Allow us to introduce you to Mike, our potential mascot. He made his debut last year at #FOSDEM, but never made an appearance since. What do you think, should we embrace him into our family? Let us know in the poll!
So, what do you think of Mike (see linked toot)? Should he become our mascot? * (We're asking for your input because we love him, but aren't sure if he would well represent the quality app that we aim to provide.)
* We might or might not follow the outcome of this poll.
@AntennaPod
I like the logo much more than this mascot. Also, the logo on his shirt is pretty small and a bit deviating from the logo design. It looks more like a compass than an A, mostly because of those extra pixels on the left side of the A:
https://as1.ftcdn.net/v2/jpg/03/34/03/76/1000_F_334037602_ftDSacRBEYWb1IdH4jwcgnbgnKmlHhUm.jpg
@Mehrad
Ah, important to note: Mike would be a _mascot_, complementing our branding where fun & appropriate. It will for sure not replace our logo.
@AntennaPod
Yes, that was clear based on the options in the poll. I just personally don't like it compared to the logo, and also the A on its shirt is a bit off as mentioned before, but that's me, and I already casted my vote accordingly
@Mehrad
If/When we adopt Mike as a mascot, we can certainly take that feedback on board. We see what you mean with the compass.
Thanks for voting!
@AntennaPod @Mehrad i liked the old logo more. It was more related to the RSS logo. And now the Antenna or "A" looks more like a compass.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_East_Germany
Couldn't mike have a RSS feed logo somewhere? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Feed-icon.svg
@AntennaPod
Looks a bit like clippy, but I like it.
@AntennaPod Yes! The world needs more silly mascots.
@AntennaPod the "not in the app" vote is so that he won't become a clippy-cousin.
"It seems you want to subscribe to a podcast..."
@olafk
Haha, that was definitely not our intention. We were more thinking of showing Mike if you search for a podcast, and there are no results.
@AntennaPod for one day of the year though... I see potential for an April fools easteregg. Probably only to use on long-term users, to not frighten new ones right away.
"It seems you want to play a podcast..."
"It seems you'd like to refresh your feeds..."
"It seems you want to stop playing this episode.. "
"It looks like you want to skip this episode..."
@AntennaPod
On one hand I think it's great design and a nice figure, on the other hand it immediately reminded me of clippy, and one does not want this association ;-)
@AntennaPod
Oh my goodness no! It looks like clippy went in the witness protection programme (and who could blame the poor bugger) and got a mask and a t-shirt.
(no shade on the workmanship tho, it looks really solid)
@AntennaPod I like it, but it reminds me of Clipy from MS Word 97. I imagine when i open antenna, it will offer me to help me writing a letter
@AntennaPod i for one welcome the rise of Clippycore as an aesthetic
"I see you're trying to listen to some podcasts. Would you like some help with that?"
@AntennaPod I get a really strong "Clippy" vibe from it.
@AntennaPod
The mascot should be an antenna
@AntennaPod Also lines like "Mike drop today: headline podcast or feature" :)
@ndo
And then the question is: is that a good or a bad thing?
#clippy #nostalgia
@AntennaPod must love all the mascots!
@AntennaPod @ndo Bad association to Clippy, for me.
@AntennaPod @ndo I also thought about Clippy, I'm indifferent about this, but I don't know if it's a bad thing legally speaking.
That's just because of the eyes though.
@ndo @AntennaPod I’m glad it wasn’t just me that noticed that
@ndo @AntennaPod Same vibes here. At least the eyebrows should be different.
@AntennaPod I'd definitely buy a black(?) shirt with him prominently displayed. There isn't a merch shop yet, is there?
@informatom
Nope, there isn't yet. We've definitely been thinking about it, but hadn't had much merch to sell yet. Maybe if Mike makes it!
@AntennaPod the principle of mascots doesn't really work for me and Mike reminds me too much of Clippy to really like him.
But if it helps the advertising, that's great.
Just please leave it out of the app. It's nice and tidy - any ballast and playful design would be detrimental imho.
@gorobar
Oven on an empty screen, say, when you entered a search key and there are no results?
@AntennaPod yes, that's something I would be fine with
@AntennaPod
I don't understand the hate (even not the hate against Clippy – indeed Clippy was the best Microsoft ever made, compared to their shitty spy ware OSes, imho, but that's another story...) against Mike. I think he's a good lad. And if you like him, #AntennaPod -crew, than you should go for it/him – I mean: You made one of the best open source podcast apps, which entertain people everyday, so people should accept your love for Mike!
Best regards!
@AntennaPod
Once someone said clippy I can't think of anything else seeing this guy
@AntennaPod Clippy, is that you?
@AntennaPod Too manly, add a pony tail.
It immediately reminded me of Cl***y, even before I read any comment. That is, not really good memories.
As long as it comes hidden behind a content warning, I guess I can live with it.
I don't mean to be harsh or devaluate the work done here, so I'll try to be more specific. The combo metallic-object-that-sit-on-a-desktop with eyeballs-that-stare-at-you-all-day under those exageratingly-friendly-eyebrowns, it reminds me of office work, management, and surveillance.
@AntennaPod Na, I don't like it. It has no neck