Create Links in Navigation for Inside TWiT and Transcripts

I like to keep up to date on TWiT updates, and prior to the return of transcripts, the TWiT Blog link on the navigation of TWiT.tv was sufficient because the Inside TWiT posts were the most recent. Now that transcripts also live within the posts page, it is harder to find Inside TWiT posts, and it is confusing for people looking for transcripts to have to go to the TWiT Blog link. My feedback would be to give these two discrete items their own links in the navigation bar.

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The blog page offers filters. Perhaps you’d want to check that feature out. For example:

Thanks for the suggestion. We’ll talk about it when we’re back in January.

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This is true, but at least when it comes to transcripts which I believe are a very important feature to showcase, they are buried where one wouldn’t think to check for transcripts in the TWiT Blog link.

Transcripts are also linked directly from the episodes.

I noticed that just now on the episode page on TWiT.tv, but I’m not seeing it linked in the video descriptions on YouTube, and I’m not seeing it linked in my podcatcher Google Podcasts on the latest episode (at least on the latest The Tech Guy (Audio) feed).

Every show has a show page. If there are transcripts for that show they are at the bottom of the show page. Here’s a random example (i.e. the first one I found)

We just added the transcripts. Not every show has them, but if they do there will definitely be a link on the individual show page at twit.tv. Once we get back we can add them elsewhere. There’s no “transcript” page per se - it’s per show.

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In response to @PHolder: I understand that, what I am saying is it isn’t easy to find, and I think it’s a valuable feature to TWiT that I haven’t seen on any other podcast website. If the intended discovery of the feature is to find it on the show’s episode page, then I would argue placing it under the big Subscribe and Download blue buttons on the side would be a better place for it. Or, if that is not possible due to how the CMS was built, then it should be closer to the top of the episode’s description instead of at the bottom. If I weren’t a frequent TWiT website viewer, especially the TWiT Blog section, I’m not sure that I would’ve discovered the transcripts.

My other issue was that the link is only on the TWiT website’s show episode description, but it sounds like Leo’s response below indicated they will be added to podcatchers and YouTube video episode descriptions.

In response to @Leo: I can understand that, but my suggestion was more about how Inside TWiT and Transcripts are discovered. I know they live in the https://twit.tv/posts page, and as a WordPress user, I understand this is the blog section where all posts are listed. The link to get to this page in the navigation bar which leads to the /posts page is titled TWiT Blog, which shows all posts. I know in the past the link was titled Posts, and it had a drop-down with the same filters I can toggle in the Posts page.

My suggestion is to give a link to the Transcripts category of posts directly in the navigation bar so they have a greater discoverability of this feature, as one would not think to go to the TWiT Blog link to find all available transcripts; and to give the Inside TWiT category of posts its own link as well, since the two categories are the more frequently used on the Posts page. However, if this is the unintended form of transcript discoverability, I can understand just leaving it as is.

My whole thing is I like getting TWiT updates, so viewing the Inside TWiT section is something I like to keep up with, and at the moment to see them, I have to click into the TWiT Blog link, and then toggle the filter so I am only seeing Inside TWiT posts. (I know, poor me). Or perhaps I should just fire up an RSS Reader and get them the old fashioned way. :slight_smile:

I don’t think you’re thinking like a podcast listener. I question how many people find the TWiT site first versus finding the podcast first and eventually coming to the site. If they come to the site they’re probably looking for an episode page, whether they realize it or not (or the community version of the same, if they wish to interact.)

I suspect many/most people who listen, don’t even really care if the website exists… so adding anything to “attract” them is mostly pointless. One thing that could be done would be have the on air talent (aka Leo) mention the existence of transcripts, as this is a new feature. That might attract some people to come look for them. More likely they’re going to surface in web searches though, which hopefully eventually pulls people to the site.

Episodes are edited and published before the transcripts are completed and posted. We’re not going to delay publishing just to get a transcript generated first.

I’m also considering adding the hour-by-hour chat room logs to the show notes if there’s any interest. We’ve started logging them for the editors who work on the show notes. Mikah, the mods, and I are adding all the links in chat as we go.

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Fixed. Two separate navigation links…so you can see the Inside TWiT posts without getting overwhelmed by transcripts.

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