Have you ever wanted to start a podcast to stay in touch with friends?

@amiaomomo Sounds great, yes I think by default ideas are pretty open source. I don't think anyone "own" an idea because is there really anything stopping someone else from also having that idea? Maybe, maybe not. haha If you want a place to "practice" podcasting more privately, this is another great use case for Roads.

@busmark_w_nika Roads could be thought of as a private, audio only, group message with the ability to record comments at timestamped locations while listening. This helps with organization of responses and keeping discussions context aware, compared to typical messaging apps. The goal is to have collaborative discussions, where as typical podcasts or private YouTube videos would be more one way. There is some overlap with Clubhouse & AirChat and even WhatsApp audio messaging

@davefaliskie I still cannot handle it. Is it something like discussion oriented or purely a podcast? Because when there is an intention for discussion, it cannot be convenient for everybody – e.g. when I need to hear a voice message, it can be more time consuming than reading + sometimes you do not have an option to record an audio message when you are in the public transport or so.

@busmark_w_nika It's more like an on going discussion you can have with a group of friends. To me it feels like a podcast but that word might be causing confusion. It's also not intended to be a replacement to text messaging but something where you can discuss topics or stories deeper - more similar to a phone call. Except unlike a phone call you don't need to have everyone on the call live. I think of it as a more personal "podcast" with specific groups. So maybe I share an idea for a video I want to make and then my friends can collaborate on the idea/ give me feedback when they have time. Or maybe I'm traveling and giving them an update on something I experienced or learned, but the expectation is they will listen when they have time and respond later. But thank you for the feedback, I need to work more on my messaging and also there is room to make it more convenient in situations like public transport!

@nathandofrango Nice, I discovered this app recently when looking for similar apps to Roads. If you could do anything to improve Cappuccino what would you change?

@davefaliskie mmm, I guess the main thing is that there's not really any support I could find except a defunct twitter handle. Seems like the creator is MIA. Otherwise a couple of small technical issues, like it's not clear which mic is being used. So my wife and I have both several times recorded and send garbage recordings because we didn't know that it was using the bluetooth connection or the phone or whatever. Oh, another important feature request is notifications. In Cappuccino you never know if someone actually listened to your recordings unless they respond or comment and you have to actually go into the app to figure that out.

@nathandofrango Great to know, I have the same mic situation with Roads - it's on my list to update. If you ever feel like testing out the app it's still actively developed and also has notifications for new messages. If you do decide to try it I'd love to hear any feedback/ suggestions!

@cappuccino @nathandofrango Oh wow Cappuccino looks cool!

@liming_zhang What else would you like to know?

@davefaliskie Thank you! I’d love to know what challenges and highlights you faced during the development of Roads Audio. Additionally, I'm curious about how you came up with the idea?

@liming_zhang One big challenge was how to visually display branching paths in a conversation, which has gone through a few iterations and probably still has room for improvement. As for the idea, I wrote about that in more detail in the App launch post https://www.producthunt.com/post...

@steveb That's exactly right. It's less of a podcast and more of a shared voice note. I have heard from some people that even using the term "podcast" when talking about Roads leads to confusion. Because yes it's not really podcasts.

@kwindla @airchat @clubhouse @marco (I lightly edited your title to be more descriptive)

@rajiv_ayyangar Yes I think there is some overlap in the app's you mentioned. Do you have any theories why they didn't take off? Some feedback I'm getting is people don't want to record their own voice or don't know what to talk about. I'm working on a few ways to handle both of those soon!

@rajiv_ayyangar Not the end of the world but I did share the post on X and since you edited the title the link is now broken. Would be nice if the old link redirected maybe that's a small bug?

@davefaliskie that’s a bug. We’re on it.

@kay_arkain Text is just a lower fidelity medium, but faster and more direct - so definitely beneficial for distributing quick facts/ thoughts. Audio is closer to how we communicate in person - although still not as good. I find when recording audio messages my mind will think of things I didn't initially plan to discuss, the act of talking out loud almost forces you to think more. If you decide to try this app, let me know what you think!

@ash_grover Thank you, let me know if you have any questions/ ideas/ feedback on how it can be better!

@elliezub Do you have a podcast or live stream you use to keep in contact with friends? I find most of my experiences with them (as a consumer/ audience member) are pretty passive, which isn't a bad thing.

@per_clingweld I don't have an actual podcast myself but I suspect that it allows people to have a dedicated conversation either on a specific topic or just to catch up. Are you going to do his show? Have you been a guest on a podcast before? Sounds like a fun experience!

@neochan Yes, this is a fantastic idea, it's on the list for future updates! This has actually been of of the major issues with the app, people get it and are like "I don't know what to talk about". Thanks for the feedback