The MousePod - It's 2007...and we're back again!

[mousepod]

Yes, I know it’s been a little while since you heard from me here. Welcome to the all-new and improved MousePod site.
A little history before we begin:
The MousePod was launched in 2005 at the site pocketsymphony.com. I wanted a .com, and mousepod.com was taken, so I figured I’d grab a domain name that reflected what was cool about the iPod and podcasting in general. Since the whole podcasting field was new, I had no idea what I wanted to do with the show, other than share some Disney news, and my memories about my favorite Disney things.
As the year progressed, other Disney podcasts started springing up, including official ones from Disney itself. The podcasting community was growing by leaps and bounds, due in no small part to iTunes offering simple direct downloads. I needed to find a way to differentiate my show from the rest of the crowd, and I realized that the greatest power that Disney brand has (beyond even imagination) resides in the hearts of the fanbase. I decided to make the majority of content of The MousePod reflect listener input. I was not disappointed.
Finally, mousepod.com became available and I grabbed it. I wanted to make a cool website that would allow a more multimedia experience while allowing maximum listener participation. Since I’m a big fan of Apple, I installed iWeb on my computer and created a snazzy looking page. It was cool-looking, but it was also unfortunately burdened by the same problem that iBlog had (that was the software I used at pocketsymphony): each entry had to be created and saved on a computer and then uploaded. While that doesn’t sound like a big deal, it’s actually a pain in the neck, because the flexibility that most of the major blogging programs offered (commenting, uploading on the fly, easily adding multimedia) was absent.
Content-wise, the 2006 version of the MousePod featured a narrower game plan. Each episode would focus specifically on one Disney animated feature. The plan was to start with Snow White and progress through to the present day. The idea that the whole audience (or a decent portion of it) would be watching the same movie during the same week was exciting. The drawback to this plan was twofold. First, it quickly became clear to me that most people were not participating in the grand experiment (but they were still listening, so that’s a plus). The other problem was that by setting up a predictable routine, I set myself up for self-censorship. If I had a fantastic conversation about Robin Hood with one of my friends, I couldn’t share it, because we were only up to Dumbo. Not a good thing.
So… long story short - I’m back. The Dumbo show has been sitting, almost finished, on my computer for too long, so I’ll finish that up this weekend. And then… only time will tell. I’ve moved away from iWeb and am using WordPress, so this site will hopefully be a lot more dynamic.
As always, the quality of the show and the site relies on you. So keep the email coming - and I promise to make this show the best it can possibly be.
See ya real soon,
Jesse


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