The problem with community podcasts? Too much useless banter. And little chemistry. Poor editing. Also, some are too long. Poor sound quality is an issue sometimes.
I don't really know since I've only listened to a few BSHAFs and a couple Minor Issues podcasts. I don't have time to listen to the 89 community podcasts here.
The Problem With Community Podcasts Is...
" The problem with community podcast is people have more fun making them than other people do listening to them. "You should have just posted that to begin with. :P
I have a podcast about a community on a website about video games. It's called Bomb Should Have A Face. Though technically right now we're calling it "the new BSHAF". That's because we're trying to make it clear the show has undergone a makeover. TokyoChicken was talking about some of the issues the show used to encounter above:
One thing I've learned from my experience trying to produce a community podcasts: Holy sweet god it is fucking hard. Apart from just trying to deal with audio quality mishaps, it's difficult to actually "Make a podcast about the community", because when you boil it down it's still just 4 dudes talking about stuff, not having much community involvement. I tried my hardest to figure this out with Bomb Should Have a Face back in the day when I was "Schedule Producer", if you grab interesting community blogs from the site to talk about then people get pissed off because then it becomes a bunch of guys talking about the economy or whatever, but then if you go into more community happenings it begins to sound dry, that is if you cast of people lack some level of chemistry. There's a fine line that could be easily crossed when it comes to these type of podcasts.
That's all true. The way we used to do the show was too simplistic to work for very long, especially once the site got bigger. We tried a few things to sort it out, but it was a pretty big problem: talking about the stuff didn't always work, as sometimes it came across as boring. So tangential stuff had to appear, and that resulted in a backlash. We were a games podcast, so we felt the need to include discussion about games, even when it didn't necessarily fit the Community remit.
So we had to give the show a re-think after its hiatus. Sadly, tokyochicken stopped feeling the mood necessary and opted not to return. So one of the first things we did, was get a new host. We decided to go for someone with a lot of passion for the community, and we made sure it was someone we already had chemistry with - SteepInKline.
The reformatting of the show is absolute. Only the tagline, focus, name and some of the segments remain. And where we have retained segments, they've been completely re-designed. The show is now aiming to be about 1 hour, which is the optimal length for non-professional podcasts (30 minutes for amateur video podcasts). It's recorded in bits now, spread through the week, so we can be more flexible and have more guests (The first episode features fewer distinct recording sessions however, as we are using it as a demo).
That part about more guests is crucial. the new BSHAF aims to put the Voice to the User and to the User Created Content. LordAndrew revealed earlier he's been in a new BSHAF recording session. He was part of our new-style Blog Post segment - yes, it features one of his Blog Posts. The way we're doing the show now, we have the capability for an average of 5 guests a show (Or as many as 7) - that's 8-10 people total. And we can do it without there ever being too many people on.
The community focus has spread even as far as that old, creaky "whatcha been playin'?" segment. I was never satisfied with its existence, as I explained above. Its replacement, "What We're All Playing" offers up the same opportunities to talk about great games, but does it with a Community remit.
So I guess, in summary, I get that a lot of you wonder about the value or quality of community podcasts, particularly those like ours which are the hardest to make (The ones which are about the Community). I also get that some of that is our fault. But I just want to make it clear, we've listened to what you've all said in the past, and we think we've got a better way to do it, and I look forward to sharing it with you all. All I ask is that you give us a chance.
There's some info about the show here.
I just can't stand the squeaky voices of immaturity. No offense guys (well ok, a little offense).
" @Jayge said:Yes." The problem with community podcasts (I think) actually stems from the fact that nobody really uses their real names. It's just... weird. You can't have a real attempt at a podcast while using your random net handles. It just doesn't work. "Hi, my name is Systech." "I'm Coltonio." "Our guest is Arthur Gies." (Sorry to pick on my bestest buddies) It just doesn't work. "Dude, we're fixing that. It's mostly habit though, as when I talk to Systech I call him Systech...not Andrew. Also, Minor Issues is the best podcast ever. "
But again why are people offended that someone wants to make a podcast? If you don't like it then don't listen any more, obviously the people recording them enjoy it so let them be. I've honestly found more entertainment in podcasts I've stumbled upon by people I don't know than listening to these a lot of these "professional" podcasts. The existence of a podcast you don't like doesn't hurt you in any way. Let it be for the enjoyment of those making them and for the enjoyment of those who listen. Turning up your nose at a podcast you deem amateur is immature and extremely pig-headed.
I guess I'm just saying, let people have their fun, how does it affect you if someone wants to get with their friends and talk games? Instead of condemning people for doing what they enjoy, just don't listen.
" I have a podcast about a community on a website about video games. It's called Bomb Should Have A Face. Though technically right now we're calling it "the new BSHAF". That's because we're trying to make it clear the show has undergone a makeover. TokyoChicken was talking about some of the issues the show used to encounter above:Jensonb you try to create a "new" BSHAF almost every week.
One thing I've learned from my experience trying to produce a community podcasts: Holy sweet god it is fucking hard. Apart from just trying to deal with audio quality mishaps, it's difficult to actually "Make a podcast about the community", because when you boil it down it's still just 4 dudes talking about stuff, not having much community involvement. I tried my hardest to figure this out with Bomb Should Have a Face back in the day when I was "Schedule Producer", if you grab interesting community blogs from the site to talk about then people get pissed off because then it becomes a bunch of guys talking about the economy or whatever, but then if you go into more community happenings it begins to sound dry, that is if you cast of people lack some level of chemistry. There's a fine line that could be easily crossed when it comes to these type of podcasts.
That's all true. The way we used to do the show was too simplistic to work for very long, especially once the site got bigger. We tried a few things to sort it out, but it was a pretty big problem: talking about the stuff didn't always work, as sometimes it came across as boring. So tangential stuff had to appear, and that resulted in a backlash. We were a games podcast, so we felt the need to include discussion about games, even when it didn't necessarily fit the Community remit.
So we had to give the show a re-think after its hiatus. Sadly, tokyochicken stopped feeling the mood necessary and opted not to return. So one of the first things we did, was get a new host. We decided to go for someone with a lot of passion for the community, and we made sure it was someone we already had chemistry with - SteepInKline.
The reformatting of the show is absolute. Only the tagline, focus, name and some of the segments remain. And where we have retained segments, they've been completely re-designed. The show is now aiming to be about 1 hour, which is the optimal length for non-professional podcasts (30 minutes for amateur video podcasts). It's recorded in bits now, spread through the week, so we can be more flexible and have more guests (The first episode features fewer distinct recording sessions however, as we are using it as a demo).
That part about more guests is crucial. the new BSHAF aims to put the Voice to the User and to the User Created Content. LordAndrew revealed earlier he's been in a new BSHAF recording session. He was part of our new-style Blog Post segment - yes, it features one of his Blog Posts. The way we're doing the show now, we have the capability for an average of 5 guests a show (Or as many as 7) - that's 8-10 people total. And we can do it without there ever being too many people on.
The community focus has spread even as far as that old, creaky "whatcha been playin'?" segment. I was never satisfied with its existence, as I explained above. Its replacement, "What We're All Playing" offers up the same opportunities to talk about great games, but does it with a Community remit.
So I guess, in summary, I get that a lot of you wonder about the value or quality of community podcasts, particularly those like ours which are the hardest to make (The ones which are about the Community). I also get that some of that is our fault. But I just want to make it clear, we've listened to what you've all said in the past, and we think we've got a better way to do it, and I look forward to sharing it with you all. All I ask is that you give us a chance.
There's some info about the show here. "
" Jensonb you try to create a "new" BSHAF almost every week. "Whatever it takes to make it work.
" I agree with you completely, Sweep. Putting together a podcast is a lot of hard work. The one I am working on is straying away from being a community podcast and has for some time now and realized this during the decline of BSHAF. We have tried to use our real names for a few episodes as well. Just because some community members are making a podcast doesn't mean it's a community podcast, though. I also don't know why we're getting picked on for having someone on the podcast that wasn't a community member or Giant Bomb staff. "You aren't.
" tl;dr: If you're thinking of starting a community podcast - don't. It's information being regurgitated by amateurs. Only start a podcast if you know your stuff. "Now, i've heard there's like 6 community podcasts that float around the GB community, but i personally don't bother listening to any of them...just cause i know they're probably not that good.
You can't expect it to be as good as a "professional" podcast. You just can't. It's never going to happen. But to me it doesn't matter whether the hosts are "professional" or just a couple inexperienced amateurs yelling at each other over Skype, as long as it's enjoyable to listen to. But you won't know whether you'd like it until you at least attempt to listen to one. You never know, you could end up enjoying it more than one of those high-profile podcasts. (OK, probably not...)" @SuperMooseman said:
" tl;dr: If you're thinking of starting a community podcast - don't. It's information being regurgitated by amateurs. Only start a podcast if you know your stuff. "Now, i've heard there's like 6 community podcasts that float around the GB community, but i personally don't bother listening to any of them...just cause i know they're probably not that good. "
The problem with most community podcasts or 'amateur' podcasts is they lack consistency and organisation. Most of the time they just end up feeling more like a group of people yapping like hyenas with everyone talking and no one listening to each other.
This is partly due to the fact most amateur podcasts are done through Skype which presents the problem of people talking over each other, interrupting all the time and having poor audio quality making it difficult to edit and/or listen to due to background noise.
There is also the fact a lot of amateur podcasts lack any form of organisation or layout. A lot of the time it feels like the people on the podcast have decided on the schedule and content to be discussed a mere 10 minutes before recording. And you get the impression everyone is caught on the back-foot a little, the race has started but no one has actually left the starting line.
Then of course there is the simple and honest truth that a lot of amateur podcasts are created by teenagers, kids sitting in their bedroom on a Saturday afternoon talking on Skype. They've found some like minded individuals on a website and just want to enjoy the fun of recording something, putting it out there for others to experience and I'd say it's safe to assume most don't take it too seriously. Most are just along for the ride, having a bit of fun and so forth. So there is bound to be a severe lack of professional attitudes toward producing and creating a podcast in those circumstances.
A good amateur podcast is one where those recording are sitting together in person with a list of the scheduled topics of conversation and content infront of them that will be discussed during the recording. These tend to be the best podcasts as everyone, usually, has the same audio quality since they'll all most likely be using the same type of mics and being in the same room together means no variations in echoes, background noise etc. Not to mention the most obvious thing being the number of interruptions and 'talking-over-one-another' issues are almost non-existent. And the chemistry between everyone will usually be more natural allowing for more fluid dialogue between hosts because they know each other.
At the end of the day a community or amateur podcast is no different to a sandwich. You can get a 'professional' sandwich from Subway with all the trimmings or you can make one at home which is a little rough around the edges but still quite enjoyable.
You can't keep bringing up the "sit in the same room" tip in this context, it just doesn't make any sense to keep talking about that. The whole point of community podcasts is the contributors have never met, never mind live close enough together to regularly sit in the same room. Community podcasts are done over the web because they have to be.
There is a solution. Do what Leo Laporte does over at TWiT, where the majority of contributors Skype in to that extremely slick and professional group of Podcasts. Use the Skype video feeds whenever you can so that you can see when eachother are going to talk.
It's not perfect. Not everybody wants to or can do a Skype video call. But it's the closest you can reasonably get.
"Same here. My mom comes in saying "Are you listening to Howard?" I'm like no..........something along those lines though......
Also, the deep (somewhat sexy lol) voices of the Bombcast crew usually fool my parents into them thinking I am listening to NPR or Howard or something like that. Well, when Jeff screams something like "I Love Boobies" that blows my cover. But that still does fit with Howard.... "
At the end of the day the mistake many people make, and my beef with the BSHAF, was that there was not enough direction and pacing. You can't make a 2-hour podcast just because Giant Bomb also does it. Do maybe 30-40 minutes, cut out all of the fat, keep it focused and on-topic and know what you're talking about. Be very critical about it. Listen to it and think "is this interesting to my target audience?"
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