(Subtitle: iTunes Reviews R*pe AMPN)

Now let me preface this by saying a few things:

1. I know a lot of the AngryMarks.com shows that were brutalized are no longer part of the site.
2. I know Tha O Show is the best show - a recording studio and engineers to produce it ARE an advantage.
3. I know that the people on our shows have strong personalities - you either like us or hate us.

Alright, we have the basics out of the way. Here are the things that are bothering me. First of all I know that the biggest ratings draw in podcasting is having guests. There are FIVE shows on the Network that regularly book guests besides Tha O Show: Milk of Minutia, Glove Up Or Shut Up, Over the Top Radio, Thursday Night AMP and talkIMPACT Radio. I'm biased as hell because the shows are broadcast via my website either live or shortly after they air, but I think a short list of big names on each one is useful for illustrating the point I'm going to make.

• Milk of Minutia: Bald Bryan, Danny Lobell, Joey 'Coco' Diaz, Harvey Pekar, Dave Holmes, etc.
• Glove Up: Bobby Southworth, Chris Lytle, Chase Beebe, Krzysztof Soszynski, etc.
• OTR: Claudio Castagnoli, Nigel McGuinness, Dave Meltzer, Jerry Lynn, Lance Storm, etc.
• AMP: Dave Prazak, Gabe Sapolsky, O-Copp, Mikey Whipwreck, Ariel Helwani, RD Reynolds, etc.
• TI: Todd Sinclair, Sara Del Rey, Eddie Kingston, Bryce Remsburg, Jimmy Rave, MsChif, etc.
  

That's not to say shows that DON'T go out of their way to have guests do interesting and cool things. For example I believe Ring the Bell has great topical wrestling discussion and funny interaction between the hosts. So it absolutely FLOORS me to see people saying things about RTB like "My grandmother has more passion and she's been dead for 25 years" or making comments like "Angrymarks gets a 5 for their one and only good show, Tha O Show." AM I MISSING SOMETHING HERE PEOPLE?

Seriously, I don't get it. The overall average rating isn't that bad (3.5 out of 5) but I'd sacrifice 1.5 for some reviews that gave the rest of the network a little credit. I don't think Tha O Show is the only good show on our network, even though I give them all the respect they deserve as the best sounding and slickest produced. Perhaps that's cast a shadow so long that nobody else can be seen from under it, but the problem is that the download stats say otherwise - over 10,000 downloads a month. Let me tell you, that doesn't mean all 10,000 are for "the only good show" as that unkind reviewer put it.

Now if you're reading this and think all the shows on the website really suck, don't pull punches with me, just say it and be honest. If on the other hand you're one of the silent majority downloading our shows every month who think that we're smart, intelligent, funny people doing quality radio (and now that we're not using BlogTalk to record them the quality is going UP) then say so too. I'll even go so far as to say if you feel that way, write a review on iTunes: hey, I enjoy Milk of Minutia - the breadth of their pop culture interviews is remarkably impressive; hey, I think Ring the Bell is funny and I relate to them as a wrestling fan; hey I'm a long time listener to AMP going back over 200 episodes and the shows are good with or without a big guest.

To admit you want positive feedback could be called borderline pathetic, but to accept some troll calling you worthless without even knowing if they listened to a whole show or more than one show is equally so. I'd like to know that after doing this going all the way back to November 2006 that we've improved, grown, gotten better, and that along the way we've been both informative and entertaining. I acknowledge that I'm biased as hell, but I feel that if I stumbled across any of these shows and they weren't a part of my website, I'd like what I heard and want to listen to more from them and their friends. If I'm wrong, tell me I'm wrong, and if I'm not I'd graciously accept a comment or a compliment here or if you have a minute to spare on iTunes. I can say with certainty I'm going to keep podcasting and broadcasting regardless, because I'm committed to the endeavor, but if you're along for the ride click the button and share a comment or two. I won't mind.

Sincerely,
Stevie J