Veteran ChinesePod Users: Thank you and Where are You Now?
jennyzhu
April 09, 2009, 05:59 PM posted in General DiscussionSince our humble beginning in the summer of 2005, ChinesePod was blessed by a truly special community. Users like Bazza, Lantian, Art, Henning, MikeinJubei, Azerdocmom, Rich and many more are absolutely instrumental to how far we have come.
I also personally feel indebted to you guys.
I still cringe when I listen to my earliest recordings (they were so sketchy that we actually re-recorded them to improve the quality.) But fellow veteran Poddies so generously encouraged the little fledgling ChinesePod and myself. I often receive emails from users calling me their favourite 老师/laoshi. Actually, this is also how I feel about our users.
Fast track to the present, many of the early users are no longer active on the site due to different reasons, which is why I feel particularly sentimental. I want to give you a shout out and thank you with utmost sincerity. Oh, give me a shout back if you are reading this. And to all Poddies, frequent commenters and lurkers, thank you!
Sincerely,
Jenny
pchenery
April 13, 2009, 06:51 PMI've also been studying with CPOD since its birth, so maybe I can be considered a "veteran". Although I don't post much, due to time constraints, I certainly appreciate the contributions of the frequent CPOD posters, present and past alike.
I still have many of the original "sketchy" lessons that have since been re-recorded. I keep them for nostalgic reasons. Those were the days when Ken was playing the part of voice actor in some of the Intermediate lessons.
It would be interesting to know where the former poddies vanished to and whether or not they are progressing with their Chinese.
Tal
April 09, 2009, 08:02 PMWow Jenny, you sure do work late nights! (It's 3.53am Beijing Time as I write, and the script after your post says '2 hours ago').
I commend and second your sentiments. I was learning from and using the site for some time before I decided to start posting comments, and I recall most of the names you mention. They live on (in a way) in the comments archive anyway don't they? Life does often take people along new paths it seems. Henning still seems to play an active part though.
What's cool and lovely about your post is how your own commitment and involvement with your work shines through. It's natural to lack expertise when we get started in such an endeavour! I cringe too when I recall the mistakes I made when I started out as an English teacher! But the important thing is caring about what we do and caring about getting better. We create the world with our thoughts!
I'd like very much to congratulate you re. the interview in the Star which I enjoyed reading yesterday, and also to thank you sincerely for all the hard work you put into CPod. You are one of China's finest ambassadors, and all true-hearted poddies love you!
daizi
April 09, 2009, 08:44 PMI particularly miss Lantian's 热心 (rèxīn-enthusiasm).
green_leaf
April 10, 2009, 12:36 AMHi Jenny
I have logged on ChinesePod for about a week.
It's very wonderful,useful and meaningful.
In china,there is few web sites to teach chinese.
I'm very glad to meet so many friends from all over the world.
As a chinese,I hope your web site is more and more popular!
green_leaf
April 10, 2009, 01:08 AMI think the web site need to spend money to study new lessons is one reason.
If we don't spend money ,we'll be not allowed to listen the new lessons.
bababardwan
April 10, 2009, 02:24 AMWhat a lovely post Jenny.It's so touching to see how much you care.Well said reigau.I think you said it best when you said:
"You are one of China's finest ambassadors"
Even in the short time I have been here I have felt the loss of some of the veteran Poddies and have myself dwelled on this a little lately.It would be nice to have them back,but as you say life's circumstances change.This emphasises the importance of keeping the archives intact also.You have a heart of gold Jenny.Keep up the great work.Cheers.
jennyzhu
April 12, 2009, 01:17 AMHi Poddies,
Your comments are yet another example of the truly phenomenal users you are.
But I also want you to know that we have been thinking about what ChinesePod isn’t delivering. When we started, our approach was completely fresh, practical and engaging. We solved people's problem by bringing real language to you in an accessible and engaging way. But after three and half years and over 1300 podcasts, this approach alone isn’t enough. Along side what you guys already love about ChinesePod, we need to provide more structure and guidance especially now that we have such a large archive of lessons. From user feedback, we know that you want courses, a pathway and help along the way to achieve their learning goals. This is our focus at ChinesePod now.
So thank you for your phenomenal support and we should be delivering more to you! Stay tuned!
jennyzhu
April 12, 2009, 01:22 AMskyfx,
多谢你顶我！请教谈不上，互相帮助吧。咱们网站上有好多热诚学习中文的外国朋友，作为中国人，看了以后你会更明白我们文化的魅力。也祝你天天开心！
jamestheron
April 12, 2009, 01:37 AMWhile we've seen community contributors come and go, we've also seen CPod staff come and go. I would like to thank all those who acted as the face of CPod and also those behind the scenes who make it all happen.
From "Do you hear the words coming out of my mouth?..." to now, we've seen many changes. A big thank you goes out to the community, past and present, on both sides!
vikram
April 09, 2009, 06:30 PMJenny's right. Most poddies are indebted to the veterans for their excellent posts,queries and examples.
I've been a poddie myself since 2006 November albeit not posting much but i still remember how much the posts from the veteran poddies have helped me make my chinese learning easier.
Where are you guys? Do come back
sfrrr
April 13, 2009, 02:54 AMI too have been around from the first, although I think it took me a few months to subscribe. Those were the days of AuntieSue and Marc the martial arts expert, and the beginnings of the CPod forum, and a brief moment when Bazza thought he wasn't ready for the Intermediate level. And Yves Goulnik. And Lantian and his scheme to post transcripts of entire lessons, not just the dialogues. And Yves Goulnik. Before John--who did the intermediate lessons with Jenny then? Oh, and let's not forget Yves Goulnik.
mark
April 13, 2009, 03:00 AMI don't know if I count as one of your veterans. I didn' t discover CPod until March 2006 and post regularly, but not extensively, and often just a wisecrack at that. However, I am very happy that I did find CPod. Iam learning a lot and enjoy studying the lessons.
BTW, is there an archive of the old advanced lessons (pre 2007). I have some, but not all, and would like to listen to the rest, if I could find them now.
RJ
April 13, 2009, 02:45 PMDont forget Dave. A little brash, but he made me laugh at times ,when he wasnt crossing the line.
Henning, what was that little gals name with the smart mouth. Wo de ye man nv you.
I do miss Taipan. The over endowed squirel with a great sense of humor. I still talk to Jonathan once in a while but he has become too busy for Cpod.
And Mark, of course you're a veteran. And youre still here. You and Tvan. Bazza is off trying to break Tweet records. Going on 2000 last I heard.
henning
April 13, 2009, 02:58 PMRJ, do you mean kitty?
Talking about avatars: Best of all time: sparechange & wolson (in times they were still moving - ah, there is another suggestion for uservoice)!
If I am not mistaken, kimikk is a veteran also - formerly active under the name of KMK in the forums (?).
calkins
April 13, 2009, 03:26 PMI don't consider myself a veteran, though I appreciate the sentiment Henning. I've only been here since 2007. Just been babbling so much since then, it probably feels like I've been here from the beginning ;-)
I also miss the likes of:
- auntie68 (even though she was banned, she was a huge benefit to this community)
- xiaohu (able to get a healty argument going)
- lostinasia
- sparechange (maybe he left with his award-winning avatar that died after V3?)
- and many others
Oh wait, I missed my favorite...last, but certainly not least:
- licha
RJ, are you thinking of chittywangwangwangwang? She had a great sense of humor!
____________
Woops, sorry Henning...missed your post just before mine.
kimiik
April 13, 2009, 05:57 PMHi Henning,
It would be easier to consider that everybody who was active on the Cpod website before the V3 is now a veteran.
Btw, I see that you made the connection between kimiik anf kmk. ;o)
henning
April 13, 2009, 06:04 PMkimiik/kmk,
I guess that is the most intuitive definition - veterans as V3-survivors.
henning
April 12, 2009, 04:12 PMActually, there are still quite a few of the first- and second-generation Poddies around.
Don't forget goulnik who joined about the same time as I did - although he changed his screen name quite a few times (yves, goulnik, goulniky, goulnik, sputnik, goulniky, goulnik). The absoulte high-octane powerhouse around. And if I remember correctly, calkins, RJ, and Joachim have been around since the dawn of time also and they are definately parts of the current community engine.
There are other steady contributers who have been here since the very first days, e.g. jamestheron, Bill, or al.
And eventually Bazza is also floating around, even if we don't see him as often nowadays. He just needs to find his way back from the lofty twitterscape.
skyfx
April 09, 2009, 06:23 PM姐姐的英文真是好，应该好好请教你了哇
虽然我没有听课程，但是同为中国人帮姐姐顶了，哈哈
祝姐姐天天开心。