Thoughts going into the London Podcast Show

I keep thinking about Michael Osborne's quote:

"Podcasting is where I go to get away from the internet.”

People are looking for an escape. They're tired of wasting hours in bed mindlessly scrolling TikTok. They get annoyed when they fall into a YouTube rabbit hole and waste a whole day inside. They're fed up with the Instagram algorithm preying on their lizard brain.

Podcasting has always offered substance and presence. You get in your car, turn on an episode with your favorite host, and spend 45 minutes with them as you drive to work.

Many of my readers will know I've been struggling to figure out how to respond to YouTube's new position in (what has been) an open podcast ecosystem.

I was drawn to podcasting because it is mindful media, not controlled by a centralized platform, where interesting, independent voices could thrive.

I'm conflicted about how we in the open podcast ecosystem should respond to YouTube's expanding footprint into podcasting. Do we double down on the audio-first experience? Do we embrace video but with mindful constraints?

Strategically, it isn't easy to know which direction to go.

A big part of me loves the marketing positioning of James Cridland's slogan:

"Podcasts are something for your ears while your eyes are busy."

Audio-driven, long-form podcasting could be the "escape from the internet" that people turn to. "Stop staring at your screen; put your phone in your pocket. Get outside. Move your body. Listen to something that feeds your mind in a healthy way."

On the other hand, I don't want to ignore the potential for video podcasting. I first got into podcasts in the early 2000s by watching Diggnation on the bus on my iPod Classic!

I also appreciate that creators will have a lot of influence over how podcasting evolves. Could the open (RSS-based) ecosystem solve some unmet needs there?

I'm pondering these questions before this week's London Podcast Show. These are also the kinds of issues we want to tackle at the Podcast Standards Project.

If you have thoughts on any of this, let me know.

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I originally posted this on LinkedIn.