Thursday, 2 September 2021

Joint Session Bonus Show | Magic, Circumcision, Synchronicity & DynCorp

A technical overhaul of the Higherside archive brings new distribution strategies for Plus members and a streamlined experience for mobile podcast application users.

RSS restructuringPlus member contentTHC forumPodcast archivesJoint SessionGreg Carlwood
By The Higherside Chats Free Show | 7m listen | 3 chapters
Joint Session Bonus Show | Magic, Circumcision, Synchronicity & DynCorp cover

About this episode

The Higherside Chats host Greg Carlwood implements a significant RSS feed restructuring to resolve technical archive alignment issues and website audio player failures. This strategic shift introduces a placeholder segment within the free podcast feed to signal the presence of the Joint Session bonus hour for Plus members. The transition from the original Zoom-based call-in format to a standard mobile-friendly distribution model ensures that the monthly subscriber-only content remains accessible across all third-party applications.

Technical updates for the THC forum and the Plus member experience include a new distribution strategy designed to maintain a clean digital archive. The Joint Session features a curated selection of listener voicemails, forum posts, and trip reports that provide behind-the-scenes context for recent interviews. Carlwood details how the placeholder audio serves as a non-intrusive reminder of the additional hour of content available in the second half of every interview. This administrative overhaul addresses long-standing synchronization problems between the website and mobile RSS feeds.

A custom musical montage signals the official start of the interactive segment, celebrating the community's weird thoughts and listener-generated contributions. The lyrics emphasize the shift from administrative updates to the candid, unscripted nature of the monthly bonus show. This specific session highlights the show's reliance on the THC forum community to drive the narrative through direct questions and personal anecdotes.


CHAPTER 01 / 3 Discussion

The Higherside Chats Joint Session Bonus Show Overview

The Higherside Chats host introduces the Joint Session, a monthly bonus show dedicated to Plus members. This candid program features responses to questions from the THC forum, listener voicemails, and behind-the-scenes updates regarding recent interviews. Originally launched as a Zoom-based call-in show, the format transitioned into a standard podcast feed to accommodate listeners using mobile applications.

the higherside chats· joint session· plus members· thc forum· community feedback

00:01 Hello, Hireside Chatter! Serenity now. How the hell are ya? You know I hate to do this sort of thing but what i call the monthly joint session bonus show for plus members is a fun little extra where I can talk a little bit more candidly to the inner circle. I can read and respond to questions and comments left in the THC forum. Forum access being a lifetime bonus for plus people by the way even if you cancel your membership And I can play the audio messages people leave for me at TheHigherSideChats.com slash voicemail Always open if you have a cool story or weird experience, or want to sing us a song which oddly has happened a couple of times already

00:43 I also get to talk about THC news and updates that don't really fit on the end of a random interview. I get to talk about the feedback i've gotten for the latest round of shows, which is usually interesting and sometimes pretty surprising based on people's reactions to the guests and topics of the month Sometimes things you wouldn't want just floating around out there if you were in my shoes especially when reading the harsh negative stuff And I also sometimes get to bring up parts of a guest's work that we didn't get into in the actual interview. Or stuff that was maybe sent to me afterwards, that relates to something in a particular episode So it really is just an all-around community driven hour or so of behind-the-scenes stuff

01:26 It's called the Joint Session not only because it is a coming together of me and the THC audience, but it's also actually a triple entendre. And that's sort of what I built the brand on around here and all that We actually started doing the joint sessions as a Zoom room, open line sort of call-in thing. But it wasn't in the RSS feed at all! So many Plus members were like hey man I listen to the show on a podcast app on my phone... ...I don't want to have to go to the website just to get this other thing is there way you can just put it in the feed with the rest of the stuff? so I changed the format for that reason and a couple others and made into another podcast

CHAPTER 02 / 3 Discussion

RSS Feed Restructuring and Free Listener Placeholder Strategy

Technical challenges regarding archive alignment and RSS feed organization led to the implementation of a new distribution strategy. To prevent broken audio players on the website and maintain a clean archive, a placeholder segment now appears in the free feed where the Joint Session would normally reside. This change aims to remind free listeners of the additional hour of content available in the second half of interviews while maintaining a non-intrusive listening experience.

rss feed· podcast archive· user experience· subscription model· digital organization

02:06 But after doing a few of them this way, it's become pretty obvious that it throws things off for me on the back end. It disorganizes my archive and throws off the alignment of everything because for so many years I release something and there is a version that goes on each of the podcast feeds That works very well when I'm looking at them side by side for stats or whatever even just my own organization. I want everything clean and easy But putting a monthly show in one feed that doesn't go into the other has thrown some things off for me and I get irked. I don't want to be irked, and it would only get worse as more and more months go by Not only that but the way the site is structured for these types of dual posts It leaves free listeners who visit the site with an audio player box That doesn't play anything! I don't like that either And it's proven difficult to remove

02:59 So now I have this placeholder that you're listening to now. It's not actually a joint session episode, but it goes in place of them on the free RSS feed But it comes with an offer for a free week of plus if you use the coupon code JOINT so it's not exactly nothing! It's another solution I've had mixed feelings about but I gamed out everything else and this seems like the long-term solution that will work out best Five episodes Joint Session Another five episodes Joint Session And free listeners who click on any one of these will then know that they're just to be skipped once you've heard it. But it's also a reminder that you're leaving a lot on the table. Free listeners don't see the bonus content page, and I structure the interviews in a way that is not super noticeable if there isn't extra hour

03:44 I don't tease you with that kind of, and we'll get your answer to that question right after the break sort of stuff that you hear on other shows. So i'm thinking some of this is out-of-sight out-of-mind and it might be easy to forget that as much as you like The First Hour The Second Hour is at least that but usually more because we've already laid the conversational base for whatever the guest is about this week So I guess just know that this would be a joint session show if you were a plus member. I love what i do, but can I really do it forever? Honestly... If you were me wouldn't you feel a little uneasy about the way things are going lately and being a public figure in this kind of space? Look! I made my bed and I'll lay in it but I'd be stupid not to try to insulate myself a bit and take the opportunity to try to turn more people on to the full show while my platform is still fully operational

CHAPTER 03 / 3 Discussion

Joint Session Musical Introduction and Listener Contribution Theme

A musical montage introduces the official start of the Joint Session, highlighting the show's reliance on listener-generated content. The lyrics emphasize the inclusion of forum posts, voicemails, trip reports, and "weird thoughts" from the community. This segment marks the transition from the host's administrative announcements to the interactive portion of the bonus episode.

joint session· listener voicemails· trip reports· theme song· community content

06:21 Welcome to the monthly joint session on THC. Yes! Where Greg will find some foreign posts and stuff that he can read And there's that voicemail too. On here to write something this show depends on you More lead message Theories, queries, trip reports Weird thoughts and bad reviews I bought this song out of order Straight stuff Insides you've got scabs that you fall down in the joint cessure. Strange stuff, you see? Insides you've got scabs that you fall down in the joint cessure