🧶 Changelog is live

Hey, Ty here. I built whatayarn to help creators turn “listeners” into participants. This changelog is live at /changelog, and it’s where we’ll share what’s new (without making you read commit messages 😅).

Expect short notes on features, improvements, and fixes. Also, because this is the very first entry, I wanted to share the story so far.

The story so far

A couple years ago I was listening to one of my favourite Aussie podcasts, Alpha Blokes Podcast. Each week they’d run a segment that was basically just them reacting to listener calls. Listeners would call a voicemail line, leave a message, and then the boys would play it on the show. It turned out to be a really popular segment, with a bunch of viral short form content off the back of it.

It was also kind of a pain.

They’d have to rattle off an old phone number and a random email address, then add a bunch of rules. Keep it under 60 seconds. Leave your name. Record it on your phone. Upload it. Email it through. It worked, but it always felt harder than it needed to be.

So I figured I could do better, and whatayarn started as a tiny pet project to solve that one workflow problem for podcasts. The first version was sketched out in Bali, sitting around after a couple weeks on holiday, waiting for my flight later that night. It was clunky, but it was a start.

Sitting in Bali, iterating on the first version of whatayarn

If you’ve ever built a side project next to a 9 to 5, you know the vibes. Some weeks you ship something you’re proud of, and it feels like magic. Other weeks you spend a full night (or a full weekend) on something and nobody cares.

There were stretches in that first year where I honestly thought, “maybe nobody wants this”. I got some pretty blunt feedback and pushback, and there were days it really got to me. I’ve wanted to quit more than once.

At one point I did a big MVP push, and then nothing happened. No signups. No messages. No one even looking at it. So I parked the project.

Then, about six months later, a couple of creators found it and started using it. The first real messages coming through felt ridiculous in the best way. That was the spark again.

I’m not doing this to make a million dollars. I just really love seeing something I built get used, even by one creator who genuinely gets value from it.

Since then it’s been a lot of weekly iterations, a couple early users turning into more, and the very fun moment of seeing creators post their link in their socials and show notes.

The very first whatayarn sticker drop

If you’ve tried whatayarn already, thank you. Every little piece of feedback has shaped what this is. There’s no big team here yet, just me building from Australia 🇦🇺, trying to make an amazing product people love.

Here are a few of the biggest milestones from the journey so far.

• A landing page that found its voice. Lots of iterations, clearer messaging, better FAQs, better pricing clarity, and more real-world examples.
• Voicemail pages (channels). Your own clean link, page basics, and better control over what you ask from listeners (name, email, anonymous).
• Voice messages that feel effortless. Record in-browser (or upload), a smoother flow end to end, and a welcome audio message so your page does not feel empty.
• A calmer creator editor. A big restructure into clearer blocks, friendlier navigation, better mobile behavior, and more future proof.
• Inbox and message page upgrades. Easier scanning, cleaner message detail, safer actions like delete, and better handling of unknown sender info.
• Sharing and embedding. QR codes, simple embed code, and a dedicated share flow designed for real-world use.
• Notifications and gentle guardrails. Welcome emails, new message notifications, and message limit warning and reached emails so you are never surprised.
• Plans that scale with you. Free vs paid capabilities, a great free tier to get creators started, clearer limits, and upgrade prompts that show up when they actually matter.
• Trust and safety. Stronger spam and bot protection, plus support for optional anonymity when that’s the right vibe.
• Plus a bunch more. MP3 transcoding, rich channel personalisation, SEO goodness, a blog, product analytics, and much much more.

What’s next

I’m still full steam ahead on whatayarn, and I’m really excited about the future. I’ve got a bunch of “seeds planted” that should start growing in the next few months, that’ll gear us towards a bigger and better product.

Here’s a few of the things I’m working on next:

Startup HQ, aka whatever table I can find

• Analytics and insights for creators
• Product documentation and guides
• Better embedding and sharing options
• More channel customisation options
• Better customer support, onboarding, and feedback loops
• Message inbox superpowers (search, transcription, etc)
• More product polish across the board (more polished design, better UX, etc)
• … and a couple of other little podcasting projects I’m building that will plug into whatayarn and help creators drive more engagement and reach

If you’ve got an idea you want us to build, tell us (email me at hellowhatayarn@gmail.com), and keep an eye on the changelog.

As always, thanks for using whatayarn. I’m excited to see where we go next.

Ty Lange-Smith

Founder