John Voorhees

5429 posts on MacStories since November 2015

John is MacStories' Managing Editor, has been writing about Apple and apps since joining the team in 2015, and today, runs the site alongside Federico. John also co-hosts four MacStories podcasts: AppStories, which covers the world of apps, MacStories Unwind, which explores the fun differences between American and Italian culture and recommends media to listeners, Ruminate, a show about the weird web and unusual snacks, and NPC: Next Portable Console, a show about the games we take with us.
@johnvoorhees@macstories.net
@johnvoorhees.macstories.net
voorhees@macstories.net

Apple Podcasts Expands Its Analytics and Marketing Tools→

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Today, Apple announced new analytics and marketing tools for podcast creators.

Apple Podcast analytical tools are being expanded to provide a wealth of new anonymized information about paid podcast subscriptions. The new stats will cover information about free trials, conversion rates to paid subscriptions, financial data, and more. There are a number of ways to filter the new metrics and display trends, too.

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Apple also announced additional delegated delivery partners, who allow podcasters to publish their paid subscription episodes to Apple’s platform using the delivery partner’s tools. The latest to join the program are Audiomeans, Captivate, Podbean, Podspace, and Transistor.

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Finally, Apple and Linkfire are partnering to offer podcasters smart links to landing pages for their shows where listeners can access their shows and subscriptions. The links, which are commonly used in the music industry to give fans a way to connect to a musician’s material from multiple services, can be used by podcasters to feature their shows on social media, on websites, in newsletters, and anywhere else they want to link to their shows. Linkfire will offer analytics to users of their linking system, which will be anonymized. Linkfire’s new podcast links will be available this fall and include free and paid tiers of service starting at $9.99/month.

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Relay FM Announces 10th Anniversary Event→

Our pals Myke and Stephen at Relay FM announced today that they’re celebrating their podcast network’s 10th anniversary in style with a special live show in London.

The event will take place at the Hackney Empire Theater and feature a group of Relay podcast hosts competing in a game of Family Feud Fortunes. Tickets for the all-ages London show, which is scheduled for next summer on the evening of July 27, 2024, are available now.

If the 5th-anniversary show Relay did is any indicator, this event should be a lot of fun.

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AppStories - Ep. 348 - 44 minutes

Gadget Show & Tell

FedericoJohn
AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

AppStories Episode 348 - Gadget Show & Tell

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AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

This week, Federico and John look back at the gadgets they’ve accumulated over the summer and share what’s worked and what hasn’t.

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MacStories Unwind: I’m 35, I’ve Had a Hot Dog!

AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps
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AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

This week on MacStories Unwind, with vacation season rolling into review season, we check in on OS review preparations and our building excitement for widgets everywhere. I learn that a hot dog and a slice of pizza are a common combo in Rome. Federico questions the nature of hot dogs themselves. Plus, we have a music and TV show pick for everyone.

Vacations, OS Updates, and Widgets

Hot Dogs

John’s Pick:

Federico’s Pick

MacStories Unwind+

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Mercury Weather: A Crystal Clear Design for Every Apple Device

There’s something for everyone in the weather app category. There are incredibly technical, complex apps, apps with a narrow focus, ones junked up with ads that don’t respect your privacy, and everything in between.

One of my favorite newer entrants in the category that I’ve been keeping an eye on for a while is Mercury Weather, a weather app that’s available as a universal purchase on all of Apple’s platforms. The app, by Triple Glazed Studios, is a pleasure to use, combining a clear, simple design with coverage on of all of Apple’s platforms.

In some ways, Mercury Weather is a spiritual successor to Weather Line, a graph-centric weather app that was sold to an unnamed purchaser a couple of years ago, which some suspect was Fox Weather based on the app’s 2023 redesign. The comparison is apt but sells Mercury Weather short because its design is superior to what Weather Line’s ever was. The app uses beautiful gradient backgrounds to convey the temperature and conditions, along with a modern layout and clear typography to make it fast and easy to check current conditions and the forecast.

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AppStories, Episode 347 – A Classic Pick 2→

This week on AppStories, we each share two app recommendations in a classic Pick 2 episode.

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On AppStories+, Federico has a mini surprise, and I experiment with connecting his Sony a6500 mirrorless camera to an iPad Pro.

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