Podcast Network Application
User10 has energized our network like a Red Bull on steroids with easier navigation, increased analytics and a dramatic elevation in the user experience for hosts, advertisers and visitors.
Background & Problem
Building a "Batcave" (aka Content Management System).
Say you wanted to start a Batman podcast. You know everything about the Dark Knight and have hot takes to share with the world, but you don’t have a recording studio, somewhere to host and distribute your podcast, or even the technical expertise needed to get it off the ground. You need an Alfred. Actually, you need Star Worldwide Networks (SWWN), one of the fastest growing internet radio producers and distributors in the world.
User10 swooped in to help save the day by custom-building the Star Worldwide Podcast Network
And while, SWWN makes a darn good Alfred, they lacked a key component: a Batcave, or in this case, a podcast management system. That’s where User10 swooped in to help save the day by custom-building the Star Worldwide Podcast Network which hosts, streams, and distributes SWWN-produced podcasts to networks such as Apple Podcasts.
Solution (and What Makes It Cool)
The power to manage their own system and channel advertising dollars.
Show managers at SWWN (or, in some cases, the podcasters themselves) use the podcast management system to create new podcasts and upload episodes. The Star Worldwide Podcast Network distributes shows and automatically adds them to RSS feeds which keep Apple Podcasts and other podcast listeners up-to-date. The one-of-a-kind Content Management System (CMS) empowers the SWWN crew to fully own the management of their entire system.
SWWN’s old network couldn’t do any of that. The previous designers held them hostage with overly expensive hosting, long delays on simple text-based updates, and requiring the SWWN team wander through a maze of instructions in order to manually input content. It wasn’t a true CMS by even the loosest definition.
The previous system also didn’t have any analytics to track the number of podcast listens, making it difficult to convey value to advertisers.
The CMS User10 designed, however, has a built-in advertising management system. The ease of distribution allows shows to gain popularity, and the expanded audience draws more advertisers whose ads can be distributed throughout SWWN on a global or granular level thanks to the built-in analytics. Now, when SWWN acquires advertisers, they can negotiate their own contracts and manage how those ads are displayed, which helps them keep more advertising dollars in their own pockets.
The new CMS helps SWWN keep more advertising dollars in their own pockets.
Integrated with Amazon S3 and the CloudFront CDN, SWWN’s new system is lightning fast, so much so that they ditched their mobile app because it proved to be much more difficult for listeners to access than Apple Podcasts and the native SWWN site itself.
Technical Specs (If You’re Into that Sort of Thing)
- Fully custom web application built using PHP and the Laravel framework
- Front-end engineered using HTML, CSS, jQuery, and the Bootstrap framework
- Custom UX/UI design and mobile responsiveness
- Fully powered by the Amazon Cloud:
- Dynamic EC2 instances to power the web servers
- Media hosting within S3 buckets
- Content distribution via the CloudFront CDN to deliver media instantly to users around the world
- Unlimited warranty plan
The Results
One-of-a-kind product and support.
The Star Worldwide Podcast Network isn’t a SaaS option that exists out in the world. It’s a fully custom system we designed and engineered in partnership with SWWN. Constant collaboration and full use of our process ensured we met their needs. We troubleshoot problems immediately and continue to provide ongoing maintenance of the system to ensure it keeps pace with potential competitors. We are invested in SWWN’s success.
Dave Pratt, the "Morning Mayor" of Phoenix radio and owner of SWWN, has been thrilled with the result. "First class all the way. I know you will love them. Even more, I can attest to their moral character and professionalism. We will never use anybody else. User10 has energized our network website like a Red Bull on steroids with easier navigation, increased analytics and a dramatic elevation in the user experience for hosts, advertisers and visitors. My highest recommendation is with Andrew, Josh, Brad and the User10 team. If they don’t deserve it… who does?"
Maybe only Batman.