** Tech Update **
In an effort to address some of the similar questions/suggestions/requests coming in via email/social media, here are some answers to the frequently asked about items:
iTunes/Soundcloud/Other Podcast sites – Yes, we will be getting linked up with all of the podcasting outlets. Part of the process involves sending a request to those sites such as iTunes and they have to in turn be able to connect to DrewAndMikePodcast.Com to review/verify/approve our RSS feed to them. Given that the site is getting slammed by the masses, that includes the podcasting outlets trying to connect to the site and complete their approval process. A couple of them are underway already and we’re just waiting for their confirmation – iTunes being one of them.
Social Media pages – Yes, we have all of the standard social media pages in the works. We will be creating linkage between our site and those social media pages so that every time a new episode is posted, it will automatically notify all of our social media pages. So if you’re connected to our social media pages, you’ll get notified of a new episode.
Web page slowness – The server bundle that we purchased for the primary website was chosen specifically for the anticipated volume of traffic. However, two factors are in play here: a lot more traffic came than first expected (thought it might take a little bit longer for that much up front traffic, but it’s great that there is such huge up front demand!) and streaming the show vs. downloading the show. With so many people streaming (listening to the show on the site as opposed to downloading it and listening to it on their computer/device) it taxes the server even further. We’re currently adjusting the back-end settings to accommodate the high volume. Hoping that in one to two days this will all be corrected. If the iTunes approval happens before then and a batch of users start pulling the show from iTunes instead of directly from our website, that puts the load on Apple (hot!) and lightens up the traffic on our server. As you can tell, we really dumbed down the initial site (basic text, nothing flashy yet) as those other components will only further slow the server down at this point. When the adjustments have been completed, the site will have much more content and not be so basic.
Audio levels – The equipment is being fine tuned to get the right mix of audio quality/volume but at the same time keeping the episode’s file size small enough to be downloadable. The higher the audio quality, the larger the file size which would lead to people complaining about how large each show is, how long it takes to download (even from iTunes) and it filling up their phone’s memory, etc. Just know that we are aware of the audio adjustments to be made and are working through those as well.
Ok, enough of my ranting for now. Thanks for the awesome response and loyal following!
Jay
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Way to go, everyone! Flooded the server on the first episode! Even with a souped up dedicated server and unlimited bandwidth, you still managed to bring it down to a crawl. We have gotten some of the conduits setup for the various podcasting outlets like iTunes, etc. Just waiting for approvals from them so the content can start hitting their sites. It will become easier and easier to grab the show. Thanks for being patient as we grow this show!
Drop us an email at Mail@DrewAndMikePodcast.Com and please spread the word about the show!
