The Podcast Accelerator: How to Grow Your Podcast · Mark Asquith

Inside the New Captivate 2.5 Dashboard Upgrade - In & Around Podcasting

·43 min·2 clips

Mark Asquith says podcasters can now build networks with sub-networks like Star Wars, Doctor Who, and Marvel.

1. Inandaround Podcasting covers Captivate’s Dashboard 2.5 release and its network-focused redesign. 2. Mark Asquith, Danny, and Captivate head of design Gary Aylert explain the release as a product update for both indie podcasters and big publishers. 3. The episode asks how Captivate can add network power without making the dashboard feel crowded or harder to use. 4. Mark says Captivate has overhauled network handling to support agencies, production companies, and business-plan users. 5. He gives examples like a "golf network," a "nerd podcast network," and sub-networks for Star Wars, Doctor Who, DC Comics, and Marvel MCU. 6. Gary says the design goal is to "get out of the way" so podcasters can do the work they came to do. 7. Danny says user support chats and a feature-request form feed directly into product decisions. 8. Danny highlights the new cascading menus on the left-hand side as a quality-of-life improvement. 9. Mark explains that Captivate now remembers collapsed navigation preferences for each user. 10. Gary says the team waited years to ship collapsible navigation because it only made sense once the dashboard grew larger. 11. The hosts describe cognitive load as the problem created when too much visual noise competes for attention on one screen. 12. Danny says the permissions model was simplified because too much granularity can create unnecessary decision-making. 13. Mark says the new network permissions are easier for producers and publishers to understand. 14. Danny says a producer should naturally have episode publishing and dynamic ad insertion access. 15. Mark says removing unique listeners from the front dashboard was a deliberate performance decision. 16. He says the metric still exists on the analytics tab, but the main dashboard is faster without the heavy query. 17. Gary says software design becomes difficult when teams keep adding features on top of features. 18. Mark says the best platforms keep the familiar workflow while rebuilding the foundation for future releases. 19. Listeners who manage podcast networks or build hosting software will get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners wanting a light entertainment episode may skip this product-focused discussion.

As heard by us

A grounded look at a redesign built for podcast networks and the people who run them.

Captivate's Dashboard 2.5 is treated as a workflow change, not just a visual refresh. Mark Asquith, Danny, and Gary spend the episode on why the redesign matters for podcast networks and the people running them, with the update framed around staying intuitive even as more…

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Why you'd press play

If you use Captivate, this is the Dashboard 2.5 briefing on the why behind the redesign.

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