Pandora is on my list of internet must haves. The peace, motivation, and virtual escape of this near perfect music application will forever be a top two staple of my internet life. That said, it isn’t perfect. So with all my app building wisdom, which is less than zero, I want to suggest a few features that would improve one of my favorite creations of all time. Here are five features that Pandora users could benefit from immensely.
5. A pop up helper when you are skipping too many songs. Call it ‘Dummy Helper’ or ‘Song Selector’ for times when you are too indecisive or picky with your stations. You wouldn’t have to enlist the helper pop up, but it would be nice as an option for those moments when you can’t make up your own mind.
4. More comedy tracks. Pandora has improved their selection of stand up comedy, but I get way too much Louis CK. He is at the top of the game I’m aware, but I have had my fill of his material at this point.
3. More stations! I could use at least double the 100 stations available to me on Pandora. Maybe some would be redundant, I don’t know. But I would like to see more available to test the waters.
2. Ads that have a smooth flow, like my music. I’ll admit Pandora does a good job of hitting me with the right ads for products I’m interested in. That’s bad for me, good for them! But I hate going from a great song to a slow talking ad. I hate ads, but I believe jingle based ads would be more palatable. “By Mennen ” was pretty memorable according to this Seinfeld episode.
1. Shake and skip. I am sure many folks use Pandora while running or doing other cardio exercises. I have to look down to see my screen in order to skip a song that isn’t exactly motivating me to get that fifth mile in. A certain shaking gesture to indicate a “thumbs up or down” would be great as well. On a treadmill it is pretty treacherous to look down while running to grab the iphone then focus on the small screen to skip, like, or dislike a song.
