When I give talks to folks about podcasting, I will take a moment to talk about what makes the genre distinct. The foundation of that distinction is the centrality of RSS (just think of it as “really simple syndication”), the same architecture that drives newsreader apps
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The key to RSS is the power of the reader/listener to curate and choose. As in “I would like X sets of content to appear in this particular location” The first important part is the ability to choose a tailored mix from a universe of possibilities
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The second part, is that you get to determine the context in which you encounter the content. You get to pick the platform(s) on which your RSS feeds appear. Cognate: Do you want to read the paper on the sofa, on the train, or in the coffee shop? The newspaper don’t care.
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But now imagine if you sat down in the coffee shop, and opened the paper, only to have the newspaper tell you, “No. Not here.” I realize I am straining the comparison a bit, but the question at the heart of it remains: Who is in the drivers seat, here?
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The parallel to newspapers is important. Because local news is collapsing - imploding - right now. In 2019 we saw more local news sources fold than at any other point in our nation’s history. What will arise to help fill that void? Well, podcasting might be a part of it, maybe
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The stepchild of local publishing has always been samizdat - ultra-niche interests and political orientations making small scale print runs to reach an audience with a message or information. Think Maximum Rock N Roll, or Mae Brussell, or The Final Call
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Samizdat used a publishing platform (printing press) and democratized it. Same thing happened to music in the 80s with 4-track recorders that used ordinary cassette tapes. Suddenly, you didn’t need an expensive recording studio, or to buy ink by the barrel
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In the void of local reporting, podcasting offers a mind-meld of samizdat and 4-track recording. Messages that speak to audiences can reach those audiences. More importantly, investigative reporting (small or large scale) can reach audiences.
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As with most things, they get messed up when you prioritize profit over motive. If you go into news for profit, you get Sam Zell, not Edward R. Murrow. If you go into music for profit, you get Rick Astley, not John Prine. Now there are folks who are going into podcasting for $
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When that happens, you get paywalled platforms like
@hearluminary. Back to my earlier example, the newspaper is telling you where and when you can read it. Now, why would a company do this?Prikaži ovu nit -
Well, having one single access point makes the metrics gery clear and easy. You can say with exacting precision WHO is listening, HOW LONG they are listening, and WHEN they get bored and turn off the feed. Advertisers *love* this.
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But should you, the listener, love it as well? Sure, if it means you get a superlative listening experience. But do you? In terms of audio quality or content, I am not convinced
@hearluminary is that much better And do you lose something in the experience? I think you doPrikaži ovu nit -
Most importantly, you lose your anonymity. If you want to listen to radical or subversive or profane content, those shows exist in the RSS landscape, and the decenterd nature of RSS makes those shows easier to find, and harder for folks to find out if you are listening.
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But a narrow, paywalled platform is less likely to carry that sort of content, but more importantly - if you choose to listen to that content, the platform now knows not only your demographic info, but your name, and often your address.
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A few years back, news reports talked about expectant mothers who were getting ads for maternity products from Target before they had announced their pregnancies publicly. Search histories coupled with knowing *exactly* who you are.
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I don’t care now that you know that I read Pat Califia’s book Public Sex: The Culture of Radical Sex. But when I first picked up the book? Much less assured in my own identity and sexuality? Back when my friends were being fired or beat up for being queer?
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Not sure I would want folks knowing what I was reading when I was more socially vulnerable. I think the same goes now for podcasts. You should feel empowered and safe to explore information and ideas without becoming a target market or a known subversive.
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But paywalled platforms are the opposite. They narrow the field of access, and the field of content. Moreover, they make you much too available as a known consumer of certain content. Does RSS have flaws? Sure. So do newspapers. But I’d rather live in that world.
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Again, nobody asked me, but this is what I think. Democracy is important, and democracy depends on a lot of anarchic information, and information about anarchic ideas. Podcasts are a new part of that ecosystem, and I resist their domestication and commercial control. /fin
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