Regarding iTunes

[Methos]

I'm not sure how the polycast is setup with iTunes, but you need to alter it. Doing power searches under podcasts polycast does not show up using 'civ', 'civilization', 'civ4', or 'sid meier'. I'm not sure how, but you may wish to add other keywords that can be used to search for it.

I'm not sure how many people would be searching iTunes for civ stuff, but if they did, it'd be nice for them to see the polycast. There is after all a 'Games & Hobbies' section.

[Jaybe]

at iTunes Music Store -> QuickLinks (in upper right) -> Power Search, enter Polycast in title box, press Search

I subscribed a few months ago and I just now went through the motions, so it should work fine. Only one is listed (just the subscription option). Genre is Games & Hobbies.

[DanQ]

Actually it's Apple that needs to update not only their listing options, but also how accessible those options are in the first place. We can only list PolyCast under valid iTunes categories (see this page, "Creating Your Feed and the Importance of Good Metadata" point #5). A full listing of current valid categories can also be found on that page, specifically here.

More than the fact that there is no distinguishing there between Computer and Video Games at least is that we can only use the main headings of categories, e.g. "Games & Hobbies", and not even sub-headings within them e.g. "Video Games". Key terms such as "civ" don't even enter the picture.

[Jaybe]

I'm sorry, Dan, but you have to draw a penalty there -- criticizing Apple is not allowed. Considering that no one has pioneered as much as they have, even to the extent of "inventing" the podcast concept in the first place, and making all this audio & video available, you gotta give them a little slack. If you already HAVE given them a little slack, document each instance in triplicate and post a copy.

While I did not get my first Mac until 1989, I had used them at work 2 years previous to that ... scrap, later I even took my Mac TO work to use for a year or three in the early days. Can't say I have any loyalty bias!

I mean, like, you wouldn't try to tell FIRAXIS how to do things, would you?

EDIT: BTW, as soon as all those "people" start posting to bash Mac users, I'll just leave.

[Methos]

Originally posted by Jaybe

I subscribed a few months ago

Yeah, I subscribed a month or so ago and really like it. After reading the discussion in #19 I got curious and did a little searching. #19 discussion had a question brought up on how polycast was being advertised, so I got curious and checked to see how easy it was for someone to stumble upon the polycast on iTunes. You can't. You have to be actively looking for it.

[DanQ]

My criticism was constructive, Jaybe, and answered Methos' inquiry. I didn't say "Apple sucks" or "iTunes sucks". If I didn't care about iTunes service I wouldn't have researched it (then and now), PolyCast wouldn't be on it and I wouldn't have spent the time here I did to indicate how Apple could improve the service. I am not belittling Apple's accomplishments, but that should not enter the equation: they do not make the company immune to constructive criticism nor should it. Should the Ford Motor Company be immune to criticism about their vehicles because of the leading efforts of its founder in the automobile industry? I don't see why it should. Criticism is always allowed and should be expected of anything a person or a company says and does, but to be beneficial for all parties I believe it should be constructive.

As for Firaxis, in my ongoing multi-part CivRev preview I have made a number of constructive suggestions that I believe would improve on this game-under-development that I already find enjoyable. If I couldn't care less about how the title ended up upon release, I wouldn't have taken the time and energy to do so.

I hope that helps put things in perspective.

[Jaybe]

WELL! OBVIOUSLY I didn't put enough wink winks & just kidding smilies into my post. You get another penalty flag for not mind-reading my levity as I was posting that.

(I thought it would have been obvious from my fine print "If you already HAVE given them a little slack ...")

[DanQ]

Originally posted by Jaybe
WELL! OBVIOUSLY I didn't put enough wink winks & just kidding smilies into my post.

You get another penalty flag for not mind-reading my levity as I was posting that.

Now that is .

(I thought it would have been obvious from my fine print "If you already HAVE given them a little slack ...")

Without the joking smilies, your post came across as "black and white" to me.

I'm glad you've clarified.

[KMadeleine]

well, Dan was thrown off balance because he's so used to dealing with Imran's mac-bashing. so this was a whole new world for him, he was lost!

i've never had to deal with Imran, and i sure giggled at the fine print .

[Zoid]

Originally posted by Jaybe
I'm sorry, Dan, but you have to draw a penalty there -- criticizing Apple is not allowed.

Originally posted by DanQ
My criticism was constructive, "Apple sucks"

QFT

[DanQ]

Originally posted by KMadeleine
well, Dan was thrown off balance because he's so used to dealing with Imran's mac-bashing. so this was a whole new world for him, he was lost!

[Imran Siddiqui]

I admit. I'm a mac-basher extraordinare

[Locutus]

Regarding the OP: that's one of the (many) major problems with iTunes. It presents different results to different people with no information whatsoever on how or why and no way to change what you get. For me, whatever I search for I almost always only get Dutch results, even if I search for English terms However, when I search iTunes for 'Civilization', PolyCast is in the top 10 of results under the podcast banner. Not as good as I'd like but certainly good enough. For lack of knowing any better I had assumed these results would at least be similar for most people...

I adjusted our keywords a bit, see if we show up now. In the near future we'll be looking at not only making the main show description, but also the individual episode descriptions a bit more SEO-friendly, which should definitely help as well. We'll let you know when we've done that (and given Apple some time to process those changes). If at that point you (and others) would be willing to try again and tell us if that helped our rankings for you that would be much appreciated. Unfortunately with Apple being as unfriendly to podcasters as they are, trial and error is the only way to improve our results in this department.