So what does everyone think of the WP Radio (and/or Zune Insider) podcast by MS ?

[Strider_Aus]

A Poll would be nice....however

So - over at Paul Thurrott's WindowsPhoneSecrets site - there has been some pretty heavy negativity show towards both the Zune Insider and Windows Phone Radio podcasts.

For the record (my posts are over there) - I happen to enjoy and like both podcasts. I don't mind the lingo - I get more annoyed by the "full awesomeness" that keeps getting mentioned re: US Zune and WP7 features vs. Australia (sometime in about 2020 I will get over this I'm sure lol).

I like the relaxed attitude, I enjoy the "vision into MS" the podcasts present, and what I like most is the special guests (like Dave Mac) and feedback we all get to have for both podcasts - and the loop Matt (and Jessica) close out and acknowledge some of that feedback over podcast or twitter.

So what's the verdict for abi readers ? Most of you are US or Canada based I'm sure - so the lingo (language and presentation) doesn't have to cross too many borders! Are you happy with it, Do you expect more from them ?

Please share your thoughts, I'm interested to see what opinions are out there.

[Marvin the Martian]

I briefly listened to the Zune Insider last year( four episodes, I think), when I was bored and all the TV shows were out of season....Matt and Jessica were way too perky and happy for me, and everything was cool!!! and awesome!!! and I wanted to shoot them....lol. I did catch when Dave-Mac and EnzoTen were on....that was cool.

[The DarkSide]

Way too pro-MS w/no real discussions (when I last listened a year or two ago) IMO.

[medion]

Originally Posted by The DarkSide

Way too pro-MS w/no real discussions (when I last listened a year or two ago) IMO.

Well, they pretty much have to be. They're run by MS. They are meant to be an interactive link between MS and the customers. They have to be pro MS. They're not real journalists in their current capacity, they're more of a media section of the company.

[WalkGood]

Just another marketing tool ...

[medion]

Originally Posted by WalkGood

Just another marketing tool ...

Marketing, that's the word I was looking for

[Strider_Aus]

Awesome! lol

Hey - considering Matt and Jessica are MS PM's with full time roles working on the Zune experience (be it the client software, cross-media customer experience etc etc) - I reckon they do a pretty good job!

Of course they are expected to be a Marketing tool for MS. Similar to Dave-Mac's posts here - you can see that they also have stuff they would love to talk about but just can't - cause of all the MS constraints on announcements, releases etc - and typical software dev. issues re: nothing is final till the final release to market...

As for the lingo - of course being an Aussie it sometimes seems a little overdone - I imagine like how an Aussie podcast would sound to US folk if we filled it with heaps of; Maaattte, You Bewdy - break out the Fosters and throw another shrimp on the barbie. LOL One thing I would like is sit in a Zune Client Dev. Team meeting with Matt, and see how much of the lingo/style from the podcast carries across to his day-to-day job!

So - what do I think both podcasts could do more/less of:

+ More content guests from MS (Carrier contacts, Key MS people like Joe B.)
+ More exploration of some of the WP7 features.
+ More competitions for Australian Listeners
+ More focus on new Music / Artists - Zune Pass etc
+ More Video Podcasts
+ A few more exclusive releases/updates/news etc for the fans out there that listen regularly.

- Less focus on movies hitting Zune Pass (Please. Movies are old news.)
- A little less MS soft "feel good" marketing.

[The DarkSide]

Originally Posted by WalkGood

Just another marketing tool ...

Originally Posted by medion

Marketing, that's the word I was looking for

I think "tool" covers it succinctly,...

[Strider_Aus]

Harsh....very harsh.