When a podcast enthusiast decides to develop his own podcast app

1. People have stories: from listening to podcasts to making a podcast app

At the beginning of 2020, I was still working as a programmer in Shenzhen. When I was running on the beach on weekend evenings, I intensively listened to Jade's "Evening Breeze" on the Xiaoyushu app, which gave rise to a certain yearning for community life in Dali. In July of that year, I was overwhelmed by the 996 job and couldn't find the meaning of life. At the age of 25, I resigned without telling my parents for a year. At the end of the year, I went to Dali for two months.

I returned to work in June 2021. I listened to the podcast "Zhixing Bistro" and learned that Meng Yanhe was talking about money. I started investing in A-share funds, started keeping accounts more carefully, bought insurance, and developed the concept of financial management. At that time, the big picture I drew for myself was that by working until the age of 35, I could save enough to achieve financial freedom at a low cost, and then I would no longer have to work in this crappy job and live a FIRE (financial independence, early retirement) life. life.

Before the Qingming Festival in 2022, after listening to Airbnb’s podcast "Air Bed and Breakfast", I modified my itinerary to Yangshuo, booked an extra three nights of accommodation, and stayed at Betty's old hotel, the honorary winner of "Hospitality" house and had an unforgettable experience .

At the beginning of 2023, the seeds planted in Dali two years ago began to sprout. My yearning for the life of a digital nomad, my doubts about the FIRE project, and respect for my current feelings drove me to decide to follow my inner voice. During that time, I listened to a lot of podcasts related to digital nomads, from "Retrograde Life" by Free Living Room, to "Fan the Flames" by yoga brand entrepreneur Allison Wang, to "There is a Road Outside" by public account author Moss Island. , to musician Lili Maranzi’s treasure sharing on podcasts such as “Abnormal Travel”, my own concept of digital nomads began to form.

I resigned naked for the second time in June 2023. This time I confessed everything to my family early, with a firm determination to explore the life of a digital nomad and follow the signals of the universe. On July 1st, I went abroad for the first time and started an overseas trip that lasted 6 months, 5 countries, and 6 cities.

Starting from the immersion English learning in the Philippines, my English thinking suddenly opened up. After encountering the dilemma of not being able to understand the airport announcement at the Manila Airport, I turned my awkward feelings into a powerful driving force and determined to improve my listening skills. When I was in Malaysia, I had nothing to do and started exploring the world of English podcasts. Listening to English podcasts even improved my English reading speed.

In the world of Chinese podcasts, the Little Universe app stands out. But when I came to the world of English podcasts, I started to have a headache. At first, I used the iPhone’s built-in Podcast to listen to English podcasts, but the inability to search for a single episode within a program was a big problem. So I switched to another popular Overcast, but it had no historical playback records. Search There are also flaws in functionality. I began to miss the simplicity and ease of use of Little Universe; in order to find an app with playlists, I also tried Pocket Cast and other podcasts. After 3 months of traveling from Malaysia to Thailand to Laos, I found that although each app has its own characteristics, none of them can meet all my needs when used alone.

After flipping through various English podcast apps, and after some hesitation, I finally decided to take matters into my own hands and develop an English podcast app that I felt was good enough to use.

2. Just work: do what you like to the best

There is another way to tell the story.

After graduating with a master's degree, I worked in an Android development position in a big factory for three years, but I always felt that I was not a good programmer and I did not have enough enthusiasm for programming itself. I need a drive.

When I resigned and came to Dali naked in 2020, I was very anxious. After losing my job title, what value did I have to this society? How should I introduce myself to others? A young man who quit his job and came to Dali to escape reality, a programmer with mediocre abilities, an engineering student with no hobbies?

The strange thing is that this anxiety disappeared after I returned to Shenzhen and started looking for a job. The busy pace of life in big cities makes it easy for people to escape from thinking about the major issues in life. An external trajectory and definition imposed on you can allow you to escape from searching for yourself.

The 7-day trip to Yangshuo during the Qingming Festival in 2022 once again allowed me to see the vitality of people shining in a wild and free environment. In a village surrounded by mountains, I hold an umbrella and listen to the flowing water on a small bridge. I sing songs around a campfire with a group of people I meet by chance. I hang in the air and face the dilemma of the hard rock and the suspension under my feet. Wearing a safety helmet and walking deep in the cave Looking back at the dark road from the gap, riding a motorcycle on the country road to the valley where the river traces, and the touching traveling companions on the road.

Not long after returning from Yangshuo, I bought a Yamaha acoustic guitar and started learning to play. I wanted to recall the romantic and heart-warming atmosphere of chorus, which was so different from the world of programming and which was my safe haven away from work.

As a programmer with a considerable income and little expenses, as long as I persist in my job until the age of 35, my savings and financial management will be enough for me to live a financially independent and advanced life without getting married, having no children, or retiring to the second line. Retirement life, this was the pie I drew for myself at that time.

But what's wrong? Is it possible to suppress and tolerate the current physical and psychological feelings with the comfort of "it will be fine later"? Will the future never come? Is the present just a stepping stone to the future? From high school to college to work, how many such expectations do we have in our lives? Are we really happy in the future we expected in the past?

In December 2020, at the Calligraphy Library in Dali Ancient City, a fat and kind boy greeted me. He was Ren, a naked Google programmer, co-founder of the Dali 706 community, and later the "Summer of Tile Cats" "The initiator of. Before he left, he left me a message, "Do what you like to the best, and opportunities will appear."

In domestic education, no one cares about what you love, but about your contribution to the country, society, and family, and tells you what you should be.

In the digital nomad writing class in February 2023, I recorded my inner worries in my daily writing, 'If I don't go out and explore, life may go smoothly and I will be prosperous in middle age, but I always feel in my heart that there is another possibility. My life has not happened, and I am a little bit unwilling; but if I resign naked and go out to explore again, at the age of 40, I still have no stable income, have not established a family, and am still wandering alone, then can I accept myself like this, facing my family? Can I be firm in my heart by the voices of acquaintances and strangers'?

But the seeds have sprouted, and the inner voice can no longer be suppressed. Maybe just like the painter in "The Moon and Sixpence", you cannot ignore the inner voice. Listening to the signals of the universe and entrusting my back to the universe is my answer to the universe.

It was the first time I came to a foreign country. Although there were difficulties caused by the language barrier during the journey, all the dangers warned by my relatives and friends did not happen. In an environment where no one knows you, you have more time to face your inner questioning, is this the life I want, is this the life I can have?

Yes, I like this freedom, this uncertainty. But how to become a digital nomad? I looked for answers in podcasts until I heard Levels, founder of the Nodmad List website, share his story. Release a software product every month, twelve independently developed products for twelve consecutive months, which was his plan while staying at his parents' house. With less than a dozen product launches under his belt, he became an instant hit thanks to the media coverage of the project and the Nodmad List, which catered to the needs of digital nomads.

The inspiration left to me by Levels is to observe your own real needs, solve your own real needs, iterate quickly, and be product-oriented.

In another podcast, Silicon Valley investor Navarre said, "Don't copy others. No one can beat you when it comes to being yourself."

Another Silicon Valley investor, former Lisp programmer, and painter Paul Gram said in a blog, "Be driven by curiosity, not by a sense of responsibility. Follow your curiosity instead of doing what you are thought you should do." Made. Curiosity never lies."

All the voices fell on the same word, returning to Ren's words, "Do what you love." In Laos in December, I decided to make my own podcast app.

3. Podcast Adventures

I used #buildinpublic to mark the development process of this app in Moments and Twitter. After more than a month, the development of the first version was finally completed at the end of January 2024. It was finally named "Podventure", which translates to It’s called “Podcast Adventure” in Chinese.

My life adventure began when I listened to Jade’s podcast "Evening Breeze" in 2020. From the end of 2020 to the beginning of 2021, I spent an anxious but enlightening winter in the ancient city of Dali; from the end of 2023 to the beginning of 2024, it was another winter, and I returned to Dali from a trip to Southeast Asia, where I completed this Development of independent apps.

It is a podcast app that was born to satisfy my need for listening to English podcasts. It is also an attempt to combine my love and skills. One podcast episode meets one person, one person puts forward a point of view, and one point of view opens up a world. In this sense, this small, newly born podcast app is related to a large, rich and wonderful world of podcasts.

My story ends here. I hope Podventure can help you explore what you want in the world of podcasts and continue your adventure life. Looking forward to your stories.