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Nate Kratchman
Bit of brilliant UX work here. This version introduces the notion of swiping *down* to return to a show's index listing from the player – whereas in the previous version you would swipe from the left. Rather than leaving users confused about this change, swiping from the left magically swipes the screen down...introducing you to the new concept while allowing you to continue your existing, engrained muscle memory.
Contrast this to Google's Inbox app, where the swipe down motion is also used to return to the index – but swiping from the left (what I would consider industry standard at this point?) does nothing.
:+1:
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@marcoarment you are an amazing person! Really! Thanks a lot for this update :) I'm a happy paid subscriber
Wow, this is a huge update for Overcast. Here're some comparisons of what's new:
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@chrismessina I think this is probably in the running for the "PH Longest Comment of the Year" award. Thank you for the comparison though! Great to see the evolution.
@kunalslab @chrismessina I would have gave bonus points if it was side by side :P
@vallieres @kunalslab @chrismessina @rrhoover There has to be a better way to display comments like this.
@tomfme @vallieres @chrismessina @rrhoover yep, in a blog post ;) https://marco.org/2017/02/20/ove...
@kunalslab @chrismessina thought i'd never stop scrolling. I was scared (awesome comparison!)
@juanbuis It's a different approach, but check out Castro if you haven't already. It's not "better" or "worse" but the queue management in Castro works for me.
What's it look like for the publisher? Are there analytics re: drop-off, listen-through, audience demo, etc? I feel like that's what's really missing in the podcast world these days.
@kymiller12 FYI Overcast does record listening progress "to sync this information between the website and your devices" (https://overcast.fm/privacy) but overall Marco is very keen to defend consumers' privacy, even if that means withholding useful data from publishers. "By the way, while I often get pitched on garbage podcast-listening-behavioral-data integrations, I’m never adding such tracking to Overcast. Never. The biggest reason I made a free, mass-market podcast app was so I could take stands like this." (https://marco.org/2016/05/07/app...)
This is a commendable position on which his principles seem solid and not likely to change soon.
I'm the founder at Awesound. We don't have an app, we're one of the RSS/mp3 hosting companies which podcasters can use as a back end. We try to differentiate ourselves by providing the most granular analytics (such as drop-off / listen-through, clicks on links, original source of listener, etc.) to publishers, without infringing on any individual listener's privacy.
See https://twitter.com/awesoundapp/....
If you're curious, would be glad to chat (mark@awesound)
@mbym @kymiller12 @awesound Wow, that's disappointing :\.
Marco (and other podcast app developers) have a unique and, IMHO, important opportunity to help the podcast community here while protecting individuals' privacy.
I see frankly no reason why these developers should NOT share detailed aggregate listening stats. Doing so could provide actionable information for podcasters -- helping them snag sponsorships, understand what segments of their podcasts are most interesting to listeners, and so on.
And downsides? Can't think of any. As long as no personally identifying info was sent, I can't imagine how individuals' privacy would be harmed. It'd just be a matter of sending to podcasters info like:
- dropoff points
- percentage of users listening all the way through
- percentage of users listening to podcasts more than once
- percentage of users sharing podcasts with others
etc.
So far I used the native Podcast app on iOS, which is buggy and makes no sense in terms of UX.
I'd be more than happy to find the perfect replacement.
Previous versions of Overcast didn't quite work out for me, maybe that update will. I'll give it a try!
@gflandre my replacement for that nightmare was Podly (after trying, you name it..). Happy as. Specially because you can connect your Facebook to a profile account and save your subs forever -- a major pain to anybody who decides to switch apps.
@san_picciarelli @gflandre doesn't most apps support a export to xml feature so you can do just that? I agree, switching apps can be a pain, but having a way to export and then import an xml file with your subs makes it a lot less painful.
@thehashrocket Overcast is awesome. I have however turned to Podly because I can do that, natively and w/ friends.
I haven't gotten this update yet but looking forward to it. I really wish @marcoarment blew some air into that "Recommend" feature. With over 350+ episodes still unplayed I really wish there's a better way to listen to the ones that I really care, this way I can try to get rid of the rest easily. Otherwise I'm finding it hard to do mass cleanup given the fact that there could be those, the ones that matter, right in the middle of a long list to purge, and so never got to mass cleanup. Hope there's some relief with this new update, or I wish @marcoarment is listening.
I moved to Pocketcast from the Overcast year ago. I love the interface and chromecast functionality of Pocketcast but it is a bit buggy. So was waiting for this update from long time. Seeing iOS widget made me more excited and I downloaded it straight away but within half an hour deleted... The widget is buggy as it doesn't start to play from the widget itself especially if something else is playing on a phone. No chromecast support yet(: Interface has not much changed.
A way to snip and share the last 30 seconds of a podcast, be it a good quote or a funny zinger, could be a better way than sharing an entire podcast. People need a taste of your product before they go all in, and this could be a more engaging way to get them in the funnel.
Anyone know if there are plans to make a version of this for Android? I used to use this app all the time on iOS and now I have a Pixel and haven't been able to find a suitable replacement 😭
Overcast imo is by far the best podcast app, and I personally like all the small details, like he explains enabling badge numbers are just adding stress to your life!
I would recommend to everybody to give it a try!
User since the first day here (SmartSpeed saved me 184h). I'm not crazy about the update. Probably because I'm used to the old one and it was perfect for me. I'll give it a try and knowing Marco he did not do those changes for no reason so I'll probably be super happy in a few weeks ;)
I love Overcast, but I'm not sure the new UX is an improvement. Swiping on podcast episodes felt right (maybe just because I was used to it) whereas the new dropdown doesn't - and adds an extra step to listening. Maybe I just need to get used to it. Still my favourite Podcast player. Thanks Marco! 🙏🏾
I never got the fanaticism around Overcast. This is better than the previous iteration, but meh.
I also find Marco's aversion to Chromecast because the API is closed source to be rather 🙄-worthy.
@mattahorton I do agree. It's a decent app, but in no way outstanding. The Chromecast stance has been a long-standing deal killer for me, especially now that Google Home is in the market.
@mattahorton It's purpose-built podcast listener. I haven't found anything comparable. What do you use?
@cancom10 I use Pocket Casts. I think it's better as a matter of preference, but I also think Overcast and Pocket Casts sit above the rest.
@mattahorton I used to be a frequent user of Overcast but it never clicked to me. Then I found Castro, I like it much better than Overcast. It's been my favourite Podcast player for a while now.
@andreasduess Same with me. Chromecast support would make it perfect. Although I discovered an iOS app which lets you cast audio from any app including Overcast.