Podcast Pontifications

Social sharing of audio-only content sucks. Thus far, podcasters have all bad options: Share a direct link to the media file (inflated metrics, zero context), share a link to the episode page (often un-optimized and where is that listen link?), or share to a platform that only 25% or less of the audience use.

But ignored in Spotify's recent acquisition announcements is this fact: Social sharing of a podcast episode on Spotify does not suck. In fact, it's quite good.

In this short episode, I remind you that social sharing of video sucked until Facebook and (belatedly) Twitter and LinkedIn realized how popular YouTube video sharing on their platform was growing, and how much they wanted in on the action.

So my big prediction: Those social giants will see the value in sharing natively uploaded audio on their platforms very soon. And you can thank Spotify for that. If enough of us start sharing our episodes social via Spotify, that is. 

I'm starting now. How about you?

Mentioned in this episode:

Support For Abortion Rights

While Americans overwhelmingly support the right of an individual to make their own decisions about abortion, unfortunately, that right is no longer protected everywhere in the U.S. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade on June 24th.

When you create your podcast on your own, you feel a sense of accomplishment. Even if it's not perfect, maybe a little rough around the edges... that sense of pride you feel is well-deserved.

When you share it with your friends, unless they are bunch of dicks, they'll pat you on the back and tell you what a good job you did. Because they are friends. Many of whom haven't made their own show, so you're already better than them.

But members of the general public aren't your friends and will, often times, be a little harsh. Not because they are bunch of dicks (OK, some are), but because they are becoming more discerning in their tastes, and less forgiving of "quaint" mistakes your friends over look.

In this short episode, I equate all of this to home improvement projects. Which works. I think?

Mentioned in this episode:

Support For Abortion Rights

While Americans overwhelmingly support the right of an individual to make their own decisions about abortion, unfortunately, that right is no longer protected everywhere in the U.S. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade on June 24th.

15 years later, and podcasting is still a big joke to most people. That's likely an unpopular sentiment, but it's borne out by the fact that 75% of the US population still doesn't think podcasting has to offer them.

And as much as I love the Amazon Alexa "Not Everything Makes The Cut" commercial that prominently features podcasting, it's treated as a joke. (Yes, I'm aware the entire commercial was poking fun. I understand humor and its place in advertising, trust me.)

Of course, Spotify's recent announcement that they are trying to buy Gimlet Media for $230 million is most certainly not a joke, and could signal (gods, I hope so) a changing landscape. 

In this short episode, I'll go beyond the current-focused thinking and get into what an investment like this could mean for the future of podcasting. Caution: Wild speculation and wishful thinking ahead!

Mentioned in this episode:

Support For Abortion Rights

While Americans overwhelmingly support the right of an individual to make their own decisions about abortion, unfortunately, that right is no longer protected everywhere in the U.S. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade on June 24th.

This episode was inspired by a 6'4" Canadian discussing peeing on his knees in Thailand. And it's also about how to build a "loyalty program" for your podcast. 

For The Bangkok Podcast, they do that with their LINE business account. When they share content -- episodes but also special "quick-hits" -- they get feedback within seconds.

Is the following there as big as the social accounts for the hosts or the show itself? Not even close. Do the majority of their listeners follow the show on LINE? Nope. Is LINE a convenient way to listen to podcast episode? Not so much.

But (at least for this show) it's become the place where their most loyal fans directly interact with the show. And as the hosts continue to feed that channel with content other than podcast episodes, I predict a significant bump in word of mouth.

Listen to this short episode as I try to make sense of this trend and adapt it to many of my other clients. It's a work in progress, so your feedback is appreciated!

Mentioned in this episode:

Support For Abortion Rights

While Americans overwhelmingly support the right of an individual to make their own decisions about abortion, unfortunately, that right is no longer protected everywhere in the U.S. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade on June 24th.

At the risk of offending my libertarian-minded friends: Podcasting's lack of clear standards is hurting the growth of the medium.

Not that I think we should make a standards board that reviews the quality of podcasts for inclusion in our secret club or anything draconian like that. No, I'm committed to podcasting being and weird and wild, or as bland and tame, as the creator(s) want their show to be.

What I want -- nay, demand -- is that we establish standards for all the non-artistic, behind-the-scenes plumbing and duct work that make a podcast a podcast.

Yes, I realize we have guidelines. But as you'll hear on this short episodes, guidelines lead to ignorant decisions and often stymie a would-be podcaster from getting started.

There's no reason we can't declare *the right* encoding specs.

There's no reason we can't declare *the right* ID3 specs.

And it's 2019, and it's ludicrous that podcast hosting companies still let invalid RSS feeds publish. No one makes an artistic decision to have an invalid feed. Why does it happen? A lack of standards.

Fair warning: This episode is a little rant-y. You're welcome.

Mentioned in this episode:

Support For Abortion Rights

While Americans overwhelmingly support the right of an individual to make their own decisions about abortion, unfortunately, that right is no longer protected everywhere in the U.S. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade on June 24th.