FISTFULAYEN

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1. Everything That Happens Will Happen Today at FISTFULAYEN on 18 Aug 2008 at 2:06 am

   [...] post comments and feedback in the comments section of this previous post, just to help me consolidate them into a single [...]

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Comments

1. Chris Messina wrote:

   Dude, it looks pretty sweet, but where’s the OpenID? Where’re the microformats on the tour dates? Fo’ shame!

   Posted 16 Aug 2008 at 8:58 pm ¶

2. Tracy wrote:

   Still waiting for confirmation email. Couldn’t find anything in spam folder. Is there anything that I can search my spam folder for in order to find it if it is there?

   Posted 16 Aug 2008 at 9:03 pm ¶

3. Tracy wrote:

   ok, got it. There was about a 5 minute lag between submitting address and getting email. Perhaps it is Y! mail lagging…

   Posted 16 Aug 2008 at 9:08 pm ¶

4. Ty White wrote:

   I don’t know about the rest of the readers, but my completely biased opinion is that this is the best purchase flow I’ve seen on any website. Ever.

   Posted 16 Aug 2008 at 9:15 pm ¶

5. Ty White wrote:

   Oh oops, that’s right. Purchase flow not up yet. But um…everyone get excited?

   Posted 16 Aug 2008 at 9:17 pm ¶

6. Tracy wrote:

   The rest of the experience went without an issue. I am listening now. Very deep on the nitpicking list: No year in the ID3 tag. I don’t really care about the year but perhaps others might. I will kick the tires again on Monday.

   Posted 16 Aug 2008 at 9:23 pm ¶

7. Jeffrey McManus wrote:

   Ian, the confirmation email is incomprehensible to people who have images in email turned off (because the “confirm and download” step is a hyperlinked image). This will exclude a lot of GMail and Yahoo Mail users.

   Posted 16 Aug 2008 at 9:32 pm ¶

8. Tracy wrote:

   STOP THE PRESSES. The DRM on this file is broken! I am able to easily transfer it to any and all of my devices without hassle. Winamp on XP, iTunes on OSX, Amarok on Ubuntu, my Creative MP3 player. None of these are bothering me to update the license or protest that they can’t play the file. You better go back and invest millions of dollars on better DRM. What is my cousins neighbors friends brother going to do with the 10 seconds that they regained by not having to remove it?

   Posted 16 Aug 2008 at 10:05 pm ¶

9. Chris Cothrun wrote:

   Seconding Jeffrey McManus’ comment, I have images turned off in all my mail clients to avoid web bugs and other obnoxious features and couldn’t see the download link. Consider a text link or alternate formatting for the download link.

   Posted 17 Aug 2008 at 12:02 am ¶

10. Tom wrote:

    It was difficult to find United Kingdom as country, normally you can type the first few letters e.g. Uni but on your widget that just toggles between Uganda and Nambia, the actual picker for the countries was soo small that it actually made scrolling down to find United Kingdom a pain.

    Next the validation rules for the postal code were a bit too harsh, ws11 1ef would be quite a normal way to write a postcode, but apparently you widget wouldn’t accept this, after a few tries I tried removing the space which finally worked.

    We don’t all live in the US and we don’t all have a zip code, try to localise as much as possible.

    Posted 17 Aug 2008 at 3:15 am ¶

11. Michael Christoff wrote:

    This is a good start, but I think there is a lot of room for improvement.

    First it took at more than 10 minutes to receive an email once I submitted my request for an mp3, which is bordering on unacceptable. Once I received the email, it was difficult to figure out the call to action without enabling images. Also, it took me some time to realize my email submitted because the confirmation was unclear. I question the use of flash here for the form because it limits size of the country dropbox since the overall widget height is so small.

    I would say you would be best to use an email template that doesn’t require images. In the mp3 request form, I would make the form disappear when you submit and use a message in a different color to make it blatantly clear that the action was successful. Especially because my email took so long, I was left wondering if it really submitted.

    As for the download page, I’d say you you should move the download button higher up. It is half below the fold on the crappy dell I’m bumming from my roommate. You’ve also got a horizontal scroll bar issue on all of the pages on 1024.

    The video player needs some work as well. I’m sure it’s in its early stages, but I didn’t even know it was video player until I saw the tiny play button on the bottom left. There needs to be a screenshot and a big play button in the center. Also the “learn more” button isn’t functional, and in fact just refreshes the page, which interrupted the video. When I go into fullscreen mode it doesn’t actually expand even though it does go fullscreen. There is also no volume control besides mute.

    Can’t wait to see things progress!

    Posted 17 Aug 2008 at 3:46 am ¶

12. Jeremiah wrote:

    I agree with that these guys are saying, about the alternate link.

    If you guys do deliver these via html email, it would be a good idea to put the majority of the important content as text to allow those of us that do not enable images in email by default (either a personal preference or corporate guidelines). You could still style the background of those sections with images and the surrounding content as it is.
    From a usability standpoint, It would also make the content available for search within their own email and screen readers for those with vision impairments.

    Posted 17 Aug 2008 at 6:03 am ¶

13. Jeremiah wrote:

    Would adding the alt text and maybe a link title and the the image size for the download link offer a fix for that content as well if the image is not available?

    Posted 17 Aug 2008 at 6:08 am ¶

14. Mark Collier wrote:

    Tried it first via iphone, which of course doesn’t work due to the use of flash.

    Tried on my hackintosh and didn’t get any visual feedback that I had submitted my email address, other than the fact that the submit button was grayed out.

    Waiting on the email now, will let you know how it goes from there.

    Posted 17 Aug 2008 at 8:56 am ¶

15. iancr wrote:

    Great constructive feedback so far. Thanks! Keep it coming.

    Please check back at http://everythingthathappens.com tomorrow (Monday, August 18th, 2008), too, to give feedback on the album listen and purchase software.

    Thanks!

    ian

    Posted 17 Aug 2008 at 9:01 am ¶

16. Gary Gold wrote:

    ICR: Byrne and Eno on TopSpin. You must be kvelling.

    My experience… (and this may have nothing to do with TS) When requesting someone’s email for a download… even though it is basically understood, it might be cool to have the permission marketing opt-in deal simply stated:

    “This download is free. Will you permit us to send you the occasional email when we have something going on we think you would like to know about?”

    I always feel a little cagey when I am simply asked for my email address with no opt in.

    And… you know the way you are amazed by how fast that Craigslist confirm your post email shows in your inbox? How bout some of that? It sends the message “on it!”

    BTW… the tune is GREAT!

    Posted 17 Aug 2008 at 11:44 am ¶

17. mike wrote:

    agreed re: html/image link in the email.

    personally, i really don’t like the fact that i have to submit my email to get the song (though i realize that’s part of the strategy). there may be some people turned off enough that they don’t do it at all.

    my only real complaint about the whole thing, though, is that there just isn’t any content on this site at all. this may not be a topspin concern, since it really has nothing to do with the mechanics of the purchasing. but i’d love to see some more STUFF on there. whatever it might be. this sort of thing might work for david byrne and brian eno because of their ungodly acclaim, but it wouldn’t work for smaller acts.

    i can’t wait to see what comes around monday. i’ve been following topspin for a while and can’t wait to see a full-on demonstration.

    keep up the good work.

    Posted 17 Aug 2008 at 12:43 pm ¶

18. Tony Z wrote:

    I wanted to like it, I really really did, but it seemed designed to frustrate my desires as a moderately curious browser. Why can’t I just sample the song inline on the page? I’ve been able to do that on MySpace and iTMS for years, and can do it pretty much everywhere else now, too. I love the option for a free, DRM-less download, if I like it, and would gladly cough up an email address for that privilege, but without having heard even a sample of it first? Not worth it, as a casual consumer I’m moseying along.

    I agree what much of what has already been said — by the time I got the email I would’ve already lost interest were I not kicking the tires; the video player feels broken (is it just me or does the “learn more” button do nothing?); site feels thin; e-mail should be less image-dependent.

    I’m excited to come back tomorrow and see the real thing in action…Best of luck with the launch!

    Posted 17 Aug 2008 at 4:21 pm ¶

19. Tom wrote:

    It took me a long time to get the mail as well. Nice instructions for adding to iTunes.

    I was glad that the track came with artwork, but it looks so crappy on CoverFlow, I don’t see why it isn’t as good (if not better) than would come from iTunes.

    Posted 17 Aug 2008 at 4:27 pm ¶

20. iancr wrote:

    Hey all, we made a sendmail tweak that should change the speed of mail delivery. Give it a shot and let me know if it’s improved for you.

    ian

    Posted 17 Aug 2008 at 8:43 pm ¶

21. Calder Fertig wrote:

    I think the idea of distributing an album through a free, easily embedded widget is utterly brilliant. I would, however, like to see you push more artists towards using RSS feeds rather than mailing lists. Additionally, why not offer some free digital goodies like wallpapers, icons, or short interview clips with the free singles that are offered? Seems like an easy way to increase hype while making the digital “single” feel more like a complete package.

    Regardless, it’s refreshing to see musicians team up with a company that really gets it, and it’s also great to see your gameplan evolve with each release. I can hardly wait for a chance to utilize the Topspin platform myself!

    Posted 18 Aug 2008 at 3:02 am ¶

22. CSF wrote:

    I’ll second a lot of comments already made:

    The flash form causes some problems – the drop down doesn’t let you get to other countries very easily as it is restricted by the size of the flash and it doesn’t have the tactile element of a default button. It all feels a bit pokey and there’s not much visual feedback to let you know your submission has been successfully made. It’s also not clear that you are opting in. The email took a while to arrive, and as mentioned the email doesn’t cater for non-image email clients.

    And that’s it. A load of negative feedback, but hopefully just constructive criticism. Love what you guys are doing.

    Posted 18 Aug 2008 at 5:33 am ¶

23. Matt Kelly wrote:

    I went to get the free download after hearing about it on a radio show in the UK (hello other Radcliffe & Maconie listeners) and was perhaps unnecessarily excited to note that the whole thing was using Topspin. I echo the comments about having images turned off in the confirmation email and the UK comment above regarding not being able to put in a normally formatted postcode. Also when using Firefox at work I could not see the box to submit my email address when going to http://www.everythingthathappens.com/
    It all appeared fine in IE6 though. I think it was to do with not having the most up to date version of Flash player. I’m having trouble updating the Flash player which may have something to do with settings on my work PC. It’s a shame as I could do with something to listen to as I do some dull & repetitive tasks.

    Posted 18 Aug 2008 at 8:51 am ¶

24. Tracy wrote:

    I am going to wait to purchase this from my Linux box at home in order to test that option if no one else has done it yet. Early feedback from browsing the site is that I would have missed the flac option that appears below the fold, and I am on a 24 inch monitor. Another issue is that I clicked on the image of the deluxe package hoping to see a bigger picture or more detailed information about the package, but it went to what I assume is the start of the purchase flow. I will have purchase feedback in about 5 hours. I am digging the streaming music right now though. I was going to take one for you and your team in order to test this, but I am enjoying the music and now I look forward to purchasing the album.

    Posted 18 Aug 2008 at 9:18 am ¶

25. Joe Lazarus wrote:

    Congrats on the record launch! I downloaded the free track 2 weeks ago without any problems. Last night, I added the full album widget to my blog. I haven’t bought the record yet… I want to listen to it a few times today before deciding which package to go with… but so far, so good.

    http://joelaz.com/post/46383088/everything-that-happens-will-happen-today-by

    The only issue I had is with the size of the widget. I’m not sure if I can explain this well, but it looks like the widget is set to 400 x 400 pixels. I use Tumblr to host my blog with a theme that’s 500px wide for video. When I post YouTube / Vimeo videos, they automatically expand to fit 500px wide while maintaining the right aspect ratio. The Byrne + Eno widget didn’t fit till I changed the code to 500 x 500, but that then caused display issues elsewhere (in the Tumblr “dashboard”). If possible, I’d like the widget to expand / contract to accommodate the size of the placements. I’m not sure if that’s something on your end or on Tumblr’s side… but it works for YouTube / Vimeo / etc, just not for the Topspin widget.

    Great work otherwise! I’m psyched to listen to the rest of the record today.

    Posted 18 Aug 2008 at 10:23 am ¶

26. Taylor Brigode wrote:

    Had an issue in Firefox 3 where it didn’t recognize my login, and wanted me to create a new account, but then even creating a new account wouldn’t let me login. Not sure why that is, but I switched to Safari and everything was gravy. The purchase and DL experience was excellent. TS has come a long way in a short time since you joined. The page was really easy to use, clear layout. I would have liked if the FLAC buy link took a little hunting to find (I bought the MP3 sans FLAC simply cause I didn’t notice the FLAC option as it was below the fold for me). The preview/widget lacks a touch of album branding as well imo, it might seem unclear what the widget is promoting if I found it on a 3rd party site. Maybe a very small header where the title text is at the top? Otherwise, killer job.

    Posted 18 Aug 2008 at 12:12 pm ¶

27. Tracy wrote:

    I made the purchase on my Ubuntu 8.04 box running Firefox 3.01 and it went without a hitch. My Flash was not current so I had to update before I could properly view the widget on the page.

    I noticed that “Download Media” now appears in email without having to view images.

    Congrats TS crew, keep up the great work.

    Posted 18 Aug 2008 at 7:28 pm ¶

28. Phillip Kerman wrote:

    Sorry for the comment on the other post. I do wonder what kind of expectation of piracy deterrence does the artist expect and you promise. I mean, sure, the folks who pay to download tracks can share the files (probably against the terms of use) but for the embed version–it’s like 160Kbps… how easily can someone crack that? Or does it matter or do you care? Just curious.

    Posted 19 Aug 2008 at 12:27 am ¶

29. Scott Perry wrote:

    Finally purchasing the MP3 + CD pkg, downloading Media Bundle right now, started a re-load after first load looked like it was gonna take 5 hours (new load only gonna take 8 minutes, sweet).

    I would recommend clarifying the new / returning customer question, maybe via more prominent Topspin branding, something that will come up more often as you release more music to a broader audience — I am a returning Topspin customer, but a first time Byrne / Eno customer, so I was setting up the new account only to be told that someone else (me) was already using my email address.

    Also, might want to offer FLAC package just as prominently as other packages — Mr. ADD here glanced over the FLAC link in the top text and didn’t bother to scroll down for the additional FLAC text below the fold. Two-second buyer’s remorse for not buying higher-quality files for same price as MP3 package. Oh well.

    Otherwise, all smooth.

    Posted 20 Aug 2008 at 10:14 am ¶

30. Radio Dupree wrote:

    Downloading the free song as well as listening to the streamed stuff worked fine on Ubuntu 8.04 and Firefox 3.0.1.

    Would’ve loved a smaller/scaleable/”self-adjusting” streaming player widget to embed on the blogger page. Wanted to give it a static position in the column next to the posts. But it only fit in the post itself so now it’s bound to slide on down and off the page as new posts are made.

    Posted 20 Aug 2008 at 7:25 pm ¶

31. Annabel wrote:

    Hi Ian,
    Overall the experience has been very easy. And I pay for convenience

    - I didn’t have any major hiccups
    - My email came really quickly
    - I’m a fan of branded emails + stick with it + I reckon that’s your target market in most cases
    - The messages on the site were really clear with nice, simple language
    - When I buy the album I’m not sure “who” I’m giving my information to and what it’ll be used for
    - This is very picky; I do think your Terms and Conditions could use some work. The white writing is very hard to read on a black background and they don’t need to be written in such legalise. I spent a long time working on my own site’s to be clear.
    - What about to mobiles?

    If you’re interested there are a few more thoughts on my blog.

    Nice one for the Topspin team

    Posted 20 Aug 2008 at 10:39 pm ¶

32. Phillip Kerman wrote:

    I’ll second the comment that the terms of service is illegible. No way to select/copy or save it. Although I doubt you’d ever get to this points–I’d be willing to bet a customer could make a great case that this is not valid.

    Posted 02 Sep 2008 at 9:38 am ¶

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