The return of smitematter!

PsYAuM

The Return of the best IOS reviewer has arrived. Honest, straight up and no BS just so you click the link on his page.

Captaintitanic

My affinity is with Doug and the rest at the sound test room.

Very bold statement to upset the apple cart. The proof will be in the pudding.

Trueyorky

No need to upset the apple cart. SmiteMatter was one of the first and there's plenty of room

JohnnyGoodyear

Proof. Pudding. Etc.

High5denied

Great to have him back. Looks like life got him. It does that sometimes. Looks like he made it through it ok, with help from family.

u0421793

I may be out of place here, and this isn’t intended to be what you at first assume it might be, but I think the lot of the specialist blogger is precarious and doomed as it stands. I think it’d be stronger if there were a, for example, iOS music app editorial network or two, which acts like a magazine and has different authors or contributors, under an umbrella or hatstand. It’s clear that one chap alone puts themselves under too much workload and stress, and the compulsion to regularly emit or ejaculate such morsels on time must be such a burden. There must come a time that the choice of giving up regularity (or giving up overall) or letting sanity, health and family life suffer, becomes a real choice.

The thing is, the iOS music app market is not big. Most people don’t make music on an iOS. Those that do, might own an app or two and noodle around on it for ten minutes every few months while waiting for a bus or something. Those that are involved more than that (i.e., us) are pretty much a minority and probably don’t add up to enough of a market to support many different individual bloggers, whereas the market might support a couple of “newspapers” that have different journalists on each page (not exclusive to each newspaper, they could present a different style of article on the other side). In other words, the “newspaper” or magazine becomes the thing that is presented regularly (and gets the review freebies in for the reviewers) and the current bloggers become the featured journalists. This way the timescales are decoupled, the resources shared, the protection enhanced and the diversity preserved. And time off for a rest becomes a reality.

PsYAuM

I appreciate the insight that all the reviewers give us but for me they are all predominantly insights and nothing more

Seangarland

@u0421793 said:
I may be out of place here, and this isn’t intended to be what you at first assume it might be, but I think the lot of the specialist blogger is precarious and doomed as it stands. I think it’d be stronger if there were a, for example, iOS music app editorial network or two, which acts like a magazine and has different authors or contributors, under an umbrella or hatstand. It’s clear that one chap alone puts themselves under too much workload and stress, and the compulsion to regularly emit or ejaculate such morsels on time must be such a burden. There must come a time that the choice of giving up regularity (or giving up overall) or letting sanity, health and family life suffer, becomes a real choice.

The thing is, the iOS music app market is not big. Most people don’t make music on an iOS. Those that do, might own an app or two and noodle around on it for ten minutes every few months while waiting for a bus or something. Those that are involved more than that (i.e., us) are pretty much a minority and probably don’t add up to enough of a market to support many different individual bloggers, whereas the market might support a couple of “newspapers” that have different journalists on each page (not exclusive to each newspaper, they could present a different style of article on the other side). In other words, the “newspaper” or magazine becomes the thing that is presented regularly (and gets the review freebies in for the reviewers) and the current bloggers become the featured journalists. This way the timescales are decoupled, the resources shared, the protection enhanced and the diversity preserved. And time off for a rest becomes a reality.

Some of your words here ring very true. It is very difficult to find time to write app reviews while maintaining a full-time job, family committments, and trying to be a musician to boot.

Clif Johnston of Apptronica made a valiant attempt at publishing a monthly iOS music magazine through the Apple Newsstand, but it proved to be too much effort with not enough reward. It is probably the closest thing to what you are describing here. I'm not saying that the failure of that venture means the idea is doomed, but the monetary aspect needs to be addressed.

Unfortunately, I don't think that there is enough money going back to the bloggers to make it a full-time gig. Selling ad space on sites brings some money, but you really can't make a living off of it, which will ultimately dissuade most people from dedicating a lot of time towards it.

synthandson

Great that he's back! I was looking for new posts on his website every few weeks/ months, wondering what became of him.

link:

http://smitematter.com

RUST( i )K

@u0421793 said:
I may be out of place here, and this isn’t intended to be what you at first assume it might be, but I think the lot of the specialist blogger is precarious and doomed as it stands. I think it’d be stronger if there were a, for example, iOS music app editorial network or two, which acts like a magazine and has different authors or contributors, under an umbrella or hatstand. It’s clear that one chap alone puts themselves under too much workload and stress, and the compulsion to regularly emit or ejaculate such morsels on time must be such a burden. There must come a time that the choice of giving up regularity (or giving up overall) or letting sanity, health and family life suffer, becomes a real choice.

The thing is, the iOS music app market is not big. Most people don’t make music on an iOS. Those that do, might own an app or two and noodle around on it for ten minutes every few months while waiting for a bus or something. Those that are involved more than that (i.e., us) are pretty much a minority and probably don’t add up to enough of a market to support many different individual bloggers, whereas the market might support a couple of “newspapers” that have different journalists on each page (not exclusive to each newspaper, they could present a different style of article on the other side). In other words, the “newspaper” or magazine becomes the thing that is presented regularly (and gets the review freebies in for the reviewers) and the current bloggers become the featured journalists. This way the timescales are decoupled, the resources shared, the protection enhanced and the diversity preserved. And time off for a rest becomes a reality.

Also, there is inherent potential for the inevitable appearance of impropriety or limited credibility capital.

kobamoto

yep great to have him back!

mrufino1

Then again, it's not really a competition is it? I am always happy to have other things to read. And a review is most definitely an opinion, that's not a bad thing though. I haven't really ever read his work so I look forward to checking it out.

Will

Smite!

@u0421793 I can't speak for them but it appeared to me that what you're getting at was the basic intention behind Doug bringing on Collin and Jakob.

Will

@Trueyorky said:
No need to upset the apple cart. SmiteMatter was one of the first and there's plenty of room

^

touchconspiracy

Had a long think about this...

I used to blog about ios but as Sean said..time is a big factor and also it don't pay much, not even the main ios bloggers.

Sure, you can get promo codes, beta tests and all that but, an ios blogger will ultimately give a relative viewpoint on apps based on preference and workflow. Some bloggers like dischord don't even make ios music but know how apps work intuitively and can advise those who need the technical specs.

Others like smite will focus on how well a synth will function in their own music.

There is a lot of conflicting opinions about apps and you will find them in the comments section and a lot of negativity sometimes too regarding prices and lack of features etc

I feel, with no disrespect, that we have this ab forum and it has all the above and serves as the #1news source too.. So the blogs serve their fans but are not as relevant anymore

Sonicflux

Sometimes people enjoy writing and sharing their opinions with others. See this very forum as an example. To assume the only reason people write blogs is for money is silly.

touchconspiracy

No one is saying that in an absolute sense

But when it gets time consuming and encroaches upon hours that could be spent doing a so called real job..then of course the money issue comes up..

I work from home and I know several people who do various things online as a hobby and for money

Time is priority..

@Sonicflux said:

Sometimes people enjoy writing and sharing their opinions with others. See this very forum as an example. To assume the only reason people write blogs is for money is silly.

Seangarland

@Sonicflux said:
Sometimes people enjoy writing and sharing their opinions with others. See this very forum as an example. To assume the only reason people write blogs is for money is silly.

Sorry if my message wasn't as clear as I'd like, but I want to make clear that my intent was not to whine about money. If you're looking for money, blogging is the wrong place to look.

I got into blogging to help out Ryan at iOS MARS (he runs the site, I just write the occasional review). I thought it would be a fun thing to do, and I get to play with a lot of great apps, and meet and get to know some very cool developers.

Each ios music blog site (and YouTube) presents its own unique perspective. The SoundTestRoom brings a look at apps almost as soon as they are released (and in some cases, pre-release). Palm Sounds and Discchord each have their own voice when providing news on apps. I'm personally a huge fan of Discchord, and read it every day. SmiteMatter is a legend as well. And in my book, John Walden at Music App Blog is hands-down the best app reviewer/writer in the biz. I read everything he writes.

So, I think there's always room for as many bloggers as want to participate. It's a great way to increase visibility for iOS music, and to get more involved in "the scene". I'd encourage anyone who's interested to give it a try.

touchconspiracy

I agree with this Sean

Forum members could blog about their workflow..share tips or tricks and everyone can learn from each other

Also, as you say..it will increase exposure

There are so many with idevices that need to be enlightened about the amazing potential for music that the apps have

@Seangarland said:

@Sonicflux said:
Sometimes people enjoy writing and sharing their opinions with others. See this very forum as an example. To assume the only reason people write blogs is for money is silly.

Sorry if my message wasn't as clear as I'd like, but I want to make clear that my intent was not to whine about money. If you're looking for money, blogging is the wrong place to look.

I got into blogging to help out Ryan at iOS MARS (he runs the site, I just write the occasional review). I thought it would be a fun thing to do, and I get to play with a lot of great apps, and meet and get to know some very cool developers.

Each ios music blog site (and YouTube) presents its own unique perspective. The SoundTestRoom brings a look at apps almost as soon as they are released (and in some cases, pre-release). Palm Sounds and Discchord each have their own voice when providing news on apps. I'm personally a huge fan of Discchord, and read it every day. SmiteMatter is a legend as well. And in my book, John Walden at Music App Blog is hands-down the best app reviewer/writer in the biz. I read everything he writes.

So, I think there's always room for as many bloggers as want to participate. It's a great way to increase visibility for iOS music, and to get more involved in "the scene". I'd encourage anyone who's interested to give it a try.

A_Happy_Ted

I originally started iDesignSound (and my BRAND NEW site http://appsfor.audio) because I got frustrated with the app store's general 'music' category and wished there was a better way to find music apps. I didn't do it for the money, although it did end up making a fair bit when it was at it's height. I don't "blog", it's just not me (I did try once and even I got bored reading it back LOL). I see my websites (I have a few) as useful places to hang out and enjoy having a surf I use Wordpress by the way, great system!

Oh, and welcome back to Smitematter (who actually did a few guest posts on the old site)

Trueyorky

@A_Happy_Ted it's great to have you guys around here. I used to really enjoy iDesignSound

synthandson

thanks for pointing out your new website @A_Happy_Ted!

A_Happy_Ted

@Trueyorky said:
@A_Happy_Ted it's great to have you guys around here. I used to really enjoy iDesignSound

@trueyorky thanks ...and I always enjoy reading your reviews on the uk app store

A_Happy_Ted

@synthandson said:
thanks for pointing out your new website @A_Happy_Ted!

@synthandson I hope you enjoy it! Let me know if there's any features you'd like to see

Trueyorky

@A_Happy_Ted cheers, I will check out your new site.

Will

@Trueyorky said:
@A_Happy_Ted it's great to have you guys around here. I used to really enjoy iDesignSound

What he said.

A_Happy_Ted

@syrupcore said:

@Trueyorky said:
@A_Happy_Ted it's great to have you guys around here. I used to really enjoy iDesignSound

What he said.

Thanks