Help me help you [Archive]

Hollywood Adam

Jan 27th, 2006, 07:08 AM

In an attempt to further my php & mysql skills, I've created a website totally for podcasters. Its called www.podcastershomepage.com and yes, the idea was totally ripped off of milliondollarhomepage.com

Except, since it was an educational experience, I've made it free for everyone. The ads stay up for 7 days then the space becomes available again, to give everyone a fair shot at a space.

Check it out and let me know if you find any bugs. I'd like to thanks Kat & JvonD for testing it out for me!

www.podcastershomepage.com

kinkysex

Jan 27th, 2006, 07:18 AM

Found a bug - maybe.

I can load more than one ad.

Is that intended?

Hollywood Adam

Jan 27th, 2006, 07:23 AM

Yea, you can, that is by design. I know, its probably bad to leave it up to everyone to "play fair". Of course, I do have the power to delete the ads too.

ElNacho

Jan 27th, 2006, 09:26 AM

i think you can cover someone elses ad...didnt try it but i think i noticed it when i was moving mine around

Hollywood Adam

Jan 27th, 2006, 09:31 AM

You can when initially selecting a slot but it will error if you click "confirm" with it overlapping.

SFEley

Jan 27th, 2006, 09:41 AM

cdoelle

Jan 27th, 2006, 10:02 AM

Very cool - I will be mentioning it on my shows.

podcastrant.com

Jan 27th, 2006, 10:03 AM

Thanks Adam

Hollywood Adam

Jan 27th, 2006, 11:21 AM

SFEley

Jan 27th, 2006, 12:47 PM

What are you doing to promote this site to listeners?

I think that the fact that podcasters are putting their ads on this page & more than likely linking to it or mentioning it on their show will draw listeners to the site. I think its a pretty nifty way to randomly find podcasts. If you have any other suggestions let me know.
So you're relying on your advertisers to push people to the site. The theory being, presumably, that podcasters will get their audiences excited about going to sites where they can view ads.

Do you get excited about sites that show you nothing but ads? When's the last time you went out looking for more online ads?

I'm not being cynical just for the fun of it. You're the third person who's posted on Podcast Alley in recent weeks with a site like this. I'm not giving you as much crap as I've given other people, because your page is at least free, nobody stands to lose anything by it, and you're part of the community with clearly good intentions. I respect that.

But I think it's important to make sure that podcasters know not to get too complacent about marketing schemes that market more toward advertisers than customers. By their nature, those can't work in the long term. (The Million Dollar Page kid succeeded because it was a new idea and he was audacious, not because the idea was a good one.) If you want to get listeners, you need to market yourself in places where people who are naturally interested in your subject matter hang out.

podcastrant.com

Jan 27th, 2006, 12:57 PM

It's free. He stated on his first post that it was just an exercise to help learn php and mysql skills.

Hollywood Adam

Jan 27th, 2006, 01:12 PM

SFEley, you're right, it is just a trend thats going on right now. I am interested in seeing how many hits we get shows from using this means. Right now, the best way to find podcasts is to search by genre, look at the top 10 here, or wait on apple to "feature" your podcast on the front page. This is basically a visual means of finding shows. People seem to click on ads like crazy on milliondollarhomepage.com

happydole

Jan 27th, 2006, 01:52 PM

nice idea and great implementation - thanks adam

womengrow

Jan 27th, 2006, 02:04 PM

It works beautifully. Thanks for making your excercise in php a great tool for the entire podcasting community.

McLean

Jan 27th, 2006, 02:08 PM

Yep, thanks man, I really appreciate any free press. :)

And look...the womengrow girl is right next to me. I feel so...close to you. :)

Hollywood Adam

Jan 27th, 2006, 02:19 PM

It works beautifully. Thanks for making your excercise in php a great tool for the entire podcasting community.

From my development experience, the best way to learn something is to build a tool that could actually be used. None of this "hello, world" stuff that my undergrad was about.

I've talked to a couple non-podcast friendly people about the site and they like the idea. They've said there's no easy way to find podcasts and this could be a quick way to find things. Just make sure your "title" is descriptive enough, so people know what they're clicking on.

Also, just a reminder, I've put an expiration in so the ads will expire 7 days from when they are posted. This keeps spaces available at all times and ensures no one is "hogging" spots.

womengrow

Jan 27th, 2006, 10:17 PM

the womengrow girl is right next to me. I feel so...close to you. :)In my initial post, I plastered my picture right over someone else's - took me a bit to figure out how to move the image around. I nestled up to save pixels :wink:

Twilight

Jan 28th, 2006, 02:36 AM

Groovy. Just listed my show.

The only bug I noticed, and it's probably not a bug, is that it took me awhile to figure out how to move my icon. I would move it and then the page would reload and I'd see where it went. Maybe it's becaue I use Opera though.

conradslater

Jan 28th, 2006, 10:06 AM

Thanks Adam - good stuff.

r3dk9

Jan 29th, 2006, 11:10 AM

Awesome! Great job, listed my fairly new podcast!

Hollywood Adam

Jan 30th, 2006, 11:41 AM

A special thanks to whoever pointed out the vulnerability in my system by DELETING ALL TABLES. The vulnerability has been fixed and the site is restored. Please re-post your links. Sorry for the inconvience. At least its free.

Hollywood Adam

Feb 6th, 2006, 03:01 PM

Except, since it was an educational experience, I've made it free for everyone. The ads stay up for 7 days then the space becomes available again, to give everyone a fair shot at a space.

www.podcastershomepage.com

Don't forget, if you put an ad up here it will be gone soon. This means spaces at the top will be available. Please help me test this out by submitting your show.