Is ChinesePod too cool for school?

If you guys do put out a ChinesePodKids, just don't call it ChinesePodKids. Come up with a completely new brand name. ChinesePodKids would imply that ChinesePod is just for adults. ChinesePod is already a strong brand that has an established identity among its loyal users.

There's a difference between brand building and brand milking. You would help out ChinesePodKids by weakening the ChinesePod brand.

You got my vote for ChinesePodKids! That'd be totally awesome: )

Uncle Ken and Aunt Jenny! ChinesepodKids might be a very good marketing strategy...haha!:)

Yes, ChinesepodKids. Yes, yes yes!!! Please!

Of course everyone here love Cpod as it is, otherwise... However, Joachim's idea certainly raises interesting possibilities. Retreating back into my business mindset, it's a classic co-branding strategy.

"Uncle Ken" would certainly be an ideal host on ChinesepodKids. The site layout will have to change dramatically: more vibrant colours etc.

;-)

I'd like to turn the question around: Should Chinesepod branch into something like ChinesepodKids? In my view this might be a good idea to deliver special content to children and give them an appropriate platform to learn with. This might even need a 12 year old "Jenny Zhu" as a presenter. :-)

Jenny, dajia hao: I'm in adult continuing education, learning Chinese. Cpod has been really my day-to-day classroom. The great thing about the podcasts is I feel you guys are right inside my house, talking to me. The audio quality is superb as are the lessons. My "tongxuemen" are wondering why I am in beginning level since my pronunciation and vocabulary are at almost intermediate level. Voila! - the results of listening to the podcasts since Nov. 2006.

Classroom learning is now secondary to my own practice at home or with my laoshi. It's good to acquire street wise terms and colloquial phrases. "Luan chi ba zao" is something right out of Shanghainese as well. I heard it when I was a kid. I don't want to learn just "normal" patterns. As in English, it is good to learn "kouyu", "chengyu". But now it's up to me to chose the right context for those expressions and not rely on them too heavily, I suppose. I liked the comment Jenny recently made about language being alive and not stiff or inflexible.

Si Yao

well, if this thread isn't about lesson topics and instead relates to the opening and ending "jingle" for each podcast, then it doesn't even rate as an issue (for me at least)...as soon as the lesson discussion ends in a podcast, i quickly skip forward to the next lesson anyway, thankfully avoiding Aric's annoying (non-cool) rants...

I somehow doubt this is about the choice of lesson topics or the risk of Chinese cencorship. I was confounded by this conversation until I read the Chengyu's thread and then followed by listening to the post-lesson bragging that was questioned:

"if you don't think we're great, then you don't agree with us or our friends CNN, BBC, etc. etc. etc."

It was obviously all done in good fun, but what purpose does the outro jingle have other than to increase the length/file size of the podcast? The lessons are already entertaining enough, why not just end the file after "Zaijian!". The into bits that attempt to direct traffic to the site for the free t-shirt or special offers often walk a fine line between smart and corny, though they at least serve a purpose.

Not a major complaint here, but for myself, I would appreciate being able to squeeze an extra couple of lessons onto my MP3 player rather than having those 20 seconds or so of wasted space tacked onto the end of every lesson.

i love Chinesepod. Like posts above this one, I totally agree with the entire not-taking-itself-too-seriously, it's a great approach. the lessons take the listeners right down to the streets, right down to the useful. it's not only cool, it's ultimately useful as well - just as how learning should be.

Jenny, to answer your question directly, the answer is "No, I don't think Cpod has pushed it too far" and "No, I don't think Cpod is too cool for school".

If the issue is regarding topics that are perceived to be edgy, I don't see any problem with that given that the vast majority of learners on CPOD are adult learners. Further, at the risk of repeating some of the comments made by my fellow Cpod'ers above:

1. Practicality - mature topics are a part of life and that makes it very practical to know how to discuss these issues. Its far better to learn via Cpod about mature topics that we will inevitably come across in real life as opposed to bumbling around in real life and potentially offending others due to lack of being able to communicate clearly.

2. Fun - I think learners are far more engaged when the topic sparks interest and is lively. To that end, I love the way Cpod presents the material. The whole point is that it doesn't sound like a "lecture" and more like a conversation. I find that format particularly engaging.

3. Language - proceeding from the premise that language is a culturally embedded phenomenon, I think "edgy" topics are a great way of revealing cultural distinctions and nuances. Many of the podcasts at Cpod bring cultural insight from everything from haggling about the bill to romantic relationships. However, in all cases, it is always somehow related to the concept of the language concepts being studied in that particular lesson. In other words, the cultural nuances and edginess aren't necessarily an end to themselves but help advance a better understanding of the language. At least thats how I have interpreted most of the lessons and even the extra content such "Ask Amber".

Content for mature learners cannot be found elsewhere, especially for currently trendy and even transient topics of today.

The word "adult" confuses this conversation, because it has too many definitions and emotional associations. Most of us are not kids and we don't want kids' stuff, but we certainly don't come here for smut either.

I don't have any problem with the type of intros, but I do have a problem with their being intros. Hearing them once or twice is enough. If they're going to blast out at the start of each repeat of a lesson, I'll only listen to that lesson once or twice instead of twenty times.

Even a wonderful joke that makes you feel good, starts to grate at today's third hearing, and goes way downhill from there.

On the other hand, I never tired of the original cpod intro, it was just way way too long for multiple podcast lesson repeats.

So my vote is for mature content, edgy if you like, avoid the confusing "adult" word, and only use an intro if you can play it twenty consecutive times to a victim in a small room twelve months from now and they'll come out still loving it as much as today's first hearing.

The only reason why I use ChinesePod - and love it - is because it's so friendly, amusing and, to quote Jenny, cool. There's so many Chinese podcasts out there, but they're all deadly serious, as if a podcast should be trying to replicate a real classroom. The great thing about ChinesePod is that even if you aren't 100% dedicated to learning the language, you stick with it anyway because it's fun. :-)

And I really love the funny intros - keep it up. If a few depressed souls don't like CPod's fun attitude, just ignore them. Believe me, if ChinesePod cut out all the fun, I don't think I'd like it any more.

I enjoy Chinesepod's tongue in cheek marketing ploys, I think the way they are done, as someone stated, shows the fun approach the company has to learning.

Learning definately should be fun especially for Adults, but those who want to take a more stringent approach can with the multiple lesson features.

Regarding 'edginess', I don't belive Cpod is edgy enough not when compared to most media in the west. Perhaps an "Adult" section in which lessons which could cause offense would be placed. As lets face it adult topics are also necessary, discussing racism? buying contraception? real swear words? ; these are all a part of spoken language, despite their ability to cause offense.

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

I don't think CPod really needs to worry about this. Unless you're looking for a new demographic, what you've been doing from the beginning works quite well.

CPod's branding speaks for itself...it doesn't need to change (at least not in the foreseeable future, IMO).

It could be that they sometimes try a little too hard in some of the jingles and intros. Just a little. Tvan - I hope success doesnt mean cpod will become conservative and PC just to appeal to the broadest audience. That will ruin it in my opinion.

I think the problem raised in the thread deals with a marketing issue: what's your market segment/target audience. Obviously, the people here prefer the existing content; otherwise, they wouldn't be here. However, educational markets would likely blanch at some of the topics. That seems to leave you with the classic dilemma: How do you appeal to the broadest possible audience while maintaining your brand identity?

To add to the topic, some of the threads dealing with matters of worldwide importance (e.g. Tibet, Religion in 88groups, Stunt Toddlers, etc.) also contain inappropriate, possibly offensive, content for certain audiences.

okay, I'm with you, urbandweller, on not taking oneself too seriously! 100%

i think the funny intros are great...it shows cpod doesnt take themselves too seriously...cpod makes it fun to learn chinese

Jenny doesn't do the "intros" and jingles, does she?

your lessons are not only hip but also relevant...KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK JENNY!!

Hmm, lots of very interesting comments out there.

Anybody think that there is a difference between "topics"/"content" and the "packaging" thereof?

I'm totally for maximum "edginess" and boldness where the former is concerned. Still not so sure if the "packaging" has to be so self-consciously "hip". Not when the "CPOD constituency" seems to be so varied, ranging from people like hitokiri (15 years old!), to aert (born in 1919; I hope he is okay since we haven't had his news for a while). But I'm happy to listen to any intros, just for the content that CPOD offers.

i like the useful everyday "street" language that cpod tries to provide....if i wanted the proper non-useful stuff that i would never use, then i would attend a university...哈哈！

Hey, I'm 15... and I'm learning a lot with Chinesepod! :D Before joining this site, I was completely illiterate with 簡體字...now, I could read at least a lot.:D

Actually, now that I have read Jens's reference to the chengyu thread, maybe she is asking something harder to define. Is cpod trying to be too hip maybe? Too street wise, too down to earth? Again, I find it refreshing. wouldnt want them to change it.

Dave, I believe she is asking if the whole cpod experience is for mature audiences only and is that a bad thing. I like it the way it is.

Seriously though, I have no clue what this thread is about. We (maybe just myself) seem to be stabbing in the dark hoping to hit Jenny's point. Furthermore, when I ask myself what edgy actually means I can't answer the question. I assume you mean something that might be controversial, perhaps taboo or going against the grain. Or maybe it just relates to the freedom of expression you don't have in communist China. The more I type the more I feel like I'm straying from the topic. I don't think the offensive nature of the ads has any relationship to the subject matter of your lessons.

Jenny, I honestly think that CPOD's content is already so bold (=edgy), and its "pedagogical values" always so sound, that nothing else out there comes close. That speaks for itself, it is a very clear identity, and you are hip and cool and can "hook" listeners from the very first few minutes of Jenny Zhu's voice.

To overseas Chinese listeners, I dare say that your accent-free Mandarin is enough to hook us and convince us of CPOD's sincerity. No strong Beijing tones, no patriotic Minnan accents either (which I think that some Taiwanese politicians emphasize, for votes). I see enough posts from your "regulars" all over the world, to know that CPOD is loved by overseas Chinese everywhere.

"Some have raised concerns about whether we push it too far" ?

On the contrary, CPOD could push it even further, without going totally over the edge. I've never seen a lesson that went beyond the boundaries. Even the bian4xing4ren2 episode was tame enough, but certainly not what one would learn in a school.

Keep it up ! The day you get censored by the Chinese government for a "politically sensitive" lesson, will be the day that you can truly say "we're too cool for school"...

Jenny, if I haven't understood you incorrectly, I think that one question you are asking is: whether the edginess of the intros etc fits the edginess of the topics themselves? Personally, I feel that no topic should be excluded because it is "edgy". Guess the question is how "edgy"/ "DJ-cool" the packaging needs to be.

CPOD is in the truly wonderful position of having created a product which delivers value to, and is relevant to, a very wide range of people, from teenagers (and also some even younger children of users, going by posts I have read), to people who wear suits and are driven to work in China by company chauffeurs. Some of your clients out there are young teachers who want to show their much older Chinese bosses something of "The CPOD Difference", in the hopes of getting support for doing more for their students than the traditional rote learning, and there maybe your packaging may make it more difficult for the young ones to persuade the ones in charge to " just listen".

All of these people -- even the CEOs -- are CPOD's clients; the ongoing challenge is how to pitch the packaging so that CPOD can have the best chance of catering to it's "demographic", which is ever-growing and ever-evolving.

I think the edgiest topics tend to be at the upper levels. So, probably most of the potential audiance are at least college age. From that perspective edgy should be no problem. For myself, I enjoy the edginess and hope CPOD keeps pushing the envelope.

However, CPOD might not be the best substiture for the weekend Chinese school that all of the second generation kids seem to have to go to.

The Jingo ate my baby!!!

Jingos, some of the topics even.

Jenny can you be more specific? Aside from my dislike for Aric's recent ad campaigns I'm not sure what you're referring to.