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?"

"
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.... "

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.

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.

" @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. "

" @Sweep: I don't listen to the podcast, I hardly watch the videos, and I don't read the reviews. Why am I here? "

" 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. "

" 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. "

" Jensonb you try to create a "new" BSHAF almost every week. "

" 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. "

" @Jayge said:

" 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. "

I just can't stand the squeaky voices of immaturity. No offense guys (well ok, a little offense). 

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: 
 

" The problem with community podcast is people have more fun making them than other people do listening to them. "

You said it and not me...

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.

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.

" @Jayge said:

" 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. "

" @FluxWaveZ said:

" I would just like the official Giant Bombcast to acknowledge the community more and not only by emails.  They should quote various comments that were posted on the boards like those in Listen Up and Rebel FM do (Garnett Lee is especially great when doing this.  He frequently quotes comments that people have made on 1up and NeoGAF in the appropriate contexts).  Maybe they could talk about the results on official weekly polls that they could post on the site, commenting why people chose one side or the other to add to points they could make during those discussions. "

I disagree. The Giantbomb staff are part of the community. If they see something worth noting then they will reply on the forums or in a feature article. Thats the point of having a site as well as a podcast. I don't want two hours of Jeff reading out forum posts. I want videogame news filtered through the cynically experienced brain of Ryan Davis and served with a healthy dose of sarcasm. "

I don't have time to listen to the Bombcast, so good luck to everyone that tries, plus after only starting to listen to podcasts last year, they seem boring. I just quit listening. I might catch a special podcast every once in a while. Maybe they're for the younger crowd.

" 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. "

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.

" I would just like the official Giant Bombcast to acknowledge the community more and not only by emails.  They should quote various comments that were posted on the boards like those in Listen Up and Rebel FM do (Garnett Lee is especially great when doing this.  He frequently quotes comments that people have made on 1up and NeoGAF in the appropriate contexts).  Maybe they could talk about the results on official weekly polls that they could post on the site, commenting why people chose one side or the other to add to points they could make during those discussions. "

I agree that Community Podcasts fail to be as entertaining as the Bombcast because they are less professional. I love listening to the Bombcast because Ryan, Vinny, Jeff, and Brad (Giant Bomb!) (cookie for reference) know their stuff, and I'd much rather listen to that instead of a couple of high schoolers over Skype.

" @Sweep: I don't listen to the podcast, I hardly watch the videos, and I don't read the reviews. Why am I here? "

I think that you have a valid point in that theres really no use in having a podcast if you dont have anything new to bring to the table.
 
Video game websites have podcasts because they get more information than the regular guy and hearing them discuss what they saw is informative to people. The same is with game companies. So if you only know what you read on giantbomb then why should I care about your podcast? If people have opinions they could just as easily write them down on a blog or forum topic instead of going through the trouble of making a podcast.
 
I am not going to say that you are wasting your time but I just dont see how a  "Community podcast" could be as widely successful as the Giant Bombcast. Unless it was really funny, then perhaps it could find a different audience.But at that point the fact that its about videogames becomes secondary. What about a podcast about the community? Or maybe the internet as a whole? In order to suceed you need to bring something to the table that isnt already there.
I read forum topics sometimes and I start to wonder, "Why am I reading this?" "I dont actually care what this guy has to say". Which ends in me asking myself what the hell im even doing here. I dont know if anyone here actually wants my opinion on this and they probably dont.
 
But back to the topic at hand. Should "community podcasts" even exist? In the end, It really doesent matter if all the people involved enjoy what their doing and atleast someone listens to it. Maybe people just have nothing better to do and this is just a fun way to spend their free time.
 
The bombcast began as basically the Jeff Gerstmann show didint it? At the time people were crazy interested in anything that he did and so the Podcast was a success and gained a fanbase and then it could evolve into a podcast about videogames. But if your just coming out of the deep abyss of the internet and nobody has heard of you your chances of making it are very slim. I believe that the initiative should be from the people but again, If you wanna do it then go for it.

I've thought about this for a long time,  it's been an issue I've personally had to work with. A community podcast works, there are examples of good community podcasts out there, go to Bitmob.com and check out the Pixel Revolt podcast.

One complaint that bothers the all living fuck out of me is the people who go out and say, "Why do I want to listen to some random douchebag's opinion? I'd rather listen to Garnett Lee!" or something to that degree. A lot of these journalists we listen to today were once just dudes on a forum or irc writing amateur reviews and blogs. Hell Andrew Pfister was some guy in an irc channel who made friends with the right people. When it comes to an amateur podcast I try to be open minded to things, even if you don't work for any professional outlet you might have something interesting to say. Again, I point you to Bitmob.com, they have many unknown bloggers/podcasters who have some really interesting opinions.
 
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.
 
Also I don't think you need to be known in the industry to be interesting , you could be completely unknown and still grab an audience if you do the rights things with a podcast. Most people will gravitate to a group of people with strong chemistry, a lot of times it doesn't even really matter what people talk about as long as the cast works together really well. Look at GFW for example. I think the community podcast things works just fine, it just takes a lot of polish. You could talk about the same old bullshit as everyone else as long as you're having fun doing it, that kind of thing resonates to people.
 
tl;dr: It just takes a lot of work, and have fun with it, people will come.

The problem with community podcast is people have more fun making them than other people do listening to them.

I wouldn't mind being on a podcast, although I'd be concerned that I'd be just as disruptive and reprimanded for it like Leigh Alexander was in her Bombcast appearance. :P

I think the best way to go about it is just to enjoy talking with a group of people. If you can put it out and people enjoy it, well yay.

" @Sweep said:

" The problem with community podcast is people have more fun making them than other people do listening to them. "

Is that a problem though? "

I've only listened to a GB community podcast once (I think it was BSHAF but I'm not sure) and it didn't really grab my attention. Partly because I didn't really know any of the people on it and partly because they were just talking about stuff that I'd already heard on other podcasts with people who knew more about it.

I really didn't know the HotSpot crew very at all when I started listening. It's something you get accustomed to over time. But of course, a podcast needs to be good enough to keep people coming back, so that they can learn more about the hosts.
 
So I think sometimes it's good to listen to a podcast that may not be all that great, and provide feedback. A podcast can improve with help from its listeners, and hopefully draw in more listeners as a result.
 
@PenguinDust said:

" If you decide to make a podcast, please, dear God, take the time and EDIT the podcast.  So many start up podcasts believe all they have to do is chat for a couple of hours and release the tapes on the web for instant success.  And it's not just awkward pauses and dead air that need to be edited out, but long stray conversations from the topic, parts where people are talking over each other, and giggling fits.  Also remember, a podcast should strive for broadcast quality which means don't treat the format the same as any old lunchroom conversation with friends.  There is a difference.  No one want to hear someone they have no affinity with talk about their class schedule, that their cat spit up a hairball, or how their parents suck.  If you can stay on topic, speak professionally, and edit the show down to what is actually entertaining, then you've got as good a shot as anyone.  Good luck. "

If you decide to make a podcast, please, dear God, take the time and EDIT the podcast.  So many start up podcasts believe all they have to do is chat for a couple of hours and release the tapes on the web for instant success.  And it's not just awkward pauses and dead air that need to be edited out, but long stray conversations from the topic, parts where people are talking over each other, and giggling fits.  Also remember, a podcast should strive for broadcast quality which means don't treat the format the same as any old lunchroom conversation with friends.  There is a difference.  No one want to hear someone they have no affinity with talk about their class schedule, that their cat spit up a hairball, or how their parents suck.  If you can stay on topic, speak professionally, and edit the show down to what is actually entertaining, then you've got as good a shot as anyone.  Good luck.

Hmm, cool advice that I could possibly apply to my blog, sort of.

Great read and an interesting take on community podcasting. As much as I would like to believe otherwise, a lot of the observations made are dead on. Getting people to value an opinion enough to listen to 1 to 2 hours of it is quite a feat even with good content. The irony, of course, is that my comrades and I are about to start a podcast for a video games society in the University of Surrey (UK). Whilst not the exact same thing as a community podcast, I feel we are starting for an even worst position. Getting uni students to do anything, let alone paid attention to one of their peers, is nay on impossible unless their asses are on the line. Couple with that the fact that whatever we do is self funded and you begin to see my position.  

 Yet, this still does not faze me as it should. Some would say I am completely unrealistic to the success of my endeavour; however it isn’t success I am after. It is all about having some fun, with some friends and enjopying it. If people enjoy it as much as we do, I will invite them to take part. It is still a ways off yet, with the Blue snowball arriving next month and me having little experience with audio software and none with RRS feeds, but I am confident it will come together none the less (and any tips or help wouldn't  go amiss aswell)

" The problem with community podcast is people have more fun making them than other people do listening to them. "

The problem with community podcast is people have more fun making them than other people do listening to them.

" @Fallen189 said:

" @Sweep said:

" @Fallen189: I love the fact that you think a Manga Cafe is the centre of the social world :D "

Because that's exactly what I said isn't it dickhead.  It was just the first thing I popped into mind. What would you prefer I say? I would say something like "A library" or "University grounds" but I didn't think you were old enough to know what they meant.  So enlighten me, where do all the video game "PLAYERS" hang around where you live? The sandbox?  Edit: Oh you're from London. I get it now. "

Ouch, a little jumpy today aren't we? If you are prepared to slow down a notch I didn't actually mean anything offensive. This outburst makes you look like a child, which is fantastically ironic :D And, for whatever significance you seem to think it holds, I don't live in London, chump. "

You just really make me miss Rich :(

" @Sweep said:

" @Fallen189: I love the fact that you think a Manga Cafe is the centre of the social world :D "

Because that's exactly what I said isn't it dickhead.  It was just the first thing I popped into mind. What would you prefer I say? I would say something like "A library" or "University grounds" but I didn't think you were old enough to know what they meant.  So enlighten me, where do all the video game "PLAYERS" hang around where you live? The sandbox?  Edit: Oh you're from London. I get it now. "

A friend and I once tried to do a podcast. After realizing that we had nothing to talk about and how totally boring we were , we gave up. I assume this is what most fan podcasts are like, except without the giving up part.

Yeah, I do agree with you there, Sweep. Not only do community podcasts usually suffer from the lack of familiarity with the hosts, I must say, the voices the people have usually turn me off. I am not going to point anyone out here, but I don't really want to listen to a bunch of mid-teens (I am one myself, don't worry) talk about stuff that can be easily displayed on a message board or IRC.  I don't have anything against anyone here and I commend everyone on their efforts but, I must say, community podcasts usually aren't my thing. Will I guest on one if I have the chance? Sure, possibly. But I wouldn't run a full-length one.
 
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....

I only listen to podcasts when i have a game i can tune out and grind with like an MMO. Since i gave up all the MMO's going and cant find any joy out of them, i haven't listened to any podcast in awhile. I just don't have the attention span to listen to people talk unless i can be doing something else at the same time.