Some feedback as a long-time watcher

Feedback
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Hello, I’ve been watching TWiT shows for over 10 years now (I’ve been watching since I was around ~12, never saw The Screen Savers or TechTV when it was around) and have some feedback on the shows and production.

1. Enable Archives on livestream platforms like Twitch/Mixer

Since most new shows now are gonna audio-only but are still recorded live on camera, it might make sense to leave the “past broadcast” archives platforms like Twitch make up till they automatically delete them ~1 week later or you guys could even probably automatically set up an API call to those platforms to delete the VoD’s on a scheduled task every 1-3 days.

This would accomplish a couple things.

  1. People can watch the production of an audio-only show without you guys having to put the man hours in to properly produce a video podcast (which as mentioned before, is not ideal due to 90% of people listening to audio).
  2. Your visitor FAQ mentions you are allowed to upload clips of your apparences on TWiT if someone records it for you. By enabling Archives, you yourself could go back to get it even if you don’t have someone who could do it for you.

2. Show graphics need updating for “classic” shows.

A lot of the newer shows like HoT and Tech News Weekly have drastically improved intros that aren’t just the podcast cover art (like TWiG) or a really old animation that feels dated (AAA looks insanely out of date with that super glossy 3D models and old Android font). They really need some updates to match newer shows as it makes these older ones look very cheap in comparison.

Same goes for things like Lower Thirds, new ones like HoT and HoP look so much better than the gradients used on shows like TWiT and AAA. Also I wish more shows adopted similar practices to those shows where the the lower third doesn’t stay on screen the entire show, we already know the people’s names and that it’s episode X, they can be off the screen for most of the show only leaving a logo bug (like what Tech News Weekly does when they are on websites) the rest of the time.

3. A Couple Show Ideas

  1. Gaming is really big part of tech so having a show covering gaming news would be a smart move. I remember when Game On used to be a thing and I think having a gaming show is a good idea that should be experimented with again but definitely not in a format like that. No big studio production, no LAN parties, etc. Just news, reviews, and opinions discussed at a roundtable like TWiT.
  2. Maybe some type of music/audio focused show, a lot of music involves technology and I think Jason could be a perfect host for it since he makes music as Yellowgold. This would also be a good fit for the new focus on audio-only podcasts since a show about audio doesn’t necessarily need visuals.

4. Other misc. improvements

  1. Add a dark mode to the website with a toggle on the bottom of the page and support auto-toggling it using Browser APIs that follow system-wide themes.
  2. Re-record the intro. It’s cool that you guys are reverting to the original “Podcasts You Love” intro that was only used in two TWiT episodes from 2006 before Apple sued another company so you changed to Netcasts but the quality feels a bit off compared to the newer “Netcasts” recording. I think it would be great if you guys got some new recordings of it. Maybe the same people if they can still be reached, you could get Jim Cutler who does the “Previously on TWiT” bumpers, or maybe even have hosts do it (possibly make multiple variations so it doesn’t get stale?).
  3. Maybe setup something like an official Discord, Slack, Rocket.chat, Matrix, etc. server? It would allow more discussion during off-show hours by more people (since a lot of people who are growing up now don’t know how to and don’t care to use IRC), allow more detailed conversations with images/videos, and could work in tandem with the IRC chat (you could have a bridge channel that connects to the IRC for the live chat). It could also work great for show hosts to gather news topics shared by the community or to directly ask for feedback.
  4. As an addon to point 3, Twitch chat can work over IRC, setting up a relay to work with the main streaming platform you show on the website might be a better solution than just locking the chat off using Sub only mode. Just like the last point, it wouldn’t replace the IRC chat, just complement it for people who might not want or know how to use IRC.

Most of these above are minor changes that I believe would overall add a bit more polish to the network and help bring in more of the younger tech audience of late 10s-early 20s considering the network currently skews more towards late 20s-60s which will definitely be needed eventually as you can’t forever rely on “nostalgia” for a dead show/TV channel. I’ve been watching TWiT for years and feel emotionally attached as it’s something I grew up with during a rough time in my life, I would hate to see the network vanish from not adapting to newer audiences. My suggestions are nowhere near enough of course but are relatively quick, minor fixes that would be a good start.

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Great ideas, need to push beyond the old web and IRC. That’s was the whole point of this! I’m not sure this is the best solution but hey like Leo says “move fast and break things”. That’s was Leo, right?

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  1. Show graphics need updating for “classic” shows.

Especially the drawings of some of the hosts.

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Since making this post back in October, I’ve had quite a few more ideas about the current shows and how they could tweak them plus possible future ideas.

Also just want to apologize now for the long post ahead :sweat_smile:

  1. TWiG needs a name change since it’s not really about Google

This Week in Google just doesn’t really properly describe the show anymore since it’s about basically all internet focused companies. Possible suggestions I think could be This Week in Internet, This Week in Web, This Week in Cloud, or Web Weekly. The podcast would basically keep the same format as now which is not really about Google at all but instead about all cloud/web focused stuff like Social Media, Streaming, ISPs, etc.

Sure, a lot of the companies talked about do non-web stuff too (like how Facebook has Oculus line) but it’s still a way more fitting name than just Google since basically all the companies are Internet ones. Also you would likely keep talk about Google’s a lot smaller cause…

  1. Expand AAA to cover all of Google

Since the new Web show would be less specific about Google and more about general Cloud company topics, you should make All About Android cover all of Google instead. “TWiG” would still feature some Google stuff of course just like how TWiT still mentions some Android stuff for example but the more in-depth stuff and smaller stories would be focused on this show. Call it something like All About Google or Google Today to match iOS Today since it’s a similar idea, a show to cover multiple products by one company.

This would be where you go for news on Pixel, Nest, Android, Chromebooks, Chromecast, Google’s web products like Gmail, future OSes like Fuchsia, and more. Currently there’s not really a good place to discuss Chromebooks and Cast due to TWiG being more focused on the web side and the company itself and AAA being more focused on mobile with Android so this would give more room to discuss those products while also freeing up more room on “TWiG” to discuss other companies.

Same format and hosts as it is currently, just Arena would be expanded to Chrome stuff too like extensions or apps.

  1. Merge the two long-form Apple shows

iOS Today and MacBreak Weekly often end up covering some of the same topics and since Macs now support iOS apps too, the distinction between platforms is blurring even more. Call it something like Apple Today and keep the same format as MacBreak since a big roundtable podcast would probably work better with so many different Apple things being discussed.

App Cap would be brought over from iOS Today and expanded to discuss Mac apps too while you would also keep the Tip of the Week from MacBreak to discuss non-App tips. Shorter app reviews or talk about the best app to do X thing would be moved over to a shorter Hands On iOS video.

  1. Expand FLOSS Weekly to cover more Linux news than just app interviews

Some people have been asking for a Linux show and honestly it would make sense to simply tweak FLOSS Weekly to also cover Linux and other open-source news in addition to the interviews with app developers. Yes they wouldn’t cover everything Linux since there’s some non-FLOSS news but it seems like a better fit than to make a whole new show imho as Linux and Open Source have big overlaps.

The majority of each episode would still be a big interview about a FLOSS app even on non-Linux platforms but it would be trimmed down from being basically the full length of the podcast to being 50-75% of it with the rest being Open Source news discussion about Linux and other OSes. Think how TWiET spends the first like ~20 minutes covering the Enterprise news before finishing the rest of the podcast with the interview. Same concept here but for Open Source stuff instead of Enterprise.

  1. Expand the new Hands On shows and add a combined feed

Just like how iOS Today would become Apple Today and All About Android would become Google Today to make both shows discuss all platforms said company makes, Hands On Android and iOS would be renamed Hands On Google and Apple and add tips for each companies other platforms.

Now you might say “if a lot of your ideas so far have been focused on combining shows to make them cover everything said company does, why do you need separate Hands On shows, wouldn’t that be even more duplication”. Sure a tiny bit most likely but I do think having shorter form videos for tips/reviews is still needed because the people who do want those aren’t gonna want to watch a 1 hour+ long podcast for them. Just like Hands On Tech, if needed episodes would be made by cutting out segments from the longer Apple/Google shows alongside exclusive content.

Lastly, one more minor point about Hands-On, I think there should be a feed for all the “Hands-On” shows in one place similar to TWiT Bits or Radio Leo. They all follow the same format so it makes sense to be able to have 1 feed if you want everything, not just one topic

  1. Bring back a Gaming Show

Gaming is a big part of tech so it really needs to be covered. Would likely be a roundtable show instead of the big production like Game On was and cover PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, and Mobile with maybe some other gaming topics mixed in like retro consoles or tabletop gaming. Segments could include an App Cap/Arena style segment for showing games each week, interviews with indie developers, a “Release Radar” covering just released or recently released games, reviews, and more.

Would be a great time to launch this asap considering the next consoles are literally months away. Schedule wise if you also did the other changes, it would probably take the spot of whichever show you didn’t use it’s timeslot for point 3 above.

  1. Bring back a shorter “quick fire” daily news headlines show.

This is a concept you guys tried before (Tech News 2Night) which didn’t really work then but I think would work now. Before it made little sense to have a longer morning show and shorter night show since both were still daily which lead to them often barely having any difference and since the first ~10 or so minutes of Tech News Today worked good enough as a short recap of the day’s news, there was no need to produce a whole separate show.

However, now you don’t have a daily show, you have a weekly one so bringing this idea back makes sense. 10-15 minutes of tech headlines with minimal discussion that then are discussed in more depth on other shows like TWiT, TNW, “AAA”, etc. You would no longer have the issue of it barely being different and it would be something smaller that’s quick to produce and easier to get views on.

So to recap these changes:

  1. TWiG would drop the Google name for something more fitting to it’s “cloud computing company” concept
  2. With the new “TWiG” covering more non-Google stuff, AAA would focus on all Google products like how iOS Today covers “nearly all” Apple stuff
  3. iOS Today and MacBreak would merge to cover “all” instead of “nearly all” Apple stuff.
  4. FLOSS Weekly would move to a format similar to TWiET that adds a short Open Source and Linux news block before the interview
  5. Hands On Android and iOS would be expanded to match change 2 and 3.
  6. Bring back a Gaming Show.
  7. Bring back a daily headlines show since it actually makes sense now without a full daily news show.

That’s a lot of suggestions and while all definitely don’t have to be implemented, I do think many of these ideas would be good. Consolidating shows with a lot of duplication, expanding or refocusing some, and returning previous failures in a way that would work now.

All of that combined with the other changes I listed before like updating show graphics (which ironically many of the changes above come with the added benefit of a name change forcing that anyway) would greatly help to “modernize” TWiT to be more competitive with today’s podcast/web show landscape.

More shows that work better on YouTube and with busy teens/adults by being shorter, less shows overall to watch to hear about everything a big tech company has, and changes to existing or new shows that expand the audiences both ways (younger with gaming and older with Linux).

The new Hands-On format with it’s 4 shows is a great step in the right direction and more can definitely be done. I really hope @Leo and the rest of the TWiT crew continues in this current direction which is basically “trimming the fat” and optimizing the network.

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