Buzz Out Loud Lounge: Death of BOL
Please enlighten us
by kwahhn - 4/22/09 6:06 AM In reply to: transform th e BOL by stompbox226On why you feel CBS is pushing an agenda on BoL. Cite examples of this please.
morning show promos
by stompbox226 - 4/22/09 6:51 AM In reply to: Please enlighten us by kwahhnBuzz Out Loud 953: Pedestrian road rage:
Will Goodman, producer for the CBS Early show joins us on today's show.
and he discussed robotic legs which were to be deomo-ed on the morning show the next day or something (oddly this was not in show notes)
Natalis morning show kindle2 demos were teased on BOL for a couple of episodes.
And Natali regularly mentions tech segments and stories she works on for the morning show.
If you want to be enlightened further - just listen to the show.
Again she is good at what she does, but without Tom, Molly, Rafe, Brian, Caroline, Jasmine or Nicole Lee, the show drags - Natali is not 'there' yet, and I feel like she has been situated as the CBS conduit.
Re: Transform the BOL
by miniguy - 5/1/09 3:18 PM In reply to: transform th e BOL by stompbox226I think Molly said that she was just getting too busy with her "real" job, she is one of the boss types at CNET. She still does a half day or so of podcasting a week, and BOL actually does some prep work so I bet that it was taking a couple hours a day.
CNET is still primarily an article driven content engine driving ads, podcasts aren't a profit center, more of a traffic generation vehicle, especially with CBS ownership. Natalie is a voice/video person, so she would naturally fit from a work product perspective, if not from a tech knowledge perspective. So, with Molly leaving, it sort of made sense. She was on the 404 all the time, and Natalie was funny and topical, but the 404 isn't as technical, so it's apples and pears.
The guest host thing happened before Natalie, just after CBS bought CNET, probably because they knew Molly was scaling back and were looking to change things up.
Sort of on point, I remember when Veronica left and Jason stepped up, I was initially disappointed, now I think it actually got better. The biggest difference now is with all the different hosts every week, you get a distinct lack of continuity, but that's sort of what you're going to get in the present format. I still subscribe, but I bank the week, and probably only listen to 2 or 3 a week, skipping a few (Tong=skip).
Yikes
by skimike4 - 4/22/09 6:30 AM In reply to: Death of BOL by Rob-SedonaSad to read this thread...but...
When Tom or Molly isn't on the show, the show is basically unlistenable. It's like when Mom and Dad aren't home and the kids are in charge. The quality just nosedives and it's just....boring. It's just not as informative or enlightening.
This podcast is the perfect example of CBS turning CNET into a corporate mouthpiece to the masses, instead of focusing on the tech audience. The hosts don't discuss tech news with the same depth of knowledge. It's like comparing the USA TODAY to the NY Times: both gives you the news, but USA TODAY is written for the lowest common denominator. That is what's happening at BOL, I'm afraid, and it saddens me.
BOL is basically Tom's to run, and I know he'll do what he feels is necessary to make it better. Soon, I hope.
well stated; listener driven podcast...
by shmody - 4/22/09 7:45 AM In reply to: Yikes by skimike4That was pretty darn well stated.
One thing that comes to mind is that from time to time the listenership needs to "rise up" and refocus/redirect/re-something-er-other the show.
So, let's roll up our sleeves and provide in some thought out ideas - yes?
Post a forward looking idea here:
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-10152_102-0.html?threadID=339950
Best,
Shalin
Empowered BOL listener since Spring 2006
"Momma" and "Old man" of Buzztown 
Well... in the past they used to NOT have ANY show...
by robstak - 4/28/09 10:46 AM In reply to: Yikes by skimike4is this preferable? I'm not saying that it's not, I'm actually asking... lol
To their credit, BOL has become such a hybrid show that they can usually find enough ppl on any given day to have a show 5 days a week, but maybe yall would rather them just skip a day like they used to...
I dunno, I don't really mind the new format myself, but I just thought I'd share that tidbit to explain possibly why ppl are so put off these days...
-dr. karl
I Agree
by walkin99 - 4/28/09 11:35 AM In reply to: Death of BOL by Rob-SedonaThe New York fiasco was a true disaster. Shows coming in late etc....
the bi-coastal attempt to keep bol viable is not working, bad connections etc..... Natalie just does not fit!!
BOL not viable???
by prostr8 - 4/28/09 11:47 AM In reply to: I Agree by walkin99The New York episode was a little rough, but they had tech issues and, as far as I know, it was the first time Natalie had been asked to lead-host. She deserves credit for taking that on. The alternative was canceling the show. It was fine after the first few rough minutes.
I also wish the video version came in as early as the audio version, but there are probably technical reasons why this isn't possible, like the time required to encode video, etc. The delay's not unbearable. If you can't wait that long, you should be watching it live in the morning.
I think it's great that they do the bi-coastal thing. I like Natalie. She's a good fit. And who better than CNET to dig into these technical matters that challenge them on occasion.
Some people are just too critical. I love Molly too, but Natalie doesn't need to BE Molly to "Fit."
Natali=/=Molly We Get It
by ccferr1 - 4/28/09 12:47 PM In reply to: BOL not viable??? by prostr8I think the Molly/Natali thing is a red herring. Yes, a lot of people were upset that Molly left, but we're WAY down the road from that and I don't think anyone NEEDS her to be Molly at this point - she simply doesn't bring anything to the table. Love her to death - it doesn't work. I think some of the theorizing that its the long distance thing may be accurate because I love Natali on Loaded and when she's on The 404....
Me As Well
by ccferr1 - 4/28/09 12:25 PM In reply to: Death of BOL by Rob-SedonaI've been a voracious listener of Buzz Out Loud for years and 2 episodes is the most that ever sits on my iPhone but I'm up to 7 right now and just started to have to actually force myself to listen. It is truly truly awful. And I swear, I subscribe to Loaded - I like Natali - it's just that everything seems forced in this format for her. She's a great presenter but the talk show thing just doesn't fit for her... although, I like when she's on The 404 so I guess maybe I just don't get why it doesn't work.
I'm right there with you - my loyalty to BOL makes me listen even though it's more of a chore that I feel I have to do now! I'd even be ok if it were just Tom, Jason and Mystery Host every day I think. I'm not sure that loyalty will keep me listening too much longer - I literally pounded my head on the steering wheel listening to #957 last night in my driveway.
wait...is that the fat lady singing?
by giorgitd - 4/30/09 6:49 PM In reply to: Me As Well by ccferr1I've been listening consistently to BOL since Fall 2005. I've been trying to be open minded and patient. But my listening has fallen further and further behind. Earlier this week I tried to listen to the "NY episodes". Purely awful. I doubt that I'll unsubscribe from BOL/iTunes, but I'm not listening anymore. Tom...good luck and best wishes for whatever you do next because, in it's present form, BOL has jumped the shark.
BOL just like TWIT, horrible
by bol_reality_check - 4/28/09 12:57 PM In reply to: Death of BOL by Rob-SedonaBOL just needs to add bimbo's just like TWIT has. Let me clarify, bimbos who freelance. CNET is trying to go mainstream and it's just not working for the geeks. But I don't know if mainstreaming CNET is helping or hurting the bottom line. And isn't the bottom line is what matters.
I guess when this conversation comes to an end...
by prostr8 - 4/28/09 1:19 PM In reply to: Death of BOL by Rob-Sedona...we'll be left with a community of people who stick around because they appreciate the podcast for what it contributes to their daily lives and not for what it used to be.
Change is inevitable. CNET/CBS needs to do what it thinks makes sense for them. Naturally, profit is the great motivator, but that's dependent on viewership. If they make changes that alienate most of their viewers, then the project fails. If they lose a handful of viewers who are so narrow minded that they can't tolerate anything resembling change, then I'm not sure that's a bad thing.
Same refrain -- If you don't like it, leave. If enough of you leave, then BOL goes away and the rest of us will be saddened by that, but it's the nature of the beast. We'll all live with the consequences, including CNET/CBS.
That's Not The Goal
by ccferr1 - 4/28/09 3:40 PM In reply to: I guess when this conversation comes to an end... by prostr8"If enough of you leave, then BOL goes away"
THAT'S what we're trying to avoid here. THAT'S the point. For me personally I don't CARE what it looks like - I'm not begging them to force Molly and Veronica to do the show at gunpoint - I'm not asking that we go BACKWARDS, and I don't think (m)any (?) of us are. If you want to contribute to the conversation tell me why you think what everyone is bringing up DOESN'T matter or isn't a problem because I can level your same argument right back at you: if you don't like what you're reading here stop opening the thread, stop reading the forum. But I won't do because "shut up" isn't a productive argument.
Again, I don't need BOL to be anything other than good.
Growth is natural
by RTourn - 5/1/09 1:04 AM In reply to: That's Not The Goal by ccferr1Tom and Molly won’t be there forever, they have to leave at some point. The show will be different. I’m sure that once Natalie stops worrying about what we say about here the conversations will be more interesting.
As long as they can get me the news with insightful commentary, I’ll be happy.
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