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AlexisAdair · 08-11-2007, 08:04 PM

I noticed that, of the things Kat said she liked, none of them had anything to do with SmartCast.

There are a number of changes in the 2.0 version that are improvements, but those are cosmetic or feature changes, like the ability to add the standard demo along with custom (though it might be nicer it that were optional rather than required).

Direct contact and private invitations has to do with the search function, not SmartCast (and, incidentally, a lot of talents have noted that their privated leads have dropped off precipitously).

Number of submissions opened *may* have something to do with SmartCast, although Seekers always had the option to close a lead once they found what they wanted, they just may not have exercised it.

Incidentally, the Team Blog posted a new entry August 2 touting that they had "proof" that talents' audition-to-booking ratios had improved, but the only information they cited in support of that was that opened auditions had increased from 34% to over 50%, which has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with audition-to-booking ratio. And half of auditions opened is still nothing to be proud of.

Higher quality uploads is good. That resubmit with direction feature sounds neat, I haven't encountered it yet. But again, these are unrelated to SmartCast.

And in case this is coming across the wrong way, Kat, I'm not criticising what you do or don't like about the site - it's actually awesome to hear specific comments. I just found it interesting that none of those features are related to SmartCast. V123 could completely eliminate SmartCast and still keep all those changes (and I wish they would).

I personally love the little customizable flash player add-your-demos-to-your site thing they added. I now have my demos playable on my MySpace page, something I couldn't do before without creating a band page. But again, they don't need SmartCast to have that feature.

And Colin, I don't actually think V123 *wants* to weed out "the great unwashed" masses. That's their bread-and-butter. A dollar and a dream... With over 4,000 paying talents, I'd bet a significant proportion are not professional-caliber. In fact, I suspect the whole concept of sending leads to people who audition LESS was to try and please those "great unwashed" who complained about never booking work. They're trying to please everyone, and really pleasing no one.

Some people won't realize they're being screwed. You have to investigate the Daily and Weekly Summaries, and study the Project Directories, to see what you're not being invited to, or what you're being 5th-round invited to. You have to understand how SmartCast works to understand how it doesn't work.

Seekers believe it when they're being told that SmartCast will find them "the best talent for the job", in spite of the fact that virtually every one of SmartCast's stated parameters has *nothing* to do with the quality of the talent. So they don't know that, of the people not invited to audition, or "too slow" to get in an audition, there may well have been numerous people they would have preferred to the "best" of the group who made it in.

Rather than reinventing the wheel, V123 could and should have offered instructions to inexperienced seekers, letting them know that because the system does not involve pre-screening by agents or casting directors, that there are all levels of talents auditioning on the system, with all different qualities of equipment and recording studios, and that the seekers should expect to spend a significant amount of time reviewing auditions in order to find the best match for what they want. And they should have advised talent that there are numerous reasons why they might not book work, and that they should constantly be engaging in practice and training, improving their skills and upgrading their equipment, participating in and getting feedback from the forums, etc.

But anyway, one of these days I'll write my complete "manifesto" detailing everything that's wrong, from flawed intent to poor design to false and misleading advertising promises and so on. Eventually... But like you said, Colin, there's just so much that's wrong...

08-11-2007, 08:04 PM	#14 (permalink)
AlexisAdair User Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Texas Posts: 45	About those good things... I noticed that, of the things Kat said she liked, none of them had anything to do with SmartCast. There are a number of changes in the 2.0 version that are improvements, but those are cosmetic or feature changes, like the ability to add the standard demo along with custom (though it might be nicer it that were optional rather than required). Direct contact and private invitations has to do with the search function, not SmartCast (and, incidentally, a lot of talents have noted that their privated leads have dropped off precipitously). Number of submissions opened may have something to do with SmartCast, although Seekers always had the option to close a lead once they found what they wanted, they just may not have exercised it. Incidentally, the Team Blog posted a new entry August 2 touting that they had "proof" that talents' audition-to-booking ratios had improved, but the only information they cited in support of that was that opened auditions had increased from 34% to over 50%, which has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with audition-to-booking ratio. And half of auditions opened is still nothing to be proud of. Higher quality uploads is good. That resubmit with direction feature sounds neat, I haven't encountered it yet. But again, these are unrelated to SmartCast. And in case this is coming across the wrong way, Kat, I'm not criticising what you do or don't like about the site - it's actually awesome to hear specific comments. I just found it interesting that none of those features are related to SmartCast. V123 could completely eliminate SmartCast and still keep all those changes (and I wish they would). I personally love the little customizable flash player add-your-demos-to-your site thing they added. I now have my demos playable on my MySpace page, something I couldn't do before without creating a band page. But again, they don't need SmartCast to have that feature. And Colin, I don't actually think V123 wants to weed out "the great unwashed" masses. That's their bread-and-butter. A dollar and a dream... With over 4,000 paying talents, I'd bet a significant proportion are not professional-caliber. In fact, I suspect the whole concept of sending leads to people who audition LESS was to try and please those "great unwashed" who complained about never booking work. They're trying to please everyone, and really pleasing no one. Some people won't realize they're being screwed. You have to investigate the Daily and Weekly Summaries, and study the Project Directories, to see what you're not being invited to, or what you're being 5th-round invited to. You have to understand how SmartCast works to understand how it doesn't work. Seekers believe it when they're being told that SmartCast will find them "the best talent for the job", in spite of the fact that virtually every one of SmartCast's stated parameters has nothing to do with the quality of the talent. So they don't know that, of the people not invited to audition, or "too slow" to get in an audition, there may well have been numerous people they would have preferred to the "best" of the group who made it in. Rather than reinventing the wheel, V123 could and should have offered instructions to inexperienced seekers, letting them know that because the system does not involve pre-screening by agents or casting directors, that there are all levels of talents auditioning on the system, with all different qualities of equipment and recording studios, and that the seekers should expect to spend a significant amount of time reviewing auditions in order to find the best match for what they want. And they should have advised talent that there are numerous reasons why they might not book work, and that they should constantly be engaging in practice and training, improving their skills and upgrading their equipment, participating in and getting feedback from the forums, etc. But anyway, one of these days I'll write my complete "manifesto" detailing everything that's wrong, from flawed intent to poor design to false and misleading advertising promises and so on. Eventually... But like you said, Colin, there's just so much that's wrong...