About

Hi there! Xiaoming here. I started working on miaocast as a solo indie dev after quitting my full-time engineer job in the spring of 2024.

I set out to build the perfect podcast app for myself and thoroughly enjoyed the process of building something entirely by myself and I hope you find miaocast enjoyable as well!

Some back story

I can't remember when I first learned what a podcast is but it's somewhere around 2015, since that is when I brought this little app called Pocket Cast for 3.99 (what a bargain!).

I wasn't really into podcast that much at the beginning but I started listen to podcast regularly at the beginning of the pandemic when I suddenly have to cook my own meals at home and wanting to multi-task while I cook and clean.

Since then, I've been a true believer of podcast, both as a way of entertainment but also as a learning tool. Now days, podcast is an integral part of my daily routine and that is why I picked podcast app as my first project on my quest to become an indie developer.

What is a miaocast?

If the app icon hasn't given it away, here is another hint: I love cats!

So when it is time to pick a name for the app, miaocast seem like an obvious choice. In addition to sounding like a cat meow, miao (妙) in Chinese also means wonderful, clever and magical, which are all the things I try to achieve with this app.

What makes miaocast different?

I believe there isn't one perfect way to listen to podcast since everyone's goals and needs are so different when it comes to podcasts. Some might open the app and find something to listen to at the moment, so would like the simplicity some app offers while others might meticulous manage their app and would like to tweak everything in the apps to suit their specific preferences.

With miaocast, I want to create an app that can be as simple as the some user wants, but also flexible enough that would allow more advanced users to customize the app for their needs. This goal result in some design constraints and features with in the app:

• a single up next queue combined with easy access to prepend, append items to the queue, makes it super easy to manage what to listen to next
• a top level inbox screen so that you can find new episodes easily
• a customizable home screen so that you can create the perfect podcast app just for you
  • use playlist to get a list of episodes so that you never miss anything
  • use folder to group podcasts and add shortcuts to get to your favorite shows quickly

Right now, home screen is limited to playlists and folders but I plan to add more "widgets" that you can add to the home screen so that everything is right where you want them to be.

Say Hello

It's still early days for miaocast and I have lots of exciting plans for the app, so stay tuned and try the app today if you haven't already! I'd also love to hear from you if you have any feedbacks, suggestions etc. You can reach me at xiaoming@miaocast.com.