podfic feedback: how (when, why) do you do it?

[lomedet]

Amplirecathon is making me think about podfic, feedback, and me. Or, more accurately, about how much I love podfic and how that love is in no way represented by the amount of feedback (read: very, very little) I have left for podfic readers or the authors of stories I have discovered through podfic.

My process for listening to podfic goes something like this: I download a story from the archive or from a link on a podfic community. I close the download tab. I load the story on to my ipod. Then, hours or days later, I listen to the story as I'm riding on or waiting for a bus. Or maybe doing dishes or folding laundry. In any event, I listen to the story when I am far away from my computer, and even if I'm not physically so far away from my computer, I've already clicked away from or closed the page which tells me where I can leave feedback for the author or the reader. And I am lazy, so I don't usually think about going back to look for it when I have the opportunity.

I am contrasting this process with that of reading fanfic, where if I am moved by a story when I finish it, I can click a button and let the author know how I feel right then and there.

So, I want to know: what do y'all do? Have you come up with a successful strategy for leaving feedback that doesn't feel unduly labor-intensive? Have you given up on direct feedback in favor of recs? If you do go back and leave podfic feedback, does it feel strange to do so at a remove from your immediate response? Am I missing something totally obvious that will make my feedback-leaving life ten times easier?

Comments

[winkingstar]

As a listener, I fall into the same bad habits as everyone else. Since podfic is portable, we tend to listen to it away from the computer, so it can take a bit of a while to get back to leaving a comment, if ever.

As a reader, I know that feedback is much rarer for podfic than it is for almost any other fannish endeavor. When I try to con more people into becoming readers, I warn them that it's not something one should do for the amount of comments.

That said, I find that any comment I receive that is not a "Downloading, thanks!" type of comment (not to belittle those!) is that much more valuable. I know it takes several extra steps for a listener to come back and leave feedback. So even if it's just a simple "hey, I enjoyed listening to this" I treasure it because they took the time to find the post again. On the other end of the spectrum, I've also received a handful of very detailed comments that made me all warm and squishy inside, and even if I only get one of those in a year, it makes it all worthwhile for me.

So, no matter what you say, returning to a post to leave a comment after listening is sure to make the reader smile, even if it's quite a while later. :)

[lomedet]

Thank you for your reader's perspective. In some ways, knowing that feedback for podfic is a rare (and much appreciated!) commodity is going to inspire me to leave more of it, I think. Sort of the opposite of the thing that happens in my brain when I get to the end of reading a piece of fan fiction I really liked, but that already has a kajillion comments. At that point, what could I possibly have to say that the author would want to hear, y'know? (and I know that's not actually true, it's just what it feels like from my end.)

short version: thank you for the reminder that feedbacking podfic is a real way to participate in our gift economy. *g*