Spoken.co

A few days ago, Cameron Moll — the guy behind Authentic Jobs and Structures in Type — unveiled a new service he co-founded: Spoken.

As they say in their intro post, it's “Like Instagram for audio.” You record and publish short audio snippets (up to 4 minutes each), ideally to share stories and experiences using that most intimate form of communication: your voice. I was immediately intrigued by this idea and rushed to nab the /chris handle, which I can tell you is the first time I've ever been able to do that. I look forward to being able to post from my iPhone and iPad, since those are my primary devices. (I've heard an app is in the works.)

Until then, I've been enjoying many of the posts (snippets? shortcasts?) I've come across so far, including:

• Shawn Blanc telling the story about how he started writing full-time.
• Tina Roth Eisenberg on how she requires jokes with job applications.
• Sean "seanwes" McCabe on free-form writing in the morning. (Sean also gave some handy advice for anyone wanting to do well on Spoken.)
• Suzanne Moll sharing a cute story about off-roading with her son.
• Cameron Moll on balance vs. priorities.
• Benjamin Brooks on recovering from negativity

And that's really just the beginning. I hope the Spoken network takes off, because I think it has some serious potential. If you're already into podcasts, it's a natural fit. Go check it out.

P.S. I recorded my first track earlier today, but I'm not 100% happy with it. Might scrap it and do another. Either way, once it's done I'll link it up in a follow-up post.

Relay.fm Adds Two New Shows to Get Excited About This Summer

My friends Stephen and Myke at Relay.fm have been killing it lately. Not only have they managed to nab Mac Power Users from 5by5, but now they're adding two more great shows to their lineup:

1. Reconcilable Differences — Wherein Merlin Mann and John Siracusa (!) “prod at each other’s backgrounds as fans of technology and pop culture, filling in holes, arguing minor differences, and generally teaching each other about the things they both love.”

   This podcast has been a long time coming, and I'm pumped to see it becoming a reality.

2. Cortex — A show where Myke quizzes CGP Grey of YouTube fame about his methods, workflows, and time management.

"All the great shows" indeed.

Our New Favorite Podcast App for iOS

Over at The Sweet Setup, we've chosen Overcast as our new favorite podcast app for iOS, edging out Pocket Casts as our previous top pick.

Once we have a top app pick—in any category—it's very rare that we switch to anything else. In fact, as of this writing we've only done it one other time. So, trust me when I say it was a tough decision, especially because we still love Pocket Casts to death. In the end however, it was the right call.

How Overcast Asks for Reviews

Marco Arment:

“When we all started complaining about “Rate this app” dialogs in 2011, and then reignited the discussion last year, the most common developer excuse for leaving them in was that the prompts worked, and the developers needed them to get enough ratings. Like most assumptions about what app developers “need” to do, I couldn’t wait to challenge that with Overcast, and I think the results are now worth sharing.”

Though Overcast is not my podcatcher of choice, there are still many things to like about it. Its unobtrusive prompt for App Store reviews is one of the more delightful ones.

A Little More Playful

Yesterday, Shawn Blanc guested on Myke Hurley's podcast, Inquisitive. They discussed the Tools & Toys redesign, as well as the site's history and how our editorial team came together. The parts about starting projects and managing teams were particularly interesting.

Side note: I listened to the show live, and it was a bit surreal to hear Shawn talking to someone else in real-time about how he originally discovered my old site, Unretrofied, two years ago.

Relay FM

Brand-spanking-new podcast network/syndicate/collective (take your pick) started by my buddies Myke Hurley and Stephen Hackett. Shows they used to do on 5by5 have been renamed and rebooted—The Prompt is now Connected; CMD+Space is now Inquisitive; etc. If you'd like to know more, Myke wrote about the changes here.

I'm looking forward to what Relay FM has in store. Congratulations to Myke and Stephen (and everyone else involved) on the launch!