The Spirited Seventh Heaven ...

[Cesar R M]

All one has to do is go to iTunes, the professional casts usually top the charts in the category.

Believe it or not they aren't all recorded using a laptop microphone!

arent pro podcasts done in radio station like studios?

 

[Bolna]

There are even radio programs available as podcasts after they have been aired. So the line between radio/podcast is really vanishing.

I personally was so happy when the BBC started to make The Archers available as a podcast, so my British friends could stop sending me tapes with the omnibus recordings... Kind of bad when you get hooked on a radio soap while studying there for a year in the last century and then have to try to get the BBC on long wave where you mainly are subjected to the shipping forecast...

 

[unkadug]

arent pro podcasts done in radio station like studios?

Pro Podcast. Isn't that an oxymoron?

 

[Tigger1988]

Pro Podcast. Isn't that an oxymoron?

No...

 

[WildcatDen]

no need to be so obtuse.

Liked simply for the Shawshank tie-in.

 

[marni1971]

I wish you were kidding but I have this sinking feeling that you're not...

Yup. They did.

 

[bhg469]

arent pro podcasts done in radio station like studios?

Yup Lots of em

Pro Podcast. Isn't that an oxymoron?

Adam Carolla has a huge podcast network of guys you have definitely heard of and guys who are up and coming. Kevin smith has about the same set up but a few of his are based on live shows and then some are just him interviewing people.

Also just because a podcast is in someone's house, doesn't mean it isn't a studio. These are millionaires, if they want a studio, they build one in their mansion.

 

[danlb_2000]

Pro Podcast. Isn't that an oxymoron?

No, not at all. For example some of my favorite tech podcasts are on the TWiT network which was created by Leo Laporte who used to host tech shows on Tech TV and still does a nationally broadcasted weekly tech show. Like a lot of entrepreneurs he was tired of working for someone else so decided to create his own company to do it. He even build a $1.2 million dollar studio to create his podcasts.

 

[flynnibus]

Okaaaaayyyyyy different strokes and all that jazz. Some people like Pepsi......some like Coke....its still soda. You like podcast, I like forums. So now we got that out of the way....

Podcasts can be excellent... the key is not to stare at your computer screen's audio player while listening to them. You don't stare at your radio face while listening to the radio...

The problem is like all open media today... you have to find the good ones in the pile of stinkers. The problem with the Disney-universe is nearly all the shows god aweful and the number of commentators who actually add something beyond what you already read on the web is very small. Podcasts that just rehash what you read online are useless.

 

[flynnibus]

Podcasts to me are one of the worst inventions of the Internet, since virtually every computer comes with a microphone these days it's led folks to believe that what they have to say is just so important it's worthy of spending 45 minutes, and hour, or more chatting about. If folks like them, more power to you - but I just don't have time for it, nor the desire.

Be exposed to good ones.. and your mindset will change. The key is always the content. Podcasts are great formats for interviews, commentary, etc.

 

[Bolna]

Really, podcasts are just radio that is not broadcast by radio waves, but comes in nicely packaged files that you can download.

Just as with radio: there is stuff that is horrible and there is stuff that is really good. Since they don't depend on reaching listeners at a specific time and can get a wider reach than a normal radio station, there is far more "talk radio" than music in podcasts as they can reach a far more specific audience.

The "podcast" is just the medium, just like a newspaper, a blog or a tv-station. Whatever content is connected to it is a secondary question.

 

[WDW1974]

Since this thread has reached the point where it is anything related to Disney really, I thought I'd use it to bash Disney social media and The Mongello (their top, highly paid, BRAND advocate).

I happened upon the following piece of placed/paid content on USA Today's site earlier today (I wonder if Jen, Gary or Tommy wrote his quotes):

http://www.usatoday.com/experience/...-take-disney-fans-behind-the-scenes/12531643/

 

[WDW1974]

By Iger, yes, not Eisner. Eisner actually expanded the property on at least three occasions: the property where Flamingo Crossings was going to go, the Lake County property, and the Disney Reserve (allowed for development on the traditional acres while giving more acres back to nature).

Iger has sold off (1) Celebrations, (2) LBV Crossings, (3) Little Lake Bryan, (4) Golden Oak properties, (5) land just south of AKL, (6) land along Reems Rd., and other smaller lots. I know, it's disgraceful. But Eisner ended with a big net gain of land, not a decrease.

Just setting the record straight.

Eisner, who I am a fan of, started the massive development and sell off. Celebration started it all (BTW, think about this the next time anyone here is stuck in a downpour somewhere at WDW and the area floods like it has no drainage). That was all Eisner. I'm not sure when the Crossroads and Little Lake Bryan were sold, but they are relatively small pieces of already developed land.

And that Disney Reserve land was purchased specifically to make up for the wetlands that Disney was destroying by building Celebration, FYI.

 

[WDW1974]

Swearing off Disney podcasts when you're a regular poster on a Disney forum is like swearing you'll only drink Pepsi from 12 oz cans and never 20 oz bottles... same product, different delivery system. Swearing you'll never listen to ANY podcast is even stranger. There are actually good, informative podcasts out there. That's like swearing off all TV because of Honey Boo Boo. Believe me, I listen to a LOT of podcasts at work because I drive for a living and I prefer it to the radio. I have tried many different podcasts (Disney and otherwise)... there are some real stinkers and some really worthwhile things, as well. If I hold my nose for certain parts, I even enjoy selected podcasts from the crazy lifestylers. If Lou has Jim Korkis on, for example, I'll gladly listen.

After bashing podcasts (or Disney and UNI ones), I did listen to a few. Some from big 'names', some that think my pal @EPCOT Explorer is somehow an expert on DL (after spending four days there once).

I have yet to find one that is worth my time. They take an hour or many hours to state information that could be written in 10 minutes and read in less than half that.

It's all an ego trip. They all think they have the talent to be radio broadcasters when they don't. Adding morning drive Top 40 fart sounds doesn't make you the Howard Stern of the fanboi brigade, sorry. What's even worse is every single podcast I have sampled over the last year has had numerous factual mistakes spoken as facts. REAL broadcasters at least attempt to get it right. When they don't know something they don't nervously make things up while being egged on by their buddies.

Look, I'm sure my pal @flynnibus is right that there are worthy podcasts. There might even be a Disney one, although I'm very doubtful about that. But the vast ... vast ... majority are simply ego trips by fanbois who technology allows to have voices. Not much different from twitter, just louder and more obnoxious.

 

[WDW1974]

Do you similarly discount radio, television, films and audio books? Podcasts are not just limit to fan discussions. There are many about topics such as history or news or stories, like a radio drama. It's like discounting all television because there are reality shows.

I liked this post. But I also liked @AEfx 's post prior.

Podcasts have their place, but Disney and UNI fanbois trying to act like broadcasters (or worse, intellectuals) is the reality TV of the medium.

I think I'd rather watch Celebrity Wife Swap, myself!

 

[WDW1974]

Bringing over from the other thread @WDW1974 :


I brought up the Newport Bay Club in response to a point about weak maintenance at the WDW resorts. In comparison, I think it's fair to point out that WDW's resort maintenance is far above what DLP has received. WDW has never let one of their operating resorts look so bad on the outside, and they do a solid job updating the rooms at each resort every 5-7 years. Paris is far behind on room refurbishments, and it seems like their maintenance record is even spottier than WDW's.

And to clarify, I understand that DLP's financial history has been troubled (and things are improving now, which is helping to spark new projects), but to the average guest who knows nothing of the resort's history, this still doesn't reflect well on the Disney brand.

In comparison, I'd say WDW's hotels have been maintained with much more care and frequency...but the problems lie with the theme parks (just look at Carousel of Progress, Peter Pan's Flight, Universe of Energy, etc.) and miscellaneous features, such as River Country. Maybe WDW is just too large of an operation and management has gotten complacent? I still feel like they do a decent job with the resorts (especially compared to what I saw at DLP), but as others have pointed out, it seems like they've also given up with the parks. Paris is kind of a mess right now, but at least they're trying - right?

You know the financial situation, so I am not going to rehash that. I have more than a sneaking suspicion that is about to get better (you did see Iger and Staggs at the Rat opening?)

DLP most definitely has seen its worst days and is getting better all the time, but when so much is neglected, it's gonna take lots of time and billions of Euros.

That said, WDW lets its resorts fall to pieces too, it just isn't as noticeable. I started to lose my WDW 'addiction' in the late 90s when I started having to refuse rooms at BC, YC, CBR, and CSR just off the top of my head. Take a walk around most WDW resorts ... a real what I term Spirited Quality Control walk where you aren't rushing to EPCOT for a Soarin FP ... and it's scary to see how bad things are in some places.

Things may be more widespread at DLP to be sure. But I am not giving WDW any credit for keeping up their resorts to the standards I would expect. Very few are kept to that level ... I'd say the best at the deluxe level in my experiences has been DAK Lodge ... the best at the moderate level has been Port Orleans: The Real One ... and the best at the value level would be a toss up between and ASMu.

I'm not defending DLP, btw. But when WDW has been a veritable printing press of profits for decades, that money simply isn't being put back into the product whether its the resorts or the parks.

 

[unkadug]

Pro Podcast. Isn't that an oxymoron?

No...

Pretty sure it's the rule not the exception.

Yup Lots of em



Adam Carolla has a huge podcast network of guys you have definitely heard of and guys who are up and coming. Kevin smith has about the same set up but a few of his are based on live shows and then some are just him interviewing people.

Also just because a podcast is in someone's house, doesn't mean it isn't a studio. These are millionaires, if they want a studio, they build one in their mansion.

No, not at all. For example some of my favorite tech podcasts are on the TWiT network which was created by Leo Laporte who used to host tech shows on Tech TV and still does a nationally broadcasted weekly tech show. Like a lot of entrepreneurs he was tired of working for someone else so decided to create his own company to do it. He even build a $1.2 million dollar studio to create his podcasts.

Just as I'm sure there are a few JUMBO SHRIMP out there, just because a few people have professional podcasts doesn't mean that they are the rule. The term is still an oxymoron IMO...

I will continue to view podcasts as a waste of time.

 

[WDW1974]

Poor management has practically ruined BGW. So many people I know who have been going there for years are so disappointed in the current state of the park over the last couple of years.

That's sad. But i visited for three days in June of 2012, my first time ever, and the park seemed amazing to me. Clean, well-maintained, friendly workers, decent food, unique merchandise ... just two years ago.

 

[WDW1974]

He's actually on of the best experts in this space and it would take a paradigm shift to change that. Now back to the DVC topic, any idea of the spend TWDC is considering expending for the effort? Surely not MM+ money? But enough to be discouraging?

I'm also wondering, and sorry to go off on a slight tangent, but, in looking at price increases on DCL cabins since they were voted "best freaking cruise line in maritime history" or whatever it was, wouldn't they want to strike while iron is hot and build a new ship? Just building on thoughts of what is the best spend at this time for them.

I think DCL should have already made the move. I know they have the framework of a deal with Meyer Werft, which built the Dream and Fantasy. But they can only build so many at a time and they just notched a deal with NCL for a pair of ginormous ships. If Disney sticks with them, they may not be able to get a new ship done for five years now ... that's a long time.

 

[Tigger1988]

Pretty sure it's the rule not the exception.

Pretty sure you don't seem to know what you're talking about on the subject.