Nugget - Share and record audio with your friends

@craigcannon congrats on the launch! Really curious how you arrived at this state in the app, with a feed and comments — considering where you started from!

@chrismessina thanks man! Yeah, good question. So we've worked on a few versions of the app. 1. Podcast clips (looked like Spotify) 2. UGC short-form audio in a feed (sort of worked like Anchor V1 with more visual sharing tools) 3. Async audio conversations 4. Current build (mix of pro and amateur audio content) In terms of the first idea, I think I didn't fully understand how the avg person uses audio, which is, for the most part, as a source of entertainment and a way to feel less lonely for longish periods of time and while sort of paying attention. The clip model for them was often jarring so they wanted to listen to the full episode once they found something. This put us into the podcast player category which wasn't super interesting to me. Second idea - It's really hard to create interesting short-form content. The stuff we put out with Keith, Michael, and Jason took a bunch of work and they're basically professional talkers so we couldn't expect that from our users. Same with the show Naval and Nivi make. It may seem casual but they're pro. Third idea - These were fun but tiring to keep jumping in and out of. I dig the idea of a podcast being made with audio as lego blocks but I suspect the Clubhouse model works better here. Fourth idea - This one came from the notion that many people are better curators than orators. We were wondering, what if instead of an algorithm recommending everything for you, you could have your friend DJ their favorite podcasts, lectures, etc. And the whole feed/comment thing has been debated. For a while I was making designs that looked like a radio with just an on/off button haha. We'll see if people dig this. We mostly wanted to step out of the parallel but not quite real world of TestFlight. Anyway, that's probably more than you care to know. Thanks for the support dude!

@craigcannon super informative, thanks! I think your observations about how normal folks use and consume audio is spot on... ultimately I wonder if the 1-10-90 rule will apply for audio content... @kayvz suggested that audio-only streams (i.e. Twitter Spaces) appeal to more people since many people are terrified of getting front of the camera and "going live". I wonder if audio curation/"DJing" will feel more accessible and how people will respond to the heterogeneous content formats that Nugget supports. Super interesting journey so far!

@kayvz @chrismessina Yeah, I think the audio-only streams are very easy to jump into and the chance to chat with people you admire is a pull, too. TBD how DJing plays out. Over the past few years I've become hyper conscious of how audio mainlines thoughts into your brain (becoming your inner voice often without your consideration) and beginning with the clip idea I was interested in finding the highest signal possible. I'm probably becoming a crotchety old man but these days I find the highest signal in books and media that someone spent a lot of time producing so this Tumblrish mode of curation/consumption is interesting to me.

"Tumblr for audio" is a useful analogy!

@srivrish 🙌

@james_afino Thanks!

@tolar @mouthink Thanks!

@craigcannon @mouthink aww, thanks, Moath! i appreciate the kind words!