RSS.com changelog rss.com

New

Web Player Support for Full-Screen Chapters

At RSS.com, we have been supporting Podcasting 2.0 chapters since 2021, providing a user-friendly interface for podcasters to create and manage their chapters.

Today, we are excited to announce a major upgrade to our podcast web player, which now displays your podcast chapters in full screen.

This new feature truly shines on larger screens, such as desktop and laptop computers, transforming your podcast into a visually engaging full-screen presentation complete with titles, images, and clickable links.

Explore creative uses like pairing visuals with your audio content, promoting sponsors, or adding links. Experience this enhancement by playing this episode example in full screen using the RSS.com Web Player: Episode: Elevate Your Listening Experience with Chapters.

Happy Podcasting!

New

Share and Play: Enhanced iMessage Experience for Episodes

We have updated our episode pages to make sharing via Apple iMessage even better. Now, when you share an episode, a rich preview pops up, and the audio can be played directly within iMessage with a simple press of the play button. This small detail enhances the experience for Apple users, making it super easy to share and listen to your favorite episodes right in your messages.

New

Introducing Podroll

Remember the good old days of the internet when bloggers used to share a list of their favorite sites, known as a blogroll? Well, we’re bringing that same spirit to podcasting with our new feature, Podroll!

Thanks to a new Podcasting 2.0 tag, you can now create a Podroll for your podcast. This means you can recommend other shows directly to your listeners. Whether it’s a show you love or a podcast by a friend, you can now share it with your audience.

Starting today, this feature is available on all podcast websites hosted at RSS.com and in supporting apps, fostering genuine recommendations and cross-pollination between podcasts.

New

Introducing Live Podcast Episodes

At RSS.com, we strive to innovate and provide our podcasters with tools that enhance their podcasting experience. Today, we're excited to introduce the Live Item Tag (LIT) as part of the Podcasting 2.0 initiative. With LIT, you can now stream your podcast episodes live, engaging with your audience in real-time.

When an episode is being broadcasted live, supporting podcast apps will notify your listeners who will be able to follow you live. Combined with Value4Value (V4V), you can receive live feedback and donations through “boostagrams,” making your live podcasting experience more interactive and rewarding.

Improvement

• We have added support for two additional languages in our RSS feeds: Afrikaans and Malay.
• Whoops! Mistakes happen, but don't worry - you can now undo them in the episode description editor.
• We have cleaned up the episode list and rearranged the menu for a sleeker look, even on tiny mobile screens.

Improvement

We have merged the invoice and billing sections into a single Subscription page, where you can view your plan details, credit card, invoices, and billing information in one convenient location. Managing and updating your subscription details has never been easier.

New

Discover our New Embedded Web Player

Our Embedded Web Player just received a major update, expanding beyond its previous single-episode display capability. Now, it boasts two dynamic new features to amplify your podcast's reach:

1. Latest Episode display: automatically update your embedded player with the newest episode of your podcast, ensuring your audience always has access to your latest content. Ideal for homepages and blog sidebars.
2. Full Series display: embed your entire podcast series on any webpage, from landing pages to bespoke podcast sections, with full access to the entire collection. For users aiming for deeper personalization, we also provide advanced customization options.

On top of that, we have integrated our Dynamic Ads Insertion (DAI) solution, enhancing ad delivery through the web player and boosting monetization potential. If you're not yet onboard with DAI (currently in beta), stay tuned for broader rollout plans.

Improvement

From Google Podcasts to YouTube Music

With Google Podcasts shutting down this month, YouTube Music becomes the new hub for Google's podcast offering. We have transitioned from Google Podcasts to YouTube, leveraging our in-house developed PodViz Technology. PodViz not only transforms your audio episodes into visually engaging videos, featuring episode artwork and Podcasting 2.0 chapter metadata for an enriched viewing experience, but it also offers seamless integration with YouTube, enabling one-click publishing directly to your YouTube podcast channel.

Improvement

GUID support

Every podcast hosted on RSS.com now includes a <podcast:guid>, a Globally Unique Identifier (GUID) ensuring your podcast's distinct identity across all platforms. Your GUID remains constant, safeguarding your podcast's identity even through hosting service transitions. As part of the Podcasting 2.0 initiative, this feature sets the stage for a host of new and innovative features. Stay tuned!

New

🌟 Introducing the New RSS.com Dashboard! 🌟

We're thrilled to unveil a transformative update to your podcasting command center at dashboard.rss.com! Our engineering wizards have been toiling away to rebuild the Dashboard from the ground up, ensuring you have the most seamless experience possible.

What's New?

• Lightning-Fast Performance: Experience up to a 10X speed boost, making your interactions quicker than ever.
• Sleek Design, Smooth Navigation: Though it might look familiar, every click, scroll, and action is now more responsive and intuitive.
• Power-Packed Under the Hood: The real magic lies in the cutting-edge technology we've embraced, setting the stage for rapid new feature rollouts.

Why This Matters for You:

• Faster Content Creation: Spend less time waiting and more time creating and publishing your podcasts.
• Future-Ready: Get ready for a steady stream of new tools and features designed to amplify your podcast's growth and reach.

We promise, while the Dashboard might look familiar, the enhancements beneath the surface are set to revolutionize your podcasting journey. We're not just building for today; we're gearing up to support your show's growth well into the future.

🚀 Take it for a Spin! Dive into the new Dashboard today and discover how it can elevate your podcasting game. We can't wait to hear what you think and look forward to supporting your show's journey to new heights!

New

Last summer, our podcast public pages underwent a comprehensive redesign.

As we usher in the new year, we are excited to complete the remaining enhancements:

Community page

• Refined visual design for a more cohesive and appealing user experience.
• A new carousel navigation has been implemented across the UI.
• Enhanced visual hierarchy by distinctively separating 'Top Podcasts' and 'Top Episode of the Week' sections.
• More consistent layouts and designs for podcast cards, optimized for both desktop and mobile.
• Episode cards have also been updated to match the style of the podcast public page.

Podcast player

• Chapters are now clickable to instantly jump to specific moments in episodes.
• Improved sharing feature allowing users to customize the timestamp for sharing episodes.

Enhanced support for Podcasting 2.0

In our commitment to embracing the Podcast 2.0 namespace, we support GUIDs at the episode level. This feature enables a unique, global identifier for podcasts, ensuring a consistent identity across the open RSS ecosystem without relying on a central authority.

New

Wrapping Up 2023 at RSS.com

What a year 2023 has been! As we look back, we're thrilled to celebrate the numerous features we've introduced, all designed to help podcasters like you manage, produce, and make money from your shows.

We've also made a video that sums it up that we wanted to share it with you:

New

Give the gift of podcasting with RSS.com Gift Cards

Countless stories await to be shared, and now you have the power to unlock them with RSS.com Gift Cards. Surprise your loved ones with the gift of voice – a podcasting subscription that sets their untold stories free. Get started at rss.com/gift.