I got an email from Apple last week about some changes they applied to the way podcasts are categorized in the iTunes music store.
Today we launched a revised set of categories for podcasts listed in the iTunes Music Store. We’re sending you this email to let you know how to change your podcast feed to accommodate these changes. The revised categories and subcategories are listed at the bottom of this message. Please take the time to change your podcast feed as soon as possible. Please note that we will support the use of the old category names for the next few months, so there is no immediate deadline for making these changes. We will send another message before discontinuing support for the old category names.
When we read your RSS feed, we capture and store up to 3 category+subcategory pairs, and we use all of them to populate the browse lists that you see when you click the “Browse” link in the Music Store. However, the first category+subcategory pair listed in your feed is the most important, since it is the one listed as the Category field on your podcast page, and it is the only one used to map your podcast into the category feature pages.
Most of the old categories and subcategories are now automatically mapped to corresponding ones within the new system. For example, if your podcast was listed under “Arts & Entertainment > Photography”, it will now appear under “Arts > Visual Arts.” However, 3 categories have been removed and do not have a similar replacement: “International”, “Talk Radio”, and “Public Radio”. Those categories overlapped with others in the old system, making some podcasts difficult to find. If one of these categories is listed as the first subject in your podcast feed, that category information will be ignored and the second category will be used to determine eligibility and placement in that feature page.
It goes on to explain that these changes will take time to show up on their podcast directory, and any changes that I make will take 1-2 weeks before they show up in their system. No big deal, but you would think that making changes would be a bit more instananeous. It could be that they are hand checking every podcast as they come in. How would you like to have that job?
I’ll throw in the list of the new categories that they’ve added to the store, but you’ll have to click to the rest of the post to see them. I should add that even though the new categories are there, there might not be any podcasts that fit all of them yet. Continue reading “iTunes revises their podcast categories”
That always seemed strange to say. Wishing someone a “Happy Halloween” or “Happy Holidays” seems more logical than wishing good tides of American independence, but that’s what you do.
My feet and legs are sore, but the adventure that we took today was well worth any pain that might come out of the nearly fifteen miles that we walked today. From the west end to Commercial Drive via Chinatown, I saw more sights of the city that I’ve been wanting to explore some more since the day I got here.
I guess it was the smells and sounds that take me back. The abundance of the language, combined with that smell. It’s hard to explain it, but if you’ve experienced it, you know what I mean. Baked goods, fish, squid, seaweed, prawns, steamed buns, and what not, all in the open air on a hot, sunny day. It had me craving yakisoba from a corner stand much like you can grab a hot dog or gyro on a Manhattan street corner.
There’s more to be explored, found, and exploited in the future. In fact, our venture up to Commercial Drive[
I know I’m late to the mark on this, but the only excuse I can give is the fact that yes, I am an American. I’ve heard of Canada Day[
Being a hot, sunny, holiday in July, our thoughts went to enjoying frosty, Canadian beverages. And let me tell you, if you ever plan to do such things in B.C., make sure to plan ahead. We searched the West End into Yaletown before we found some place that we could stock up. After lots of walking and sweating, success.