Cup of Jones - July 22, 2019 (Patreon)

Week 2 of the great Cup of Jones Text Adventure. Thank you for the feedback regarding the new format. Based on your suggestions, I'm adding Takeaways to the live recording each week, and adding a brief editorial. Today's is inspired by Bloodworth's comments on the latest podcast that put into words some thoughts I've been having lately about our business.

- Brandon


BUSINESS QUESTIONS

ALEX CASTELLANOS
My suggestion for making this a little easier is maybe to create a PDF of the Q&A portion (business & personal) and attach it to the week's post.  This way it doesn't take up tons of room on the Patreon feed. JONES - I can do that, but I haven’t heard from anyone that there are issues with the new post taking up more room than others. You shouldn’t see the full size of the post until you click to expand it, correct?

MIKEHOOK1
Last year you did a donation stream for new equipment. Any plans to do a donation stream this year for new stuff, new patreons/increase pledges? If not needed, how about a charity stream? JONES - This question came up in the last episode. We currently have plans for at least one fundraising stream before the end of 2019.

ROBIN CLOWER
A couple weeks back I suggested you use youtube's community posts to promote new patreon exclusive shows. I've seen them in my feed and always make sure to like them for increased visibility. However, on most posts there have been negative comments about needing to pay additional money to access those videos. ("So we should pay for stupid theories and spoilers. Get Fu***d dude" or "Thank god it’s over, now I can stop ignoring it in my subscription box whenever it shows up") Are you at all concerned with that negativity? Or do you view the posts as a good way to continue plugging the patreon? JONES - It’s not the best thing to see, but I do feel like it’s a necessary evil if we want to get more eyeballs on our stuff. This is just the generic, unsurprising fluff you usually see in YouTube comments. Words that degrade the subject matter without coming up with suggestions of ways to make it better. BLOODWORTH - There are always plenty of likes on those posts, and since they’re promos, they have a billboard-like function, so people can essentially get the info they need and hop over to the Patreon even without interacting with the video or post itself.

TAHK0
I think this new short format (with written answers) is totally fine, especially with baby Milo. I think maybe a few suggestions would be to address the takeaways out-loud, and maybe still do the editorial type thing at the end? It could be a pretty efficient way to sum up that week’s “progress” on Cup! JONES - I’m going to read out Takeaways, and answer 1 or 2 questions live, and see how that goes.

BRIAN DENU
Regarding the truncated Cup of Jones format, I think this works, but maybe add a quick editorial based on one or more of the business questions, if there's a running theme? JONES - Great idea. Today’s quick editorial is about Blood’s comments on the most recent episode of the Podcast, which I think sum up where this Patreon is at very well.

IBRAHIM SOZER
I’d rather not read. I’d rather you don't answer the question or Blood can answer them. JONES - I'll check with Bloodworth.

KIRBU
Has there been any thought or desire to having a small studio tablet or ultralight notebook that would screen share with a capture or streaming PC? When no one is at the helm to help out, it would still allow hosts/streamers to monitor recordings, and perhaps make easy tweaks like changing color presets in the podcast studio or adjusting audio levels just a little from the streaming couch if necessary. JONES - We definitely want the stage and the control room to be more connected, but I don’t know how distracting it would be to manage it while on camera. I expect we’ll talk about that guest show in future meetings, and up the ante for future events, so this will be considered at some point soon.

BRANDON K GANN
I have a clarifying Community Showcase guideline question. I’ve been inspired by fellow Patrons in both topic ideas and submission types, and am considering doing my comments as a recorded audio file, but when I checked the guidelines, I wasn’t sure which of the following is more accurate, so I was hoping to know: For strictly spoken submissions, does it fall in the three minute rule akin to music and videos, or the 500 word rule as I’m only going to leave a comment (so no accompanying video or music)? I’m not promising I’m going to transition from written to audio submissions, especially as the answer will be one of the factors as to whether I will, plus I REALLY dislike the sound of my voice, but I’m doing some checking on a couple of things and wanted to be sure. JONES - 3 minutes, if it’s recorded instruments or speaking.

JOSH READ
How many days per week do some or all of the allies come into the studio to shoot shows/stream/etc? If not the same every week, then how many days on average? BLOODWORTH - Looking through the past few weeks’ schedules, it looks like an average of 3 out of 5 business days that we're in the studio, plus Don stopping in to edit and Ian going in to make improvements who knows how often. It's important to note that we're almost constantly putting out content shot in the studio. Looking through a block of 22 videos over a two week period, 12 were shot in the studio. 5 were produced previews / reviews. 4 were solo home streams, and 1 was an Easy Update.

OLF HIMSELF
A while back you guys mentioned the future of Tabletop Escapades was still up in the air. Has anything changed on that front? I realize that both Ian and Huber's recent losses might have delayed actually bringing the show back but have you had any discussions about it? Also, I know that creating entire worlds is a lot of work for Ben so have you guys thought of maybe changing the format, temporarily or permanently, to general tabletop games? It could be a new game each week or it could be a longer game shot in one sitting but divided up into episodes. A general tabletop game show isn't tied to specific characters so it might be easier to throw a show together when one or more regular players are unavailable. JONES - Ian and Ben have both proposed ideas on future tabletop events, or short series, but they haven’t been discussed by the group at large yet.

ALEX CASTELLANOS
Please take an extra second before answering challenging questions.  In other words, sometimes you can jump to the defense of EZA or one of the Allies' actions in particular, and I would love it if instead of jumping into defensive mode so quickly, you took an extra second to listen to the question being presented and try to understand the motivation of why someone would be upset in that instance. Try to sympathize with the person asking the question more. JONES - I think this comes from my desire to make the show as brisk as possible. We’re pushing three hours in some episodes now, and I don’t want to take more time than I need. That said, I’m always being told that I talk to fast, or to soon, so this is something I can work on when in front of the camera or not.

JESSIE BLU
There's a Mega-sponsor tier...what about setting up a mini-sponsor tier for $100? Sponsors at this level could  get name and, maybe one web address or twitter handle in the text on the podcast post description and in the Halftime just say something like "and thank you to our Mini-sponsors. You'll find their information in the description" but they're not mentioned individually on the show? And then get a separate title card after the Podcast Sponsor one in the monthly end listing... You wouldn't have to have a limited number if you aren't spending any more time on reading them aloud each week. JONES - We generally want Podcast Halftime to be shorter, not longer. So I’m not a huge fan of adding more bits to it, but we have been talking about changing how we traditionally do sponsorships. So I’ll introduce this idea as a talking point in future discussions if it makes sense.

ANDY GOERGEN
I like the idea of bringing in more allies to answer questions occasionally.  I think it would be fun for Ian or Kyle to chime in on these answers sometimes.  Still though - a tag team effort, I don't want them to replace Jones. JONES - Huber did that this year, so I didn’t want to do something similar so soon after. But it’d be fun to record something with the allies in the studio beforehand, or have them stop by my place after I get set up again in the garage.

DANIEL RIBEIRO
I would like to propose a better alternative, not sure how viable it actually is since it would rely on one or more of the other Allies' time - which I know is limited - as well as their willingness to do it. I really wish a few of the other Allies could host Cup of (Jones) while you're on parental leave, like a different one every week - with the exception of you, Huber, and Don. That would give us access to ask direct questions to that Ally himself and would be great bonus Co(J) episodes to watch/listen to someone else tackle the show. The titles could be epic: Mug of Blood (or sMug of Blood - s for super), Tankard of Damiani, Goblet of Ian, Sake cup of Ben, Beaker of Kyle, Quaich of Brad, to name a few. Don't you want to watch a Goblet of Ian, Tankard of Damiani or Beaker of Kyle!?! Just imagine how great those would be. I can already see Kyle taking questions with some very sassy attitude, Damiani being very serious or humorous depending on the question, and Ian being indifferent to some questions, while being very into others. It would be amazing and would differ from Patron Q&A since it would be questions directed at that Ally and what he thinks. I already have an excellent question for Ian regarding The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Yeah, I really do. Just imagining Ian's face when he realizes it's a question regarding The Witcher 3 makes me laugh. That would be so amazing. And Bloodworth could help them with the business questions if they have any doubts, plus they would know more parts of the business that they may otherwise not have known or be interested to know. I even bet many of the Allies might start watching CoJ after seeing how the format is and how lovely the Patrons' questions are after they experience it for themselves. Plus it could set a yearly tradition to have the Patrons hunger to get another Tankard of Damiani or Goblet of Ian when you go on vacation, as well as hunger for Cup of Jones to get back. And of course, I'm sure once the Allies got into it, they will enjoy it and have a lot of fun. But most importantly, this would leave you free to enjoy Milo the most during your parental leave. I would even suggest you leave Trailer (Jones) completely to other Allies, or let it accumulate and do a bunch of them when you come back - if the Allies do it while you're away, it could be titled "Easy Trailers". Just concentrate on enjoying your small-sized champ as much as possible. In essence, this way, everybody wins (hopefully). I know this relies on other Allies, but even if it was just one other Ally every week, I would love it as well. Could even be a Mug/sMug of Blood every week, if his time allows and he's up for it. Just a suggestion/takeaway to discuss with other Allies and see what they think of it. JONES - I’ve fantasized about each ally taking over for one or several episodes, but no one has ever jumped at the idea. I’ve joked about it with them, and also brought it up seriously, and no one ever seemed interested in doing the show weekly in my place. If I wasn’t on the team for whatever reason, I have no idea what form something like this would take. It might morph into another show, or handled like this, at Q&A with text. I think about that a lot.


PERSONAL QUESTIONS

ASBO ZAPPRUDER
Quick follow-up on your answer about favorite movie musicals: Have you seen the Broadway Theatre Archive version Pirates of Penzance?  It was filmed live on stage with basically the same case (the only major change is that Patricia Routledge plays Ruth instead of Angela Lansbury.)  It's my favorite version of the two, mainly because I think the audience gives it a nice energy. If you haven't seen it yet and are interested, it's streaming on BroadwayHD. JONES - I have, but a long, long time ago. I’ve actually been discussing Pirates a lot with friends lately, and I got educated on the differences between the movie and the original cast. Not only should I revisit that, but this is the first I’ve heard of “BroadwayHD.” If that’s what I think it is, I should consider checking it out.

KEXX
With paternity leave in session, what, if anything, can we expect from you for the upcoming Hall of Greats? I don't mean "what game", more if you'll be submitting a video, an audio, a letter, maybe jump in for voting, catch the stream live and be in chat, or simply, sadly, heart-breakingly, nothing at all? JONES - I put this in Personal because it was answered last week, or the week before. If I’m not there in person for the next Hall of Greats, I will create a video and vote online, or make sure my vote gets in somehow.

KYLE LEE
Based on your Dibs/All Yours from the podcast last week, you'll regret your words and deeds giving up Elsa Bloodstone. I'm sure it's just unfamiliarity because there's no way you wouldn't be down with a badass vampire hunter who is constantly dual wielding shotguns. JONES - I don’t think I’ve heard of her before. She’s awesome. Definitely a “dibs” for me now that I’ve seen her. That game (Dibs/All Yours) isn’t completely fair because technically I should be looking at the characters in a menu. I don’t think I would have passed her up as easily.

IVAN DE WERGIFOSSE
Congrats to you and Amanda on bringing Milo home. I’m just curious as to how Sophie is taking it? I know it can be a bit of a coin toss bringing babies home to dogs, sometimes they can be jealous, and other times they’re welcoming. When I was born, our family dog at the time saw me as his pup, he’d lie down next to my cot when I was asleep and protect me, to the point where he growled and snapped at my grandmother when she came to try and wake me once, when he would never have done that normally. He also helped me learn to walk, allowing me to hold on to his coat and walking at the pace I did. So how is Sophie doing? Does she care? Is Milo her new pup? Somehow I doubt Norbert cares much. JONES - Norbert wants to know what Milo smells like, and has pawed at him when he’s in the crib once or twice, but is otherwise chill. Sophie has been a little nuts just because our lifestyle keeps evolving. Not only with Milo, but having the in-laws here, our daily/nightly schedule thrown so far out of whack, and lots of people stopping by, she’s been a bit nervous and overworked. But we’re getting close to having a somewhat normal schedule, and I think she’ll mellow out before the summer’s done.