Overcast app #
July 24, 2014
For me the best thing about the new Overcast app has nothing to do with any of its features. I listen to podcasts just about every day, and have been doing so for a long time. A podcast app has had a preferred position on my iPhone dock for years now. But that’s not what makes Overcast important for me.
Many of us who have listened to Marco Arment for years now on his own podcasts have been lucky to have a view into the life and work of an independent developer. He has shared everything from running a one-man business to his daily routine to preferred methods of coding, hosting, hardware/software setup, relationships with other developers, sales decision processes…. Marco has shared a lot.
And it isn’t that Marco is unique in this regard. Our industry as a whole benefits from the amazing amount of sharing that exists in the community. But people interested in iOS development or being an indie developer of any sort, have had a special opportunity here.
The reason Overcast is important to me is because in a way we have been sort of spectators of the Overcast project, whether we’re customers or not. And for those of us geeks that love learning about these things, it’s lucky to have a peek behind the curtain.
We learned about the idea when he first had it and why he decided to create it.
We learned about some of the limits of the struggles he had when he was building it.
We heard about the beta testing period and learned his strategies for launch.
We learned about how he receives and responds to feedback and criticism.
He has even shared some of the project's roadmap ahead.
It’s been fun to watch. And the app’s not bad either.
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