If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Welcome to my iPod website, Podophile.com.
About me
I’m Daniel Zilber, a writer and web consultant living in the San Francisco Bay Area with my beautiful wife Adrien and our “special needs” chihuahua Jozo. Between the three of us, we own six seven iPods:
- One 2nd Gen. 20GB iPod
(purchased October, 2002) - One 3rd Gen. 10GB iPod
(purchased August, 2003) - Two 1st Gen. 512MB iPod shuffles
(purchased September 2004) - One 1st Gen. 4GB iPod nano
(purchased September 2005) - One 5th Gen. 60GB iPod with video
(purchased January 2006) - One 2nd Gen. 2GB iPod nano
(purchased January 2007)
About this site
This site was originally set up as a way for me to share interesting iPod tips and tricks with my friends, most of whom love their iPods but aren’t necessarily interested in spending their days scouring the Internet. As the designated “tech guy” in my social circle, I was often the person they’d turn to with their iPod and computer-related questions anyway, so this project would be a natural extension of that role.
But before I was able to get much of anything posted here, the Nike+iPod Sport Kit arrived at my door. It was July 14th, 2006, and they just started shipping. I had pre-ordered mine, confident that it would work when attached to my regular running shoe. When I saw for myself how small the sensor was, I quickly tucked it under my shoe laces and jumped onto the treadmill to test my theory. It worked. Ten minutes later, I had secured the sensor with velcro and the Shoe Hack was born. I originally posted photos of my discovery on MacRumors, but decided that expanded instructions would be a good way to kick off my own iPod site. Over the next few days, that article was Dugg by nearly 2000 people. It was picked up by Engaget, LifeHacker, and hundreds of other sites across the ‘Net. The result was 120,000 page-views by the end of July; more than I expected in the entire first year. (Luckily, I managed to buy some extra bandwidth just in time.)
Since then, I’ve continued to write regularly about the Nike+iPod Sport Kit, but also remain interested in other areas of iPod scholarship, including the future of iPod video, new music and developments at the iTunes store, and pretty much any other useful or unusual iPod news I come across. I won’t write about every single iPod accessory that comes to market, as I’m really not interested in most of them. Besides, there are already several excellent sites that do it much better than I ever could. I will generally only write about things that manage to spark my imagination or make me lust in my heart.
Recent stats
In December 2006, Podophile.com received 110,000 pageviews from more than 30,000 unique visitors, and was averaging 250 RSS subscribers by the end of the month.
Advertising and affiliations
This site generates revenue from three sources: display ads, contextual ads, and the Amazon.com affiliate program.
Display ads. Grantwood Technology has purchased display advertising space on this site since November, 2006. Their Shoe Pouch banner appears near the top of every page. I am not affiliated with the company or their product, other than as an Internet publisher from whom they have purchased ad space. This advertising relationship does not influence my site’s editorial content, regardless of the obvious fact that Grantwood Technology’s executives are some of the brightest and best-looking people in the industry. Anyone interested in advertising on this site should contact me directly.
Contextual ads. These are the clearly marked blocks of links which are found within my articles. I have very limited control over which ads are displayed in these blocks, as they’re automagically served by Google’s pixie minions, who toil away at giant underground computers in Mountain View, CA. At least I think that’s how it works. Learn more here.
Amazon.com. Many of the product links on this site take you to a corresponding Amazon.com page. I’ve done this because Amazon is often the first site I visit to research a purchase I’m considering. The user reviews are especially helpful, and it doesn’t hurt that their prices are usually as good or better than what you’ll find at other reputable online stores. If you visit Amazon through a link from this site, and then make a purchase, I receive a small percentage of the price (usually between 4% and 6%). Even if I didn’t receive a commission, I would still link to Amazon. I like them that much. More about Amazon Associates.
Other disclosures
- This website is a personal project of mine, and is not influenced or directed by anyone other than me.
- I am not an employee, consultant, contractor, or director of Apple, Nike, or any other company whose products and software I write about on this site.
- I do not participate in any pay-to-post schemes. I receive no compensation for writing about a particular product or company.
- I do not own individual shares of Apple, Nike, or any related company’s stock. I’m strictly a mutual fund kind of guy.
- iPod, iTunes, and the Apple logo are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc.
- Nike, Nike+, and the Nike “Swoosh” logo are registered trademarks of Nike, Inc.
