momcast
Mar 2nd, 2005, 11:35 AM
Here is a user perspective about the importance of votes:
I come to Podcast Alley because I really like the setup with the show name, descriptive blurb, links to the website and the webfeed and access to comments. Of all the other sites who are cataloguing and catagorizing podcasts, I find it to be the easiest to navigate and use.
I personally don't think the votes mean that much. Perhaps they are an indication of the size of one's audience, a that has, say, 500 votes probably have upwards up 5000 listeners. They seem to be important only in guaranteeing that a particular listing gets better or worse web real estate based on where they are ranked. So, the higher the ranking, the better the chances of visibility.
What matters far more to me than a podcast's rank, however, are the comments accompanying a listing. I will go down a list looking for shows with comments and read them and give shows a chance based on what their comments say. That and a well named cast, though that subjective.
I realise this is rambly, but I wanted to point out to those who were getting desperate about how the votes work and the fact that a couple of shows are getting all the votes/press attention... Some people bypass the votes and look elsewhere within Podcast Alley for inspiration to download.
Well, that and Amy Gahran's Women in Podcasting list.
I come to Podcast Alley because I really like the setup with the show name, descriptive blurb, links to the website and the webfeed and access to comments. Of all the other sites who are cataloguing and catagorizing podcasts, I find it to be the easiest to navigate and use.
I personally don't think the votes mean that much. Perhaps they are an indication of the size of one's audience, a that has, say, 500 votes probably have upwards up 5000 listeners. They seem to be important only in guaranteeing that a particular listing gets better or worse web real estate based on where they are ranked. So, the higher the ranking, the better the chances of visibility.
What matters far more to me than a podcast's rank, however, are the comments accompanying a listing. I will go down a list looking for shows with comments and read them and give shows a chance based on what their comments say. That and a well named cast, though that subjective.
I realise this is rambly, but I wanted to point out to those who were getting desperate about how the votes work and the fact that a couple of shows are getting all the votes/press attention... Some people bypass the votes and look elsewhere within Podcast Alley for inspiration to download.
Well, that and Amy Gahran's Women in Podcasting list.