The secret of Podcasts. What everybody ought to know about them
The Podcast Revolution
In a world where time is more valuable than ever, podcasts are taking off like there is no tomorrow. So what makes them so sought after. What exactly drives millions of people to use their hard earned spare time to listen to podcast shows on every topic conceivable?
All around us digital media products like Facebook, Instagram or YouTube use imagery as their primary means to reach audiences. The golden age of photography filters and image editing as well as ever increasing methods of making our lives more available to all. But as with any social trend, some people will start to shift the opposite way eventually. So far one of those shifts has brought us the rise of the podcast.
At first podcasts were the lonely offspring of what was considered old media. They were hailed as the soon to be only surviving relative of the radio. Much like when laptops began taking over the sales charts and old personal computers were seen as yesterday’s news. But like the ever expanding market of pc gaming they soon found their fortunes reversed. And here is why:
The topics
Hundreds of thousands of podcast shows are being produced world wide and the content array on offering is huge. It makes no difference if you like audio story telling or a bunch of guys talking about what's new in the world. You could be listening to a historical show that brings you detailed day by day accounts of WW1, on your morning commute, and to another one, that brings you the daily news, on your way back home. The possibilities are endless from sports to science, politics, entertainment or investigative journalism. So depending on your mood you can go from Man In The Window: The Golden State Killer to The Joe Rogan Experience in a matter of seconds.
As a matter of fact the most downloaded podcast in the US is Serial, a podcast that has the most number of downloaded episodes, 175 million. It is a non-fictional story telling show that brings investigative journalism stories over multiple episodes.
There is even a Chernobyl podcast made by HBO and numerous more on the same topic made by fans of the series.
Specialized content
Podcasts are made by professional broadcasting organizations as well as enthusiasts. Though you may find differences in the way they choose to put their message across, there is one thing than they almost all have in common. The shows are made by people with a genuine interest in the subject. They tend to go all out when it comes to researching the best sources for their content. Most communities that form around a content creator have high expectations regarding the volume and quality of information that finds its way into their favourite podcast show.
This fact, coupled with the variety of topics, means that the content is usually very well researched and useful as information tends to be regarded as more valuable when coming from a well established source that produces passionate and relevant content.
The community
These downloadable shows often create communities around certain topics. People comment, read and send suggestions that help producers come up with intelligent, unique and creative content.
But even more importantly they recommend their favourite podcasts to other people that might enjoy them, thus helping to build up the community. This word of link marketing is the most efficient form of advertising a podcast. People end up sharing interests and ideas based on the show they are listening and more often than not end up creating a sort of bound with the host which makes them more at ease when it comes to getting their information from this particular source.
It is beneficial both to the content creator and his listeners.
The universal media remedy
Podcasts have some marvelous thing going for them. Availability. Imagine if your grandparents were busy somewhere during the moon landings but somehow they could push a few buttons and listen to the whole thing later, while waiting to pick up their laundry.
Well this kind of situational comfort is something almost unique to the podcast. You can listen to one in your car, on your launch break, on the way to the supermarket, while jogging or walking around or on an air plane. It solves all your instant media needs on the topic of your choosing at the exact time you are available to listen to it.
And it does that in complete privacy. Nobody will know that you are listening to a 7 episode series on best Manga of 2019 while in line at the bank. Imagine the looks you would get doing that in full screen mode on your iPhone X.
With the popularity of podcasts on the rise it is estimated that the average listener is now listening up to 7 episodes a week, from just 3 in 2018.
That clearly indicates that podcasts are here to stay. At least for now.
Author: Steve White
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