It’s a full decade this year since I first started to make available those rambling inarticulate post-match reports I provide from games I’ve attended. The format of these has stayed largely the same since then, though I’m probably less sweary in them now than I used to be one time, as I’ve kept to the original brief I adopted for them. This was – and is – to provide, as soon as possible after the final whistle has sounded, an unvarnished, in-the-moment audio piece on the match I’ve just witnessed.
With the passage of time, other things – notably my involvement in the Mayo News football podcast, which I really enjoy and greatly value – have moved centre-stage for me on match day. Over the last while too I’ve endeavoured, where feasible, to hammer out the written match report for the blog before leaving the venue. That all makes for a packed few hours at games but at least it does mean most of the work is done before I head away.
My own audio reports still, though, remain part of what I do on match days and my intention is that I’ll continue to provide them into the future. The only reason I’m posting about this now is to alert you to a small change, which relates to where they’re hosted.
Up until now I’ve used a platform called Audioboom (formerly Audioboo) and all the audio reports I’ve recorded since 2009 are still there. Their business model has, however, changed recently – in short, they’re looking for money – and it was this change that was the root cause of the malfunction last Saturday night, which prevented me from uploading my audio report from Croke Park to the platform.
So, it’s time for me and Audioboom to part company, which means that it’s now time to introduce you to the platform I’m switching to – Anchor.fm.
Over the last few days I’ve set myself up on Anchor and I’ve pulled across all the old audio reports – all 122 of them – from Audioboom so they’re all there in the one place, which is here. On Saturday evening at MacHale Park, once Maurice Deegan has blown the final whistle, I’ll record my first post-match audio directly on the new platform.
After it’s recorded, I’ll be distributing the audio report on Twitter the same way as normal. I’ll also continue to patch it into the match report on the blog – I’ve done already for all matches I’ve been to this year, which now point to the new platform.
In practical terms, then, the only difference you’ll see from this under-the-bonnet change is that the audio will be hosted on Anchor and not on Audioboom. All the umms and ahhs and look-its will still be coming from the same stumbling source.
If you don’t use the Audioboom app to listen to the reports then these changes won’t affect you. If you do you may as well download the Anchor app so that you’re ready for the change. It’s available on the App Store and Google Play.
By the way, if there’s anything that’s on your mind about these audio reports – things you think I should be doing in them but I’m not or things you believe I should not be doing but I am – let me know in the comments. Otherwise, stay tuned for Saturday evening and the next post-match audio assault.
Great stuff Willie Joe, i look forward to them. Slightly of topic but lately i havent been able to open the blog using google chrome on my phone. I checked out the error and chrime is saying that the site isnt secure and to inform the site administrator. I wouldn’t be overly techy so im bot e bven sure if there is anything you can do about it. Just doing my duty and letting you know. From my point of view i have a workaround by opening it in incognito mode, but it just means i need to put in all my info each time. All the best. Its a fine blog.
Thanks for that poke, Yew Plains Drifter! Installing the SSL cert (and so converting from http to https) was on my to-do list for a while, due solely, I have to admit, from prompting by Mayo Mick, who is far more literate in such matters than I am and who keeps an eye on the blog to make sure I don’t drive it into the digital ditch. I’ve just now done that cert install and it appears to be working so it would be good if you try accessing the blog over Chrome without doing the workaround and see if that works now. Hopefully it should.
Worked perfectly Willie Joe. Thanks again for a brilliant resource!!
Sound cloud I use to listen and presume it will continue to work.
Good luck WJ with new platform.
May you Babtise your move with a positive news broadcast.
I’m still a bit irked about decisions around penalty v Dublin. The only thing the ref has to do is watch for movement before player strikes ball. And surely some mayo player should have alerted the ref to the infringement. We are too soft here in mayo. Johnny Sexton wouId have been fuming. could have been a turning point in another day. On this occasion dubs were far superior.
Tóg go bog é
I don’t know how you do it WJ or where you get the time to do it and even tho I’ve ended up in the sin bin more than a few times I have to say this is a brilliant blog and resource and we are blessed to have it. Long May you prosper.
That’s great, Yew Plains Drifter, thanks for confirming and thanks too to Mick for giving me the original poke on this.
Good luck on the new platform (the high diving board) WJ. A smart move.
You should have been a Rocket Surgeon.
Thanks for the brilliant blog, Willie Joe, and thank you for putting your energy into this project for us all to enjoy.
@ontheditch
Rewatch Connolly’s penalty on Hennelly from the 2015 AISF – Hennelly is probably further from his line as the ball is struck.
I fully agree that the rule should be more tightly enfored, but that is the ref’s (and his umpires) job, not a players.
The reality is that, rule or no rule, goalkeepers come off their line all the time when penalties were taken. Regardless of where he was when he connected with the ball, it was still a very good stop by Comerford on Saturday night.
If you were a CEO reporting to an AGM Willie, Joe, the share price would have leaped and your bonus would have been tripled.
Here’s a resounding vote of confidence from this ‘shareholder’.
Connolly scored so presumably given advantage. Don’t see why it is acceptable that the rule is frequently broken. It’s not difficult for a referee to police it. Sexton Keeping a referee on his toes doesn’t do him any harm.
How will we feel if hennely or Clarke are pulled for moving early next time they save a penalty?
Such is our luck, stranger things have happened.
@Anne Marie, agree with you 100% there., as regards all the unfair advantage conferred on Dublin, and it’s in more than football…In fact I wrote a long post about how the defeat of the recent Donegal motion to Congress would disadvantage us, and not just us even more, in reply to Tom McLoughlin’s detailed and very interesting ‘State of the Football Nation’ in the previous thread… You don’t have to read my post, but any of ye interested would definitely be missing out if ye didn’t read Tom McLoughlin’s excellent contribution’s, recommended reading definitely.
Willie Joe, you have done loads of great features on the blog, always enjoyed the odd swear word in the audio as it reflected how we were all feeling on some of those dark days. Would love for you to have more audio pieces on it, but unfortunately this isn’t your full time job and there isn’t enough hours in the day. Keep up the good work though and please god your new audio piece will be a cheerful one on Saturday evening, but I don’t have a great feeling about this match with our neighbours.
Galway team named.. Shane Walsh and Sean Kelly out injured and join the ever increasing injury list.
Thanks Tuamstar for that. Well done and best wishes on the new platform WJ.
Thanks for the heads-up, Tuamstar – details of Galway team here: https://twitter.com/TribesmenGAA/status/1101240723129667589.
A strong team despite all the injuries. Just hope Paddy and Diarmuid are fit to play. If so then our bench may just be the difference into the final quarter. A big step up on last weeks performance will needed if we are to prevail.
Thanks for all your great work Willie Joe.
We’re lucky to have a blog of this standard covering the team etc
Shane Walsh a huge loss for them.
This is a big game for Mayo. With all of the Galway injuries and our need to finally get one over them, we really have to and should be winning this one.
It’ll be interesting to see the team we name, would expect 3 or 4 of the new guys to start once more and a couple more coming off the bench.
As always, it’ll be a tight niggly affair, but you’d expect us to come out on top by a few points.
Very strong robost one to nine there Galway and despite all the crying about injuries , I’d expect near enough the same defensive personnel come championship. I hope I’m wrong but I can’t see how we will break them down unless Horan has devised a new plan of attack.ill give Horan this much he appreciates the Mayo Galway rivallary ,you’d expect our bucks to be going full pelt .
Let’s get behind them inside there tomorrow night . Massive roar when they come out would be fantastic. Make home advantage count .
Very stormy night promised for tomorrow night. Expect a very robust affair!
Any word on our own starting fifteen yet?
Sean Burke ..Would have thought Dublin last week would be enough to get our boys going full pelt….why will tomorrow night be different…