There are 75 posts filed in Podcasting (this is page 1 of 8).
A 12-13 minute rambler, here are links to sites mentioned:
KamalaCampaignTimeline.com (not live yet)
Molly’s timeline site template
Steve Tockey/Construx Software
Newer model-based development project for Javascript
Older model-based development project for Javascript
Inspired by a recent podcast of Dave Winer concerning the funeral of Ronald Reagan, I have recorded a short podcast with my own dead president story….
After reading Dave Winer’s negative comments about the Podcasting 2.0 people reinventing rssCloud, but not linking to what they did, I decided to look for it – looks like something called podping (page references rssCloud and WebSub) and podping.cloud. Why not point to it and let people decide for themselves?
I am enjoying listening to Dave Winer’s new podcast of old audio posts from the beginning of the podcasting era. He is also creating the feed by hand, much like the Andrew Cuomo daily briefing podcast he created during the COVID pandemic (here is a great way to look at the Cuomo feed if you want to “roll your own feed”….).
In 2017, I wrote a post with the title “We have great tools to create – are we creating great things?”. It was in reference to a Doc Searls liveblog post on a podcasting conference at Columbia University. My observation was that there are a lot of low-quality podcasts, but as time goes on, better ones will appear.
Since then, the availability and quality of tools has increased (blogging, podcasting, video, etc.). Ken Smith recently commented on the tools aspect by linking to a video by actor Jason Alexander on acting/screenwriting – that the tools needed for creating videos are available to everyone (Alexander finishes by saying “You can create a movie on your phone…”). Ken mentions that the same is true for active citizenship as well. I will follow up on this in a minute.
In a recent post, I listed the tools I needed to create a podcast in the car, and have other posts on how to add podcast cover art to a WordPress-hosted podcast, and simple instructions for using WordPress as a podcast hosting tool. The tools available for blogging are always increasing, as is the same for video production. So, since we have the tools part covered, are there some great things out there? Are there more great things that need to be created?
Two excellent instances of group efforts in a topic are the Election Law Blog and the Americans of Conscience Checklist. The first is a group blog following current events in election law and the politics of election law. The second is a group creating lists of bite-sized actions that people can take to promote progressive causes. Both sites use WordPress as their main platform.
Jeffrey Issac’s Democracy in Dark Times blog does an excellent job of addressing issues relating to Donald Trump. Recently, he has been covering the student protests at his university, Indiana University, and calling out bad behavior by the university administration and Indiana elected officials.
I have made efforts to document events such as the protests in Portland, Oregon in 2020, the Georgia Trump election interference trial, a podcast about the “tools for thought” space, a site documenting news on the “return to office” efforts in the American workforce, and a “link zettlekasten” capturing news on elections.
Dave Winer has called for “determination” in using tools and resources to pick up the slack for lack of coverage by the New York Times and other outlets. Ken Smith has called to start “the work of a generation” (I am assuming this is work to try to ensure that our democratic system continues). I recorded a podcast addressing these calls (punchline: take some action, do something, don’t just call for resistance/protest). I think that this quote from a more recent post of mine is a good way to wrap this up:
… I recently listened to a Radio Open Source podcast episode focusing on the life of Hannah Arendt, who lived under authoritarian and totalitarian regimes in the 20th century. One line of her writing stood out to me: “We are free to change the world and start something new in it.”. I think that every podcast is a chance to change the world, and anyone is free to create one and send it out into the world.
https://andysylvester.com/2024/04/19/the-joy-of-podcasting/
As Ken Smith quoted Pete Buttigieg:
“Don’t wait. Start now.“
http://oldschool.scripting.com/ksmith3123@gmail.com/2024/04/20/123857.html#a124210
Over the last few weeks, I restarted recording some short podcasts while I drive home from work. It was fun to do, and I decided on the last one to not do any post-processing or edits, and thought it sounded ok. WordPress automatically creates an enclosure, so anyone could subscribe to my podcasting (of my 3-5 regular readers). My “kit” consists of my Samsung A10 smartphone, the Voice Recorder Android app, and a Logitech H111 headset that plugs into the speaker jack of my phone – that’s it! That’s all that it takes to record the podcast. And, of course, anyone can use any podcast app to listen to the episodes. As Anil Dash said in a post earlier this year commenting on the “wherever you get your podcasts” line, “radical systems can survive and even thrive in the modern world of tech and media. They can inspire new creators to make similar systems that are unowned, uncentralized, and a little bit uncontrollable.”.
To close, I recently listened to a Radio Open Source podcast episode focusing on the life of Hannah Arendt, who lived under authoritarian and totalitarian regimes in the 20th century. One line of her writing stood out to me: “We are free to change the world and start something new in it.”. I think that every podcast is a chance to change the world, and anyone is free to create one and send it out into the world. Thank you, Dave Winer, for making this possible.
More recent news items this month about layoffs at Chicago Public Media (WBEZ) and Colorado Public Radio, both affecting their podcast units. Key quotes:
The move to terminate nearly 15% of the 62 unionized content creators at Chicago’s National Public Radio affiliate comes amid a worsening financial crisis for the news organization marked by declining fundraising, listenership and philanthropic support.
https://www.wbez.org/stories/chicago-public-media-lays-off-14-staffers/451b3f28-338c-45bc-98c2-742a7106ecf2
In recent years revenue has grown but has not kept pace with expenses. CPR lists on its website that expenses had exceeded revenue by $1.3 million in fiscal year 2022 and $2.3 million in fiscal year 2023. Member giving has remained strong, but corporate sponsorship was down. Meanwhile, programming and fundraising expenses – driven in part by employee costs – have risen by millions of dollars.
https://www.cpr.org/2024/03/06/cpr-institutes-layoffs-in-audio-production-podcast-units/
Looks like my analysis from chapter 60 is still accurate:
If an organization is spending more money than it brings in income, they either figure out ways to increase revenue or cut expenses, or say goodbye! The technical term, I believe, is called “business”.
https://andysylvester.com/2023/11/24/the-end-of-podcasting-chapter-60/
On the flip side, an informally produced podcast by Nick Hilton featuring people sharing their experience with Parkinson’s disease has won an award at the Broadcasting Press Guild in London, UK. A nice pull-quote from Nick’s post:
Podcasting has proved the perfect home for Movers and Shakers. It’s allowed us to access an audience of many, many thousands of people who either live with the condition, have loved ones living with the condition, or are fascinated by the banter between some broadcasting legends. It has allowed us to dive into a level of detail that makes people feel seen and heard. These are people who often feel let down by the health service, by their doctors and nurses, employers or benefits assessors. It is an entertainment product, first and foremost, but it’s also a support group. That’s why, despite the fact it’s a technical nightmare, we still record the show down at the pub: so that people feel like they’re having a pint with the gang, joining in with a laugh and a moan, and the sharing in the experiences of living with Parkinson’s.
https://nickfthilton.medium.com/what-an-award-winning-podcast-taught-me-about-podcasting-f83544fd34a7
Perhaps this is a better model for many podcasts that are trying to be money-makers – just sayin….
Postscript: NiemanLab says ” more people are listening to podcasts than ever before” – I guess the advertisers aren’t listening….
John Johnston: iPod podcasting nostalgia – John found an old iPod with a recording device that he used to make podcasts some time ago – and he made a podcast with it just this week – neat!
Well, I haven’t written on this topic for at least a month, but an interesting story appeared on Semafor (via Ben Werdmuller) called “The Incredible Shrinking Podcast Industry”. It seems that Apple releases download counts for shows for Apple Podcasts app users, and that they made a change in their app recently to stop automatic downloads of podcasts if the user had not been listening to a podcast within the last two weeks. This resulted in a big drop for many podcasts that use this data to track listener volume. I guess my comments in chapter 60 (and associated podcast) about Apple controlling the master list of podcasts were incorrect, that they ALSO control the way podcasts track download counts (for their app, which I GUESS is the most used app for listening to podcasts). To echo chapter 60 – WHO CARES!
This Semafor article also referenced the Hot Pod Newsletter from The Verge, which seems to be attempting to cover the “podcasting industry”, in addition to shilling for its own conference. I guess I’ll have to subscribe….yawn…
John Spurlock on Mastodon: Audio clip on layoffs at Leo LaPorte’s TWiT network
