Fountain Podcasts - Sats for Feedback! \ stacker news ~bitcoin

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99 sats \ 20 boost \ 23 comments \ @MerryOscar 28 Oct 2021 bitcoin freebie

Hi All,

I'm building Fountain - a podcast app that lets you support your favourite podcasts with Bitcoin over the Lightning Network.

You can stream a certain number of sats per minute, and you can also send a custom Boost at any time along with a message.

We also have a clipping feature that lets you create clips of your favourite moments from podcasts and share them within Fountain and externally - here are a few examples:

If you're into podcasts - I'd love to get your feedback on the app - you can download on iOS and Android here - https://www.fountain.fm

Will tip with sats for feedback below! :)

Thanks,
Oscar.

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103 sats \ 3 replies \ @k00b 28 Oct 2021

This has already been addressed by others but that 5 field sign up is a lot of friction. It stopped me from signing up months ago.

111 sats \ 2 replies \ @MerryOscar OP 28 Oct 2021

Thanks working on this!

103 sats \ 1 reply \ @k00b 29 Oct 2021

Spent more time in app. Take these with a grain of salt, i.e. only believe the sentiment not the details - I'm representing how I feel accurately, but I might be misunderstanding the facts of things.

Walkthrough could be shorter. It was 5 steps and seemed redundant to me. It's challenging and might even be infeasible but ideally there isn't a walkthrough. The UI shows you what you do rather than having to be told. There's a saying in screenwriting: show, don't tell (i.e. narration is red flag).
It says welcome back on the first visit
When it asks for notifications and I refuse it takes me to the settings app homepage not even settings specific for Fountain
Podcast import feature is great! Loved how low that made switching costs
Search doesn’t prioritize my subscribed podcasts
I’d like the option to pair with my AirPods in app
It’d be nice if I started out with some sats. Just like 5 or something so I can experience what it's like to pay a podcaster (I've been thinking of doing this for SN too)
QR code to load wallet should be clickable
Loved the ease of sats/minute
It’d be nice to set a global/podcast level default for boosts that doesn't require me to interact at all
Crashed on me 10 minutes in but might be due to me running on low battery
Podcast cover image is pixelated and distorted for certain podcasts
I couldn’t figure out how to clip podcasts. Perhaps I’m not being patient enough but it says transcribing and doesn’t stop.
- Even when the UX around clipping approaches perfect, I suspect it's still tricky for a user to edit audio. This is more of a human nature thing than anything else, but I'm usually occupied when I'm listening to podcasts.
  - I'm usually on the move or doing chores or something when I'm listening to podcasts, so stopping, rewinding and editing audio is difficult. Ideally it's as easy as snapping a photo but idk how to actualize this.
  - Again grain of salt, but I think I'd want a big record button I hit to begin a clip, and I hit again to stop ... maybe it already works that way but I couldn't figure it out.

I'll keep using Fountain as my main podcast app and let you know if anything else comes up.

Keep up the great work! Sorry if that is overly critical feedback! I wouldn't mention any of it if I didn't think you'll soon iterate out of each problem.

11 sats \ 0 replies \ @MerryOscar OP 1 Nov 2021

Thanks @k00b this is all incredibly helpful and we'll definitely work through them all! 101 sats tipped!⚡️

124 sats \ 1 reply \ @Gar 29 Oct 2021

Any plans to release on F-droid or otherwise give an option outside of Google and Apple stores?

24 sats \ 0 replies \ @MerryOscar OP 29 Oct 2021

We're working through how can can offer this.

113 sats \ 2 replies \ @serg 28 Oct 2021 freebie

I would add a click to the intro explanation. now it only slides.
I would make podcasts(top podcasts maybe) the first tab, the first thing a user sees when entering the app, instead of the clips.
I didnt get what the word/button boost is there for at first. I would change it to tip maybe.
the word transcribing does not fit in the box. iphone xs. And it took some time, so maybe it should say it will take some minutes.
Sometimes cut button wouldn't work on the edit text page. (Just figured I needed to stop the clip to cut words from it) so maybe it needs a tip.

Overall great idea loved how fast and seamlessly it cuts filler words from clips :)

13 sats \ 0 replies \ @serg 28 Oct 2021 freebie

just realized it syncs my apple podcasts. Now I understand better how it works. cool

11 sats \ 0 replies \ @MerryOscar OP 28 Oct 2021 freebie

Thanks for the feedback! 101 sats tipped!⚡️

Will add a click to intro slides.
We default to clips tab with the idea that you browse a few clips from people you follow before getting into your podcasts - will think more about this and maybe add a way to change it manually.
Interesting thanks will think more on this.
Thanks will fix and yes definitely need more explanation here.
Thanks yes needs more explanation.

Thanks again! :)

113 sats \ 1 reply \ @bataroot 28 Oct 2021

Looks great! Quick preliminary feedback (on Android):

I am trying more and more to avoid giving up my email to create an account for any kind of app. Is there any way you can reproduce the stacker.news "login with lightning (lnurl-auth) ? Might it be incompatible with your business model?
When I first pressed "CLIP" on a podcast, it went on a "transcribing" state without too much information about what to expect (especially in terms of process length), so my first thought was that the feature was broken... Until It went back to the "Clip" state, and I saw the result of the transcription ;)

13 sats \ 0 replies \ @MerryOscar OP 28 Oct 2021 freebie

Thanks for the feedback! 101 sats tipped!⚡️

we've heard a few people request this and are definitely going to introduce both a non-account option and also implement lnurl-auth
clip onboarding / explanation is definitely high on our list!

Thanks again! :)

113 sats \ 1 reply \ @metamick14 28 Oct 2021 freebie

Love the app! here is some initial rapid-fire feedback:

wasn't able to connect to spotify, not sure why but it gave me an error ("Authorization error: disallowed_useragent")
would be great to be able to add less than 2,000 Sats to get started.
love the idea of the podcast snippets/clips! i can totally see myself going through them for both those podcasts that i listen to and those new podcasts - as a way for me to discover new pods. Is this "CLIPS FROM YOUR NETWORK" vs "POPULAR CLIPS" refers to?

12 sats \ 1 boost \ 0 replies \ @MerryOscar OP 28 Oct 2021 freebie

Thanks for this! 101 sats tipped!⚡️

I'll double check the Spotify import now and let you know.
You're right maybe minimum 2000 sats is too much - although we do have the ability to withdraw if you'd like to test things out and decide to stop using.
CLIPS FROM YOUR NETWORK shows clips from people you follow on Fountain vs. POPULAR CLIPS is curated. Our social features are very limited at the moment tho - need to work on this.

113 sats \ 2 replies \ @nout 28 Oct 2021

Sweet! Welcome here!
Some raw feedback:

When I first installed the app, I uninstalled it immediately since it was asking me for login information including email. The best would be no sign-in needed to get basic features. Then it would be great to support LNURL-Auth, so I can just sign in with my wallet (which would simplify loading the wallet too). Further the app could be integrated with google account as option (especially to autogenerate the password), to make it much smoother to start. I think I tried second time and failed again.
- The third time I installed it, the experience was painful even more, since I had to go through password reset flow. That was painful in itself and then the reset email from firebase went into spam folder. I finally worked through it.
The first thing that I see when I opened the app was "There's an update available", I tap on that, it takes me to Google Play Store, but no option to update (only "Open").
In the app with the dark theme, the episodes separator line is too bright, it should be much darker.
It looks like I can't start playing the podcast when it's downloading
When setting V4V for the first time, there should be some good defaults, like 500 for boost and 50 for "per-min".
It lets me put in amounts to boost even when I don't have wallet funded. And the error is "Payment error - check wallet for details", which doesn't tell me what the actual issue is.
When funding wallet I'd like to specify less sats, e.g. 500.
When I generate the funding invoice, there should be a button to open my LN wallet (currently I have to copy, switch applications, find wallet and then paste)
Playback features are decent. I would like to see other people's boostagrams.

3 sats \ 1 reply \ @MerryOscar OP 28 Oct 2021

Wow thanks for all the detail - incredibly helpful! 101 sats tipped!⚡️

No Account + LNURL-Auth Option - this is something many have requested and we're working on.
Android Update Bug - we've had an issue here with the update banner on the latest version - sorry!
Dark Theme Separator Line - will look into the right guidelines and fix this.
Can't Play Podcast Whilst Downloading - we have an updated automatic download system coming soon which should avoid this issue.
Value for Value defaults - yes great idea - the payment bottom sheet definitely needs a re-design.
More Specific Payment Errors - on our backlog.
Funding Smaller Amounts - a few people have requested this - we'll add smaller options.
Funding Invoice Auto-Switch - great idea.
Viewing Others Boostagrams - something we're thinking about.

Thanks so much for the detailed feedback this really means a lot! :)

On the last point around viewing Boostagrams - would you want control over this so it could be set to public / private?

1 sat \ 0 replies \ @nout 28 Oct 2021

re: boostagrams: Do you mean whether "my" boostagram is private? I'm not expecting the boostagram to be private, I think it would be fair for it to publicly show to anyone who's playing the podcast.
I could see some expandable overlay that shows the boostagrams from other people as they come. E.g. Twitch comments style.

21 sats \ 1 reply \ @bitb 15 Oct 2022

I would like to subscribe to Foundtain Premium with bitcoin
Setting to enable auto-remove episode from queue when finished listening

btw: Is this thread still watched by Fountain devs or where can I leave my feedback?

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @MerryOscar OP 17 Oct 2022

both these are on the roadmap - sign up here to be notified - https://fountainpodcasts.substack.com

13 sats \ 0 replies \ @mf 28 Oct 2021

This is awesome. It's great to see more podcast apps adopting the new economy and it's tools.

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @gunson 10 Mar 2023

Hey @merryoscar

Old thread I guess, but wanted to emphasize some of the feedback I saw here.

Really wish you could subscribe to premium without fiat or an app store. Why not just ask to deduct from sats balance once a month?

Wish you could change personal data like email. I previously signed up with an email that easily ties to my identity and would like to remove it without having to create a new profile. Makes me feel anxious about my public streaming and boostergrams.

42 sats \ 0 replies \ @MerryOscar OP 10 Mar 2023

pay for premium with sats - we do plan to add this - I know it's been a while but we will get to it
change email - send me an email oscar@fountain.fm from the old email and I can change for you