January 14, 2015 @ 7:48 AM (Penalty Entry #2)
I’ve been noticing a major shortcoming in podcast delivery applications, and I’m shocked that it is one that the industry seems to be flat-out ignoring when it’s a part of how everything works. Let me explain.
When you subscribe to a podcast with iCatcher, Podcast Addict, Dogcatcher, the iOS Podcast App (and many others), or even the iTunes application itself, you are telling your software, “Here is the RSS feed for this podcast. I want you to look here to get files.” It’s a value that your software uses so it knows where to go on the Internet to find out if you have a new podcast. Simple enough, right?
The podcast publisher is the other side of this transaction because they set up the RSS feeds that get updated when they post new podcasts. Again, simple. They publish, your software checks the RSS feed, sees a new entry and downloads it for you (or you tell it when to download).
Let me pull back the curtain a little bit and let you see behind the scenes. Sometimes, as a podcast publisher, we need to move our RSS feed to another place on the Internet. When you have to do this there are a few things that you have to do.
- Set up your files at the new place, or populate your RSS feed at the new place on the internet. (meaning the RSS feed address changes from http://OLD_DOMAIN.com/podcastfeed.rss to http://NEW_DOMAIN.com/podcastfeed.rss)
- Add the<itunes:new-feed-url> to tell iTunes where the new RSS feed is and…
- Add a 301 redirect to your server so when services like iTunes and other Podcast listing services hit your old RSS feed address they are told where the new one is and they can start pulling from that feed. (Redirected from http://OLD_DOMAIN.com/podcastfeed.rss to http://NEW_DOMAIN.com/podcastfeed.rss)
Now, here is the reason that I tell you that your Podcast App lies to you: for some reason the “client” side of all podcasts are saved values (cached) that your podcast app itself won’t update. When you move your podcast feed from http://OLD_DOMAIN.com/ to http://NEW_DOMAIN.com/ the directory where the podcast is listed (think of iTunes, PodCast Addict, Stitcher, etc. as catalogs that list the podcasts you can order) but most of the software I have worked with on smart phones, even the iTunes program itself in your Subscribed are for podcasts, doesn’t also get redirected from the 301 redirect. Your podcast gathering app will tell you that the feed isn’t valid any more, there was an error updated, an error downloading, etc. etc.
I really hope that the podcast aggregation apps take note of this issue and address it, because it will make the life of podcast publisher’s a lot easier when moving their stuff and it will make the audience of podcasts happy because they will still get their podcasts.
I don’t know if you learned anything but I sure feel better having gotten that one off my chest.
-Will
