Comments on: The End of Infidel Guy http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2008/10/28/the-end-of-infidel-guy/ by Hemant Mehta Sun, 27 May 2012 23:23:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 By: Spork http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2008/10/28/the-end-of-infidel-guy/#comment-242477 Spork Mon, 03 Nov 2008 00:05:36 +0000 http://friendlyatheist.com/?p=5354#comment-242477 Yeah, well...this isn't the first time. http://friendlyatheist.com/156/no-more-infidel-guy/ Yeah, well…this isn’t the first time.

http://friendlyatheist.com/156/no-more-infidel-guy/

]]> By: The Uncredible Hallq http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2008/10/28/the-end-of-infidel-guy/#comment-241916 The Uncredible Hallq Thu, 30 Oct 2008 22:07:20 +0000 http://friendlyatheist.com/?p=5354#comment-241916 For me, it comes down to: His website. And it's user friendliness. You see, I once signed up for a gold membership with Reggie. And I once gave money to the Rational Response Squad. But both sucked in terms of the user-friendliness of the websites. If I can't figure out how to get shows directly delivered to my RSS feed aggregator, it's not worth my trouble. Period. For me, it comes down to:

His website.

And it’s user friendliness.

You see, I once signed up for a gold membership with Reggie. And I once gave money to the Rational Response Squad. But both sucked in terms of the user-friendliness of the websites. If I can’t figure out how to get shows directly delivered to my RSS feed aggregator, it’s not worth my trouble. Period.

]]> By: Obermeister http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2008/10/28/the-end-of-infidel-guy/#comment-241647 Obermeister Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:48:30 +0000 http://friendlyatheist.com/?p=5354#comment-241647 InfidelGuy will always have a special place in my heart since I credit Reggie's show for completing my deconversion and helping me sort out what I actually believed. It was never that professional of a production, but it was really easy to call in with questions and talk to the guests, which sometimes were top notch. Where else are you going to get a chance for some one-on-one with Richard Dawkins? Since I got to know Reggie a little bit, it always felt more like sitting around a room talking with my friends, while Richard Dawkins just happened to be present and talking with us. I agree with the others that his business model has serious problems - the world is a different place than it was in 1999. I think I've always felt that Reggie was just doing what was in his heart, and not necessarily trying to run a business. Personal appeals can only go so far though - passing the collection plate works fine for churches, but I don't know how well it translates when your soul isn't depending on it. Personally I stopped subscribing because I really felt that I wasn't getting anything additional out of it beyond what the show had already given me: I couldn't stand to listen to any more christian apologists repeat the same tired arguments. I don't need any more convincing that these ancient myths are just that, myths. I don't listen to any atheist podcasts currently, it's just not something I feel I can learn anything new from anymore. InfidelGuy will always have a special place in my heart since I credit Reggie’s show for completing my deconversion and helping me sort out what I actually believed. It was never that professional of a production, but it was really easy to call in with questions and talk to the guests, which sometimes were top notch. Where else are you going to get a chance for some one-on-one with Richard Dawkins? Since I got to know Reggie a little bit, it always felt more like sitting around a room talking with my friends, while Richard Dawkins just happened to be present and talking with us.

I agree with the others that his business model has serious problems – the world is a different place than it was in 1999. I think I’ve always felt that Reggie was just doing what was in his heart, and not necessarily trying to run a business. Personal appeals can only go so far though – passing the collection plate works fine for churches, but I don’t know how well it translates when your soul isn’t depending on it.

Personally I stopped subscribing because I really felt that I wasn’t getting anything additional out of it beyond what the show had already given me: I couldn’t stand to listen to any more christian apologists repeat the same tired arguments. I don’t need any more convincing that these ancient myths are just that, myths. I don’t listen to any atheist podcasts currently, it’s just not something I feel I can learn anything new from anymore.

]]> By: Spork http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2008/10/28/the-end-of-infidel-guy/#comment-241604 Spork Wed, 29 Oct 2008 10:19:39 +0000 http://friendlyatheist.com/?p=5354#comment-241604 His desperate plea to feed his children and keep him out of the army indicate the level of quality one can expect from him. Very little. Look, this is media evolution in its best form. He failed to adapt to the new media evolutionary cycle of ditching lame subscriber models and streaming radio in favor of free podcasts with inserted advertising content such as Audible.com adverts. He is a creature who is not fit to survive in the new media environment as long as he is unwilling to adapt to the external forces shaping that media space. If he continues to ignore the trends and preferences of his target audience, he deserves to be forced to shut down, and a new evolutionary dead end in new media will terminate. Oh, and he is an extremely shitty interviewer. That really doesn't help much at all. His desperate plea to feed his children and keep him out of the army indicate the level of quality one can expect from him. Very little.

Look, this is media evolution in its best form. He failed to adapt to the new media evolutionary cycle of ditching lame subscriber models and streaming radio in favor of free podcasts with inserted advertising content such as Audible.com adverts. He is a creature who is not fit to survive in the new media environment as long as he is unwilling to adapt to the external forces shaping that media space. If he continues to ignore the trends and preferences of his target audience, he deserves to be forced to shut down, and a new evolutionary dead end in new media will terminate.

Oh, and he is an extremely shitty interviewer. That really doesn’t help much at all.

]]> By: Secular Planet http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2008/10/28/the-end-of-infidel-guy/#comment-241555 Secular Planet Wed, 29 Oct 2008 02:12:09 +0000 http://friendlyatheist.com/?p=5354#comment-241555 Almost 3/4 of his subscribers (95% of 75%) have lost their jobs in the past three years? I'm sorry, but I'm very skeptical of that claim. It just doesn't add up. I'm sorry to see him go off the air. It wasn't the best podcast, but I enjoyed it most of the time. I wish him the best of luck. Almost 3/4 of his subscribers (95% of 75%) have lost their jobs in the past three years? I’m sorry, but I’m very skeptical of that claim. It just doesn’t add up.

I’m sorry to see him go off the air. It wasn’t the best podcast, but I enjoyed it most of the time. I wish him the best of luck.

]]> By: Derek H. http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2008/10/28/the-end-of-infidel-guy/#comment-241535 Derek H. Wed, 29 Oct 2008 00:20:44 +0000 http://friendlyatheist.com/?p=5354#comment-241535 In all of the critiques, I didn't see anyone explicit mention my biggest gripe. He never paid attention to his guests. Whenever I listened, I could tell he was just reading the comments in the chat room. It's kind of the nature of the beast when you're allowing questions from the chat room, but the obvious solution would be to ignore them. Or just have someone else watching it. He said reeeaally when he wasn't listening. There were many times of awkward silence where the guest would stop talking, and he never picked up to ask a follow-up or continue the discussion. It was annoying and I had to stop listening after a few. In all of the critiques, I didn’t see anyone explicit mention my biggest gripe. He never paid attention to his guests. Whenever I listened, I could tell he was just reading the comments in the chat room. It’s kind of the nature of the beast when you’re allowing questions from the chat room, but the obvious solution would be to ignore them. Or just have someone else watching it. He said reeeaally when he wasn’t listening. There were many times of awkward silence where the guest would stop talking, and he never picked up to ask a follow-up or continue the discussion. It was annoying and I had to stop listening after a few.

]]> By: Adrian http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2008/10/28/the-end-of-infidel-guy/#comment-241528 Adrian Tue, 28 Oct 2008 23:27:11 +0000 http://friendlyatheist.com/?p=5354#comment-241528 I always had a hard time with his show and his interview style. Even when it was available for free it would drive me nuts. But it has been alive for a while and on the generous assumption that people aren't subscribing because they really lost their job and aren't just trying to be nice, Reggie needs to look seriously at his business model. For a start, I know that $4.50/mo gets you access to all of the archives but people <em>subscribe</em> to something if they expect to get continually good content. Are his radio shows really worth that? iTunes used to charge about $1/episode for tv shows so you could get The Daily Show or The Colbert Report for a month or you could get The Infidel Guy. If you're among the six people in the world that think it's still a good value, since then many shows stream for free and Reggie still charges. People aren't buying what he's selling. He can blame the economy or he can do something about it. Get sponsors, sell ads, do interviews with authors and ask their publicist for a contribution, sell merchandise, write a book. I say he should seriously consider either finding a new person to conduct the interviews or find a co-host because a common refrain is that Reggie, while inspired, cannot stand up to the quality of talent that his competitors offer. If he insists on staying, take some classes in broadcasting or journalism or something and learn how to improve his interview skills. If he's doing a call-in show then I think he should make it more interesting. Liven things up. Come with some prepared rants or anything to generate controversy or interest. And otherwise scrap the live format and record the calls so you can do some post-production and editing. Right now Reggie is selling something that very few people are buying. Change your product, change your marketing, change your customers or change your business. Wake up. Whatever you're doing now is clearly not working. I always had a hard time with his show and his interview style. Even when it was available for free it would drive me nuts. But it has been alive for a while and on the generous assumption that people aren’t subscribing because they really lost their job and aren’t just trying to be nice, Reggie needs to look seriously at his business model.

For a start, I know that $4.50/mo gets you access to all of the archives but people subscribe to something if they expect to get continually good content. Are his radio shows really worth that? iTunes used to charge about $1/episode for tv shows so you could get The Daily Show or The Colbert Report for a month or you could get The Infidel Guy. If you’re among the six people in the world that think it’s still a good value, since then many shows stream for free and Reggie still charges.

People aren’t buying what he’s selling. He can blame the economy or he can do something about it. Get sponsors, sell ads, do interviews with authors and ask their publicist for a contribution, sell merchandise, write a book.

I say he should seriously consider either finding a new person to conduct the interviews or find a co-host because a common refrain is that Reggie, while inspired, cannot stand up to the quality of talent that his competitors offer. If he insists on staying, take some classes in broadcasting or journalism or something and learn how to improve his interview skills.

If he’s doing a call-in show then I think he should make it more interesting. Liven things up. Come with some prepared rants or anything to generate controversy or interest. And otherwise scrap the live format and record the calls so you can do some post-production and editing.

Right now Reggie is selling something that very few people are buying. Change your product, change your marketing, change your customers or change your business. Wake up. Whatever you’re doing now is clearly not working.

]]> By: Maseca http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2008/10/28/the-end-of-infidel-guy/#comment-241527 Maseca Tue, 28 Oct 2008 23:11:59 +0000 http://friendlyatheist.com/?p=5354#comment-241527 I listen to the IG in podcast form, as streaming radio is just horribly inconvenient. I'll agree with the other posters who mentioned that Reggie's style is cloying, and that makes it difficult to listen to. His best shows IMO are those with Bob Price, and on those episodes, Dr. Price is doing most of the talking! The atheist podcast "market" is saturated, and honestly, Reggie's just hasn't kept up. Will I be sorry to see him go? I guess, just based on his significance to the community. But I won't particularly miss the podcast. There are plenty of others to fill that void. I listen to the IG in podcast form, as streaming radio is just horribly inconvenient.

I’ll agree with the other posters who mentioned that Reggie’s style is cloying, and that makes it difficult to listen to. His best shows IMO are those with Bob Price, and on those episodes, Dr. Price is doing most of the talking!

The atheist podcast “market” is saturated, and honestly, Reggie’s just hasn’t kept up. Will I be sorry to see him go? I guess, just based on his significance to the community. But I won’t particularly miss the podcast. There are plenty of others to fill that void.

]]> By: SerTyrion http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2008/10/28/the-end-of-infidel-guy/#comment-241526 SerTyrion Tue, 28 Oct 2008 22:47:22 +0000 http://friendlyatheist.com/?p=5354#comment-241526 I've only been listening to podcast for like... 15 months or so. And, I won't listen to a podcast where I have to pay. I stumble upon way more podcasts than I know what to do with (and I'm anal about clearing out the archive and listening to all the old stuff first). There are too many free choices to worry about pay ones. I might be mischaracterizing his show requiring pay... I haven listened to it. If you want some good atheistic podcasts... The Atheist Experience (takes live callers), The Non-Prophets (my favorite), Apologia (From Dr. Zach Moore), Point of Inquiry, The Reason Driven Podcast, Reasonable Doubts, and Another Goddamned Podcast. I’ve only been listening to podcast for like… 15 months or so. And, I won’t listen to a podcast where I have to pay. I stumble upon way more podcasts than I know what to do with (and I’m anal about clearing out the archive and listening to all the old stuff first). There are too many free choices to worry about pay ones. I might be mischaracterizing his show requiring pay… I haven listened to it.

If you want some good atheistic podcasts… The Atheist Experience (takes live callers), The Non-Prophets (my favorite), Apologia (From Dr. Zach Moore), Point of Inquiry, The Reason Driven Podcast, Reasonable Doubts, and Another Goddamned Podcast.

]]> By: Aj http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2008/10/28/the-end-of-infidel-guy/#comment-241520 Aj Tue, 28 Oct 2008 21:59:05 +0000 http://friendlyatheist.com/?p=5354#comment-241520 The interview style was unbearable, reeeeally and there wasn't any interesting content beyond the guests. The only "atheist" podcast I listen to is Point of Inquiry, and not often. Subscription models would be hard even for the bigger and better podcasts out there. The interview style was unbearable, reeeeally and there wasn’t any interesting content beyond the guests. The only “atheist” podcast I listen to is Point of Inquiry, and not often. Subscription models would be hard even for the bigger and better podcasts out there.

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