Freq Check Five - Big Data
-Wiki?
-Drynet
-Drycast revived as a car podcast. Looking for cohosts.
-Uncut (all episodes?)
-Introduction to Contrast
-New audio standard: all 192kbps stereo mp3s
-Usage statistics for extratone.com as of September 28th (screenshot)
I downloaded a full backup of the Extranet a few days ago. Compressed, it was over 50GB. Most of the bulk is in video and audio files, of course. According to this report, we exchanged over 1TB of data in September - over twice the bandwidth usage of prior months, combined, and averaged just under 1000 unique visits a day.
Of course, with today's quantity of bot traffic, these numbers could mean little to nothing. To date, our security software has blocked 12,000 malicious login attempts - an average of 80/day. This is why our password requirements are so strict. As old as WordPress is, there's simply no other option.
For whatever reason, the level of diligence required to uphold responsibility for the security of 200+ users' data didn't occur to me when I first began Extratone. It's been an interesting experience. I've begun to take it very seriously. Lead Tech Editor Alex Jones certainly deserves appreciation for keeping me constantly apprised of CMS-killing exploits.
This month, I published our long-overdue Privacy Policy and Terms of Use pages, and I've instigated plans to acquire formal legal consultation before our one-year birthday in Spring 2017.
Five.
Due to my own absences, October has so far been fairly quiet. Episode 11 of The New was quite delayed, and we experienced our first extended (24 hour) downtime two days ago as a result of a few slippery php errors. Let me apologize to you now for both leniencies; neither are becoming of our purpose.
There's something really cool about "All Systems Operational" in The Verge's footer. Perhaps I feel that way because I am - ultimately - a child.
The most mentionable change these past weeks is female contribution!
Xanath's "Could Education Suck?" represents the first female words and contains the first Spanish text on Extratone!
On the listenable side, the beautiful voices of Nina and Ivy Hollivana [link to Off The Grid debate episode] have both graced the digital airwaves of Studio Eat once more.
I'd be flattered if you recalled the sparsely posted works in Prose during our genesis, but I don't expect it, by any means. In my search for contributors, though, I've found that poetry is in fact the dominant prospective offering, which is both exciting and beguiling. I have hesitated to emphasize creative contributions because it's seemed a bit inappropriate as a primary content focus. Poetry on the front page just doesn't feel quite right, ya know?
There's also the whole why thing. After some thought, I realized that platforms like Tumblr, Reddit, Medium, Blogger, etc. are less perfect vehicles of verse than they've seemed, simply because of The Largest Taboo in the business: intellectual property. One day soon, I shall be able to proclaim with utter confidence that your original content is attributed more optimally on Extratonethan on any other free service, which can (in theory) claim ownership of any/all work you "give" them. Considering our ~$15,000 deficit, formal legal counsel is fleeting, perhaps, but an evermore pertinent concern as our staff and readership increase. Before May 2017 (Extratone's first birthday,) the trademarking process will have begun, and fine print drafted. Legal issues are some of the most foreign to me, so if you've any suggestions, I'd very much appreciate your correspondence.
Considering this future security with our new typography and ever-evolving design, though, I have been tempted to more actively publish and acknowledge poetry
Audio
As promised, the Drycast archive is now finally complete. Almost exactly 10 months after they were recorded, I finished editing and publishing episodes 53 and 54, and included a short thank you/farewell to preface the former. I think Trent Salmon (53) is the most entertaining 150 minutes of audio I have ever produced. It's going to be difficult to top.
Also, I took the time to create a Twitter Moment https://twitter.com/i/moments/789792690292400128 - a collection of Tweets regarding Drycast over its year-long life. Let me know if I missed something.
I'm actually quite saddened by the idea of killing the name, so I've been entertaining the idea of repurposing it as my car/music podcast if I'm able to find regular cohosts. It'll never be what it was, though, and that's why it's worth remembering.
I've begun to actively seek interviewees for our podcasts, and in composing the first email, I realized that "David Blue, host of The New" is just... really lame. Therefore, I've made the executive decision to rename our flagship podcast Futureland, and spent a bit too much time on new art. Don't worry - we're not starting over. The format/segments we've been developing will still be present, and the next episode will be numbered twelve, but you'll probably have to re-subscribe on iTunes and/or Google Play Music.
Prose Editor-at-Large Leo Marx became a bit less at-Large last week with his appearance on an episode of Off The Grid - which continues to serve as our podcasting relief valve.
We've formed a partnership with The Movie Closet - an equisitely-produced show featuring Matt, Sam, Mikel Bass and Ben, who congregate weekly in front of their microphones to prostrate themselves before cinematic institutions of their choosing. We've been desperately needing informed opinions on film since James Wilson's departure, so this is an announcement to get particularly excited about.
Alacrity Editor Alek Michael and I watched the Second Presidential Debate together and joined Ivy and Virgil in Studio Eat immediately afterward for a rare - if redundant - political discussion. It's entertaining enough, and it was great to hear from Ivy again.
Contrast has officially been birthed, though we have yet to finish our first episode. For now, my introduction is available as a fairly-concise preview and plan of action.
I've finally decided on a standard file format for all of our audio content: 192kbps, stereo mp3.
Extratone
Walking