean is, they’d probably have more potential listeners if the abundance of ads didn’t make the podcasts so annoying to listen to. Note nearly every negative review of your podcast, for example. But apparently it’s not up to you, and I doubt the network would listen to a random internet user, so I’ll stop arguing the point.

 

[Gene Steinberg]

What I mean is, they’d probably have more potential listeners if the abundance of ads didn’t make the podcasts so annoying to listen to. Note nearly every negative review of your podcast, for example. But apparently it’s not up to you, and I doubt the network would listen to a random internet user, so I’ll stop arguing the point.

Nothing stops you from fast forwarding through ads you don't like. That's how I do it on my satellite TV.